April 26, 1992: Leeds United Win the Last Division One Title

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.

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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.

April 24, 1912: Barnsley Win the Cup -- In the 238th Minute

April 24, 1912: It takes nearly 2 full games, plus extra time in both, to determine the winner of the FA Cup Final.

Barnsley Football Club of South Yorkshire took the pitch against West Bromwich Albion of the West Midlands, at the Crystal Palace stadium in South London on April 20. (The stadium was not connected to the team known as Crystal Palace Football Club.)

Barnsley had reached the Final in 1910, losing to Newcastle United. West Brom had previously won the Cup in 1888 and 1892.

The game went a full 90 minutes, but nobody scored. It went to extra time, and still, nobody scored. A replay was ordered for 4 days later. It was the 3rd season in a row in which the Final went to a replay.

The replay was set for Bramall Lane in Sheffield, home stadium of Sheffield United. Again, they went the full 90 minutes without scoring. Again, it looked like they would go the full 120 minutes without scoring. Finally, in the 118th of 120 minutes -- the 238th minute of Final play -- Harry Tufnell, a 26-year-old inside forward from Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, scored on a solo run from the halfway line. Barnsley had won, 1-0.

Harry Tufnell

Barnsley, managed by Arthur Fairclough and captained by Archie Taylor, had won the FA Cup. It remains the only major trophy the "Tykes" have ever won. Their next-biggest trophy is the 2016 English Football League Trophy, open to teams from the 3rd and 4th divisions of the Football League (currently known as League One and League Two).

West Brom went on to win the Football League title in 1920. They would win the FA Cup again in 1931, 1954 and 1968. They also won the League Cup in 1965.

Fairclough died in 1947, Tufnell in 1959, and Taylor in 1966. Outside forward Jimmy Moore was the last survivor of the 1912 Tykes, living until 1972.

Prior to a rule change that set up penalty kicks after extra time if the game ended level after extra time, the FA Cup Final went to a replay in 1875, 1876, 1886, 1901, 1902, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1970, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1990 and 1993. It went to extra time without needing a replay in 1877, 1883, 1920, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1985, 1987 and 1989.

It's gone to extra time without needing penalty kicks in 2007, 2014 and 2016. And it's gone to extra time and penalty kicks in 2005, 2006 and 2012.

The 1970 Final, with Chelsea beating Leeds United, and the 1993 Final, with Arsenal beating Sheffield Wednesday, remain the only Finals other than 1912 to require a replay and then extra time.

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April 24, 1912 was a Wednesday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Highlanders lost to the Philadelphia Athletics, 7-0 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Eddie Plank pitched a 4-hit shutout. Eddie Collins went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Amos Strunk and Stuffy McInnis each had 3 hits. The Highlanders became the New York Yankees the next season.

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-4 at National League Park (later Baker Bowl) in Philadelphia. Rube Marquard outpitched Grover Cleveland Alexander.

* The Boston Braves beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 3-1 at Washington Park in Brooklyn. The next season, the Dodgers moved into Ebbets Field.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2 at the new Fenway Park in Boston. Walter Johnson outpitched Eddie Cicotte. Tris Speaker went 1-for-4.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Naps, 5-4 at League Park in Cleveland. Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, the manager and 2nd baseman for whom the home team was named, went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Shoeless Joe Jackson went 2-for-4. The Naps became the Cleveland Indians in 1915, and the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-5 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Ty Cobb went 2-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs were not scheduled.

* And the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds were rained out at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on May 31. The Pirates won, 6-2. Honus Wagner did not play.

February 14, 1880: The 1st Black Footballer

February 14, 1880: Andrew Watson is selected to play left back for the Glasgow Select Team, a soccer team representing Glasgow, Scotland in their annual match against a team representing Sheffield, England, at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, home of Sheffield United F.C. (Football Club). Glasgow won, 1-0.

This made Watson the 1st black man to be selected for a "football match" of such a high profile, anywhere in the world. I've chosen this date to tell his story, since, while checks of the historical record show that he appears to have been the first black man to play the sport at any level, anywhere in the world, the date on which he first did so is not so clear.

Other details of his life are clearer. He was born on May 24, 1856 in Demerara, in what was then British Guiana, in South America. Since 1966, the land has been the independent nation known as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Sadly, it is now best known as the location of the Jonestown Massacre, perpetrated by the Rev. Jim Jones against his followers in 1978.

He and a sister were the children of a wealthy Scottish sugar planter and a Guianese woman. Their father took them to London, and they inherited his fortune when he died in 1869. Andrew entered the University of Glasgow, where he studied mathematics, engineering and natural philosophy, and discovered football, playing both right back and left back as the situation required.

This would place his debut, and thus of footballing by black people, at sometime in 1875, 12 years after the founding of England's Football Association, 4 years after the founding of the FA Cup, 3 years after the 1st international match between England and Scotland, and 2 years after the founding of the Scottish Football Association -- but 10 years before Arthur Wharton, a goalkeeper for Darlington F.C., became the 1st black player known to have played professionally in England; 13 years before the founding of England's Football League, and 15 years before the founding of the 1st Scottish Football League.

The fact that some men of color may have passed for white, and are thus not known to have been black men achieving "firsts," complicates the question of historical distinctions.

Watson went on to play 3 games for the Scotland national side, and for Glasgow-based clubs Parkgrove F.C. and Queen's Park F.C., whom he helped win 3 Scottish Cups. He then went to England, for work reasons, playing for Swifts of Slough, Berkshire; and Corinthians of West London, before returning to Queen's Park in 1885. From 1887 until his retirement in 1892, he played for Bootle, in Liverpool.

He was married, was widowed, and married again, having a son and a daughter with each wife. He retired from his business in 1910, and died on March 8, 1921, in London, at the age of 64.

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February 14, 1880 was a Saturday. There were no scores in North American sports on this historic day: Baseball and football were out of season, professional hockey did not exist, and basketball would not exist in any form for almost another 12 years.