Sunday 15 February 2015

Jack in Time: A packed and snowy Vetch in 1955 (with video)

Don't worry, I'm not ditching our regular Sunday morning catch-up articles, but while the Swans have the weekend off I thought I would do something a little different this morning.

I'm a big fan of Swansea nostalgia and - after writing Swansea City's Greatest Games - I find I know a lot more about the club's colourful history than I did before.

And I've decided to share a little of that history with you this week.

Today we're looking at an excellent video of Swansea Town vs Sunderland in the FA Cup fifth round at a very snowy Vetch field on 19 February 1955.



What's instantly eye-catching is the crowd - it looks insane! 28,487 people crammed themselves into the Vetch that day (this was before all the stands had been built... and well before health and safety regulations) to watch the Swansea Babes in action.

First Division high-flyers Sunderland took the lead after 24 minutes through Chisholm. However in the second half the Swans - then managed by the shrewd Billy McCandless - equalised through Mel Charles (although there are contradicting reports suggesting it was Len Allchurch who scored... I can't seem to see from this video, so it remains disputed!).

The home side then took the lead through the head of Terry Medwin, after an excellent cross from one of Swansea's greatest ever players, Ivor Allchurch. But Sunderland forced the replay later in the game with a goal from Charlie Fleming.

Unfortunately the replay four days later saw Sunderland win 1-0, knocking Swansea out of that season's FA Cup.

I'll try to do a few more of these entertaining trips through Swansea's history if everyone enjoys them. For now you can check out the best-selling Swansea City's Greatest Games for a good dose of nostalgia.


2 comments:

  1. Can you imagine any team playing in those conditions in this day and age.

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    Replies
    1. Ha ha, no definitely not. It was a completely different game back then wasn't it!

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