November 25, 1953: The Magnificent Magyars Stun England

Ferenc Puskás

November 25, 1953: Hungary defeat England, 6-3 at Wembley Stadium in West London, becoming the 1st team from outside the British Isles to defeat England on English soil.

Known as "the Golden Team," "the Magnificent Magyars" and "the Magical Magyars," from 1950 to 1956, they used an early form of what the Netherlands would later call "Total Football" to put up a record of 58 wins, 10 draws, and only 1 loss.

Manager Gusztáv Sebes built the team around forwards Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis and Nándor Hidegkuti; midfielders Zoltán Czibor and József Bozsik, and goalkeeper Gyula Grosics. Hidegkuti played his "club football" for MTK Hungária (now MTK Budapest), while the rest played for Budapest Honvéd.

There was no European Championship tournament for them to compete in until 1960. But they won the Gold Medal at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. In 1953, they won the Central European International Cup, competing against Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy and Switzerland.

They won this game in front of 105,000 stunned spectators at London's Wembley Stadium. England were captained by right half Billy Wright of Wolverhampton Wanderers; and also included the pair of Stanley Matthews (a.k.a. the Wizard of Dribble) and Stan Mortensen, who had led Blackpool F.C. to the FA Cup earlier in the year; and right back Alf Ramsey and outside left George Robb, who had led Middlesex team Tottenham Hotspur to the 1951 Football League title.

Hungary had shown England what modern football looked like. Ramsey took notes, and eventually managed Ipswich Town to the English Football League title, and became the England manager who won the World Cup.

"Eventually" would not, however, come soon. A rematch in Budapest the next year was even less of a contest, a 7-1 loss that is still the heaviest that England's national team have ever faced. Puskás, known as the Galloping Major for his service in the Hungarian Army, was now considered the best player in the world.

He would lead them to the Final of the 1954 World Cup, but would play hurt in that game, and West Germany gave them their 1 and only defeat in that stretch, which was ended by the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. The national team was out of the country at the time, and many did not return home for many years. Puskás starred for Spanish team Real Madrid, while Kocsis and Czibor starred for Real's arch-rivals, FC Barcelona.

Times changed. Democracy returned to Hungary in 1989, and the national stadium in Budapest was named for Puskás in 2002. He died in 2006, and the old stadium was demolished in 2017, replaced in 2019 by the Puskás Aréna.

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November 25, 1953 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 3 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, 96-84 at the Boston Garden.

* The Baltimore Bullets beat the Syracuse Nationals, 66-58 at the Baltimore Coliseum. The Bullets folded a year later, and were eventually replaced in 1963, by the team that moved to the D.C. area in 1973, and are now known as the Washington Wizards. Also in 1963, the Nats moved, becoming the Philadelphia 76ers.

* And the Milwaukee Hawks beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 64-58 at the Milwaukee Arena. In 1974, it was renamed the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena. The Hawks moved to St. Louis in 1958 and Atlanta in 1968; the Pistons, to Detroit in 1957.

There was 1 game in the NHL: The New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins, 5-3 at Madison Square Garden.