Uppies and Downies has had a special place in the hearts of Workington families for hundreds of years.
The mass no-rules football game has a rich history and has taken place and been reported on every Easter since 1775.
But amid the thousands of spectators, dozens of photographers and reporters, it’s the people who religiously play the games year in year out that have made all that history possible.
Ahead of this year’s games, we sat down with lifelong Uppie David Shepherd, 54. Known as Nutty, he has played the game for over 42 years and has brothers, sons and a nephew who play.
David has hailed the ball three times in his life so far and has seen the games go through a lot over the years including the death of Robert Storey in 1983.
He played his first game at the age of 12, which may sound young, but is a typical starting age for those who’ve played all their lives.
David said: “I’ve played the game since I was 12 year old, it’s mad though because I can still remember it.
“It was the year 1983 when Robert Storey lost his life in the river and that’s the first game I can ever remember.
“When you’re kids you’re at the back pushing, and you work up your ages from there. But the more you’re in it the further to the front you get and then once you’ve touched that ball, that’s it, you’re in it every year.
“But I never miss it, I’ve even played it with a broken wrist, there’s a picture from 1990 when it was a black ball and you can see it in my hands and my wrist is in a pot.
“If I lost my leg I’d still want to go and play, it’s in our blood, it’s our game and our town.”
David has hailed three balls so far, including the Good Friday ball in 2005, the Easter Saturday 2006 ball and Good Friday ball of 2007.
His Good Friday ball in 2005 also contributed to seeing in the first big win for the Uppies in six years.
He said: “The first ball I ever got is 20 years old this Good Friday, and I still remember it like it was yesterday.
“It never touched the water or nothing, it was just over an hour match and I think it was hailed before eight o’clock.
“It ended up on the football pitch near the Cloffocks car park, before you come onto car park itself where bingo is. There was a scrum on the floor and I got it underneath and Ryan Askew and the Downies had it.
“But I sneaked it out under my jacket under arm and I just got back out and walked away as though nothing was wrong. I just walked away with it calmly and nobody knew I had it.
“I bumped into a lad coming out of his house on the way and he said ‘where’s the ball at’ and I said it’s here under my jacket and he said, oh well, I may as well come with you then!
“So we got up to the castle and I hailed it.”
Some players spend years just trying to touch or get hold of a ball during the game – so hailing it is a monumental moment in a player’s life.
David said: “It’s a privilege to score that goal, it’s the biggest buzz you’ll ever have in your life, I don’t care what anyone says, there’s nothing like it.
“Just to hear all those people cheering and carrying on when you’ve won that ball is unreal.
“But that first year we had a really good night around town after and we had cheesy hot dogs in Marks & Spencer’s car park from the burger van.
“The guy gave us one for nothing and we ended up buying another and he wouldn’t take money, so we got two each for nothing and carried on around town.
“We even lost that ball in Yankees, we came out of the pub and left it there and forgot about it.
“We were walking around in a circuit trying to find it, but people were just still taking photos and putting money in the bag with it.
“When I got home, Ryan Askew, who’s a Downie, phoned me. I was helping with charity work and selling raffle tickets for the games and we were cracking away and he made us cry.
“I was just overwhelmed, he phoned to say congratulations you’ve played the game and you deserve it. It was one of best nights of my life.”
In 2006, David got the ball again, but it was his girlfriend Catherine Malloy who hailed it, making her the first woman in history to hail the ball.
He added: “The ball was on the steps beside the bingo and it was going up there and a lad called Patty had it. I got it off him and ran under a tree with it and threw it up the bank.
“It came rolling back to me, so I just zipped it into my jacket again and turned around to everyone and said it had gone down the bank, and they were all down there looking for it.
“I sneaked away with it and climbed over all the railings there just to keep away from people and I passed loads of Downies because they all said after ‘you passed me with that’.
“I got near where Wilko was on Brow Top and there was a police chief parked there, I opened his door and showed him the ball and told him to tell them it’s gone in five minutes when I had got away.
“But I freaked out after that and I passed it to one of my mates I know and I said do me a favour, carry on with that, and that ball was passed to my girlfriend when she got there.”
David said he had wanted to pass the ball to his girlfriend after one of his two sons didn’t get a chance to see his dad hail the ball the previous year.
He said: “After the first ball I hailed my youngest was there was with us, but my other son was at a kid’s party so he didn’t see it get hailed, so I gave my second one to my girlfriend and my other son to hail it.
“I remember I was over at Ryan Askew’s house before and I said to him if I ever get another, I’m going to pass it to my lass and he said you must have dreamt it.
“I said well, they say if you dream about it, it comes true.”
David’s third hailing of the ball also saw him make use of his jacket tactic.
He said: “My 2007 ball was just pure 100 per cent luck, the ball had disappeared when it was all grass where the leisure centre is now.
“For some reason everyone disappeared and I just headed towards where the bowling green is, I don’t know why I did, but I did and there was a little scrum beside the wall around 20 or 30 yards away from going in that river.
“They had it and there was about five of them, I just saw the ball pulled it out and put it in my jacket again and walked away.
“It was broad daylight, and Phil Lucox will back this story up, because I walked over back over the old allotments and over the beck and he was stood on that beck watching over, he’s a Downie and he’s a big lad.
“Then as soon as I got into the castle grounds, big Phil behind us goes ‘have you got ball?’ and I said ‘I have aye’ and he said ‘good on you, I’m not playing the game, you’ve done good walking away with it again’.
“I was over the moon, I couldn’t believe it because he could have took it. I haven’t even got that jacket now, but I wish I did.”
David said that being in the scrum was a very physically demanding experience, so much so he said some players will take time off work to recover from it.
He added: “When you’re a young lad, you can stay in the scrum all night long. I take holidays for the days after, because you can’t walk the next day, it’s like your body has been in a tumble dryer.
“Your ribs, shoulders, neck and back hurt, it’s physical hard work, if you’re in that scrum for 45 minutes you won’t be able to walk the next day.
“A lot of people refuse to take holidays abroad when this game is on, that’s why I’ve been before hand this year to relax and chill out.”
David said he has always been keen to get in the beck in the midst of the action, but that he has always drawn the line at getting in the River Derwent, which flows out to the sea.
He said: “I’ve been in the big river up to my knees, but I’ll never go any deeper, that’s the only part I won’t play. I’ve seen what happened, if you go in the river with that ball, you deserve to get it.
“I wouldn’t take it off anybody in the river either, if they’re in there with it, it’s theirs. Some of them have wetsuits ready to go in for it, but for me, it’s not worth risking your life.
“But when you were in the beck you were always called the beck rats, because you were never out of the beck, but that was the best place to be because you always get the action in the beck.”
David’s two brothers Graham and Andrew, his sister Dawn’s son and his two sons Nathan and Lewis and nephew Ryan also play or watch the game every year.
One of David’s granddaughters has also expressed interest in playing, which he has encouraged.
He said: “Both my sons Nathan and Lewis play, they haven’t got balls yet but it took me until 35 to get one.
“My son has said if he was to get a Tuesday ball he would give it to me because I haven’t got one, but I said I wouldn’t want it, that’s his, he might never get the chance to get one again.
“But I’ve said to them if I ever get one now, and they were there, I’d pass it to them. Everyone who plays that game deserves a ball.
“But with a bit of luck, I hope my grandson will start playing it when he’s older too.
“I also have two granddaughters and they love watching, but my oldest granddaughter she wants to get in it and I said to her when you’re older you can.
“It’s not just for the lads, it’s for anybody, I’d like to see more lasses involved, I’ve seen one or two over the years and I tip my hat off to them.”
David said that while Uppies and Downies might seem like it’s all about the playful rivalries, the glory of hailing the ball and the game itself – in his eyes, it’s all about family.
He said: “If you ask people they dream about it all the time when it’s coming up to the game with the excitement.
“We call it our Christmas, it’s the big lads’ Christmas Day. That’s what we see it as, it’s nice to see all the lads after game together having a pint with each other and mixing together.
“It’s like one big family this game, it’s Workington coming together. It’s people out having a laugh and a joke and telling stories.
“Everyone looks after each other. If someone is on the floor, they’ll pull them up, or keep their head out of the water and help each other.
“It doesn’t matter who wins, we still support them, there’s no falling out through this game.
“In the 80s and 90s the ball never went up to castle, my Good Friday was the first ball up there in six years, it’s swings and roundabouts, in these next five or 10 years it could all go down.
“But it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, we’re all still there next year.”
Find out more about the history of the game here
Here’s our list of hailers from the 1800s too – can you add to it?
How do you know if you’re an Uppie or a Downie? Find out here
What’s happening in 2025?
The first game is on Good Friday, followed by games on Easter Tuesday and the following Saturday.
We’ll be bringing you live updates, photos and videos from each of the games as they happen – make sure you join us from 6pm each game day!
