May 16, 1987: The FA Cup Final is held at the old Wembley Stadium in London. Coventry City of the Midlands, defeat Tottenham Hotspur of North London, a.k.a. Spurs, 3-2 in extra time.
Spurs were managed by David Pleat. Coventry were unusual in that they had, in effect, 2 managers: John Sillett was first team coach, and George Curtis was managing director. In North American sports, these jobs would be called "head coach" (or "manager" in baseball) and "general manager." In soccer, they are usually both held by the same man, as the "manager." Sillett and Curtis had barely saved Coventry from relegation the season before.
As far as I know, Coventry's Dave Bennett was the 1st black player ever to score in a Cup Final, doing so 9 minutes into the match, largely thanks to Ray Clemence, the former Liverpool goalkeeper now running out the string with Spurs, coming forward in a "goalkeeping howler." It canceled out Clive Allen's goal in the 2nd.
In the 23rd, former West Bromwich Albion star Cyrille Regis put the ball into the net, but the goal was disallowed by referee Neil Midgley, due to another Coventry player's push on a Spurs player. Gary Mabbutt scored in the 41st, catching Coventry goalie Steve Ogrizovic out of position, to make it 2-1 at the half. Keith Houchen equalized in the 63rd, with a diving header off an excellent Bennett cross. The game went to extra time.
In the 96th minute, Coventry midfielder Lloyd McGrath drove toward the Spurs net, and appeared to attempt a pass to Nick Pickering. Mabbutt attempted to block it, but blundered into an own goal. As ITV's Brian Moore said of Charlie George's extra-time goal for Arsenal against Clemence and Liverpool, 16 Finals earlier, "Clemence had no chance with that."
The game ended 3-2 to Coventry. Their Captain, Brian Kilcline, received the Cup from a representative of the royal family, Katharine, Duchess of Kent. (Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, unusually for her, attended the Final, with her husband, Denis.)
As usual, the game was broadcast by both the BBC and ITV. ITV's coverage was, as usual, led by Moore. The BBC's John Motson called this game "the most exciting FA Cup Final on which I've had the pleasure of commentating."
It is Coventry's only major trophy in their 134-year history. They also won the FA Youth Cup that season. In 2017, they won the EFL Trophy, competed for by 3rd and 4th division teams. It's also known as the Vertu Trophy -- formerly the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, the LDV Vans Trophy, the Auto Windscreens Shield, the Leyland DAF Cup, the Sherpa Van Trophy, the Freight Rover Trophy and the Checkatrade Trophy.
Coventry won the Football League's 2nd Division in 1967; its 3rd Division in 1936, 1964 and 2020; and the 3rd Division South Cup in 1936.
This match was the end of one of Spurs' better periods: They won the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982, and the UEFA Cup in 1984. Meanwhile, the other teams in London all seemed to be in down periods, including their North London arch-rivals, derided as "Boring, boring Arsenal."
Allen's goal was his 49th of the season, which remains a Tottenham club record. But he was not their biggest star. That was Glenn Hoddle, and Pleat had criticism for him. He ended up selling Hoddle to AS Monaco. Despite Monaco being a separate country, it is small enough that it can't have its own national league, so it competes in France's top division. With some irony, AS Monaco were managed by Arsène Wenger, who would later manage Arsenal.
But, at least, Hoddle would be able to compete in Europe, as English clubs could not, with the Heysel ban still in effect. Having finished 3rd, Spurs would have competed in the UEFA Cup for the 1987-88 season. Having finished 10th, but won the FA Cup, Coventry would have competed in the European Cup Winners' Cup, a tournament for national cup winners. (It was folded into the UEFA Cup in 1999, and that tournament is now the UEFA Europa League.)
As recently as March 4 in the 1986-87 season, Spurs had a chance at becoming the 1st English club to win the "Domestic Treble": The League title, the FA Cup and the League Cup, all in the same season. They ended up with nothing. (Not until Manchester City in 2019 would the achievement be accomplished.)
Spurs become only the 2nd team to lose the FA Cup Final on an own goal, following Blackburn Rovers, by Mick McGrath against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1960. Spurs did go on to become the 3rd team to win it on an own goal, in 1991.
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May 16, 1987 was a Saturday. American-style football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were between the Conference Finals and the Finals. There was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 92-87 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners, 10-8 at the Kingdome in Seattle. The M's scored 4 runs off Rick Rhoden in the 1st inning. The Yankees scored 5 in the 7th to take an 8-6 lead, but the M's came back with 4 off Cecilio Guante.
Ken Phelps hit 2 home runs for Seattle, possibly putting an idea in George Steinbrenner's head. Gary Ward and Joel Skinner homered for the Yankees. Dave Winfield entered the game as a pinch-hitter, stayed in, and went 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs. Don Mattingly went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-4 with a walk and 2 stolen bases.
* The New York Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants, 5-4 at Shea Stadium. Jeffrey Leonard hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning. making Jeff Innis a losing pitcher in relief of Rick Aguilera, who was usually a starter but pitched 8 innings. Lenny Dykstra homered for the Mets.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres, 9-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Don Carman pitched a 3-hit shutout. Tony Gwynn got 2 of those hits. Mike Schmidt went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10-8 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 13-0 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Charlie Liebrandt allowed just 2 baserunners: A single to Bill Schroeder in the 6th inning, and a walk to Rob Deer in the 7th. George Brett did not play, but in his usual place at 3rd base, Kevin Seitzer went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Frank White went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs. And Bo Jackson went 1-for-5 with 3 RBIs.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 2-1 at the Astrodome in Houston. Jamie Moyer outpitched Nolan Ryan. Moyer was 24, and would pitch in the major leagues until he was 49. Ryan was 40, and would pitch until he was 46.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the California Angels, 4-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Eddie Murray went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Cal Ripken went 2-for-5.
* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. Reggie Jackson, in his final season, drew a walk as a pinch-hitter.
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