May 11, 1996: Knocking Liverpool Off Their Perch

Captains Eric Cantona (left) and John Barnes

meet for the pregame coin toss

May 11, 1996: The FA Cup Final is held at the old Wembley Stadium in London. It was, in a way, the end of an era: Ian Rush made his final appearance for Liverpool, while Steve Bruce (dropped) and Lee Sharpe (unused substitute) never played for Manchester United again.

It was also, in a way, a continuation of an era that began in 1993, when United won the League for the 1st time in 26 years, ending Liverpool's dominance. United manager Alex Ferguson promised his team's fans he would "knock Liverpool off their fucking perch." It took him 7 seasons, but he did it, and kept going, into this game -- and well beyond it.

It was also, in a way, the start of a new era: The Liverpool players turned up in cream-coloured Emporio Armani suits, outlandish striped ties, and white Gucci shoes, a way of showing off that they were now paid well enough to make spectacles of themselves off the pitch, in a way that only a few had before them (including, infamously, the 1960s Man U star George Best). With the Spice Girls rising to fame, Liverpool soon became known as the "Spice Boys."

Left to right: David James, Stan Collymore,

Jamie Redknapp and Neil Ruddock

But when the game began, the Liverpool players instead wore not their usual home red shirts (as United also traditionally wear red, and did so in this game), but a hideous green & white quarter pattern. Forget the white suits: While all people with taste hate Manchester United, Liverpool deserved to lose for those uniforms alone.

The game was scoreless until the 85th minute, when Eric Cantona scored to give Man U the 1-0 win. Ferguson thus became the 1st manager to win the League and Cup "Double" twice.

Arsène Wenger would join Fergie as the only managers to win 2 Doubles, as Arsenal have joined Man U as the only club to win 3 Doubles. But Fergie would later win a 3rd Double, which would also be England's only European Treble to date. (UPDATE: Manchester City won one in 2023.)

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May 11, 1996, like all FA Cup Final days, was a Saturday. American-style football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The New York Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls, 102-99 in overtime at Madison Square Garden, despite 46 points from Michael Jordan. The Bulls went on to win the series, anyway. And the Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs, 105-75 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

There were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers, 7-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, and advanced to the NHL Eastern Conference Finals. And the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1 at the McNichols Arena in Denver. This was Game 5, and the Avs won the series in Game 6.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 7-5 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Harold Baines hit a home run off John Wetteland in the bottom of the 9th to win the game. Gerald Williams hit a home run for the Yankees. Rookie Derek Jeter went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-6 at Shea Stadium. The Mets almost Metsed it up, leading 6-0 after 3 innings, and the Cubs tied it in the 9th. But Rico Brogna hit a hme run in the bottom of the 9th to win it.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 10-9 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The Expos trailed 8-2 at the 7th Inning Stretch, scored 2 runs in each of the next 3 innings, and sent the game to extra innings. Each team scored a run in the 12th inning. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Jim Dougherty began the bottom of the 13th by walking Mike Lansing. He stole 2nd base. Henry Rodríguez was intentionally walked to set up the double play. But Moisés Alou singled Lansing home with the winning run.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies, 11-0 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Al Leiter pitched the 1st no-hitter in Marlins history, aided by 6 runs of support in the 1st inning.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-8 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Sandy Martínez singled Juan Samuel home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 12-7 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Barry Bonds and Matt Williams hit home runs for the Giants.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 1-0 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Joey Hamilton went the distance for the Reds, allowing only 1 run on 3 hits. But 4 Pirate pitchers, starting with John Smiley with 4 hits over 6 2/3rds innings, pitched a 5-hit shutout. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, which came when he singled Roberto Alomar home with the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-7 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 6-5 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 12-5 at the Oakland Coliseum. Terry Steinbach went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and 4 RBIs.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals, 11-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-5. Jay Buhner went 4-for-4 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs.