Next stop is Dingwall for football fanatic Stephen
STEPHEN HILL, from Ormskirk in Lancashire, has spent several decades combining his twin loves of sport and travel to unusual effect.
Born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, he and his parents moved down south when he was a toddler to be closer to his mum’s home city of Liverpool.
His folks met while his dad was stationed in West Kirby with the RAF and the family eventually set up home in Ormskirk.
A season ticket holder at Anfield, Stephen’s followed Liverpool across Europe on some of their greatest triumphs, but also witnessed tragedy at the disasters of Heysel and Hillsborough in the ’80s. Stephen, who was a postman for nearly 42 years, has been to more football stadiums than most fans.
In the ’70s he made it his mission to attend a match at every one of the 92 grounds in the English league.
There was the time on April 19, 1976 when he visited three stadiums in one day – QPR vs Arsenal at 11am, Brighton vs Gillingham at 3pm and Charlton vs Chelsea at 7.30pm.
He completed his task on February 6, 1979, at the old Fellows Park in Walsall.
Stephen also tackled Scottish football grounds, finishing the 38 professional sides of the time in November 1982.
But it’s not just football grounds the 66-year-old visits, he’s also been to 16 county cricket grounds in England and Wales and has cheered on the horses at 61 race courses.
And outside these shores he’s travelled to more than 50 capital cities around the world.
But his interest always comes back to football.
With teams promoted and new stadiums built, over the last 30 years – beginning with Scarborough and Swansea in 1987 – Stephen has visited a further 55 grounds in England and only has Chesterfield and West Ham’s new stadiums to tick off.
In Scotland, there have been 17 new grounds and teams since 1982 and this week Stephen and his mate, Bryan Anderton, will travel up to Dingwall to take in Ross County’s match with St Johnstone.
It will be a special moment for well-travelled Stephen, because the Global Energy Stadium will be the 200th football ground he’s visited in Scotland and England.
But with Edinburgh City and Falkirk still to do, Stephen isn’t ready to blow the final whistle on his travels just quite yet.