December 23, 1978: Arsenal's Lampoon Christmas Vacation

Liam Brady, after scoring that goal

December 23, 1978: A North London Derby is played at White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club host their arch-rivals, Arsenal FC.

Arsenal were by far the more historically successful team, while Tottenham -- or "Spurs" -- were the team whose fans had a chip on their shoulders. I've often compared the relationship to that between New York's baseball teams, but that's a bit unfair -- to the Mets. The Mets began play in 1962, a year after Spurs won their most recent Football League title. They've won the FA Cup (England's national soccer tournament) 6 times since then, but the last of those was in 1991, and they haven't even reached a Final since.

A foolish backpass by Spurs' John Pratt fell into the path of Alan Sunderland, allowing him to score, just 43 seconds into the game. Spurs never got going, even their much-heralded midfielder Glenn Hoddle making the kind of mistakes that had John Motson, calling the game for Match of the Day on the BBC, saying, "Oh, dear me!" In the 38th minute, Sunderland scored again.

This Arsenal team was known as the Irish Connection.  Midfielder Liam Brady and forward Frank Sfapleton had grown up together in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland. Manager Terry Neill was from Belfast, Northern Ireland, as were right back and team Captain Pat Rice, the last holdover from Arsenal’s team that won "The Double," both the Football League and the FA Cup, in 1971; left back Sammy Nelson, a reserve on that 1971 team; and goalkeeper Pat Jennings, once a star for Spurs, but they let him go, and Arsenal picked him up for free.

Just after the hour, Brady picked up the ball, dribbled down the touch line with the most famous left foot in Arsenal history, got nearly to the corner, and sent a hellacious cross into the box. Stapleton was waiting, threw himself forward, and sent a diving header into the net.

It was 3-0 to The Arsenal. With Christmas just 2 days away, the 5,000 or so Arsenal fans in White Hart Lane began to sing:

Jingle bells, jingle bells

jingle all the way!

Oh, what fun it is to see

The Arsenal win away!

Just 4 minutes later, there was a scramble on front of Spurs' net. Brady began one of the most fondly-remembered sequences in Arsenal history, sliding in to steal the ball cleanly, then dribbling while looking for a shot, finding one, and sending it curling in. 4-0. Motson said, "Look at that! Oh, look at that! What a goal by Brady!" Brady ran over to celebrate in front of a group of Spurs fans, and there was nothing he could do, for it was 4-0 to The Arsenal.

Sunderland really wanted a 3rd goal. He had several attempts that came to nothing. Only 1 Arsenal player had ever scored a "hat trick" against Spurs: Ted Drake, in 1934. (Only 1 Tottenham player has ever done it against Arsenal: Terry Dyson in 1961.) Finally, in the 82nd minute, he got a breakaway, and got his 3rd. In stoppage time, Stapleton got the ball and got loose, and launched a shot that hit the corner of the goal. Motson said, "Well! That could have been six!" Instead, it ended Tottenham 0-5 Arsenal.

The BBC's postgame graphic

(UPDATE: In 2025, Eberechi Eze became the 3rd Arsenal player to score a hat trick against Tottenham.)

Arsenal fans who were there claimed that, on the way out, Spurs hooligans were assaulting anyone they saw wearing red, even if they hadn't been to the game. But Arsenal were on their way to a Merry Christmas (or, as they would say in England, a Happy Christmas) and that season's FA Cup; while Spurs were on their way to another trophyless season.

Soon, Spurs signed 2 superstars from Argentina's recent World Cup win: Osvaldo "Ossie" Ardiles and Ricardo "Ricky" Villa. This later led to a joke among Arsenal fans: Alan Sunderland never played for Sunderland, Ricky Villa never played for Aston Villa, and Danny Shittu never played for Tottenham. (A few years earlier, Tottenham had a player named Mike England, but he was from Wales, and played his international football for Wales. In the 2000s and 2010s, there was a player named Stephen Ireland who played his international football for the Republic of Ireland.)

*

December 23, 1978 was a Saturday. Venezuelan baseball player Víctor Martínez and Canadian actress-model Estella Warren were born.

Baseball was out of season. Although NFL Playoff games are usually played on Saturdays, it didn't happen this time. There were 3 college football bowl games played that day:

* Number 14 Texas beat Number 13 Maryland, 42-0 in the Sun Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in El Paso, Texas.

* Number 16 Pittsburgh lost to North Carolina State, 30-17 in the Tangerine Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Orlando.

* And Number 18 Missouri beat Louisiana State (LSU), 20-15 in the Liberty Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Memphis.

There were 6 games played in the NBA that day:

* New York Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets, 129-107 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 109-91 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Saints, 127-103 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons, 130-126 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Kansas City Kings beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 122-117 in overtime at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Washington Bullets, 114-109 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 7 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, 9-4 at the Nassau Coliseum. Bryan Trottier scored 5 goals and 3 assists.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-4 at the Boston Garden.

* The Detroit Red Wings and the Washington Capitals played to a tie, 2-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-1 at the Checkerdome, as the St. Louis Arena was then known.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-0 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

* And the Atlanta Flames and the Colorado Rockies were not scheduled.

And there were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association. The New England Whalers beat the Birmingham Bulls, 4-3 at the Springfield Civic Center (now the MassMutual Center) in Springfield, Massachusetts, where they were playing during repairs on the Hartford Civic Center. And the Cincinnati Stingers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 6-2 at the Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center).

May 12, 1979: The Five-Minute Final

Pat Jennings (left) and Pat Rice

May 12, 1979: The Football Association Cup Final is held at the old Wembley Stadium in West London. Two of English soccer's most storied clubs face each other, although their stories have been slim in recent years.

Manchester United Football Club had won the Football League Division One in 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965 and 1967, but not since. They had won the European Cup, the tournament now known as the UEFA Champions League, in 1968, the 1st English team to do so. And they had won the FA Cup in 1963. But their only major trophy since their 1967 League title was the 1975 FA Cup.

Arsenal Football Club, of North London, were the dominant team from the early 1930s to the early 1950s, then fell off, before reviving in the late 1960s. They won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the tournament now known as the UEFA Europa League, 1970. In 1971, they won both the League and the FA Cup, known as "doing The Double." But they underachieved, losing the FA Cup Final in 1972, finishing 2nd in 1973, and then getting old. A rebuild had gotten them back to the Cup Final in 1978, but they lost.

Now, they were back in it, managed by Terry Neill, who had played centreback for them in the 1960s, when Dave Sexton was an assistant manager to Bertie Mee. Sexton had left Arsenal, replaced by former star right back Don Howe. Howe had left Arsenal after the Double, but had returned at Neill's request. Now, Sexton was managing United.

It had been 9 days since the Conservative Party had won the general election, elevating their Leader, Margaret Thatcher, to become the country's 1st female Prime Minister, and its most conservative in decades. A lot of people were unhappy at the policies she was already trying. Punk rock and its angry style were everywhere. The Sex Pistols had broken up, but The Clash had taken their place as the biggest band in the country. Tempers were flaring around the country, and "football" crowds were no exception. One banner at Wembley read, "GET THAT BLOODY CAMERA OFF MY BANNER."

Britain's Irish community were particularly unhappy with Thatcher. And both teams had plenty of history with Irish players. Right back Jimmy Nicholl and midfielder Sammy McIlroy were from Northern Ireland, and started for United. So did goalkeeper Gary Bailey, an Englishman of Irish descent; and centreback Gordon McQueen and forward Joe Jordan, both natives of Scotland but of Irish descent.

Arsenal's team was known as "The Irish Connection." Midfielder Liam Brady and forward Frank Stapleton were considered their 2 best players, and had grown up together in Dublin. Centreback David O'Leary had been born in London to Irish parents, and also grew up in Dublin. Manager Neill, goalkeeper Pat Jennings, right back and team Captain Pat Rice and left back Sammy Nelson were all natives of Northern Ireland's capital of Belfast.

Since both teams usually wore red at home, Arsenal wore their "change strip" of yellow shirts with blue trim. Midfielder Brian Talbot scored for Arsenal in the 12th minute. Stapleton headed in a goal in the 43rd minute. As late as the 85th minute, it looked like Arsenal would cruise to a 2-0 win.

But in the 86th, McQueen scored for United. And in the 88th, McIlroy scored an equalizer. Just like that, it was 2-2. United had snatched a tied score out of the jaws of defeat. Interviewed for Arsenal's official video history in 2003, Neill said, "I'm still waiting for United to score their 3rd goal!" And Brady said, "We all thought it would be extra time, which was the last thing we wanted."

There would be no extra time. Less than a minute after play restarted after McQueen's goal, Brady dribbled up the left wing, like he had so many times before. And, like he had so many times before, he sent in a sensational cross. It was taken by Alan Sunderland.

Then 25 years old, and from Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, Sunderland was one of the few white men who could grow a serious Afro. He came to Arsenal from Birmingham-area team Wolverhampton Wanderers, helping them win the 1974 League Cup. He remains 1 of only 2 Arsenal players to score 3 goals in a game against Tottenham Hotspur, their North London arch-rivals. And nobody remembers, because, in the same game, Brady scored one of the most sensational goals in team history.

Five months later, there he was, in the 89th minute of the FA Cup Final. He side-footed a shot past Bailey, for the game-winner. Arsenal sweated out stoppage time, and were 3-2 winners. The game became known as "The Five-Minute Final." The Gunners walked up the 39 steps to the Royal Box, and Captain Rice received the FA Cup from Charles, Prince of Wales.

Alan Sunderland

Despite their Cup win, Arsenal only finished 7th in the League. In 1980, they reached their 3rd straight FA Cup Final, but lost to East London team West Ham United. Four days later, they played in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final, for which they qualified by winning the previous season's FA Cup. Having famously won the Semifinal by beating Juventus -- making them the 1st team to beat Juve in their home base of Turin, Italy in any European tournament in 5 years -- they lost the Final on penalties to Spanish team Villareal.

They had been to 4 cup finals in 3 years, but won only 1. And the 1979-80 season would be the most frustrating in Arsenal history. They finished 4th in the League. Due to having to play several replays in their cup ties, and making it all the way to 2 cup finals, they played 70 games that season, a club record to this day. Also still a club record, Talbot played in 69 of them. Neill said, "We played 70 games that season. Magnificent season. We ended up winning nothing."

They lost Brady to Juventus, as Italy's league, Serie A, changed their rules to allow foreign players after several years of not allowing them. At his last home game, fans chanted, "Brady, Brady, please don't go!" But Italian teams -- especially Juve, owned by the family that owns Italy's biggest company, automaker Fiat -- could pay far more money than any British team.

Things actually got better for Arsenal, and then they got a lot worse. In 1981, they finished 3rd, their best finish in 8 years, higher than they'd ever finished with Brady. But Stapleton, who'd famously turned Manchester United down to sign with Arsenal in 1972, now went the other way, signing with United. They had just fired Sexton, replacing him with Ron Atkinson.

In 1983, having fired Neill and replaced him as manager with Howe, Arsenal advanced to the Semifinals of both domestic cups, the FA Cup and the Football League Cup, and lose to Man U in both, with Stapleton scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup. He helped them win the FA Cup in 1983 and 1985.

Starting in 1986, Arsenal would rebuild under George Graham, who'd starred on their 1971 Double team, and won the League Cup in 1987, the League in 1989 and 1991, and both domestic cups in 1993. Also in 1986, Alex Ferguson would come down from Scotland and manage United, and in 1993 he led them to their 1st League title in 26 years. The rivalry between the teams would be reborn, and get hotter than ever.

Alan Sunderland played at Highbury from 1977 to 1984. He retired to the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, and still lives there.

Given that there's a team in the North-East of England named Sunderland, and a team in Birmingham named Aston Villa, Arsenal fans, to mock Tottenham, who won the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982 thanks in part to Argentine star Ricky Villa, came up with a joke: "Alan Sunderland never played for Sunderland, Ricky Villa never played for Villa, and Danny Shittu never played for Tottenham." (Shittu, born in Nigeria and raised in London's East End, and was a good centreback. He played for several teams, including London teams Charlton athletic, Queens Park Rangers and Millwall, and suburban team Watford. But never for Tottenham.)

*

May 12, 1979 was a Saturday. American football was out of season. The NHL would start the Stanley Cup Finals the next day. The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in 5 games. The NBA's Conference Finals were underway, but neither the Eastern nor the Western Conference Finals played on this day. The Seattle SuperSonics would win the title, beating the Washington Bullets in the Finals, reversing the result of the previous season's Finals.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 6-5 at Yankee Stadium. In the off-season after winning their 2nd straight World Series and their 3rd straight American League Pennant, the Yankees had signed 2 of baseball's longest-playing veteran pitchers, Luis Tiant and Jim Kaat. Tiant started this game, but ran out of gas in the 7th inning. Kaat relieved him, and blew the save in the 8th, having to be replaced by Dick Tidrow.

But Thurman Munson led off the bottom of the 9th with a single, and was doubled home with the winning run by Graig Nettles. Chris Chambliss hit a home run, and Reggie Jackson went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at San Diego Stadium. (That stadium would be renamed Jack Murphy Stadium in 1980 and Qualcomm Stadium in 1997.) Dave Winfield went 1-for-4.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell singled as a pinch-hitter. Johnny Bench did not play.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Robin Yount went 0-for-4.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. George Brett went 2-for-4 with a home run.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-0 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-6 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* A doubleheader was split at the Astrodome in Houston. The Houston Astros won the opener, 11-3. The Chicago Cubs won the nightcap, 2-0. Ken Holtzman pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Steve Garvey hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th to tie it. In the top of the 11th, Andre Dawson hit a home run to give the Expos a 3-2 lead. But Davey Lopes led off the bottom of the 9th with a home run, and the Dodgers rallied, with Dusty Baker singling home Bill Russell with the winning run.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Pete Rose went 0-for-4.