Sheffield Wednesday fan 'proud' to have memorabilia collection on show at Hillsborough
“That makes everything what I do worthwhile”
A well-known collector of Sheffield Wednesday memorabilia is ‘proud’ that some of his items will be on display at Hillsborough.
Luke Earnshaw, owner of The Wednesday Warehouse, near Kelham Island, has been collecting for more than 40 years. The season ticket holder has thousands of Owls objects, sourced from car boots, charity shops, online, players, managers and fans, ranging from past glories to the weird, wonderful and random history at S6.
In the coming weeks, Wednesdayites who take in the newly-opened Hirsty’s Social bar at Hillsborough will be able to see some of his collection close-up. For him, going from being a lifelong fan who started collecting as a child as a hobby, to opening his own base a year ago, to now having items on show at the stadium, is a surreal moment.
“I'm very proud,” Luke told The Star. “I’m very proud of being able to share this with the Sheffield Wednesday community, the football fans, and the people of Sheffield. It's something that I want to carry on doing, carry on growing, and hopefully continue to share with everybody. To able to work with the club's fantastic, it’s something I've wanted to do for a long time. Get involved with the Wednesday people and share our collection with people to enjoy.”
Luke’s collectables story started when he went to the games with his dad and granddad, taking home a matchday programme, a scarf or a shirt and it developed from there. His favourite item is David Hirst’s shirt from the 1992 away leg of the European adventure against Kaiserslautern, a match in which Hirst was sent off. Luke hunted it down all the way from Tokyo due to his desire to get his hands on it
Besides some of his more famous items, Luke has many unique and random one-offs. But the reaction he receives as people walk in for the first time and look around brings him the most joy.
“Many people like to come down, spend time here, get involved, have a look at the things,” he continued. “Some people will come down, pull a chair up, and sit and read a programme or watch a video and really take to heart things that are nostalgic to them or their period or their history, and they really do enjoy it and it takes them back to their childhood. It's fantastic. That makes everything what I do worthwhile. I really do enjoy seeing their face, their reaction, and people coming down and sharing their stories and their moments with me. It's very proud to be part of it.”
Among the visitors have been Owls owner David Storch, who was ‘blown away’ by the collection, while current and past players and managers, including Liam Palmer and Darren Moore, have been in.
Luke added: “We've had a few players come down and donate bits and bobs, from boots to shirts and things like that over the years. It's fantastic to be involved in.”
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