Whatever Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool fans witness on the pitch on Saturday when the Lancashire rivals battle for a spot in the FA Cup fourth round, it will be nothing like what both sets of supporters saw in the 1953 final of the world’s oldest cup competition.
It was the day a man so fit he was never out of breath (according to future England captain Jimmy Armfield), a player nicknamed ‘The Wizard of Dribble’ and whose father was a boxer, cemented his name in footballing folklore.
Sir Stanley Matthews, aged 38, bewitched Bolton’s defence as Blackpool clawed back a two-goal deficit with 22 minutes on the clock to seal a famous 4-3 win and land the Tangerines their first, and to this day only, FA Cup title.
The frantic final moments, as Blackpool levelled the match at 3-3 just before added time then went on to clinch victory in the dying seconds, still sends shivers down the spine.
“It was the nimbleness of feet,” said Jimmy Armfield, then in the Blackpool reserves who went on to captain his country in the 1960s.
Stan Mortensen was equally on form by scoring the only over FA Cup final hat-trick and some still feel aggrieved for the forward that his exploits that day rank second to Matthews’ trickery.
But after the fleet-footed winger had twice lost in FA Cup finals in 1948 and 1951 while lesser players had gone on to lift the famous trophy, most thought it fitting that he received the lion’s share of the praise.
“The public were all hoping for Stan to win, obviously,” said Cyril Robinson, one of Blackpool’s 1953 heroes.
Matthews went on to play until his retirement at the age of 50 and was the first winner of the FIFA Ballon D’Or in 1956.
Since that famous 1953 day the rivals, now side-by-side in the Championship and whose October meeting finished 0-0, have played twice in the FA Cup, Blackpool winning both courtesy of a third-round triumph in 1957 and in the first round in November 1989.
There’s little to choose between the pair ahead of tomorrow’s clash. Blackpool are 12th in the Championship with a goal difference of minus four, Bolton are 18th (minus five).
However, Paul Ince’s side have lost six of their past seven Championship games while Dougie Freedman’s Bolton have four wins in their last 10 league outings. Hardly setting the world alight, but better form then their immediate opposition nonetheless.
There was a boost for Freedman when he was able to re-sign versatile midfielder Neil Danns on loan from Championship pacesetters Leicester City.
Danns scored four goals in 13 appearances during his last loan spell at the Reebok Stadium.
After the chaos of the Christmas fixture list, former Manchester United midfielder and England international Ince is simply keen to experience the FA Cup again, a competition he won twice with United in 1990 and 1994.
“It’s a different kind of mental encounter than the hustle and bustle grind of The Championship. It gives you a different outlook playing in the FA Cup and it’s a fantastic trophy.”
Blackpool will have more than 1,600 orange-clad fans at Bolton in support and Ince is praying for a change in fortunes.
“You’ve always got the next game to turn it around and that’s what we’ll be trying to do.
“Something will turn, it’s just when it turns. That’s the way football is.”
Image courtesy of St Helens Rovers via YouTube, with thanks.
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
