I DON’T remember any of my childhood birthdays. And I don’t recall those Christmas get-togethers either. But I do have vivid memories of FA Cup Final Day.
When I was a kid growing up in the 1970’s and 1980’s, it was the biggest day of the year for me. A truly iconic national event.
Apart from the yearly England versus Scotland game in the ‘Home Internationals’ and an end of season England Schoolboy fixture at Wembley, the FA Cup Final was the only domestic football match that was televised live back then.
My own preparation began when I would buy the official match programme from my local newsagent a few days before the Final. I would read this from cover to cover so that I was fully clued up on the two teams involved.
On to the much anticipated Saturday itself where I would get up at the crack of dawn to purchase all the national newspapers.
These had four to eight page FA Cup Final “Pull-Outs” to preview the big match. I liked how the journalist involved would give a score prediction and I would replicate this by writing down my own forecast for the result and goalscorers.
I would then sit in front of the television all day watching the Cup Final build-up which commenced on the two main channels at 9am.
It was a case of switching to and fro from BBC1 ‘Grandstand’ presented by Frank Bough to ITV ‘World Of Sport’ where Dickie Davies was the host. My mum would keep popping in and out of the room with an array of drinks and snacks.
The TV cameras would show:
-
The two teams relaxing at their respective hotels in North London whilst having breakfast.
-
Goals from the Road To Wembley. This was essential viewing with so little football on television in that period.
- FA Cup Final songs by both clubs. In particular, the simple but effective lyrics of Chas ‘n’ Dave stick in my mind:
Tottenham Tottenham,
No one can stop them,
We’re gonna do it again,
We won’t give it up,
We’re gonna bring the Cup,
Back home to White Hart Lane…
-
FA Cup Final It’s A Knockout. This was a hit slapstick TV show where contestants supporting the Cup Final teams would participate in absurd games across obstacle courses. They wore large foam rubber suits which often depicted giants, penguins and damsels in distress. The games were popularly described as school sports days for adults. Those taking part would get muddy and soaking wet while tackling greasy poles, log-rolling and bungee runs.
-
Meet The Players’ Wives where the ladies concerned would talk about in detail about their hopes and expectations for the FA Cup Final.
-
FA Cup Final Question of Sport. A tailored version of that popular quiz show featuring questions about the FA Cup Final.
Around 1pm, we saw the two teams on their respective coaches travelling down the North Circular Road to Wembley with cameramen in helicopters overhead tracking their routes.
After arrival at Wembley Stadium, the players were interviewed on the pitch in their special Cup Final suits before the game.
As the clock ticked down, the timeless anthem Abide With Me hymn was sung just before kick-off at Wembley.
-
The cameras would pan around the crowd at this stage and I would notice the rudimentary home-made banners created from bed sheets that were being held aloft on the Wembley terraces. My original favourite was a felt tip tribute to Manchester United striker Stuart Pearson:
“Jesus Saves But Pearson Nets The Rebound”
However, some witty QPR supporters managed to surpass this at the 1982 FA Cup Final by referring to the midfield battle between their hero Tony Currie and Tottenham’s maestro Glenn Hoddle:
“Currie Gives Hoddle The Runs”
Then it was the traditional 3pm kick-off with live commentary by David Coleman on BBC1 and Brian Moore on ITV. The best line I remember came from Coleman at the 1974 Final:
“Keegan two, Heighway one, Liverpool three Newcastle none”.
We were also treated to goals from Scottish Cup Final at half-time and full-time. This was played simultaneously at 3pm and usually involved Celtic and Rangers.
Everyone would pick either of those clubs as their favourite Scottish team. Occasionally we might get a glimpse of someone else in the final such as Hibernian.
Commentary was by Archie Macpherson on BBC1 and Arthur Montford on ITV. Both men invariably yelled: “Sensational goal!”
I recollect how deep the stanchions were at Hampden Park in Glasgow so it appeared to take an absolute eternity for the ball to hit the back of the net after passing over the goal line.
Hampden also had square goalposts back in those days which seemed unique to me!
-
After the final whistle at Wembley, there were post-match interviews with the winning players who were always drinking from bottles of milk for some reason. Maybe it was a sponsorship arrangement.
After watching all of that, I would race out into the back garden around 6pm to personally re-enact the FA Cup Final goals with a plastic football.
It's the FA Cup Final tomorrow
— Tony Incenzo talkSPORT (@TonyIncenzo) May 13, 2022
As a kid, I would sit in front of the TV from 9am on Cup Final day watching all the build up
*Teams having breakfast at their hotels
*Road to Wembley goals
*Cup Final It's A Knockout
*Cup Final Question of Sport
*Team buses going to Wembley
Then on the Saturday evening, BBC1 would screen ‘How the Cup Was Won’ live from the victorious team’s post-match celebration dinner.
The next day, I would be back at the newsagents buying all the Sunday papers so that I could cut out and keep the FA Cup Final match reports.
Fantastic times! I don’t think modern football fans could ever imagine how big an occasion the FA Cup Final was back in the good old days.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to @TonyIncenzo*
