April 26, 1992: Leeds United defeated Sheffield United, 3-2 at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, Yorkshire. Combined with Manchester United losing 2-0 against Liverpool at Anfield in Liverpool, this gives Leeds the Football League title.
They had won the title under manager Don Revie in 1969 and 1974, and had now done it again under manager Howard Wilkinson.
Manchester United have many rivals, Leeds United among them. It is historic in nature, with Manchester representing the historic Duchy of Lancaster and Leeds the Duchy of York, hating each other going back to the Wars of the Roses in the mid-15th Century.
That carried over into the 1960s, when Revie built Leeds into a powerhouse, and Matt Busby, who had previously done so in the 1950s, was building Man U into a power again. Man U fans sang, to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Glory, Glory, Man United!" But, long before the fans of Manchester City, or Liverpool, or any other team, fans of Leeds sang, "Who the fuck are Man United?"
Both teams had gone into a down period. Alex Ferguson became Man United's manager in 1986, and had led them to the 1990 FA Cup. But it wasn't enough: Their fans wanted the League title. And, with the old Football League Division One giving way to the Premier League starting with the 1992-93 season, winning the last title of the old League would be considered special.
Leeds' Captain was Gordon Strachan, a Scottish midfielder who had previously played for Man U, and would later manage Glasgow team Celtic to Scottish League titles. Among their other stars wrere midfielders Gary McAllister, Gary Speed, David Batty and Chris Kamara; and French forward Eric Cantona, a man of wild mood swings but great talent.
Early in the season, on August 31, 1991, Leeds and Man U played at Old Trafford, in Salford, outside Manchester, and the game ended 1-1. They played each other again on December 29, at Elland Road in Leeds, and that game also ended 1-1.
Leeds and Man U were neck and neck for 1st place as Spring arrived, but Man U faltered: They lost first away, then home, to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest. And they had weak draws home to Wimbledon, away to Queens Park Rangers, home to Manchester City and away to Luton Town. On April 22, they lost away to West Ham United.
Finally, on April 26, Leeds crossed Yorkshire to play Sheff U, and won. Within minutes of their final whistle, they heard of Man U's loss at Anfield. "The Mighty Whites" were the Champions.
It got worse for Man U: The Liverpool fans, having won the League title 13 times since United's last one in 1967, taunted them, singing, "You'll never win the title! You'll never win the title! You'll never win the title!"
That burned Alex Ferguson up. The gum-chomping Scot was determined that nothing would stop him from winning the title in the new Premier League in 1993. He built a team around youth, with players known as "Fergie's Fledglings."
But the key came early in the 1992-93 season: Cantona got into one of his moods, and wanted out of Leeds. Ferguson purchased him from the defending Champions, and that changed the history of English soccer. Not only did United win the 1993 title, but they won 13 of the next 21 titles, surpassing Liverpool for most titles: As of the 2020-21 season, the count is Manchester United 20, Liverpool 19.
As of the 2021-22 season, Howard Wilkinson remains the last title-winning manager in the English top flight who was born and raised in England. A spending spree in the early 2000s wrecked Leeds' finances, and they were relegated in 2004, even falling to the 3rd division. They returned to the Premier League in 2020.
This wasn't just the end of the road for the old League: The Taylor Report, commissioned in the wake of the Hillsborough Disaster at the 1989 FA Cup Semifinal between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, demanded the conversion to all-seater stadiums, for safety reasons.
Thus, this was the last season of the old Stretford End at Manchester United's Old Trafford, and the last of the old, single-decked North Bank at Arsenal's Highbury, before each of these standing end-zone terraces was replaced with a double-decked all-seater stand. The infamous Shed at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge lasted 2 more seasons. The season before, 1991-92, the riotous Shelf at Tottenham's White Hart Lane had been replaced -- by luxury boxes.
Because of the specific redevelopment of the Highbury North Bank, to this day, there are Arsenal fans who claim that "football" has never been the same, and the 1989 and 1991 League titles won by George Graham matter more to them than any achievement won later by Arsène Wenger.
I don't blame them for treasuring the 1989 and 1991 titles, but wishing for a return to the "good old days" of crowded standing ends, great difficulty in reaching the restrooms, those all-standing ends "turning into restrooms" if you know what I mean, and occasional "offs" between hooligan firms just doesn't make sense to me.
*
April 26, 1992 was a Sunday. Baseball star Aaron Judge was born on this day. And these games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Yankee Stadium. A Roberto Kelly double in the 8th inning won it, making a winning pitcher of Steve Howe in relief of Mélido Pérez. Kevin Maas hit a home run. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.
* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Texas Rangers swept a doubleheader from the Boston Red Sox, 3-1 and 4-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 3-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-0 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Mark Gubicza went 7 innings, and 2 relievers completed the 4-hit shutout, outpitching Jack Morris. George Brett went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
* A doubleheader was split at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Milwaukee Brewers won the opener, 9-4. The Cleveland Indians won the nightcap, 3-1.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-6 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Joe Girardi singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Andre Dawson hit a home run. Barry Bonds went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-4 with a walk.
* The Montreal Expos beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Chris Haney pitched a 5-hit shutout.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4.
* The California Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-5 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4.
* And the San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Kevin Bass singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.
There were 4 games played in the NBA Playoffs:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Detroit Pistons, 89-88 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat, 120-90 at the Chicago Stadium.
* The Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 103-92 at the Delta Center (now the Vivint Arena) in Salt Lake City.
* And the Phoenix Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs, 119-107 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
And there were 4 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Minnesota North Stars, 3-0 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-4 at the Chicago Stadium. Yes, a building that opened in 1929 hosted Playoff games in the NBA and the NHL on the same day.
* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-2 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Winnipeg Jets, 8-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
No comments:
Post a Comment