På tide å vekke til live denne tråden, igjen, etter artikkelen på den offisielle siden
Edith. Hehe, er visst en gammel artikkel, men anyways...
THE (UN)OFFICIAL STORY OF THE LEEDS SALUTE 25 Jun 2009The Leeds Salute. What, where, why and how?
When Glynn Snodin told the media last season that he had developed "a twitch" when the offer of returning to the club came about, he had them, and the LUTV viewers, in stitches.
Quickly, Snods protested his innocence and said the "twitch" refererred to the 'Leeds Salute' which he duly demonstrated. Jonny Howson is also pictured demonstrating the celebration following his second goal against Cheltenham last season.
But that set us thinking about why, where, and how did the salute develop?
When Glynn returned to the club a number of fans recalled his time as a player when he was well-known for doing the 'Leeds Salute', but what no one actually seemed to know was where the 'salute' actually came from and what are its origins.
Programme contributor and ever-present fan Gary Edwards seemed a logical first point of call in the quest for knowledge. After all, over 40 years without missing a game sounds qualification enough to provide a logical explanation as to the birth of this rather unique gesture that all Leeds fans have.
"I believe the 'Leeds Salute' began at Plymouth in 1987," said Gary. "Despite losing 6-3 Glynn Snodin ran to the Leeds end and gave a little fist clenched salute close to his chest.
"This became known as the 'Leeds Salute' and has been part of the Leeds following ever since. Even when Snodin left the club in the early 90's Leeds fans continue to this day to greet each other with the 'Salute'.
"Vinnie Jones did it regular. Even when he moved back to Wimbledon he would still Salute the Leeds fans when ever we played the. He did this during the game every time he came near to the Leeds fans."
There do seem to be contrasting memories among fans, though, as to where and when the Leeds Salute started.
Gary Booth wrote to tell us: "I can't remember when it started but I've been going away since the late 70's and can't remember a time when the away following didn't do it. I'm pretty sure it started away from home and was 'brought back' to ER.
"From memory it usually happened when we got a corner, the chant 'Leeds,Leeds, Leeds, Leeds ..............................' accompanied by the salute.
"I can also remember it being the 'greeting' exchanged between cars / coaches as we passed fellow fans on route to from / away games on the M1, M62 etc..."
Mark Corrigan offered the view: "I can clearly remember the Leeds Salute being around in the 1970s when I started going to matches on my own. My family moved to London in 1966 and in the mid seventies I used to travel up to games from Crawley in Sussex with some older lads in their cars.
"It was a regular thing to see other cars bedecked with Leeds scarves and as we passed each other we always acknowledged each other by doing the Leeds Salute.
"The first time I remember a player doing it was Glyn Snodin after we scored in a game at Elland Road when Sgt Wilko was in charge. People now seem to think it was Glyn who started it but they are mistaken as it has been going almost as long as I can remember."
And Pontefract White Ted Jenkins said: "My first experience of the famous Leeds salute was in 1972 when Leeds trounced our arch rivals Man United at Elland Road and the king himself Billy Bremner waltzed in front of our famous Kop and gave the salute punching is heart vigorously. As a 12-year-old at that time that memory will never leave me and made me the Leeds supporter I am today Billy will live on in Leeds United forever."
LLL magazine editor Neil Jeffries takes great pride in the individual nature of the salute and he seemed another good port of call to ask in our quest.
He said: "It's great in the grounds - where a corner won and the sight of the taker running towards you prompts a guttural chorus of 'Leeds Leeds Leeds!' to go with it - but for me the Leeds salute is something that works best on the roads travelling to or from a game.
"To me it's a wordless symbol of faith and brother/sisterhood exchanged with a total stranger in another vehicle sporting a Leeds sticker, scarf or mini-kit. It's the ritual passion of the All-Blacks' haka distilled into a single gesture.
"It says, 'We are Leeds and there's nothing anyone can do to defeat us' and I know of no other club that has anything like it."
Brilliant Neil. How did it start? "I have to admit, I have no idea."
Perhaps, the most interesting theory comes from Billy Hawkhead, a long-standing United fan who now resides in Denmark. Billy says the 'Leeds Salute' dates back to the 1950s and possibly earlier.
Billy told us: "My granddad taught me the Leeds salute long before I was old enough to go to games. I'm 55 now, so the salute has been around since the mid 1950s at least. The first games he took me to at Elland Road (I must have been around 9 or 10 years old), I can remember proudly joining in with the salute along with all the fans, when Leeds had a corner.
"My grandad taught me always to do the salute with my left arm. Like most fans of his generation, he had fought in the second world war and in fact spent most of it in a German work camp, as a P.O.W. Doing the Leeds Salute with the right arm was horribly significant to him (and other war veterans), because of the Nazi (Heil Hitler) salute.
"In fact I never recall seeing the salute done right handed at all until the late 1960's/early 1970's.
"Since then, it has unfortunately (and innocently) become the "norm" for Leeds fans to greet each other with a right armed salute, as many Leeds fans today have only ever seen the right arm salute - and although I'm happy the salute is still used, I find it sad that the history of the Leeds Salute has been forgotten.
"Personally, I have given and received the Leeds Salute, all around the world - from San Francisco to a tiny hamlet in Southern Croatia and in the former East Germany! It is a very special and personal greeting and unique to Leeds fans...long may it continue!"
So, there you have it. The pride, the passion, and possibly the origins of something all Leeds fans know and love, but have no definite idea where or when it started.
