Norfolk's oldest ref Keith Greensides on 60 years of matches

And 1963 also saw Keith Greensides pick up his whistle for the first time as a football referee.

Roll on 60 years and Mr Greensides is preparing to referee his 2,929th games this weekend.

Keith Greensides will be refereeing this Sunday Picture: Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

At 85-years-old, Norfolk's most senior football referee is set to take to the pitch in his home village on Sunday to take charge of an under-8s match.

Mr Greensides, from Ormesby, near Great Yarmouth, first wore the black jersey at a match in Martham in October, 1963 - kicking off a career that has seen him referee a staggering 2,928 games. 

Over seven decades he has taken charge on pitches from local grounds in places like Thorpe and North Walsham to iconic stadiums like Highbury.

Stanley Matthews was player of the year when Keith Greensides took up refereeing Picture: Submitted (Image: Submitted)

"I remember at Beighton they used to have to clear cows off the field before the game," Mr Greensides said.

"And at Freethorpe we used to have to change among hay bales."

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In the 1970s, he officiated at grounds like White Hart Lane and Craven Cottage as a linesman for the Football Combination, a competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs. 

Mr Greensides, who also was a cricket umpire for 32 years, managed to balance his day-job as a postman with refereeing on weekends and Thursday nights - as well as running a youth team in Ormesby.

"It's kept me busy," he said. "It's kept me going."

In those days, when a referee reached 40, they had to retire from the league - a source of some regret for Mr Greensides who believed refs were "really in their prime" at that age.

The transition saw him go from the Eastern Counties League to the Anglian Combination - and today he continues to oversee underage games in Ormesby.

Jimmy Greaves was top goal scorer in 1963 Picture: Nick Strugnell (Image: Nick Strugnell)

Over the years, he has witnessed significant shifts in refereeing. Assessors, once hidden behind trees, now give notice before evaluations.

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As for VAR?

Will Keith Greensides dish out a red card this weekend? Picture: Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

"I think it has taken away from spectators. I don’t think it’s a good thing if a goal is disallowed because a player has a toenail offside, that’s just ridiculous," Mr Greensides said.

And as he gears up for another Sunday on the pitch, he looked back on a life at the centre of grassroots football in the county, concluding: "I haven't wasted my time."