May 27, 1982: A replay is held for the FA Cup Final at the original Wembley Stadium in West London. Five days earlier, Tottenham Hotspur of North London, who had won the Cup the season before, and Queens Park Rangers of West London, a team in Football League Division Two, had played to a 1-1 draw.
"Spurs" were without arguably their 2 best players, Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa. "Ossie" and "Ricky" were from Argentina, and the Falkland Islands War was ongoing, and they were unable to return to England.
For both the original Final and the replay, neither team wore its usual kit: Spurs wore all yellow with navy blue collars, as opposed to their usual white with navy blue collars; while QPR wore red shirts with black shorts, instead of their usual blue and white horizontal stripes, which gave them the nickname "The Super Hoops."
In the 6th, minute, QPR Captain Tony Currie brought Graham Roberts down in the penalty area, and a penalty was awarded. Glenn Hoddle, the other contender for the title of Spurs' best player, converted it. Spurs hung on the rest of the way, and won, 1-0. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, representing his cousin, Queen Elizabeth II, presents the Cup to Spurs Captain Steve Perryman.
Clive Allen was among the QPR players in these games. Spurs signed him in 1984. QPR's manager was Terry Venables, a former Spurs player. He would manage Spurs from 1987 to 1991.
Spurs went on to win the UEFA Cup in 1984. They shockingly lost the FA Cup Final in 1987, then won it under Venables in 1991. Through the 2022 Cup, they but haven’t appeared in a Final since, going 0-8 in Semifinals. But QPR would consider that to be an overwhelming success: Aside from the 1967 League Cup, the closest they’ve come to a major trophy is finishing 2nd in the Football League in 1976, and this Final. Since being relegated from the Premier League in 1996, they have spent just 3 seasons in the top flight.
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May 27, 1982 was a Thursday. Game 1 of the NBA Finals was played at The Spectrum in Philadelphia: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 124-117. The Lakers went on to win the title in 6 games.
The Stanley Cup was awarded 11 days earlier, as the New York Islanders swept the Vancouver Canucks in 4 straight games.
Football was out of season. There were 3 games played in Major League Baseball:
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers, 6-0 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Sammy Stewart pitched a 5-hit shutout, while Frank Tanana didn't get out of the 3rd inning. Eddie Murray went 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Rookie Cal Ripken Jr. played 3rd base, and went 1-for-5 with an RBI. He missed the next 2 games. The next one after that, he started his streak.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels, 4-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and Cecil Cooper each went 1-for-4. Molitor's hit and Coopoer's hit were home runs. Brian Downing hit one for the Angels. Reggie Jackson went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Rod Carew went 2-for-4 with an RBI. This turned out to be a preview of the American League Championship Series.
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-6 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, including his 432nd career home run.
