May 14, 1988: Of all the Finals played in the tournament known as the Football Association Cup, the 1988 edition is usually considered the biggest upset.
Liverpool Football Club were the defining team of the last 15 years of English football (soccer). They had just once again become Champions of the Football League Division One, and were going for their 2nd League & Cup "Double" in the last 3 seasons.
In contrast, Wimbledon Football Club, in the shadow of the nearby tennis tournament, had never even gotten into the Football League (English soccer's top 4 divisions) until 1977. They were promoted into the top flight for the 1st time in 1986, and finished 6th in 1986-87. In 1987-88, they finished 7th, and advanced to the FA Cup Final.
And their players' character was a match for the situation. Managed by former Coventry City and Arsenal star Bobby Gould, they included goalkeeper and Captain Dave Beasant, forward Justin Fashanu, diminutive midfielder Dennis Wise, Northern Irish midfielder Lawrence "Lawrie" Sanchez, and Welsh midfielder Vinnie Jones. Wise was one of the dirtiest players of the era. Jones might have been the dirtiest.
The match, at the old Wembley Stadium in London, was expected to be a wipeout in Liverpool's favor. It wasn't. Sanchez tallied for the Dons in the 36th minute. In the 60th minute, Wimbledon's Clive Goodyear was charged with a foul in the penalty area on John Aldridge, and Liverpool were awarded a penalty -- which the replay showed was the wrong call. Aldridge took the penalty himself, but Beasant stopped it, becoming the 1st goalkeeper to save a penalty in the FA Cup Final.
Incredibly, referee Brian Hill did not issue a single card, yellow or red. When he blew his whistle for full-time, BBC announcer John Motson gave Wimbledon the name by which they would be forever remembered: "The Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club!" Beasant became the 1st goalie to captain the winning side since 1875.
This would be the only major trophy that Wimbledon FC would ever win. Beasant went on record saying that other teams wanted some of Wimbledon's edge, and began buying up the players. Before the next season started, Beasant himself had been purchased by Newcastle United. And Lawrie Cunningham, who had joined with Brendan Batson and Cyrille Regis to form West Bromwich Albion's "Three Degrees" 10 years earlier, was sold to Spanish team Ray Vallecano.
In 1989, Jones, the nasty symbol of the team, was sold to Leeds United, the "dirty" team of the previous generation. Crystal Palace bought both centrebacks, Andy Thorn in 1989 and Eric Young in 1990. Also in 1990, Wise, the tiny terror who tore through League midfielders, was sold to Chelsea; and right back Goodyear was sold to Brentford.
In 1992, left back Terry Phelan was sold to Manchester City, forward Alan Cork was sold to Sheffield United. In 1993, forward Terry Gibson was sold to Peterborough United. In 1994, forward Justin Fashanu was sold to Aston Villa, Sanchez was sold to Swindon Town, and centreback John Scales was sold to Liverpool.
Wimbledon fell to 12th in 1989. They got as high as 6th in 1994, but were relegated in 2000, finished 8th in the 2nd tier in 2001, 9th in 2002, and 10th in 2003. The team was in financial meltdown, and entered administration. The team finished 24th and dead last in 2004, relegated to the 3rd division. It was bought by new owners, who moved them 60 miles northwest, to Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. A new team, AFC Wimbledon, took the place of the old one.
Funny thing: Wimbledon's 1988 jersey sponsor, Carlsberg beer, later sponsored Liverpool's.
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May 14, 1988 was, like all FA Cup Final days, a Saturday. This was also the day of a drunken-driving crash that killed 27 people on a church bus in Kentucky. I have a separate entry for this event.
These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 6-2 at Yankee Stadium. Tommy John, just short of his 45th birthday, won the 279th of what turned out to be 288 games. Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield each hit a home run, while Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4.
* The New York Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Mike Krukow outpitched Ron Darling.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Roger Clemens pitched a 3-hit shutout.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Bob Welch pitched a 5-hit shutout, outpitching Mike Boddicker. Mark McGwire and Dave Parker hit home runs. Eddie Murray went 1-for-3 with a walk. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4. The Orioles fell to 5-30 on the season, which started 0-21.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-0 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Les Straker pitched a 4-hit shutout, outpitching Frank Tanana.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 1-for-4 with a walk. Paul Molitor went 1-for-5.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. This game went 19 innings, before Ken Griffey Sr. doubled home Dion James and Dale Murphy.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. George Brett went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos, 3-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn did not play.
* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-4.
Football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls, 101-79 at the Chicago Stadium. The Bulls and Michael Jordan, who led all scorers, albeit with just 24 points, were not yet ready to rise to the top of the Eastern Conference. The Pistons were. And the Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks, 107-105 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas. Neither of these teams was ready to dethrone the Los Angeles Lakers as the top team in the Western Conference.
There was 1 game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: Game 7 of the Prince of Wales Conference Finals. The Boston Bruins beat the New Jersey Devils, 6-2. The Devils had won Game 2 in Boston, but the Bruins had taken Game 3 at the Meadowlands to regain home-ice advantage. After 5 very bad seasons to start their existence, the Devils had put together a fine season in Season 6. They were 5 games away from winning the Stanley Cup. But they would not get closer than that for another 7 years.
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