Villa captain Johnny Dixon lifts the trophy. PA Archive / Press Association Images
PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
ASTON VILLA TAKE to the famous Wembley Stadium pitch this afternoon in the hope of bringing to an end a 58-year wait for FA Cup success.
Back in simpler times when final day was the only opportunity to watch a live game on television, 99,225 fans crammed onto the terraces of the same ground as the Birmingham club faced a Manchester United side who had just won back-to-back domestic titles.
Matt Busby’s talented young side featured the likes of Bobby Charlton, Duncan Edwards and Ireland’s Liam Whelan. Tragically, Edwards, Whelan and four more of United’s starting line-up would be killed in the Munich air disaster just nine months later.
Villa were captained by Johnny Dixon and had Northern Ireland striker Peter McParland leading the line. Under Eric Houghton, they were also aiming to become the first club to win the competition for a seventh time but went into the game as underdogs.
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With just six minutes on the clock, however, an ugly clash of heads between McParland and Ray Wood left the goalkeeper unable to continue after sustaining a dislocated jaw.
Shoulder charges were permitted at the time and the commentator called it “fair”, but a reckless challenge like that in today’s game would almost certainly have resulted in a straight red card.
Ray kept coming towards me as I was following up. I put a shoulder charge in on him and he pulled away at the last minute and unfortunately we did bang our heads together.
“A goalkeeper would take you on in a shoulder charge sometimes,” he added. “I would have been hit by a goalkeeper at Chelsea and he knocked seven bells out of me when I hit the ground.
“They would give you a belt back and it was all part of the game then.”
Ray Wood receives treatment after the incident. S&G and Barratts / EMPICS Sport
S&G and Barratts / EMPICS Sport / EMPICS Sport
With little regard for his well-being, Wood’s jersey was pulled off him and handed to centre half Jackie Blanchflower, who had to fill in between the sticks.
Parland was booed by opposing supporters for the remainder of the match but that didn’t stop him scoring twice midway through the second half. First, he planted a bullet header into the top corner on 68 minutes, before he pounced first to bury the the ball home from close range after it had come back out off the bar.
As it was before the introduction of substitutes, United had thrown the injured Wood back on as an outfield player rather continue with ten men. Still clearly in some pain though, he was little more than a bystander and, despite Tommy Taylor cutting the lead to one goal seven minutes from time, it was to be Villa’s day.
McParland and Wood, by then in an outfield jersey, walk off the pitch at full-time. PA Archive / Press Association Images
PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Aston Villa's hero in their last FA Cup win against the Busby Babes was also the villain
ASTON VILLA TAKE to the famous Wembley Stadium pitch this afternoon in the hope of bringing to an end a 58-year wait for FA Cup success.
Back in simpler times when final day was the only opportunity to watch a live game on television, 99,225 fans crammed onto the terraces of the same ground as the Birmingham club faced a Manchester United side who had just won back-to-back domestic titles.
Matt Busby’s talented young side featured the likes of Bobby Charlton, Duncan Edwards and Ireland’s Liam Whelan. Tragically, Edwards, Whelan and four more of United’s starting line-up would be killed in the Munich air disaster just nine months later.
Villa were captained by Johnny Dixon and had Northern Ireland striker Peter McParland leading the line. Under Eric Houghton, they were also aiming to become the first club to win the competition for a seventh time but went into the game as underdogs.
With just six minutes on the clock, however, an ugly clash of heads between McParland and Ray Wood left the goalkeeper unable to continue after sustaining a dislocated jaw.
Shoulder charges were permitted at the time and the commentator called it “fair”, but a reckless challenge like that in today’s game would almost certainly have resulted in a straight red card.
“Unfortunately I whacked into Ray Wood, who was coming off his line,” McParland said in BBC documentary A Game of Two Eras.
“A goalkeeper would take you on in a shoulder charge sometimes,” he added. “I would have been hit by a goalkeeper at Chelsea and he knocked seven bells out of me when I hit the ground.
“They would give you a belt back and it was all part of the game then.”
With little regard for his well-being, Wood’s jersey was pulled off him and handed to centre half Jackie Blanchflower, who had to fill in between the sticks.
Parland was booed by opposing supporters for the remainder of the match but that didn’t stop him scoring twice midway through the second half. First, he planted a bullet header into the top corner on 68 minutes, before he pounced first to bury the the ball home from close range after it had come back out off the bar.
As it was before the introduction of substitutes, United had thrown the injured Wood back on as an outfield player rather continue with ten men. Still clearly in some pain though, he was little more than a bystander and, despite Tommy Taylor cutting the lead to one goal seven minutes from time, it was to be Villa’s day.
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A long time to wait Busby Babes FA Cup memory lane Aston Villa Manchester United