Everton History 14 May 1966 — Is it really half a century ago? A story where one of the most famous games in Everton's history, the FA Cup Final of 1966 when Everton beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-2, was just a part. Ray Roche 14/05/2016 45comments | Jump to last 14 May, 1966 is a date that will live long in the memory of Evertonians of a certain age. It was the day when we beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-2, after being 0-2 down with 30 minutes left, to win the FA Cup. This is my story of that unforgettable weekend, and it's not ALL about football but the bits that aren't are all relevant in a "Sliding Doors" kind of way. Actually, my story begins a year earlier,: 1965, a year that saw Liverpool beat Dirty Leeds to win the FA Cup for the first time in their history. Fast-forward a couple of months and I was invited to join my best mate, John Bone, his parents and younger sister on their holiday to Maldon in Essex to stay in a caravan belonging to his Aunty. As an apprentice cabinet maker and consequently as poor as a church mouse that had been mugged going to Evensong, this was music to my ears, being virtually free. So, in the last week in July, we all climbed into his Dad's Vauxhall Victor FA — you know the one; it pretended to be American with wrap-round windscreen and small fins at the rear and lots of chrome. Older ones could also rust away to nothing on a long journey, leaving you to get the train home. After a long, hot journey, we eventually found the caravan site overlooking an estuary and his Auntie's caravan handily placed next to the Gents... I could say it was a bit on the small size but that would be doing it an injustice. It was tiny, a tourer that his Aunt could tow behind a Renault 4 which gives you an idea of its size. Okay, there was just about enough room to swing a cat but, believe me, the cat would suffer life-threatening injuries. Still, as I said, it was free. And very cosy. Article continues below video content John and I, like most lads, went on the pull on the first night and luckily enough, met two London girls, Anne and Sandra. In those days (and you might read that phrase several times in this missive), coming from Liverpool was an actual bonus. Liverpool was, after all, the centre of the popular music world with the plethora of local groups filling the pop charts, numerous comedians and, at this time, the BBC hadn't started to put "thieving" in front of "scouser" as a matter of course. On hearing our accent we were often asked, especially by girls, "Liverpool! Do you know the Beatles?" And, of course, we did... John and I were best mates... ahem! After a week of hormone-filled caravans, steamed-up windows, and romantic walks along the shore, the time came for us to return home and, just like countless Spanish/Greek/Italian waiters have done for decades, we swapped addresses and promised to keep in touch. (For the benefit of any younger fans "keeping in touch" in the days before Twatter, Faceplant and Is'nitgrim involved an envelope, Basildon Bond, and a pen. You wrote your message on the paper, put it in an envelope with a small stamp bearing the image of an old lady on it, and wrote the recipient's address on the front before handing it to a nice GPO man in shorts who, using magic and a Morris Minor van, delivered it to your required address the very next day! Marvelous, eh?) John soon tired of it but Anne and I carried on writing... after all, Liverpool had won the cup that year and I'd promised her that we'd be going to London the next May because 1966 was going to be "Our Year", a phrase since purloined by the kopites... January 1966 saw our cup run begin just weeks after the debacle that saw Everton lose 2-0 away at Blackpool. After the match, there was a demonstration against Harry Catterick by supporters unhappy that fans' favourite, Alex Young, had been dropped to allow a 16-year-old Joe Royle to make his debut. Catterick stumbled as he approached the team coach but the Press decided he'd been attacked and kicked to the ground. Complete and utter rubbish — but it sold papers and became a myth that survives in some people's minds to this day. So, Sunderland it was who came to Goodison for the Third Round tie: Pickering, Temple and Young scored in a 3-0 win to take us to the Fourth Round and a draw against lowly Bedford Town. They too were despatched by the same score with Temple and Pickering again on the score sheet. Next came Coventry City and, they were also sent packing with the same 3-0 scoreline, and Young, Temple and Pickering once more were on the score sheet. The Fifth Round, and a trip to Maine Road beckoned against a handy Manchester City side. It ended scoreless, as did the Goodison replay 3 days later. (Yes, three days. How come the Police didn't give a flying fuck about Health and Safety in those days? Why do we now need the consent of the Police and a letter from the Pope before we can play a replay 10 days after the first game...?) Anyway, after a 0-0 draw in the first replay, we were off to neutral Molyneux for the second replay, where Pickering and Temple again were the scorers as City were put to the sword... One game away from Wembley! The draw for the semi-finals was made, Sheffield Wednesday were to play Chelsea but we had Manchester United. Even without George Best, they still had Dennis Law and Bobby Charlton — and had already beaten us 3-0 at their place. Still, a daisy-cutter from Colin Harvey, the White Pele, saw us through to our first Cup Final for 33 years. And we were yet to concede a goal. Now, the problem was getting a ticket. I'm happy to be corrected here but I think that teams were allocated 11,000 or 17,000 tickets for Wembley in those days. The remaining 80-odd thousand went to blazers and local Football Associations. Each week, Everton printed a small triangular stub in the corner of a page in the matchday programme which you collected and could be used in the event of us reaching the Final. I was one short and memory tells me it was (I think) voucher 12 for the Fulham game. Whether this was because the gate was so low or too few programmes printed is anybody's guess, but loads of fans were short of voucher 12. After asking everyone I knew for a spare No 12, on the eve of the tickets going on sale, my mate gave me the news that one of our pals had managed to get a spare one and was keeping it for me to pick up. So, the next morning I was up early and with all the required vouchers, got the bus from Tarbock Road to the Rocket and then on to Walton. The queues were already round the ground and we waited for hours and hours, shuffling slowly to the turnstile. I seem to remember using the ones in Bullens Road, towards the Street End. You went in through the turnstiyle, presented your vouchers and 10 shillings (50p) and left through the big gates. I remember being offered £10 by a bloke as I came out — and £10 was much more than two weeks wages for a young apprentice cabinet-maker like I was then — but I wouldn't have sold it for anything. Wembley. Getting to Wembley was more of an achievement then, not like now when the experience of playing there has been diluted with crap like the Zenith Sports Super Cup, Rumbelow Cup, Charity/Community Shield, lower league playoffs, even semi-finals being played there... a player would name a Wembley appearance as the highlight of his career. Eventually, three of us would be making the journey, another Ray, myself and Alec who, although a ticketless Kopite, fancied a weekend in London. He also had a 1953 Morris Minor which was to be our transport. We set off on the Friday night before the game, cruising around Liverpool along with, it seemed, thousands of other blue-covered cars before setting off. As there was no motorway system like there is now and with a top speed of about 40 mph, you can see why it took all night. The roads seemed full of cars decked out in blue and white and most seemed to us to be Evertonians. At last, we arrived and, after breakfast in Covent Garden, met up with the girls who took us round London to see the sights. Downing St,"Eee Aye Adio, Harold's Still In Bed", Buckingham Palace, Guardsmen's red tunics... Alec, the driver, was paying too much attention to these sights and ran into the back of and old Austin Cambridge on London Bridge, smashing the radiator. We were stuffed. Radiator fluid poured on to the road and the Morris was going nowhere, at least, not under its own steam. But the driver of the other vehicle was a top bloke and, after helping us get the car to a garage, where it was to remain for another week, ran Ray and I to Wembley well in time for the game. Can you believe that? I'll never forget his kindness. The game was unbelievable, 0-2 down with 30 mins to go and winning 3-2? You couldn't write it. I remember when the third went in... pandemonium. Those plastic straw boater hats thrown in the air, a big bloke behind me lifting me up and the noise was deafening. We must have gone 20 feet down the terracing in the crush. I have never experienced noise, passion or emotion like it, before or since. Grown men crying tears of joy, hugging complete strangers... you had to be there. (Some years later, at a dinner party, one girl tried the old "What was the best day of your life" crap. My spineless mate agreed with the girls that it was his wedding day. All eyes on me... "Hell, no, Wembley 1966!" A hoar frost emanated from Mrs Roche, spreading slowly across the table like in a Disney cartoon, sod it... in for a penny!) But the match was only part of it. After a great night out, we went the next day to Euston Station to see if we could get a train home... We stood in a short queue and eventually bought tickets. Then a commotion behind us... the Everton team and officials had arrived! We plucked up courage and spoke to some of them, old Joe Mercer was an absolute gent and asked us if we'd had a good time, the late Alex Scott saw us and let us hold his medal, we couldn't believe our luck, I mean, holding a Cup Winners medal the day after he'd won it! And things were about to get better. The train we had tickets for was jam-packed and when we saw a senior guard we gave him the sob-story about the car crash... ok, we ladled it on a bit... I mean, no-one actually WENT to hospital... and Alec's limp kept going from right leg to left leg... but we were basically decent lads, definitely not scallies. He said that if we behaved ourselves we could go back on "That train there" and pointed to the team's train. We were put in a carriage with three middle-aged, suited gents who could have been directors for all we knew, but they were very kind and chatted away to us for some time, but we felt a bit overawed and uncomfortable and, after a while, went and stood in the corridor. Brian Harris came out on his way for a slash and asked what we were doing on the train? When we told him our story — which by now involved Alec having open-heart surgery — after he'd had his slash, he took us to meet the players in their coach. They all signed our song sheets and our ticket stubs, including the surviving members of the 1933 Cup Winning team who were there as guests of the club: Dixie Dean, Jimmy Dunn etc.. He then he led us to a smaller coach containing Gordon West, John Moores and Harry Catterick who reached up into the old rope type luggage rack, got the FA Cup down, and let each of us hold it in turn. Remember... NO-ONE got to hold the FA Cup then, unless you'd won it. Nowadays you can pay a tenner and have your photo taken with the Cup or a copy all over the place, but then? No way. After we got to Allerton, on the outskirts of Liverpool, the team got off and went on the open top coach through the streets. We stayed on until the train got to Lime Street where we stood for hours with tens of thousands of others to see them arrive at St Georges Hall — with the Cup we'd just been holding. Sliding Doors? Well, if we hadn't gone to Maldon, I'd never have met the Anne, wouldn't have gone to London for the weekend, wouldn't have crashed the car, wouldn't have got the train... Share article: Reader Comments (45) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Bob McEvoy 1 Posted 13/05/2016 at 22:24:09 Great story Ray and from what I recall Catterick hogged The Cup so you were truly honoured.The Fulham game you mentioned was on a filthy December day and only about 20 thousand attended hence the lack of programmes sold and thus vouchers Alan Rodgers 2 Posted 13/05/2016 at 22:26:31 That's a wonderful tale Ray. Thanks. Took me back to the late 60's when we were shipyard apprentices . Jay Harris 3 Posted 13/05/2016 at 22:43:25 Great tale Ray and told in inimitable scouse fashion.Although climbing over the railings and running on the pitch in 63 at the end of the Fulham game was my highlight I will never forget the crowds on Lime street for that homecoming.I feel really sorry for the kids of today who will never get to experience the crushes and atmosphere of the old days when you queued up for 24 hours to get a ticket for a Derby or European match ticket.Now you just tap your smartphone and there you go.Just not the same. John Hoggarth 4 Posted 13/05/2016 at 23:02:40 What a great tale Ray. First chapter of a book? Mick Davies 5 Posted 13/05/2016 at 23:12:10 Great story, I was 7 at the time but remember my brother and his mates setting off outside the pub in a Mini, festooned in blue and white streamers, rosettes etc. Happy days, when The Mersey Millionaires ruled the roost. Eugene Ruane 6 Posted 13/05/2016 at 23:13:36 Terrific! Christine Foster 7 Posted 14/05/2016 at 00:16:51 Long time ago when we wuz Fab....Great memories Ray, I remember it all so well even if I was so little, my Dad (a red) bought the one of the first and biggest colour television, ( I think it was a Pye) on the knock of course, it was the only one in the street, the house was packed to watch the game. I think those memories are etched into my very skin forever.We didn't have a car, Dad had a motorbike with a sidecar, I remember mum and two of us in the sidecar and dad and grandad on the bike, 5 on a bike, no helmets.. just to watch the parade.. and as I said.. they were all reds.. it was an occasion after all. John Critchley 8 Posted 14/05/2016 at 00:34:41 Ray and Christine, wow, brilliant memories, I love reading about our fans stories like that, fabulous. Ray I used a story like that to a bird I met on hols in Caister early 80's, said I was McCartney's cousin. Jay Wood 9 Posted 14/05/2016 at 00:54:20 Superb read Ray. John Roberts 10 Posted 14/05/2016 at 01:13:30 Directed by Guy Ritchie? ;-) Michael Coville 11 Posted 14/05/2016 at 01:38:03 Great story Ray. I was also at Wembley that day, great experience. Not lucky enough to see the team after the game. I was 26 at the time but did not meet any girls in London since I had just got married the year before so had to be on my best behavior. I had bought one of those straw hats and was wearing it when we got on the tube train after the game. Of course we were packed into the train like sardines and I was just able to get in. As the door shut it knocked my hat out of the train and a woman guard with a dark complexion picked it up and put it on. Every one on the coach was shouting that it was Mrs Trebilcock and gave her an almighty cheer. I often wonder what happened to my hat.I was also at Wembley in 1995 when we beat United. I'm hoping to get to see us lift the cup one more time to make it a lucky three. Maybe the new manager will make my wish come true. Dick Fearon 12 Posted 14/05/2016 at 04:09:52 The day after Wembley me and my mates took a wrong turn and ended up in a quaint little pub near Silverstone race track and there we stayed. David Collier 13 Posted 14/05/2016 at 05:03:31 Cup Final DayPicture me alone in my new inlaws house with our first just-born daughter, the black-and-white tv resting on the gas pipe, all ready for the game with the strict instructions under no circumstances whatsoever to make any noise which might disturb the sleeping princess in her Silver Cross pram while the ladies of the house went shopping.Almost silent groans when one goal down followed by two furiously puffed ciggies, two goals down and it's out into the yard to curse and pray to the heavens for a change of fortune in the second half.Trebilcock. What can I say about this man. Against all the odds, scoring 2 superb goals, each goal met by me punching the air in silent tribute. When Derek Temple delivered the winner, I danced, twirled and screamed in silence till my face turned purple under that feeling of sheer joy.And no, the princess didn't wake from her slumber. Keith Edmunds 14 Posted 14/05/2016 at 06:01:41 Trebilcock and Trebilcock and up for the crown...Think I've still got the record somewhere. Darren Hind 15 Posted 14/05/2016 at 06:39:25 wonderful stuff RayLoved it Peter Mills 16 Posted 14/05/2016 at 07:12:10 Great stuff Ray. I can't remember much about last week, but have so many memories of that day which were seared into my 10 year old brain. Like my dad buying me an ice cream outside Wembley after the match to celebrate, then buying about another 15 and just handing them to anyone in an Everton scarf.A wonderful, wondrous day. Dean Peamum 17 Posted 14/05/2016 at 08:01:14 Really riveting read Ray Roche! Richard Lyons 18 Posted 14/05/2016 at 08:14:35 Thanks, Ray. Loved it! My uncle and cousins were there; wish I could have been there as well, but I was too young. I was still deemed a bit too young two years later, to my disgust, but I don't have such regrets about that one... Ray Jacques 19 Posted 14/05/2016 at 08:26:30 Fantastic read. One of my earliest memories is of my dad and his mates bedecking his car in blue the day before travelling down. Five of them slept in the car in Hendon and borrowed milk from front door steps to cure hangovers Paul Joy 20 Posted 14/05/2016 at 08:47:52 Thanks Rayafter all the negativity we have had of late that was a great read. Neil Cremin 21 Posted 14/05/2016 at 08:48:24 I am an Everton fan for 50 years today.As a young lad in Ireland, watched the game on TV and was bowled over by the comeback that they became my team. Such a roller coaster ride since then.Here's to the bright new future. My preference for next manager is Simone as he had created a great side with a winning mentality without buying in talent. He is a true coach who moulded his team to play as a team.That is exactly what we need. Derek Barnes 23 Posted 14/05/2016 at 10:26:14 Ditto Neil, I would also put myself in the 50 years club supporting my beloved blues today. Happy anniversary! I as watching the game as a 10-year-old on a flickering black and white telly and it was probably the first time I had watched Everton live, in fact probably the first live game I had ever watched. Running out the house in Taliesin Street (off Scotty Road) after each goal, going berserk, dear Eddie Cavanagh's pitch 'invasion' and dummying the copper was the most funniest thing I had ever seen in my life. My Nan making me the biggest rosette for the coming home procession the day after, along Netherfield Road... what a weekend. After that, I was hooked of course. Sometimes I think if I had been watching the final the year before (I was probably out in the street playing 'kick the can' or something), would I have ended up a red nose? Thank God for street games, eh! Fine margins spring to mind... now where have I heard that before over the past season? Ray Robinson 24 Posted 14/05/2016 at 10:31:07 Fantastic read Ray! I was thirteen at the time. My dad was a fully committed Red, so I had no chance of going to the game. I watched it at my Aunty and Uncle's house and went from despair to elation in half an hour. Seem to remember Doctor Who was on afterwards (the original series).I'd completely forgotten about the cut-off triangles in the programmes! Dave Roberts 25 Posted 14/05/2016 at 10:57:01 It was a great day but it was a day which has left me with a feeling of bloody annoyance ever since. Every time there's any TV programme or media 'debate' about great FA Cup Finals this one never gets a mention!Yet the occasion had everything. The favourites going 2-0 down. Controversy about Fred Pickering not getting in the side....who is this Trebilcock? A remarkable fightback...an absolutely stunning winning goal by Temple. The copper losing his hat and Brian Labone putting it on...the rugby tackle on Eddie Cavanagh by the copper. Jimmy Gabriel, with his socks round his ankles holding the ball by the corner flag for what seemed like 20 minutes!It was great the following day as well. I lived in Garston then and it was easy getting to Allerton to see the team arrive home. Even though I was 19 years old then, for some reason I had a little blue and white teddy bear with me and threw it on top of the bus. My mate's dad was a black cab driver then and he drove us down to Lime Street Station using all the rat-runs he knew to avoid the traffic to get there before the team....followed by a drunken, rowdy afternoon in the Legs of Man.I'm knocking on a bit now and I've seen a few more great Everton Days... 1970',84, 85, 87, and 95 but apart from perhaps Rotterdam which was just as enjoyable there was something really special about that day in 1966 which, for me, nothing else has quite matched.I'd love to see more before I depart from this mortal realm! Len Hawkins 26 Posted 14/05/2016 at 11:10:30 What a couple of months that was FA cup final, World Cup Final it was a great time to be an Everton Supporter and England Supporter. I feel sorry that I don't think football supporters will ever see England win the World Cup again, hopefully Everton will become a force again sooner rather than later. Peter Jones 27 Posted 14/05/2016 at 11:19:10 Great read, Ray. I am little younger than you. My dad and I went down on the Saturday morning setting off around 6. We parked up at my mum's cousin's place in Neasden. Anne, who was lovely, suggested that her boyfriend Kieran had always wanted to see a cup final and that perhaps he could go with my dad while I went shopping with her. My kopite dad, bless him, looked at my 13-year-old face and swiftly scotched the idea. It too was probably the greatest football year of my life. A bit later I got my first season ticket for my birthday (٢ 4s 0d), then England won the World Cup and Everton bought Alan Ball all in the space of three months. And you tell the kids of today and they look at you like they hate you... Brian Denton 28 Posted 14/05/2016 at 12:01:59 And even then, the RS had to go and win the League. Mind you, the FA Cup was almost as prestigious then, hard to believe as that may be.Great read. John Keating 29 Posted 14/05/2016 at 13:23:15 Raywonder you could get out of the station.I never thought you could get that many people in Lime Street.Was incredible to be there !Just as a thought, weren't Liverpool playing at home the same day we played Sunderland in the third round at Goodison ?????Somewhere in the back of my mind I seem to remember seeing RS heading up to Analfield ?? Ian Nulty 30 Posted 14/05/2016 at 13:40:53 Loved the article, Ray. I think we had family holidays at the same caravan site as you, called Mill Beach near Tollesbury on the River Blackwater and around the same era. I started to follow the Toffees in early 1960s and remember vividly watching them put Man Utd to the sword on my Gran's little black and white TV in a charity shield game, 4-0, Alex Young among the goals. Probably the first match I watched seriously and became a Bluenose that day. I was at the Final, blagged a day off work from WH Smith and got my Mum to help me rig up a big Royal Blue flag which I took with me... Great memories of that day. I took the same flag to the opening league game at Fulham (Alan Ball's first match and I think he scored) and on the way back to Putney Bridge tube through the park, it was collared by some older Fulham fans and chucked in the river!! Cheers, Ray... and Frank de Boer for new manager!! John Audsley 31 Posted 14/05/2016 at 13:47:05 Brilliant stuffNice one Ray Patrick Murphy 32 Posted 14/05/2016 at 14:37:41 Ray great article by the way, I was too young to take much of an interest in football at the time and was more impressed with Batman and Robin on the TV, but happily? I became obsessed with Everton FC in my early teens and have met some wonderful people along the way. It's a pity the club hasn't always matched its supporters but we all live in hope. Ray Roche 33 Posted 14/05/2016 at 18:05:33 Thanks for all the kind comments. I've just, literally, returned from a golfing trip to Spain. On the way back it occurred to me that it was fifty years ago today that this game took place. I glanced at my watch and it was just coming up to 3 o'clock... really surreal moment THAT was. Left me all mist eyed.I actually sent this post in a few months back but Lyndon and Michael quite correctly decided that it would be better on the actual anniversary. How time flies by...Bob#1 Yes, Bob, Catterick kept hold of the Cup as each of us got to hold it... he certainly wasn't going to let anyone steal his thunder. Or the Cup.John Critchley #8 "said I was McCartney's cousin"... funny, I never saw you at any family parties. ....I mean, I was there with John..Ian#30Ian, I can't remember the name of the caravan site but the Blackwater Estuary rings a bell. It was a pretty basic site back then, as I recall, but it was a great time to be young, worry free and Blue. The great thing about ToffeeWeb is that someone comes on with a few recollections about Everton from the past and it opens a treasure trove of memories from like minded blues. Some of the comments on here are just great.As for Anne, we kept in touch for several years and I'd visit London as and when I could, or when I was between birds to be a bit more accurate. The last time we were in touch was about 1973-74 when Anne invited me and a.n.other to her wedding. I tactfully mentioned it to the newly wed Mrs Roche who emitted one of those low growls a Cocker Spaniel does when you go too near when they're having their food. You know the look, they don't actually make eye contact, just make that growl.....so, in the interests of self preservation and utter cowardice, I declined, something I still regret. As long as I don't say that sort of thing out loud. Terry Underwood 34 Posted 14/05/2016 at 18:11:36 I live on the south coast and had been "chosen" by Everton just the year before. My only live football was an occasional trip to Fratton Park to watch Pompey in the then second division. I was lucky enough to meet Mike Trebilcock, he was happy to chat and was very happy with his time, short as it was, at Goodison. He was one of those who had been "touched" and would always have a niche in his heart for the blues Dave Abrahams 35 Posted 14/05/2016 at 18:35:29 Great story Ray, got plenty myself of that glorious day, but none to beat yours.John (29) spot on John, they played Chelsea, kicked off a bit later than our game versus Sunderland, Liverpool lost, if my memory is correct Bobby Tambling scored the winner for Chelsea, all in all a great day and a marvellous season.When Derek Temple scored the winner and after I came back down from Everton Heaven, I remember thinking have that you Red Bastards, took you over seventy years to win the cup, took us twelve months to win it back. Rick Tarleton 36 Posted 14/05/2016 at 19:22:39 It remains my favourite day in My sixty plus years of Everton supporting. I was at Exeter University by then and had arranged to meet two uncles in Euston at noon. They handed me my ticket and we went to G64 section in Wembley, Tommy Eglington was just in front of us.The game itself was not a footballing classic, but the comeback was the stuff of legends. After the first goal, "singing" "Attack, Attack, Attack" incessantly, a bloke near us going down on his knees and praying and then the equaliser and finally Temple's goal.I split from my uncles who were going back to Liverpool and headed to Trafalgar Square where I had a drink or two in a pub in Northumberland Avenue and went in the fountains with lots of other daft Evertonians. Caught the last train out of Waterlooto Exeter Central, soaked and deliriously happy.Got back to my hall of residence and letoff all the fire alarms, which cost me my caution money (£10) and annoyed about four hundred other students. I didn't care. We'd won the cup. Phil Walling 37 Posted 14/05/2016 at 19:30:19 I've got a pint for anybody who saw BK holding Eddie Cavanagh's waistcoat when he ran on and who witnessed him bribing the busy to let Eddie back in.Things like that make you the Greatest Evertonian, you know ! Phil Walling 38 Posted 14/05/2016 at 19:32:30 Meant bissie, of course Phil Walling 39 Posted 14/05/2016 at 19:49:33 A relative rings to say I've been away too long. She says it's always been spelt BIZZY ! Dave Abrahams 40 Posted 14/05/2016 at 20:18:10 Phil I would like to meet anyone who was in Wembley that day who saw Kenwright there!!!!!! Tony Heron 41 Posted 14/05/2016 at 20:46:15 Great story Ray. I was 16 at the time and in my last year at school. I was saving the programme vouchers too ( I thought they were square ??), any way I was a few short but a mate got a ticket so gave me the vouchers I was missing. Because the day they were selling tickets was a weekday I was at school. My schoolmate decided to bunk off in the afternoon so he could get in the queue early. Me being a good boy waited till school ended, which in those days was 4 o'clock, not part time like now! I made my way down to Goodison arriving at nearly 5 and joined the massive queue, which seemed to circle the ground, clutching my precious vouchers. At just before 9 I finally found myself about 8 feet away from the turnstile and then.......... they closed the doors, sold out!! I was devastated. My schoolmate of course got his ticket and went to Wembley while I watched the game on telly. The result and the manner of the win soon banished my dissapointment and I'll never forget that scene in town as the team paraded the glittering world famous trophy, the F.A.cup. Happy days. Ray Atherton 44 Posted 14/05/2016 at 23:12:09 RayA brilliant story of our 1966 FA cup final. I went to every cup tie, I think Man City gave us the hardest game at the night match at Molyneux.I went down to London on the Friday midnight train,there were twelve of us. On the morning of the final,we made our way to Soho for a few bevies.When we were in the pub who was walking pastoutside, was the one and only Muhammed Aliand his trainer Angela Dundee. He was herefor his fight with our Henry.Outside Wembley we saw Harold Wilson, chattedto him,if he had any spare tickets. He didn"t butsaid Everton to win. He was after all a Yorkshireman from Huddersfield, maybe he knew he had togo back to Huyton.I didn"t have a ticket for the game. I tried to bunk in, but to no avail. Six mates had tickets and six didn"t.We went down to a big pub off Wembley way,sitting outside on the patio, when we heard a roarafter four minutes, mate said it"s got to be Wednesday, ours would be louder.The managers wife came out collecting glasses,I asked could we watch the match, what a bit ofluck she was a scouser from West Derby road.I said I lived near there. The pub manager was not very happy, but she had the last word. (We all know that you cannotwin against a Liverpool girl) When Wednesday scored their second goal, the manager from Rotherham came up to me andsaid the cup"s going back to Yorkshire.I said I"ll bet you a pound we will win it (Doesn"tseem a lot now, but it would get you ten pintsback home.Give him his due at the final whistle, he cameacross. I said give it to the staff, for a great afternoon. Ray Roche 46 Posted 15/05/2016 at 09:37:16 Ray, I'd forgotten about the Ali fight, where you one of the Everton supporters who were photographed with him in Hyde Park when he was training? Tony Draper 47 Posted 15/05/2016 at 12:16:25 50 Years ?FFS it feels like a FICTION ago.In 1966.Nope I just can't explain that to the 30 & under Blues.The Thehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn4j37CX29gExplains FAR more than any number of once proud Blues posting here EVER could !COYBB !But here's what I BEG, BLEED FOR !https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YxaaGgTQYMBID MY BLOOD TO RUN, BRING ME BACK TO LIFE !SAVE ME FROM THE NOTHING I'VE BECOME ! Ray Atherton 48 Posted 15/05/2016 at 16:12:26 Ray No I wasn't at Hyde Park; but have seen all of the photos with the blue fans. The banners displaying "We're the Greatest". James Royston 49 Posted 15/05/2016 at 21:20:57 Good article Ray. I saw every round and nearly got sacked taking a sickie for the replay at Wolves, and remember no goals against till the Final. Eight of us went down in two old cars (with two lads getting in the ground in an "unusual" way) after seeing Paul McCartney & John Lennon outside the ground . My wife was with us and the pen we were in was that packed that she went out to the toilet could not back to us. Unfortunately she has developed Alzheimer's ( we are 76 now) but still remembers lots from years including that day and says she saw the Teams presented to Princess Margaret, Everton's goals at the far end just managed to get back to us in time to see Labby pick up the Cup. Certainly one of my best memories since my first game on "me Dad's" shoulders in 1947. As well as loads of great days with the blues. 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