1966 Football World Cup: The Alternative Host Cities.
Many people know a great deal about the 1966 Football World Cup. Whether it be the image of Bobby Moore, English football captain, with the trophy at Wembley, the infamous goal from English striker Geoff Hurst from which arguments over whether the ball crossed the line have been argued over for over fifty years now. The famous line of “They think it’s all over, it is now”, or Pickles the dog finding the Jules Rimet trophy after it was stolen, these all encapsulate this football tournament.[1] However, this essay will focus on the cities that hosted the World Cup and more particularly the legacies that the different national football teams left behind in the small cities and towns that they stayed and trained in during the tournament. With all of England’s games being played at Wembley and tickets in high demand, if fans from around the country wanted to catch any of the World Championship action they had to follow the other nations’ games. The other national teams resided near stadia in small towns across England and they built strong relationships with locals. This led to small pockets of the country growing an affiliation to other nations with some interesting and amusing stories of national teams leaving local legacies behind them. These were the alternative hosts of the 1966 World Cup.
Ashbourne in Derbyshire played host to the West German Football Team for eighteen days in July 1966, they played all their group games in Sheffield and Birmingham so this was an ideal base geographically. They got changed in the pavilion and practised at Ashbourne’s playing fields in front of the many people from the town. The team would go on walks around Ashbourne and were received and remembered warmly in the town and enjoyed the peace and quiet that they received.[2] Locals still think fondly of the ‘German invasion’ of 1966.[3] They were clearly not ready for the English weather as they ordered 25 folding umbrellas to their hotel.[4] However, they did integrate well with the locals. Helmut Haller, who later scored against England in the World Cup final, went out for lunch with one family. Franz Beckenbauer, arguably the greatest German footballer in history, went horse riding at one family’s farm and gave away his shirt to a local policeman who looked after the squad. Other members of the team were seen in the local Dog and Partridge Pub enjoying the music of The Beatles and Rolling Stones and the company of the local women.[5] This is perhaps surprising that everyone got on so well. Not only was this only twenty years after World War Two. But this would also have been the first time many English people had seen any Germans since the war. Moreover, West Germany proved to be England’s biggest rivals in the World Cup. Many Germans travelled with their team and camped locally, the comradery was also present between fans. One local man recalled, ‘There was banter but we all hoped that England and Germany would be in the final together and, when it transpired, everybody was thrilled’.[6] It is fair to assume that had Germany not faced England in the final a substantial portion of Derbyshire would have been supporting the Germans. Pictures and film footage from their stay was put on display at a recent exhibition in Ashbourne FC’s clubhouse. It highlights the stark difference from the nature of fans today who would swamp any national team if they went for a walk in England.
Adi Dassler, founder of Adidas, visited the German squad in Ashbourne. He took a well-worn football boot used in the traditional Ashbourne Shrove Tuesday football matches, and put it in his private museum.[7] The town has even been nicknamed ‘Little Deutschland’, however not all felt the friendly spirit as when one man was asked if he was going to watch West Germany train on the local field he replied: ‘No thanks, I’ve seen them on two fields already and that was quite enough for me’.[8]
The Brazilian squad had their team base in Lymm, near Warrington in Cheshire. Pele was the most famous footballer in the world at the time, his presence in Warrington attracted an enormous number of autograph hunters and he was the ‘star attraction’.[9] One local woman remembered that she waited outside the hotel many times and received Pele’s autograph on a dozen occasions. The Brazil squad signed many autographs each day at their hotel or at their training ground in Bolton. If they did not have enough time to sign everyone’s autograph book they would invite the waiting fans to leave their autograph book along with their address so they could sign their books and post them back to the owners.[10] Pele gave his training kit as a present to the hotel laundry man and this was on show at an exhibition that celebrated the Brazilians stay in Warrington. Pele did not enjoy the tournament as he vowed to never play in the World Cup again and only play for his club team Santos after a string of bad challenges he received in all his games (a vow he eventually broke four years later).[11] Unfortunately for the locals and the Brazilian team, they were knocked out in the group stages and so the Warrington / Brazil love story ended all too abruptly for all involved. Much like with what happened in Ashbourne, these memories were presented at an exhibition in the Lymm Hotel called BrazilLymm66.[12]
England were the hosts and eventual winners of the 1966 World Championship, they played all their games at Wembley and so their base was in Hendon in London. At the start of the tournament ten thousand less fans were at the game than at the final; as the tournament progressed and England were winning games the interest around the England squad grew.[13] The players of the day were much more becoming of a phrase that is overused about modern day footballers, working class heroes. The average wage for a footballer in England in 1966 was £44 and their lives had a lot more in common with the average working man of the day than footballers of today.[14] The England squad were mostly unbothered in Hendon and went to watch cricket and see Mohamed Ali train for his upcoming fight and had several visits to Hendon Odeon. Bobby Charlton even went clothes shopping on the day of the final and was free to peruse the isles.[15] Today the chance to take a picture within the national team hotel would be very rare. However, in 1966 photographers could visit the England squad during their down time. This picture shows England captain Bobby Moore consoling England’s top striker at the time Jimmy Greaves.
[16] Greaves had been told that he was not going to be selected for the final, and with no substitutions allowed in this time he would not take any part in the game nor would he receive a winner’s medal should they win. This would have been a moment of immense importance to Greaves and it is astounding that photographers were freely allowed to document this incident.[17] To go from being able to roam the streets freely to the image of thousands on the streets celebrating in a day labelled ‘West End’s wildest night since VE night – in May 1945’ illustrates how the World Cup stirred up a whole nation.[18]
North Korea were the biggest outsiders in the competition and played all their group games in the North East, in Middlesbrough. They overcame the odds to win the group and captured the hearts of the many locals who took a shine to the visiting North Koreans, creating a ‘special relationship’.[19] Unlike the other case studies North Korea were not integrated with the local area due to their country’s Communist regime. They had a lot of security and were not allowed to wander around the town alone and when they did walk around with security they could not speak English.[20] However, they did attempt to integrate into English life somewhat and were pictured watching a Laurel and Hardy comedy in their team hotel.
[21] Yet, the most momentous occasion came when North Korea beat Italy at Ayresome Park and when Pak Do Ik gave his team the surprise lead. Italy were the much better team but the North Koreans held out and the local fans at the game were in full support of the underdogs. The ‘little Korean lion roared’ and it did so with their ‘ally in the ‘Boro crowd’ and this game cemented a strong bond between the two.[22] When Ayresome Park was scheduled to be demolished an Italian journalist called the local Middlesbrough Gazette stating Ayresome Park should not be demolished and should stand as a reminder of the Italian teams worst ever defeat and said that the North Koreans, and Pak Do Ik in particular, are still a household name in Italy. [23] To commemorate this historic moment there is a bronze casting of a ball to mark the spot from where Pak Do Ik scored his famous goal on the housing estate that is built where Ayresome Park used to stand.
[24] The surviving members of the North Korea squad returned to Middlesbrough in 2002 and Pak Do Ik also received a great reception when he was invited onto the pitch at Middlesbrough’s new stadium.[25]
Despite these stories of happy international integration, the 1966 World Cup is not solely remembered as an event of friendship and a great England victory. It has already been mentioned that Pele felt his treatment at the tournament was overly physical and not correctly officiated. Pele was injured in the first game, missed the second through injury and was cynically fouled twice in the third with the defender only receiving a yellow card. After the tournament, Pele said football “became an actual war”.[26] Countless examples have been listed from the South American teams stating that the English organisers were deliberately interrupting their plans and schedules for an advantage on the pitch. The main issue was around refereeing. In one game Uruguay had two men sent off, their captain sent off for a bad tackle and he slapped one of the German players on his way off the pitch. The second player was also sent off for another bad tackle, he then kicked the referee on his way off the pitch leading to a six-game ban.[27]
When England faced Argentina one man was sent off but delayed the game for nine minutes when he refused to leave the pitch stating he needed an interpreter.[28] The Argentina captain said the “referee played with an England shirt on”. When the game ended and as the image shows, England manager Alf Ramsey stopped one his players swapping shirts with the “animal” Argentinian player.
[29] The event continued with several Argentinians attacking the referee, spitting at the FIFA vice-president, urinating on a chair and throwing it in the England dressing room, attacking the team bus and squeezing an orange segment in someone’s face.[30] The Argentinian FA spokesman said their actions were “provoked by the referee”. This opinion seemed to be shared outside of Latin America, for example, in Italy it was reported as a “Scandal” with “too much favouritism for the English team”.[31] Given the actions of the Argentinians following these refereeing decisions, for the world media to report that it was the Argentinians who were aggrieved it is fair to assume that there must be an element of truth in the accusations of poor officiating.
Tempers were so high toward FIFA and England that the Argentinian FA began discussions to leave FIFA and host their own competition. When their squad returned home they were greeted with chants and the opinion that they were the ‘moral champion’ of the Jules Rimet Cup.[32] England were globally accused of match fixing due to poor referees and that it was unfair that every England game was at Wembley. They were accused of using their influence to pick referees favourable to European teams, namely the West Germans, as they had more fans in England and so any game against them would result in more money for the English Football Association.[33] The English people believed that England’s World Cup win was received positively all around the world. Yet in Bolivia a report said England has tarnished their reputation for chivalry and fair play in return for a football trophy. England refused to comment in the hope that the story would dissipate. However, Patrick Fairweather, from the foreign office in Rome, wrote a “good way to damage international relations is to have a really big sporting competition”.[34] It is hard to imagine England would have a vendetta against the Latin American teams yet there is a lot of evidence to suggest there may be some truth in the rumours. The referees may simply have been of an inferior quality which would mean blame falls with FIFA who select the referees. However, no South American team progressed further than the quarter-final. A combination of poor referees, mediocre quality and performances from South-American teams, racist opinions of ‘savage’ South Americans and an ever-present support, that still exists today, towards the hosts of international competitions.
Goodison Park was declared the ‘No. 2 ground’ for the World Championship of 1966.[35] With the result that only Wembley would host more games and that should England reach the semi-final they would host the game, a major coup for Goodison, Liverpool and the North West. Liverpool football was in a great position and in 1966 Liverpool had won the First Division and Everton had won the FA Cup.[36] Goodison was the second biggest stadium in the competition with an average of 54,000 fans.[37] This was due to its redevelopment where there was ‘an almost complete transformation’ for the World Cup.[38] However, the decision was taken by FIFA that the England versus Portugal semi-final should be held at Wembley instead of Goodison Park. This led to outrage across Merseyside with fans complaining that they had been betrayed and that FIFA had let hopes flourish. Goodison had never officially been awarded England’s semi-final rather the winner of quarter final one and quarter final three. This turned out to be England against Portugal. However, even this was never officially announced and in the World Cup handbook it said that the hosts of the semi-final games will be announced closer to the match when the teams were decided.[39] The decision was made by FIFA for Wembley to host England’s semi-final as it would attract a bigger crowd than the other game, West Germany versus USSR. This proved true as over fifty thousand more fans spectated the Wembley match than the Goodison tie.[40]
However, these statistics do not take into account the many fans that did not want to attend the game after feeling let down and those who had already pre-purchased tickets and chose not to attend. 62,000 fans attended the Goodison Park group game of Portugal against Brazil and only 43,000 attended the semi-final.[41] This proves to be an unusual statistic as it is fair to assume that ordinarily the semi-final would attract a bigger crowd due to the larger magnitude of the game. However, Merseysiders felt let down and many voiced their anger by boycotting the match. Those that did attend voiced their anger in a different manner. There were homemade banners reading “Down With FIFA”, “England Fix Insults Liverpool” and “England Snubs Liverpool”.
[42] The Everton Chairman helped to stoke this fury by commenting that he had been led to believe that should England reach the semi-final they would host the game. [43] This incident also helped to incite further discussions of a North/South divide, particularly when discussing football.
In conclusion, football was overwhelmingly a working-class game on and off the field. Some club players travelled to games on the bus or took summer jobs during the close season. England captain Bobby Moore in 1962 moved to the maximum wage at the time, £20 a week, a figure much closer to the average national wage than today’s footballers.[44] Football was not as popular in the 1960’s as it is today. The interest in the championship was described by Dilwyn Porter, emeritus professor of sports history at De Montfort University in Leicester, as ‘a slow burner’.[45] This explains why the footballers from around the world were free to stroll local towns and why they could build bonds with local people. Due to a lack of opportunity for people from the North West, North East and the Midlands to go to England matches it explains why they could almost switch allegiances and grow a love for another team that clearly still exists in towns like Ashbourne and Middlesbrough today. These areas away from London were passionate for football and just wanted to be involved in the World Cup whilst they had the opportunity, as World Championships usually only occur in a country once in a generation.
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Appendix
Fig. 1. BBC, ‘1966 World Cup: England’s tournament behind the scenes’, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35288841 accessed 9.May.2017.
Fig.2. BBC, ‘1966 World Cup: England’s tournament behind the scenes’, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35288841 accessed 9.May.2017.
Fig. 3. Hidden Teeside, ‘Penalty Spot of Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough’, at http://www.hidden-teesside.co.uk/2010/04/20/centre-spot-of-ayresome-park-middlesbrough/ accessed 9.May.2017.
Fig. 4. The Guardian, ‘Why not everyone remembers the 1966 World Cup as fondly as England’, at https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jul/24/1966-world-cup-final-conspiracy-refereeing-50-years accessed 9.May.2017.
Fig. 5. BBC, ‘In pictures: Echoes of the ‘66 World Cup’, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/liverpool/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8414000/8414879.stm accessed 9.May.2017.
[1] ‘World Cup is Stolen Whilst 300 Methodists Sing’, The Guardian (London, 21. Mar. 1966).
[2] I. Passingham, ‘66: The World Cup in Real Time: Relive the Finals as If They Were Happening Today’, (Durrington, 2016), p.192.
[3] BBC, ‘World Cup 1966: When the West Germans came to Ashbourne’, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-36436654 accessed 9.May.2017.
[4] BBC, ‘1966 World Cup: England’s tournament behind the scenes’, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35288841 accessed 9.May.2017.
[5] BBC, ‘World Cup 1966: When the West Germans came to Ashbourne’, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-36436654 accessed 9.May.2017.
[6] Ibid.
[7] J. Mayo, The 1966 World Cup Final: Minute by Minute (London, 2016), p.125.
[8] Ibid.
[9] A. Durham, ‘Is He All That?: Great Footballing Myths Shattered’ (London, 2013), p.71.
[10] The Guardian, ‘1966 World Cup: how apathy turned to joy in England’s golden summer’, at https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jul/29/1966-world-cup-england-50th-anniversary#img-1 accessed 9. May. 2017.
[11] Pelé, ‘Pele: The Autobiography’ (London, 2008), p.187
[12] Liverpool Echo, ‘Revealed: Unseen photos of Brazil team relaxing during 1966 World Cup’, at http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/revealed-unseen-photos-brazil-team-10925291, accessed 9. May. 2017.
[13] T. Baker, 1966 World Cup 40th Anniversary Revisited: Memories of England’s Greatest Victory (Dorset, 2006), p.111.
[14] Sporting Intelligence, ‘From £20 to £33,868 Per Week: A Quick History of English Football’s Top-Flight Wages’, at http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2011/01/20/from-20-to-33868-per-week-a-quick-history-of-english-footballs-top-flight-wages-200101/ accessed 9. May. 2017.
[15] The Guardian, ‘1966 World Cup: how apathy turned to joy in England’s golden summer’, at https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jul/29/1966-world-cup-england-50th-anniversary accessed 9.May.2017.
[16] See Fig. 1.
[17] BBC, ‘1966 World Cup: England’s tournament behind the scenes’, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35288841 accessed 9.May.2017.
[18] ‘Golden Boys!’, Sunday Mirror (London, 31. Jul. 1966).
[19] I. Jeffries, North Korea, 2009-2012: A Guide to Economic and Political Developments, (London, 2013), p.204.
[20] BBC, ‘Did the 1966 World Cup change England?’, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36858767 accessed 9. May. 2017.
[21] See Fig. 2.
[22] ‘The Mouse That Roared’, Teesside Star (Middlesbrough, 22. Jul. 1966), p.17.
[23] Gazette Live, ‘Ayresome Park Memories: The story behind North Korea and the World Cup's biggest fairytale’, at http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/nostalgia/ayresome-park-memories-story-behind-7899291 accessed 9.May.2017.
[24] See Fig. 3.
[25] R. Steen, Floodlights and Touchlines: A History of Spectator Sport (London, 2014), p.360.
[26] The Guardian, ‘Why not everyone remembers the 1966 World Cup as fondly as England’, at https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jul/24/1966-world-cup-final-conspiracy-refereeing-50-years accessed 9.May.2017.
[27] T. Baker, 1966 World Cup 40th Anniversary Revisited: Memories of England’s Greatest Victory (Dorset, 2006), p.113.
[28] J. Motson and N. Brownlee, Motson’s World Cup Extravaganza: Football’s Greatest Drama 1930-2006 (London ,2006), p.78.
[29] The Guardian, ‘Why not everyone remembers the 1966 World Cup as fondly as England’, at https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jul/24/1966-world-cup-final-conspiracy-refereeing-50-years accessed 9.May.2017.
[30] The Telegraph, ‘1966 World Cup quarter-final: England vs Argentina – as it happened’, at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/07/23/1966-world-cup-quarter-final-england-vs-argentina-live/ accessed 9.May.2017.
[31] The Guardian, ‘Why not everyone remembers the 1966 World Cup as fondly as England’, at https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jul/24/1966-world-cup-final-conspiracy-refereeing-50-years accessed 9.May.2017.
[32] T. Mason, ‘Passion of the People?: Football in South America’ (London ,1995), p.70
[33] K. D. Tennant & A. Gillet, Foundations of Managing Sporting Events: Organising the 1966 FIFA World Cup (London, 2016), p.125.
[34] The Guardian, ‘Why not everyone remembers the 1966 World Cup as fondly as England’, at https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jul/24/1966-world-cup-final-conspiracy-refereeing-50-years accessed 9.May.2017.
[35] ‘Evertonia: In the “Kitty”’, Everton Football Club Official Programme (Liverpool, 4. Dec. 1965), p.3.
[36] J. Hughson, England and the 1966 World Cup: A Cultural History, p.40.
[37] T. Baker, 1966 World Cup 40th Anniversary Revisited: Memories of England’s Greatest Victory (Dorset, 2006), p.117.
[38] ‘Evertonia’, Everton Football Club Official Programme (Liverpool, 11. Apr. 1966), p.3.
[39] J. Hughson, England and the 1966 World Cup: A Cultural History, p.40.
[40] T. Baker, 1966 World Cup 40th Anniversary Revisited: Memories of England’s Greatest Victory (Dorset, 2006), pp. 109-111.
[41] Ibid, p.109.
[42] See Fig. 5.
[43] J. Hughson, England and the 1966 World Cup: A Cultural History, pp 41-42.
[44] M. Dickson, ‘Bobby Moore: The Man in Full’ (London, 2014), p.82.
[45] D. Porter, ‘Eggs and Chips with the Connellys: Remembering 1966’, Sport in History, Vol. 29 (2009), p.520.
