68 years ago today….

[Sutekh]

…the last Xmas day league fixture played by Reading

Bournemouth 4-1 Reading (att: 11162) Jimmy Wheeler scored for Reading (updated from Southend after double checking)

Is anyone old enough to remember going to a Christmas Day league game? Bet it screwed the Xmas dinner arrangements up a bit.

[South Coast Royal]

…the last Xmas day league fixture played by Reading

Southend United 1-2 Reading

Is anyone old enough to remember going to a Christmas Day league game? Bet it screwed the Xmas dinner arrangements up a bit.

Can't find that game and in my early years we were always playing away.
They had to be pretty fit in 1955 when these happened:-

Dec 24th Reading 4 Millwall 1 (I was there)
Dec 26th Brentford 2 Reading 2
Dec 27th Reading 5 Brentford 2 (I was there)
Dec 31st a presumably knackered team lost 2-0 at Gillingham

That was a really busy period as these also happened:-
Dec 3rd QPR 3 Reading 3
Dec 10th Reading 2 Aldershot 2 FA Cup)
Dec 14th Aldershot 3 Reading 0 (FA Cup replay)
Dec 17th Reading 4 Aldershot 4

So, 8 games in December with mainly the same starting 11 and I guess the Reading and Aldershot players knew each other quite well after their 3 games in a week.
The last Christmas Day home fixture I can find was 1953 when we lost 4-2 to Torquay and then drew away there 2-2 the next day .