Tony, who built a career as a radio sports reporter and is now a press officer for QPR, has been so determined to complete the challenge that he went part-time at work this season to be able finally finish his adventure.
He has also had to manage his personal life around his football trips, including marrying his wife in summer to avoid missing matches.
In 2023, he was presented with a trophy to mark his achievement of attending every one of QPR’s home matches for the past 50 years.
“I actually almost missed my daughter being born”, he says. “My wife went into hospital six days beforehand so I slept on a chair in the hospital for five nights and all the time I’m thinking, ‘QPR are at home in a few days’.
“In the end, my wife had the baby, then I ran out of the hospital into my car and made it to Loftus Road just in time.”
Tony’s love of watching football at all levels means he has attended games in some unusual circumstances, including way below even non-league.
“I got a special invitation to go inside Feltham Prison in 2011 to watch a match as the only spectator,” he says.
“The prison team was in a league alongside companies with shift workers and obviously couldn’t play away games!
“I had to get there an hour before kick-off, had my phone taken off me, got searched and then three prison guards took me and the away team through to a nice little ground in the prison with proper dugouts.
“It was just after the London riots so the prison team was full of good young players and they won the match.”
There was no programme or ticket to show for the trip and no half-time brew but the exit was memorable.
“On the way out, some of the prisoners came out of their cells and started lambasting the away side for losing the game,” Tony says.
“One of their guys replied ‘lost the match but at least we’re going home, lads’ and we were then rushed out of there very, very quickly.”
