December 11, 1968: England Football's 1st Black Player

December 11, 1968: The England national football team play Bulgaria to a 1-1 draw, at the old Wembley Stadium in London. Georgi Asparuhov of Levski Sofia scored for Bulgaria in the 32nd minute, while Geoff Hurst of West Ham United equalized for England in the 36th. (Asparuhov was killed in a car crash in 1971, while still an active player. Levski's stadium is named for him.)

In the 80th minute, right back Keith Newton of Blackburn Rovers was substituted, substitutions having recently been legalized. His replacement was Paul Reaney of Leeds United. This made Reaney the 1st black player for the England senior team.

Usually, that distinction is credited to Viv Anderson of Nottingham Forest, also a right back, in England's 1-0 win over Czechoslovakia on November 29, 1978. Anderson is, however, the 1st black player to start for England.

Paul Reaney was born on October 22, 1944 in Fulham, West London. He was the right back on the Leeds United teams that won the League in 1969 and 1974, and the FA Cup in 1972. As he was mixed-race, and comparatively light-skinned, he faced little abuse, because most fans thought he was white. Although the Yorkshire club were known as "Dirty Leeds" for their foul play, Reaney was not known as a dirty player.

Leeds had previously made a gesture toward advancement for black players in 1961, by signing Albert Johanneson (1940-1995), from South Africa. The left winger made the senior team in 1963, and in 1965, he became the 1st black player to appear in the FA Cup Final, which Leeds lost to Liverpool. Reaney also played in that game. While black players would become more common in England in the 1970s, it would take until the 1980s before teams would find success with racially integrated lineups.

A broken leg in 1970, and Newton's development into a top player at Everton, meant that in-game England opportunities for Reaney were limited. His injury kept him out of both the FA Cup Final and the World Cup in 1970, and he only made 2 more appearances for England. After retiring in 1981, he became an athletic counselor at a children's camp in Derbyshire.

Frank Soo (1914-1991), an inside left for Stoke City, and a Derbyshire native of Chinese descent, was the first player of an ethnic minority background to represent England, doing so 9 times, though these were all in unofficial matches during World War II.

*

December 11, 1968 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 5 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Baltimore Bullets, 118-110 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now the CFG Bank Arena).

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Phoenix Suns, 143-123 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Cincinnati Royals beat the San Diego Rockets, 116-110 at the Cincinnati Gardens. Oscar Robertson scored 34 points for the Royals. Elvin Hayes had 35 points and 20 rebounds in defeat for the Rockets.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons, 108-106 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit.

* And the Milwaukee Bucks beat the San Francisco Warriors, 106-96 at the Milwaukee Exposition & Convention Center Arena, a.k.a. The MECCA. (Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.)

There were 3 games in the American Basketball Association:

* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Houston Mavericks, 106-99 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Miami Floridians, 117-100 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis.

* And the Los Angeles Stars beat the Minnesota Pipers, 124-116 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Connie Hawkins of the Pipers led all scorers on the night, with 47 points.

And there were 5 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 2-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs played to a tie, 4-4 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. 

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-3 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-3 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the Philadelphia Flyers and the Oakland Seals were not scheduled.

November 29, 1978: The Viv Anderson Game

November 29, 1978: England, trying to rebound from not qualifying for the last 2 World Cups or Euro 76, defeats Czechoslovakia, winners of Euro 76, 1-0 at the old Wembley Stadium in London.

Steve Coppell of Manchester United scores the goal. Vivian Alexander "Viv" Anderson of Nottingham Forest starts at right back, making him the 1st black player to start for the England senior national football (soccer) team.

Paul Reaney of Leeds United had appeared as a substitute in a 1968 England match, making him the 1st black player for the side. However, he was mixed-race, and was light-skinned enough that he rarely faced racial abuse, and many fans didn't even realize that he was black, so that Anderson frequently got full credit later.

Vivian Alexander Anderson was born on July 29, 1956 in Nottingham. He helped the Forest team, managed by Brian Clough, win the Football League and the League Cup in 1978, and the European Cup in 1979 and 1980. In 1984, he was sold to Arsenal, and he helped coach the North London club's young black players, such as David Rocastle, Paul Davis and Michael Thomas. They won the League Cup in 1987. He helped Manchester United win the FA Cup in 1990, and retired in 1995.

*

November 29, 1978 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 4 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers, 101-99 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Seattle SuperSonics, 125-111 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 120-114 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. Despite the Spurs' loss, George Gervin led all scorers on the night with 35 points.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets, 109-94 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

There were 6 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Atlanta Flames, 5-3 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The New York Islanders and the Los Angeles Kings played to a tie, 5-5 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals, 5-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Black Hawks and the Vancouver Canucks played to a tie, 1-1 at the Chicago Stadium.

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

* And the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Rockies played to a tie, 2-2 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

And there were 2 games in the world Hockey Association. The Quebec Nordiques beat the Birmingham Bulls, 7-4 at the Colisée de Québec. And the Winnipeg Jets beat the New England Whalers, 4-2 at the Winnipeg Arena.

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.

*

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.

October 23, 1963: England v. The Rest of the World

October 23, 1963: To celebrate its 100th Anniversary -- the actual Centennial was October 26, 3 days later -- the Football Association hosts a match at the old Wembley Stadium in London: "England vs. The Rest of the World." This was the 1st time a team of worldwide all-stars had played a single team, anywhere. (The FA had celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 1938 with an "England vs. The Rest of Europe" match at Wembley.)

Here are the lineups, with the player's club at the time. For England, managed by Alf Ramsey:

1, goalkeeper, Gordon Banks, Leicester City

2, right back, Jimmy Armfield, Blackpool, serving as Captain

3, left back, Ray Wilson, Huddersfield Town

4, right half, Gordon Milne, Liverpool

5, centre half, Maurice Norman of Tottenham Hotspur

6, centre half, Bobby Moore, West Ham United

7, outside right, Terry Paine, Southampton

8, inside right, Jimmy Greaves, Tottenham Hotspur

9, centre forward, Bobby Smith, Tottenham Hotspur

10, inside left, George Eastham, Arsenal

11, outside left, Bobby Charlton, of Manchester United.

Substitutes: 12, goalkeeper Tony Waiters of Blackpool; 13, fullback Ken Shellito of Chelsea; 14, midfielder Ron Flowers of Wolverhampton Wanderers; 15, left half Tony Kay of Everton; and 16, centre half Joe Baker of Arsenal, who was born in England, and thus had to play for England under the rules of the time, even though his parents were Scottish, and he'd lived most of his life in Scotland.

For "The Rest of the World," managed by Fernando Riera of Benfica, of Lisbon, Portugal:

1, goalkeeper, Lev Yashin, Soviet Union and Dynamo Moscow

2, right back, Djalma Santos, Brazil and Palmeiras

3, left back, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, West Germany and Italian team Mantova

4, right half, Svatopluk Pluskal, Czechoslovakia and Dukla Prague

5, centre half, Ján Popluhár, Czechoslovakia and Rudá Hvezda Brno (Red Star Bruno)

6, left half, Josef Masopust, Czechoslovakia and Dukla Prague

7, outside right, Raymond Kopa, France and Stade de Reims

8, inside right, Denis Law, Scotland and Manchester United

9, centre forward, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentina and Real Madrid, who served as Captain

10, inside left, Eusébio, Portugal and Benfica

11, outside left, Francisco Gento, Spain and Real Madrid.

Substitutes: 1, goalkeeper Milutin Šoškić of Yugoslavia and Partizan Belgrade; 2, right back Luis Eyzaguirre of Chile and Universidad de Chile; 6, left back Jim Baxter of Scotland and Glasgow Rangers; 9, centre forward Uwe Seeler of West Germany and Hamburger SV; and 10, midfielder Ferenc Puskás of Hungary and Real Madrid.

So, 3 from South America, 1 from Africa (Eusébio was from Mozambique, still a colony of Portugal until 1975), none from Asia, none from North America (certainly, no Americans), 6 from Eastern Europe, 5 from Western Europe, and 2 from the British Isles but not England (Law and Baxter, both Scots).

Riera had managed his homeland of Chile, including Eyzaguirre, to 3rd place on home soil in the 1962 World Cup. Yashin had helped the Soviet Union win the 1st-ever European Championship in 1960. Santos was the only member of the Brazil team that won the 1958 and 1962 World Cups to participate: For whatever reason, Pelé of Santos, who turned 23 that day, did not. Pluskal, Popluhár and Masopust were members of the Czech team that reached the Final of the 1962 World Cup, losing to Brazil. That was the closest any Warsaw Pact nation ever came to winning the World Cup.

The Captains before the match: Armfield (left) and Di Stéfano

The England attack, led by Greaves, had several good chances to score, but Yashin kept denying them. In the 2nd half, Riera replaced Yashin with Šoškić. Big mistake: Greaves assisted Paine, who scored in the 66th minute. Law, already terrorizing England for Man U in a forward pairing with Charlton (they were the holders of the FA Cup), equalized in the 82nd minute. It looked like a draw (as a friendly, there was no plan for extra time), but in the 90th and last minute, Greaves scored to make it 2-1 England.

Greaves, who had helped Tottenham win the 1962 FA Cup and the 1963 European Cup Winners' Cup (but had been with Chelsea when "Spurs" won the 1961 League title and FA Cup, "The Double"), was hailed as the best attacker in the world. Yashin was hailed as the best goalkeeper, and was soon honored with the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) as World Player of the Year. He remains the only goalkeeper ever to receive it.

This win gave Alf Ramsey and his players the realization that they could actually win the 1966 World Cup, which would be played on home soil. Banks, Wilson, Moore and Charlton would start for England in the Final. Armfield, Greaves, Eastham and Flowers would also be selected for that winning England team. Kay would not be a member of that team, banned from the game for his participation in the 1964 British football betting scandal.

*

October 23, 1963 was a Wednesday. The baseball season was over. American football was in midweek. And no NHL games were scheduled. But there were 3 NBA games played that day:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Baltimore Bullets, 115-106 at the Baltimore Civic Center. Walt Bellamy, later to be a Knick, scored 41 for the Bullets, who are now the Washington Wizards. The Civic Center is now named the CFG Bank Arena.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons, 124-116 at Cobo Hall in Detroit. The arena is now named the TCF Center. Jerry West scored 31.

* And the San Francisco Warriors beat the St. Louis Hawks, 99-95. Wilt Chamberlain scored 22 points, but that did not lead the game: Bob Pettit scored 24 in defeat.

October 17, 1973: Poland's Glory & the Fall of Alf Ramsey

October 17, 1973: The England national soccer team plays Poland, in a qualifying match for the next year's World Cup, at England's national stadium, Wembley Stadium in West London.

England had won the World Cup in 1966, led by manager Alf Ramsey. For 1970, he made some changes due to the aging of some players, and England reached the Quarterfinals. By 1973, even the best of the Class of '66 was getting older, and it was showing.

England were put in a qualifying group with neighboring Wales, and Poland, each team playing the other home and away. Against Wales, England managed a 1-0 win in Cardiff, but had to come from behind just to gain a 1-1 draw at Wembley.

Wales then beat Poland, 2-0 in Cardiff; and, on June 6, 1973, Poland beat England 2-0 in Chorzów. On September 26, Poland beat Wales, 3-0. This meant that England had to beat Poland at Wembley on October 17: A draw would do them no good, as only the team that won the group would qualify.

A full house of 100,000 was on hand. Although they wore red for the '66 World Cup Final, England usually wear white at home, and did so on this occasion, allowing Poland to wear red. Early on, Martin Chivers of Tottenham Hostpur had a shot saved by Polish goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski of ŁKS Łódź. Just as he let to ball go to start an attack, he realized he had to fall on the ball to prevent Allan Clarke of Leeds United from jumping on it, and probably scoring.

Tomaszewski injured his hand on the play, but stayed in, saving back-to-back shots by Roy McFarland of Derby County and Colin Bell of Manchester City. Shortly thereafter, he had to save off Clarke again, and off Mick Channon of Southampton.

In the 57th minute, Jan Domarski of FKS Stal Mielec put Poland on the board. BBC announcer Brian Moore said, "The tragedy that England might have expected! The Poles going mad around the scorer, Domarski!"

Shortly thereafter, Channon appeared to have tied the game, but the referee, Vital Loraux of Belgium, waved it off: The play began when Chivers' throw-in was taken by Clarke, who was offside before he passed to Channon. Shortly after that, Adam Musiał of Wisła Kraków tripped Martin Peters, then of Tottenham, in the box. Loraux correctly awarded a penalty, and Clarke converted it. (Despite going on to play in America toward the end of his career, Adam Musiał, pronounced "Moo-SHAL," was not related to baseball legend Stan Musial, pronounced "MYOO-zee-al."

England fought hard for half an hour to find a winner. Tomaszewski was beaten by Kevin Hector of Derby, and later by Bell, but Polish defenders stopped the balls from crossing the goal line. It ended 1-1, and England were eliminated from eligibility for the 1974 World Cup. Moore called it, "For England, one of the blackest days they've ever had. Sir Alf Ramsey must be a very disheartened man."

This was followed by 2 further disheartening friendlies: On November 14, a 1-0 loss at home to Italy; and on April 3, 1974, a 0-0 draw away to Portugal. The World Cup soon began, with Scotland in the tournament, but not England, which was terribly embarrassing: While England had refused to participate in the tournament until 1950, this was the 1st time they had attempted to qualify for it, and failed.

On May 11, Ramsey was fired. He remains the one and only manager ever to lead England to victory in a major tournament -- either the World Cup or the Euros -- but there were some in the FA who held grudges against him, for whatever reason. It may have been time to go, anyway: It was time for England to bring in a new generation of players, and, at the age of 54, he might not have been the man to do it.

Leeds United manager Don Revie was hired, and his tenure was a disaster. England flopped at Euro '76, and didn't qualify for the 1978 World Cup, either. They did qualify for 1982, 1986 and 1990, missed for 1994, and have made it every time since, but have never, despite their national media hype. looked like winning it.

Poland went on sweep their group in the 1st Group Stage at the World Cup, beating Italy, Argentina and Haiti. In the 2nd Group Stage, they beat Sweden and Yugoslavia, but lost to West Germany, the hosts, and were 2nd in the group. They beat Brazil in the 3rd-place Playoff, their best performance ever. They would match that in 1982, but have yet to surpass it.

*

October 17, 1973 was a Wednesday. On the same day, Motorola engineer Marty Cooper was granted the patent for the handheld mobile telephone. And the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, announced an embargo. I have a separate entry for that event.

It was midweek for the NFL and college football. But Game 4 of the World Series was played at Shea Stadium. The New York Mets evened the Series at 2 games apiece with a 6-1 win over the Oakland Athletics at Shea Stadium. In support of Met starting pitcher Jon Matlack, Rusty Staub went 4-for-4 with a homer and 5 RBI. The New Orleans chef was really cooking that night.

A's manager Dick Williams was tired of team owner Charlie Finley's meddling, and told his players that, win or lose, he would resign when the Series was over. In the 8th inning, as a pinch-hitter, he sent Mike Andrews, the 2nd baseman whose 2 errors in the 12th inning of Game 2 at the Oakland Coliseum gave the Mets a win, and whom Finley had unsuccessfully tried to have removed from the World Series roster. The Met fans, showing an intelligence for which I tend credit them, gave him a standing ovation. He grounded out. It turned out to be his last major league at-bat.

There were 2 NBA games played that day:

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Golden State Warriors, 109-95 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.

* And the Kansas City-Omaha Kings beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 108-106 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

There were 3 ABA games played:

* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Virginia Squires, 116-106 at Freedom Hall in Louisville.

* The Carolina Cougars beat the Memphis Tams, 108-95 at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis.

* And the Denver Rockets beat the Utah Stars, 112-97 at the Auditorium Arena in Denver. The Rockets would become the Denver Nuggets at the start of the 1974-75 season.

There were 6 NHL games played:

* The New York Rangers beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-0 at Madison Square Garden. Eddie Giacomin had the shutout, and was backed by goals from Bruce MacGregor, Steve Vickers, Rod Gilbert and Jim Neilson.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Atlanta Flames beat the Boston Bruins, 4-3 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 5-0 at the Chicago Stadium. The team's name was always written as 2 words, "Black Hawks," until 1986, when their original NHL charter document was found, and it was seen that the name had been written as 1 word, "Blackhawks," and that's how they've officially written it since.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* And the Philadelphia Flyers beat the California Golden Seals, 5-1 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Finley owned them, too, and they went out of business, but not before playing the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons as the Cleveland Barons.

There were 2 games in the World Hockey Association:

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the New England Whalers, 3-1 at the Boston Garden.

* And the Houston Aeros, with 44-year-old Gordie Howe leading a line with his sons Mark and Marty, beat the Vancouver Blazers, 7-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. 

October 7, 2000: The Old Wembley Finale

October 7, 2000: The last event is held in the 77-year history of the original Wembley Stadium in London. The England national soccer team loses to Germany, 1-0. The last goal in the stadium is scored by Dietmar Hamann, who was, at the least, playing for an English club at the time, Liverpool.

Paul Scholes of Manchester United and England (left)

and Marco Bode of Werder Bremen and Germany

Liverpool had been the club at which Kevin Keegan rose to stardom. He had also played in Germany, for Hamburger SV, before returning home, and starring for Southampton and Newcastle United. He had managed several teams, including nearly taking Newcastle to the 1996 Premier League title. So after Glenn Hoddle was properly fired as England manager, Keegan, known as Mighty Mouse for being short but talented, was named manager.

But after this match, the media cornered him in the bathroom of the dressing room, and he resigned. And so, Wembley's history as the home of English football ended with "Keegan quits in the toilet." (In England, "the toilet" is the entire rest room, not just the bowl.) Although Keegan has had a few managing jobs since, he has never again managed any national side.

One more note: The old Wembley Stadium is 1 of 3 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadions in Berlin and Munich. In 2024, the Stade de France outside Paris will make it 4.

It was demolished in 2002, and delays meant that the new Wembley Stadium did not open until 2007.

*

October 7, 2000 was a Saturday. This was also the day the TV show Queen of Swords premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

It was also the day of Game 3 of the National League Division Series. Benny Agbayani's 13th inning home run ends the longest LDS game ever played to that point, 5 hours and 22 minutes. The dramatic round-tripper by the Mets outfielder, who (like a previous Met, Sid Fernandez) wears Number 50 because he's from Hawaii, the 50th State, gives the Mets a 3-2 victory, and a 2-games-to-1 series advantage over the San Francisco Giants.

In the other NLDS, the St. Louis Cardinals do the Mets a huge favor, completing a 3-game sweep over the team in the Mets' heads, the Atlanta Braves. The Cards win, 7-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

In the American League Division Series, the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Yankees, 11-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum) in Game 4. This ties the series up. But the Yankees win the series the next day. The other ALDS was wrapped up the day before, with the Seattle Mariners sweeping the Chicago White Sox.

On the same day, the Columbus Blue Jackets bring the NHL back to Ohio after 22 years, and give the State capital its 1st-ever major league team, unless you count Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, or the Columbus Bullies who won the only titles of the 1940-41 American Football League.

Their 1st game is at home against the Chicago Blackhawks, who win, 5-3 at Nationwide Arena, still the Jackets' home. Their 1st goal is scored by Bruce Gardiner. I have a separate entry for this game.

It is also the night of the 1st game for another expansion team, the Minnesota Wild. They open on the road, at the America West Arena (now the Footprint Center) in Phoenix, and lose to the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-1.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 2-1 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1 at the First Union Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes play to a tie, 3-3 at the Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena (now the Lenovo Center).

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, Ontario.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators, 3-1 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-3 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* And the Colorado Rockies and the Edmonton Oilers play to a tie, 1-1 at the Skyreach Centre, as the Northlands Coliseum was then known, in Edmonton.

And there was college football on the day, including the following games:

* Number 1 Florida State were upset by Number 7 Miami, 27-24 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Hurricanes won the Big East Conference title. Florida State still won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

* Number 2 Nebraska beat Iowa State, 49-27 at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.

* Number 3 Virginia Tech beat Temple, 35-13 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.

* Number 4 Kansas State beat their arch-rivals, Kansas, 52-13 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

* Number 5 Clemson beat North Carolina State, 34-27 at Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

* Number 6 Michigan lost to Purdue, 32-31 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue won the Big 10 Conference title.

* Number 8 Ohio State beat Number 24 Wisconsin, 23-7 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Number 10 Oklahoma beat Number 11 Texas, 63-14 in the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Sooners went on to win beat Kansas State for the Big 12 Conference title, and Florida State in the Orange Bowl, and won the National Championship.

* Number 12 Florida beat Louisiana State, 41-9 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators went on to beat Auburn for the Southeastern Conference title, but lost the Sugar Bowl to Miami.

* Number 13 Washington beat Number 23 Oregon State, 33-30 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Washington won the Pacific-10 Conference title, and beat Purdue in the Rose Bowl.

* Number 15 Auburn were upset by Number 20 Mississippi State, 17-10 at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi.

* Number 18 Southern California were upset by Arizona, 31-15 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Number 19 Georgia beat Number 21 Tennessee, 21-10 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. Tennessee still ended up going to the Cotton Bowl, but lost it to Kansas State.

* Number 25 Notre Dame beat Stanford, 20-14 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame went to the Fiesta Bowl, but lost to Oregon State.

* Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) beat arch-rival Nevada, 38-7 at Sam Boyd Stadium in the Las Vegas suburb of Whitney, Nevada.

* In a battle between service academies, Air Force beat Navy, 27-13 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* Army lost to New Mexico State, 42-23 at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

August 10, 1974: England's Fight-Filled Charity Shield

Left to right: Referee Bob Matthewson,

Billy Bremner, and (back to camera) Kevin Keegan

August 10, 1974: English soccer begins its season as it usually does, with the annual exhibition game between the previous season's winners of the Football League title and the FA Cup, a game then known as the FA Charity Shield. Unusual for the time, the game is played at the national stadium, the original Wembley Stadium in West London.

For Cup holders Liverpool, it is their last game under their greatest manager so far, Bill Shankly, who is handing the team over to his top assistant, Bob Paisley, who will surpass his achievements. For title holders Leeds United, it is their 1st game under new manager Brian Clough, who had won the League at Derby County in 1972, and replaces their greatest manager so far, Don Revie, who has been appointed manager of the national team, and is in attendance.

Clough was a native of Middlesbrough, in the North-East of England, and had starred as a striker for the hometown soccer team, Middlesbrough FC. Revie was also a Middlesbrough native, and had also starred as a striker, for Manchester City. Both men subsequently played for Sunderland FC, ostensibly Middlesbrough's arch-rivals, and for the England national team -- albeit Clough only twice, and Revie only 6 times.

Both went into management at a young age, Revie due to declining skills, Clough due to a nasty knee injury. Both took long-dormant teams out of the 2nd division of English football and into the 1st: Revie at age 33 with Yorkshire team Leeds United in 1964, Clough at 34 with East Midlands team Derby County in 1969, the year Revie's Leeds won the 1st division for the 1st time.

But there were significant differences between them, and Clough's failure to understand them led to his failure to properly understand Revie and the effect he had on his Leeds players. For Revie, 8 years older than Clough, the defining experience of his childhood was the Great Depression, and the result was that he did whatever he had to do to survive, even if that meant cheating.

For Clough, it was World War II, and the result was a basic sense of fairness, which meant that not only did he not accept cheating, but he publicly condemned those whose who did, including Revie, his gifts to referees (the press called them "Don Readies"), the diving of Leeds' Scottish Captain, Billy Bremner, and the rough play of Johnny Giles and Norman Hunter.

In 1972, Clough guided Derby to win the League, beating Leeds for the title by 1 point. At 37, he was 5 years younger than Revie was for his 1st title. He was quoted as saying, "I wouldn't say I'm the best manager in the country, but I'm in the top one." But Leeds won the FA Cup. In 1973, as defending League Champions, Clough got them to the Semifinals of the European Cup, losing to Italian champions Juventus. This matched Leeds' best performance in the tournament, losing to Celtic of Glasgow in the 1970 Semifinal. But a dispute with management led Clough to quit Derby.

In 1974, with England having failed to qualify for the World Cup for the 1st time ever -- although the country hadn't entered qualification until the 1950 cycle -- the Football Association hired Revie as England manager. Leeds management hired Clough, who had been managing with Sussex team Brighton & Hove Albion in the interim. Both moves seemed like no-brainers on the surface: Revie was England's best established manager, Clough the country's best up-and-coming manager.

Both moves turned out to be disasters. England did not qualify for Euro 76, and before qualifying for the 1978 World Cup could be completed, Revie quit to take a coaching job in the United Arab Emirates, abandoning his country for money, shattering whatever reputation he had. England ended up not qualifying for the 1978 World Cup, either.

Clough tried to manage Leeds his way, thinking that, as defending Champions in 1974, working together, he could guide them to the 1975 European Cup, beating not just Revie's greatest achievement, and theirs, but also his own. But the players not only missed Revie, but chafed against Clough's way and his previous comments about them being cheats.

In particular, Giles, who was already manager of the Republic of Ireland team despite still playing, thought that he should have been named Leeds' manager. He later said that if he and Clough had talked things out, things might have turned out differently, and Clough could have succeeded at Leeds.

The Charity Shield was one of the few games broadcast live on national television. The belief then was that putting games on TV would make people stay home rather than go. The whole country saw a disgusting spectacle, as "Dirty Leeds" started a nasty fight that led to referee Bob Matthewson ejecting each team's biggest star (though not tallest, as both were famously short): Leeds' 5-foot-5 Bremner, and Liverpool's prolific "Mighty Mouse," the 5-foot-8 Kevin Keegan. They were the first players ever thrown out of a Shield match.

Each man removed his shirt, and threw it away, considered a major faux pas by the English football establishment. Given each team's theme song, their exits were ironic: Liverpool's is "You'll Never Walk Alone," and Leeds' is "Marching On Together," but each walked off the pitch and into the dressing room alone.

Phil Boersma scored for Liverpool in the 19th minute. Trevor Cherry scored for Leeds in the 70th. The game went to penalties, and when Ray Clemence stopped opposing goalkeeper David Harvey, Liverpool were 6-5 winners.

Embarrassed, the FA decided to make examples out of Bremner and Keegan. Both would be suspended through September 30. Liverpool had enough of a bench to keep themselves afloat in the meanwhile. Leeds did not. Clough was fired after 44 days in charge, not even long enough for Bremner's suspension to run out. Jimmy Armfield stopped the bleeding in League play, and they finished 9th. He got them to the Final of the European Cup, where they controversially lost to Bayern Munich.

But Liverpool actually finished 2nd, only 2 points out of 1st -- ironically, to Derby County, managed by Dave MacKay, who was benefiting from many of Clough's acquisitions.

The game became a Wembley regular, and in 1992, it officially became a match between the previous season's Premier League winners and FA Cup winners. In 2002, the name of the game was changed to the FA Community Shield.

*

August 10, 1974 was a Saturday. These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 2-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Rudy May outpitched Andy Hassler. Hassler allowed only 4 hits, but Lou Piniella got 3 of them. Frank Robinson went 0-for-4 for the Angels. He would soon be traded to Cleveland, and be named MLB's 1st black manager.

* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at Shea Stadium. Ray Sadecki blew it for Tom Seaver in the 8th inning. Pete Rose went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4 with a walk. For the Mets, John Milner went 3-for-4.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Hank Aaron went 0-for-4, but Ralph Garr and Dusty Baker hit home runs. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-4 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie McCovey, who just never looked right in a Padre uniform, hit a home run. Dave Winfield went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Willie Stargell went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Rod Carew went 3-for-4. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Doug Rau was the winning pitcher. Bob Gibson didn't get out of the 5th inning, partly thanks to a home run by Jimmy Wynn. Lou Brock went 3-for-5, and a stolen base gave him 76 for the season. He would finish with a new major league record, 118. Joe Torre went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-5 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Rookie George Brett went 1-for-4. Rookie Robin Yount did not play.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Al Kaline, in his last few weeks as an active player, went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 2-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. Vida Blue outpitched Reggie Cleveland. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4.

* And the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants were rained out at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Giants swept, 5-3 and 6-4.

August 2, 1948: The Flying Housewife

August 2, 1948: Fanny Blankers-Koen wins her 4th Gold Medal of the 1948 Olympics, at the original Wembley Stadium in London.

At the time, she was 30 years old, married, with 2 children. Today, such a performance in the Olympic Games by a woman who met that description would not be considered a big deal. At the time, it was staggering.

Francina Elsje Koen was born on April 26, 1918 in Lage Vuursche, Utrecht, the Netherlands. The Netherlands has 12 Provinces, including North Holland, which includes Amsterdam; and South Holland, which includes Rotterdam and The Hague. But only those 2 Provinces are properly called "Holland." Telling someone living in Eindhoven they live in "Holland" would be like telling someone in Glasgow they live in "England." Don't do it.

"Fanny" excelled in several sports, including swimming. However, in her youth, the Netherlands had several successful female swimmers, so she turned to a sport they were not as strong in, one her father had competed in: Track and field. At age 17, she set a national record in the 800 meters. But races longer than 400 meters had been removed from the Olympics for women, as it was decided that women couldn't handle running for longer than that. This would later be proven to be ridiculous, and longer races were reintroduced.

Fanny was coached by Jan Blankers, who had competed in the Olympics on home soil in Amsterdam in 1928. Despite his being 15 years older, they would eventually marry. (In some European countries, a woman's married name comes first in the hyphenated form. This would also be true of another Olympian, the great Austrian skier Annemarie Moser-Pröll.) Jan encouraged Fanny to try for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. At age 18, She finished 5th in both the high jump and as a member of the Dutch 4x100-meter relay team. The highlight of her Olympic experience was getting Jesse Owens' autograph.

She set some world records, and was considered a favorite to win a Gold Medal at the 1940 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. But World War II led to the cancellation of those Games, and those of 1944, set for Axis nation Japan.

Fanny and Jan married on August 29, 1940, 3 months after the Nazi takeover. Their son, Jan Jr., was born in 1942. The European sports media presumed that, between having become a mother and not knowing when the war would end, Fanny's sports career was over. It wasn't: From 1942 to 1944, she set 6 world records. She had daughter Fanneke in 1945, and the war ended. This didn't end her career, either: She won 2 Gold Medals at the 1946 European Championships.

Two months before the 1948 Olympics, she broke her own world record in the 80-mter hurdles. Despite this, the sports journalists of the time ignored recent performance, and said that, at 30, she was too old to win. She didn't listen. She won the 100 meters, making her the 1st Dutch athlete, male or female, to win an Olympic Gold Medal in track and field. She won a photo finish for the 80-meter hurdles.

She got homesick, and broke down in tears, and refused to run in the 200 meters. Jan consoled her, and talked her into running, and won it. And she anchored the Dutch women's team in the 4x100-meters, taking them from 3rd place when she took the baton to 1st.

There were 9 women's track and field events at the 1948 Olympics, and she won 4 of them. The media called her "The Flying Dutchmam" (as opposed to "Dutchman") and "The Flying Housewife." Queen Juliana made her a knight of the Order of Orange Nassau, the country's highest honor. The City of Amsterdam gave her a new bicycle, "so she need not run so much."

She won 3 more Gold Medals at the 1949 European Championships, and in 1952, she finally made it to an Olympics held in Helsinki. But time caught up with her, and she won no medals. In 1955, she won her last victory, the Dutch national title in the shot put.

In retirement, Fanny served as team Captain of the Dutch track and field team from the 1958 European Championships through the 1968 Olympics. Jan died in 1977. Since 1981, the annual Fanny Blankers-Koen games have been held in Hengelo, in the Province of Overijssel.

In 1999, the IAAF, the world governing body for track and field, declared her the Female Athlete of the Century. She attended the awards ceremony in Moscow. However, by then, she was already deaf and in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. She died on January 25, 2004. She was 85 years old.

One more note: The old Wembley Stadium is 1 of 3 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadions in Berlin and Munich. In 2024, the Stade de France outside Paris will make it 4.

*

August 2, 1948 was a Monday. There were 4 baseball games were played:

* The New York Giants lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 21-5 at the Polo Grounds. Stan Musial, having the best season of his career, went 2-for-6 with a home run, a walk and an RBI. And he wasn't even close to being the star of this game. Del Wilber went 3-for-6 with 5 RBIs. Whitey Kurowski went 2-for-4 with home run, a walk and 4 RBIs. Enos Slaughter went 3-for-5 with 2 walks and 3 RBIs. Marty Marion went 2-for-5 with a home run, a walk and 3 RBIs. And Erv Dusak went 2-for-7 with a home run and 2 RBIs.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers weren't as badly beaten as their arch-rivals, but it counted the same in the standings: They lost to the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Ebbets Field. Jackie Robinson went 1-for-5. In the top of the 10th inning, Eddie Waitkus doubled home the go-ahead run, and future Dodger Andy Pafko drove in another with a sacrifice fly.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Braves, 3-1 at Braves Field in Boston. Johnny Vander Meer, 10 years after pitching the 1st of his back-to-back no-hitters against the Braves, outpitched Vern Bickford.

* And in the only American League game of the day, the St. Louis Browns beat the Washington Senators, 7-5 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

July 30, 1966: England Win the World Cup

Captain Bobby Moore raises the Jules Rimet Trophy,

while his teammates raise him

July 30, 1966: England win the World Cup, beating West Germany 4-2 after extra time, on home soil, at the original Wembley Stadium in London.

England had never done well in past World Cups, but were determined to show the world that the country that had invented the sport (though the Greeks and the Chinese had football-like games 500 years before the birth of Christ) just how it could play the sport, especially on home soil.

England were managed by Alf Ramsey, who had played right back for England at the 1950 World Cup, and on the Tottenham Hotspur team that won the Football League title in 1951; and was hired to manage England after leading Ipswich Town to the League title in 1962. These were the players he selected:

* Goalkeepers: Number 1, Gordon Banks, Leicester City; 12, Ron Springett, Sheffield Wednesday; 13, Peter Bonetti, Chelsea.

* Defenders: 2, George Cohen, Fulham; 3, Ray Wilson, Everton; 5, Jack Charlton, Leeds United; 6, Bobby Moore, West Ham United, England's Captain; 14, Jimmy Armfield, Blackpool; 15, Gerry Byrne, Liverpool; 18, Norman Hunter, Leeds United.

* Midfielders: 4, Norbert "Nobby" Stiles, Manchester United; 7, Alan Ball, Blackpool; 9, Bobby Charlton, Manchester United, younger brother of Jack; 16, Martin Peters, West Ham United; 17, Ron Flowers, Wolverhampton Wanderers; 20, Ian Callaghan, Liverpool; 22, George Eastham, Arsenal.

* Forwards: 8, Jimmy Greaves, Tottenham Hotspur; 10, Geoff Hurst, West Ham United; 11, John Connelly, Manchester United; 19, Terry Paine, Southampton; 21, Roger Hunt, Liverpool.

England played all of their games in Group 1 at the national stadium, the original version of Wembley Stadium in West London. They got off to a slow start with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay, then beat Mexico and France, in each case by a 2-0 score, to win the Group. Uruguay also advanced.

Old Wembley

Group 2 was won by West Germany, with Argentina advancing as well. Group 3 was won by Portugal, with Hungary following. Two-time defending Champions Brazil only finished 3rd in Group 3, because defenders from Portugal and Bulgaria relentlessly fouled Pelé, by this point recognized as the best player in the world. Brazil would be back in 1970, but, for 1966, they were out.

And Group 4 was won by the Soviet Union, with another Communist nation, North Korea, surprising everyone by also advancing. North Korea's 1-0 win over Italy at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, is the most embarrassing defeat in Italy's history. (The most infuriating one was also against Koreans, co-host South Korea, in the 2002 World Cup.)

In the Quarterfinals, West Germany beat Uruguay 4-0 at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Yorkshire, home of Sheffield Wednesday. The other games were considerably more dramatic. It took until Hurst's goal in the 78th minute for England to beat Argentina, 1-0 at Wembley. With memories of Soviet tanks crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 still fresh, the Soviet team beat Hungary 2-1 at Roker Park in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.

And at Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of Everton, North Korea took a 3-0 lead on Portugal, before Eusébio -- one of several players from Mozambique that Portugal fielded before that African colony gained its independence in 1975 -- scored 4 goals, 2 spectacular ones from open play and 2 penalties, to lead Portugal to a 5-3 win. With Pelé literally kicked out of the tournament, Eusébio was its dominant player.

Bobby Charlton scored 2 goals for England in the Semifinal against Portugal at Wembley. A late penalty, converted by Eusébio, briefly put the game in doubt, but England held on for the 2-1 win. The other Semifinal, at Goodison Park, had echoes of both World Wars, but the opposite result of each, as West Germany defeated the Soviet Union, 2-1.

As a crowd of 96,924 filed into Wembley, "The Great War" and "The War" were on Ramsey's mind as he addressed his players before the Final: "Fear not if they shall defeat us at our national game on our soil; for, twice in this century, we have defeated them at their national game, on their soil."

England wore red, and West Germany wore white. Kickoff, as was traditional in England, came at 3:00 PM on a Saturday. In America, NBC aired the Final on a 2-hour film delay, using the black-and-white feed from the BBC. This marked the 1st time that soccer had ever been shown in the United States as a stand-alone television event.

In the 12th minute, disaster struck for England: Siegfried Held of Borussia Dortmund sent a cross into the penalty area. Wilson attempted to head it away, but sent it in the wrong direction, to Helmut Haller, then playing his "club football" for Italian side Bologna. He put the ball past Banks, and it was 1-0 to "Ze Germans."

The lead didn't last long, as Hurst put a header past Hans Tilkowski of Dortmund. The score remained 1-1 until the 78th minute, when England won a corner. Ball took it, and it reached Hurst, whose shot was deflected by Tilkowski, to Hust's West Ham teammate Peters, who scored. It was 2-1 England.

England just had to hang on for another 12 to 15 minutes. They couldn't: Jack Charlton fouled Uwe Seeler of Hamburg, West Germamy's Captain and best scorer, in the 89th minute. The ensuing free kick caused a scramble, where Wolfgang Weber of Köln took it, and shot. It deflected off Karl-Heinz Schnellinger of Italian team AC Milan, and went in past Banks. Banks claimed that the ball hit Schnellinger's arm, which would make the play, however unintentional, handball. But replays showed that the ball hit him on the back. And so, it was 2-2, and there would be extra time.

In the 95th minute, Bobby Charlton hit the post, took the rebound, and shot wide. Then, in the 101st minute, came the most controversial shot in the history of soccer. Ball put in a cross, Hurst took it, and fired. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced down, and was cleared.

The referee was Gottlieb Dienst -- in spite of his German-sounding name, he was from Switzerland: Had he actually been from Germany, he would have been ineligible to officiate. He wasn't sure if the ball had gone in. He asked a linesman, Tofiq Bahramov, from Azerbaijan but then representing the Soviet Union: He said the ball crossed the goal line, and Dienst gave the goal. 3-2 England.

Ever since, the Germans have argued that the ball did not fully cross the goal line, and blamed "the Russian judge" for it. Since the coming of Video Assisted Refereeing (VAR), it has been argued more strenuously than ever that the Germans were cheated by a home-team call. And computer analysis has suggested that "only" 97 percent of the ball got over the line, roughly the percentage that cost Liverpool a goal in a game against Manchester City, and thus the Premier League title, in 2019.

Hunt immediately turned to celebrate the goal with Hurst. Hunt went to his grave insisting that, if he thought the ball hadn't gone in, he would have rushed forward to tap it in, which makes sense.

I've seen the play many times. The ball clearly hit the top of the net before it came back down. It was a legitimate goal. You don't believe me? Judge for yourself.

In the 120th and final minute of play -- not counting whatever stoppage time would be added on to the end of extra time -- West German manager Helmut Schön sent his defenders forward in one last desperate attempt. But Moore, got the ball, found an unmarked Hurst, and passed it to him.

Some fans ran onto the field, and got closer to Hurst than any German players did. He completed what remains the only hat trick, the only 3-goal performance, by a man in a World Cup Final, matched only by American Carli Lloyd in the 2015 Women's World Cup Final. And this 4th goal for England ensured that the disputed goal from earlier wouldn't matter.

Geoff Hurst

As Hunt approached his shot, BBC announcer Kenneth Wolstenholme made the most famous call in the history of sportscasting -- yes, more famous than "The Giants win the Pennant!":

And here comes Hurst! He's got... Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now! It's four!

Kenneth Wolstenholme

There was a minute of stoppage time, but the Germans could do nothing with it. England had won, 4-2. Captain Moore led the England players up the famous Wembley steps, and received the World Cup trophy from his head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.

England have been inconsistent in international tournaments since. They didn't reach another Final until Euro 2020 (delayed until 2021, due to COVID). Their best World Cup performances since have been runs to the Semifinal in 1990 and 2018.

And so, in the 1960s, England, in the midst of Beatlemania, Swinging London and early James Bond, had a moment that brought the whole country together. Old rivalries were put aside for the greatest patriotic moment since the end of The War.

Famously, Denis Law, Manchester United teammate of Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and John Connelly, was such a Scottish patriot that, instead of watching the Final hosted and won by his arch-rival "country," he played golf.

America would have its great moment in 1969: We went to the Moon. England had theirs in 1966: They won the World Cup. Neither has been able to match it since.

The old Wembley Stadium is 1 of 3 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadions in Berlin and Munich. In 2024, the Stade de France outside Paris will make it 4.

*

This was the 3rd year in a row that Moore, Hurst and Peters had won a Final at Wembley. Together, the 3 players had helped East London team West Ham United win the 1964 FA Cup and the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup. Being together on the 1966 England team led Hammers fans to say, "West Ham won the World Cup."

A statue of Hurst, Peters, and Everton’s Wilson hoisting Moore on their shoulders as he lifts the trophy, labeled "Champions," was placed across from the Boleyn Ground, a.k.a. Upton Park, West Ham's stadium at the time. (When the old Wembley was torn down in 2000, and the new one opened on the site in 2007, a statue of Moore, England's only World Cup-winning Captain, was placed outside.

But this cup success did not lead to League honors. Moore played for West Ham from 1958 to 1974, and over that stretch, their best finish was 6th in his rookie year, 1958-59, and again in 1972-73. In their Cup win year of 1963-64, they were 14th; in 1966-67, 16th, barely avoiding relegation. As teammate Harry Redknapp, later a Cup-winning manager, put it, "We had Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, and we finished 17th every year. Which should tell you how crap the rest of us were."

Peters would later move to North London's Tottenham Hotspur, where he won the 1971 and 1973 League Cups and the 1972 UEFA Cup. Earlier, Greaves had played for Tottenham, a.k.a. "Spurs," winning the 1962 and 1967 FA Cups and the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup.

With Manchester United, Bobby Charlton won the 1957 League title; and, having added Stiles, and Scotland’s Denis Law, and Northern Ireland’s George Best, won the 1965 and 1967 League titles; the 1963 FA Cup; and the 1968 European Cup. Connelly won the League with Burnley in 1960 and Man United in 1965.

With Liverpool, Byrne, Callaghan and Hunt won the 1964 and 1966 Football League titles, and the 1965 FA Cup. Callaghan stayed long enough to also win the 1973, 1976 and 1977 League titles; the 1974 FA Cup; the 1973 and 1976 UEFA Cups; and the 197 and 1978 European Cups.

Flowers was the senior player. With Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. "Wolves," he won the 1954, 1959 and 1959 Football League titles, and the 1960 FA Cup. With Leicester City, Banks won the 1964 League Cup. With Stoke City, he and Eastham won the 1972 League Cup. With Chelsea, Bonetti won the 1965 League Cup, the 1970 FA Cup, and the 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup.

With Everton, Wilson won the 1966 FA Cup. They then purchased Ball from Blackpool, and he helped them win the 1970 League title, by which time Wilson had been sold. Oddly, he played for 3 teams in the season after they won the FA Cup: 1966 Everton, 1971 Arsenal, and 1976 Southampton – but never won it himself. He then went to the North American Soccer League, and won the league title in 1979.

With Leeds United, Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter won the 1968 League Cup, the 1968 and 1971 Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, the 1969 League title, and the 1972 FA Cup. Hunter was still there for the 1974 League title.

All of the England players lived to see the 25th Anniversary of the achievement. All lived to see the 30th and the 40th, except for Bobby Moore: He died of colon cancer on February 24, 1993. He was only 51.

Alan Ball, the youngest member of the team, died on April 25, 2007. He was only 61. His father had also died young, in a car crash at age 57. John Connelly died on October 25, 2012, apparently of heart failure. He was 74. Ron Springett died on September 12, 2015, also apparently of heart failure. He was 80. Gerry Byrne died on November 28, 2015, of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 77.

In addition to Byrne's battle with Alzheimer's, 4 other members of that team had experienced dementia by the time of the 50th Anniversary in 2016. Wilson, Stiles and Peters had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's; and Jack Charlton says, "I haven't got a memory now. I forget things easily." He is no longer allowed to drive, or to go fishing alone. His brother Bobby, the most beloved of living English footballers at the time, would also be diagnosed with dementia.

Stiles also battled cancer, as did Banks and Greaves. Greaves, the Football League's all-time leading goalscorer, had strokes, which left him wheelchair-bound.

Their numbers do not include Jeff Astle, perhaps the English footballer best known for having had football-related dementia. He starred as a forward for West Midlands club West Bromwich Albion, and played for England in the 1970 World Cup. He died in 2002. Nor do they include Gerd Müller, the German star who did not make that World Cup, but would eliminate England from the 1970 edition and win it in 1974, and was diagnosed in 2015, and died in 2021.

Pat Wilson, Ray's wife, said, "There are people he played with at Huddersfield and Everton with Alzheimer's. They are all over. They have talked about heading the leather ball causing it." The balls of that era were heavier than they are today, and, being made of leather, got heavier still when wet.

The surviving players had a golf outing every year, for as long as they could. John Stiles, Nobby's son, said, "It's a real shame he can't go to the get-together anymore, because he loved going. He loved the camaraderie they had. That is what made them so special. But, unfortunately, like so many who played in that era and headed those heavy balls, my father has now got dementia. Many other players have some sort of degenerative brain disease."

When an event like winning a world championship happens, they say the participants and the spectators "will never forget." Sadly, we now know that this is not necessarily true.

In 2018, Jimmy Armfield died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma on January 22; and Ray Wilson died of Alzheimer's disease on May 15.

In 2019, Gordon Banks died of cancer on February 12, and Martin Peters died of Alzheimer's disease on December 21.

In 2020, Peter Bonetti died on April 12, of what was only listed as "a long illness"; Norman Hunter died from COVID-19 on April 17; Jack Charlton died of lymphoma on July 10, also having dealt with dementia; and Nobby Stiles died on October 30, from the combined effects of cancer and dementia.

In 2021, Jimmy Greaves died of cancer on September 19; Roger Hunt died on September 27, of what was only listed as "a prolonged illness"; and Ron Flowers died on November 12, of an undisclosed cause.

So, as of July 11, 2022, the following 6 players are still alive: George Cohen, Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst, Terry Paine, Ian Callaghan and George Eastham. And Charlton has now been diagnosed with dementia, too.

UPDATE: George Cohen died on December 23, 2022. Bobby Charlton died on October 21, 2023. George Eastham died on December 20, 2024. That leaves Hurst, Paine and Callaghan, and only Hurst among those who played in the Final.

An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 2nd, behind 1982. 

*

July 30, 1966 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 6-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Gary Peters pitched a 3-hit shutout. Mel Stottlemyre only pitched 4 innings, Jim Bouton wasn't much better in his 3, and the Dooley Womack pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Mickey Mantle went 1-for-3. Roger Maris was injured and did not play.

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Shea Stadium. Ernie Banks hit a home run.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Senators, 8-2 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.) Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Atlanta Braves swept a doubleheader from the San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1975.) They won the opener, 6-5. Denis Menke singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Willie Mays hit a home run, and then got the nightcap off. The Braves won that, 15-2. Gene Oliver hit 3 home runs. Over the 2 games, Hank Aaron went 4-for-7 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell went 0-for-4, and Roberto Clemente did not play.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 5-1 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 1-for-4.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-0 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Dave Boswell allowed only 3 baserunners: A single to Russ Snyder, a walk to Luis Aparicio, and he hit Davey Johnson with a pitch. Neither Brooks Robinson nor Frank Robinson reached base. Harmon Killebrew and Earl Battey homered for the Twins.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1 at the new Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lou Brock went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a stolen base.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline went 1-for-4.

* The California Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edision International Field in 1997, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004.)