Here's a history of Charles Buchan's Football Monthly:
Origins
Back in September 1951, when football coverage meant catching snippets in general newspapers, Charles Buchan saw something missing. The old Athletic News was gone, leaving a void where dedicated football coverage should have been. Buchan, already well-known for his work at the News Chronicle and the BBC, decided to fix that himself. SOCCER BOOKS
It was the first publication devoted solely to football since the closure of the Athletic News in 1931, and was also the first magazine aimed at men to feature pages in full colour — a strategy already in place for women's periodicals. Wikipedia
The Man Behind It
Charlie Buchan's feats as a loping inside-forward were still fondly remembered by the pre-war generation — 224 goals in 413 games for Sunderland, followed by three years as a wily veteran for Herbert Chapman's emerging Arsenal. Since retiring in 1928, Buchan had concentrated on journalism. Wsc
Growth and Golden Years
Circulation started at a level modern magazines would envy — 60,000 — rising to 120,000 by 1959, 130,000 by 1961, and peaking at an astounding 250,000 per month in 1967. The magazine's "Boys Club" grew to 100,000 members by 1968, and Charles Buchan's Publications Ltd. branched out into eleven different magazines, including Soccer Scrap Book and even music publications for younger readers. SoccerbiliaSOCCER BOOKS
Early correspondents for the magazine included Brian Glanville, Leslie Yates, Norman Ackland, and Daily Mirror recruits John Thompson and Joe Sarl. Among those to contribute on the letters page as younger readers were future broadcasters John Motson, Jim Rosenthal and Nick Owen, writer Sebastian Faulks, poet John Hegley, and future football manager Barry Fry. Wikipedia
Buchan's Death
Buchan wrote a regular column from the magazine's inception until his sudden death in the south of France in June 1960. Remarkably, his final column appeared in the August issue as usual, underscoring how unexpected his passing was. Despite this, Buchan's name remained in the magazine title well beyond his death, with the publication hitting monthly sales of 254,000 by 1969. SOCCER BOOKSWikipedia
Decline
Two years after that circulation peak, Charles Buchan's name was dropped from the masthead at a time when sales were being hit more and more by the new weeklies, Goal and Shoot! Circulation slumped and the title was eventually sold off. Medium
Relaunch and Final Closure
The magazine was resized into "digest" form with smaller pages and renamed Football Monthly Digest in 1973, running for one more year before being shuttered. It was then relaunched by IPC as Football (retitled Football Monthly once more in the 1980s) before finally closing in 1995. Wikipedia
Legacy
A compendium of past articles titled The Best of Charles Buchan's Football Monthly was published in 2006, compiled by Simon Inglis. The magazine remains a cherished piece of British football history — a pioneering publication that shaped how the sport was covered and consumed for over four decades. Wikipedia