Abe Green's Betting shop in Balsall Heath

[Mrs Jones’s Boy]

Does anybody remember Abe Green’s betting shop on the corner of Moseley Road and Vincent Street, I used to work there in 1964- 65 on Saturdays filing the betting slips

 

[andyu]

I remember it - my Dad would pop in there to place bets in the 60s and 70s. We lived in St Paul's Road

 

[Whitemsys]

That’s a cool bit of local history! Makes me think of how betting’s changed—used to be all paper slips, now lots of folks use apps like the ones on https://www.metronomecanada.com/ , which is ranked among the top for 2025. It’s wild how tech has shifted things from filing slips on Saturdays to quick taps on a screen.

 

[joeboybollo]

Does anybody remember Abe Green’s betting shop on the corner of Moseley Road and Vincent Street, I used to work there in 1964- 65 on Saturdays filing the betting slips

I worked for a bookie from 1963 when I was 19.Ted Currigans.His head office,which was a betting office in Moor St.also had a credit office for phone betting,including from other bookies who would lay off bets with potentially high payouts to limit their own possible liabilities.Bit like paying for insurance.Abe Green definitely had an account with Ted.I remembered his name as soon as I saw it.Lots of other,smaller,bookies aso kept an account just in case they had to lay off any money.Seems like an awfully long time ago now.But I had some great memories from that time.Ted eventually sold up to Ladbrokes in the 70's I think.24 shops by then.I had actually left a year or two before he sold up and missed a good back hander he apparently gave to some of his senior staff(I was a supervisor at that time) I'm told he let the remaining senior staff keep their company cars and bunged them 7 or 8 thousand pounds each( in the 1970's!!!) He was a good boss,but I eventually went into the pub trade.

 

[Manstacey]

Back then, it was all cash and handwritten slips—very different from now. These days, people can just use non UK casino sites and bet without even stepping outside. Funny how things have moved on so much, especially for those who remember ducking into bookies to place a quick bet.

 

[sivora]

Does anybody remember Abe Green’s betting shop on the corner of Moseley Road and Vincent Street, I used to work there in 1964- 65 on Saturdays filing the betting slips

My dad told me about that place back when I was a kid, said it was a proper busy old-school bookies on the corner there in Balsall Heath. Used to be full of lads putting on slips and the buzz inside.