Spain manager Pepe Villalonga with the trophy
June 21, 1964: The European Nations' Cup Final is held in Madrid, Spain, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, named for the president of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, whose home it was, and remains. The host nation defeat the Soviet Union, 2-1. The Soviets were the defending Champions, having won the tournament in 1960, beating Yugoslavia in the Final.
Spain were managed by José "Pepe" Villalonga, who had previously managed Real Madrid, leading them to the 1st 2 European Cups, in 1956 and 1957; and their local rivals, Atlético Madrid, leading them to the 1962 European Cup Winners' Cup. The Soviets were managed by Konstantin Beskov, who had both played for and managed Dynamo Moscow, and would later manage their arch-rivals, Spartak Moscow, to 2 Soviet Top League titles.
Spain wore dark blue, and the Soviets, as you might guess, wore red. This was fine for people in the stadium, not so much for people watching on television and in cinema newsreels. The way to tell them apart is that the Soviets had "CCCP" (Cyrillic alphabet for "SSSR," Russian for "USSR," Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) on their shirts, while Spain had only a small badge.
The game was 1-1 before some fans even reached their seats. Jesús María "Chus" Pereda, a midfielder formerly with Real Madrid, but now with their arch-rivals, FC Barcelona, scored in the 6th minute. But just 2 minutes later, the Soviets got a goal from Galimzyan Khusainov, a Tatar forward for Spartak Moscow.
The game remained 1-1, with the Soviets' Lev Yashin and Spain's José Ángel Iribar holding off all attackers. Iribar was a Basque who played for Athletic Bilbao, and was known as El Chopo, "The Poplar." Yashin, known for his dark hair, black kit, and dexterity as Chornyy Pauk, "The Black Spider," starred for Dynamo Moscow. In 1963, he was awarded the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) as world player of the year, and he remains the only goalkeeper ever to receive it. Spain also had a player named Luis Suárez, who starred for Italian club Inter Milan, and had no connection besides name to the later Barcelona and Liverpool star from Uruguay.
In the 84th minute, Real Zaragoza star Marcelino Martínez broke through and scored, to give Spain the victory, in front of 79,115 fans, most of them ecstatic over the home win.
In spite of Spain's Fascist dictatorship under Francisco Franco, and the Soviets' devotion to Communism, there was no controversy about this match. Franco didn't seem to care about sports at all. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev cared enough to use Soviet athletic achievements as propaganda, but not to the extent that Adolf Hitler did when hosting the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. So there were no political overtones in either the previews or the aftermath of the match. Nor was the match itself the subject of any complaints by the Soviets: Referee Arthur Holland, an Englishman, was not criticized for his officiating.
This would be Spain's last major tournament title until Euro 2008 -- which would be the first of 3 straight that they would win, followed by the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
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June 21, 1964 was a Sunday. This was also the day that members of the Ku Klux Klan murdered 3 men working to register black voters as part of "Mississippi Freedom Summer." I have a separate entry for that event.
As was often the case in that era, Sundays often featured baseball doubleheaders. These games were played:
* The Philadelphia Phillies swept a doubleheader from the New York Mets, 6-0 and 8-2 at Shea Stadium. In the opener, Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game for the Phillies, the 1st perfect game in the National League since 1880. It was Father's Day, and Bunning was already the father of 6 children. He would eventually have 9. It made him only the 2nd pitcher ever to pitch a no-hitter in each League: He had previously pitched one in the American League, for the Detroit Tigers in 1958. I have a separate entry for this event, too.
* The New York Yankees had one of their longest days, but a successful one, sweeping the Chicago White Sox, 2-0 and 2-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. In the opener, Jim Bouton pitched 3-hit shutout ball over 7 2/3rds innings, then Pete Mikkelsen went the rest of the way, completing a 4-hit shutout. Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard hit home runs.
The nightcap went 17 innings. With 1 out in the top of the 17th, Héctor López doubled of Don Mossi. White Sox manager Al López (no relation to Héctor) ordered that Howard be intentionally walked. But Mossi unintentionally walked Phil Linz to load the bases. Having no more available pinch-hitters, Yankee manager Yogi Berra sent pitcher Bill Stafford up to bat for himself. He hit a grounder to short, and future Met hero Al Weis bobbled it, allowing to Héctor to score. Stafford finished the South Siders off, getting the win. Al Downing had started, going 12 innings.
The games took a combined 26 innings to play, but, in time, just 6 hours and 42 minutes. To really show how times have changed, over those 26 innings, the Yankees used just 5 pitchers, although Mikkelsen pitched in both games. The Yankees ended up beating the White Sox for the Pennant by only 1 game, so this day may have decided the title.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-6 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4 with a walk.
* The Chicago Cubs swept the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 and 7-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Ernie Banks went 1-for-8 with a walk and 2 RBIs, and Roberto Clemente went 0-for-8.
* A doubleheader was split at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 1st game, 4-2. Sandy Koufax outpitched Bob Purkey. The Cincinnati Reds won the 2nd game, 2-1. Over the 2 games, Frank Robinson went 3-for-8. Pete Rose only appeared as a pinch-hitter in the 1st game, and did not reach base.
* The Houston Astros swept the Milwaukee Braves, 5-2 and 5-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Rusty Staub hit 2 home runs in the 1st game. Bob Bruce outpitched Warren Spahn. Ken Johnson won the 2nd game, and helped his own cause with a homer. Hank Aaron went 2-for-9 with 3 RBIs, but none was on a home run.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-2 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Al Kaline went 0-for-3, but drew a walk. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-4.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Willie Mays and Hal Lanier hit home runs for the Giants, while the newly-acquired Lou Brock did so for the Cardinals. Gaylord Perry pinch-hit for Giants starter Jack Sanford in the 6th, and had a sacrifice bunt. He then pitched the rest of the way for the save.
* The Washington Senators swept the Kansas City Athletics, 13-2 and 5-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.
* And the Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels groundshared with the Dodgers until their stadium in suburban Anaheim could open.
