He had no interest in the sport but went along to watch Leicester City playing at Luton Town in an FA Cup tie. It was a thrilling game which ended 5-5 and when John went to the replay at Filbert Street and cheered City to a 5-3 victory he was hooked.

He became a regular at Leicester's old Filbert Street stadium and continues to follow the club's rollercoaster fortunes at the Walker's Stadium 60 years after that first game at Luton.

A season ticket holder for half-a-century, John has enjoyed cup finals at Wembley, the glamorous football of the Frank Worthington era in the 1970s and the exciting success under Martin O'Neil in the '90s.

"If anyone had said to me on day one 'you will be doing this for the next 60 years' I would probably have told them 'I won't be alive by then'," said John (79), who lives in Oakham.

To mark his remarkable dedication to the club, John was a VIP guest of the Foxes for their home League One clash with Swindon Town earlier this month. Andy King, who scored City's equaliser in the match, presented John with a piece of commemorative glassware afterwards.

These have been tough times for Leicester after last season's calamitous relegation from the Championship but they top the table and look favourites to bounce straight back this season.

John said: "Going down last year was the worst thing I can remember happening to the club - it was soul-destroying.

"Most Leicester supporters are used to the ups and downs at the club and many thought this was just another down.

"But Milan Mandaric taking over the club and Nigel Pearson being appointed manager has made the difference and I can only see the club going forward from now on."

Sitting in comfortable all-seater stadiums with an array of refreshments and clean toilet facilities close at hand are so different from John's first experiences of watching football on the open terrraces in the late 1940s and 1950s. There were no tickets to buy beforehand so you had to get to the ground early and facilities were basic to say the least.

"It was totally different back then," recalled John. "You had to get there at 11 or 11.30 to be sure of getting in and then you couldn't move or someone would take your place. You were in trouble if you wanted to use the toilet. There were no supporter facilities. It's luxury for fans today in comparison."

Another problem for John was his height. He had to get near the front or he couldn't see the pitch properly.
"Children were passed over the heads of supporters so they could watch from the front of the terracing but it was a different matter for short adults.

He remembers one particular match at Mansfield in the FA Cup in March 1969. "I could only see the ball when it went above head height," said John. "I never saw anything and I had to read the paper the next day to find out what had happened."

John used to ride his trusty BSA Bantam 125cc motorcycle to games in the fifties. He paid 6d to be able to park outside a fish and chip shop opposite the ground.
On many occasions, he travelled to matches on supporters buses. He was able to drive there when he got a coveted car park ticket for £2.50 a season, which meant he didn't have to park up to a mile away from the ground.

"I remember taking the train to watch City at Liverpool with my son," said John. "The club hired the train and players and officials sat at the front. We were given a meal on the trip home and I remember they cleared out the last carriage and made it into a mobile disco."

The game is much quicker these days, of course, but no more enjoyable for John than his early days on the terraces.

He recalled: "The earliest I ever got to the ground was 10.30am because I wanted to make sure I got in to see Tom Finney play. I still say he's the best player I've ever seen.

"They were record crowds in those days - we used to get around 40,000 at Filbert Street. The pitches were a lot worse back then – the Walker's Stadium is like a billiard ball in comparison. Add to that the players wore big heavy boots and they played with a leather ball which picked up mud and made it heavier and you can see why it was a slower game."

Arthur Rowley was John's favourite player because of his trademark bullet shot.

His favourite era was the 1970s when Jimmy Bloomfield assembled a team of entertainers including the aforementioned Worthington, Len Glover, Graham Cross, Keith Weller, Alan Birchenall and Peter Shilton.

City have played in two League Cup finals at Wembley in recent years and John remembers attending the final with Tottenham when he sat next to members of the old Beverley Sisters singing group.

John grew up in Melton Mowbray and worked as head of packaging at Pedigree Petfoods before the company promoted him to co-ordinator for its worldwide group of factories.

He is married to Elizabeth, who isn't a big football fan, and has a son Neil (a fellow City fanatic) and a daughter, Jane.

In his younger days John played cricket and still holds the club bowling record for Great Dalby CC, after taking an amazing nine wickets for only four runs with his slow off-breaks against Twyford in July 1951.

He is a keen bowler and has been a member at Oakham BC for 30 years, 21 of them on the committee.

But his first love remains Leicester City. He added: "It's been a tremendous journey so far and I feel honoured to have seen so many memorable matches.

"I would love to see City back in the Premiership playing in front of capacity crowds. I just hope they do it quickly."

A FAN'S FAVOURITES:
Dream XI: Gordon Banks, Peter Rodrigues, Graham Cross, Steve Walsh, David Nish, Colin Appleton, Frank McLintock, Frank Worthington, Keith Weller, Gary Lineker, Arthur Rowley.

Favourite City player: Arthur Rowley.

Favourite manager: Martin O'Neil.

Most memorable goal: Steve Claridge's winner against Middlesbrough in the 1997 League Cup final to put Leicester into the UEFA Cup.

Most memorable match: Leicester City 5 Shrewsbury Town 2 in March 1982 -City had to use three different goalkeepers because of injury but still came from behind to reach FA Cup semi-final.

Best player seen: Tom Finney.