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10 - Attending the World Cup Final John Ayling OBE: my diary of the day of the Final

One of my sporting highlights was undoubtedly July 30 1966. As a graduate in my first year in media at the Masius Wynne-Williams agency (where F1 legend, Murray Walker was one of our Board directors). I applied for and obtained a 9 ticket World Cup package for all matches at Wembley (attached) at £14-15 shillings including the final.

After a disappointing goalless draw against Uruguay, a 2-0 win over Mexico highlighted by Bobby Charlton’s goal and Roger Hunt’s 2 against an ongoing French off-side trap gave us some hope.

The sunny quarter final against Argentina’s “animals” is still a fond memory with skipper Rattin refusing to be sent off for some time and Geoff Hurst clinched it. My daily diary was the 1960’s Facebook and I still have the record of the semi vs Eusebio’s Portugal “the most magnificent game I’ve ever seen.”

July 30th was memorable for the atmosphere, the singing that we’d never heard so strongly before, the Queen in attendance and following comedian Peter Cook through the turnstiles!

My diary records – “Sunny periods today. Met Dave and Colin in the Dorset Arms in Grinstead for a quick beer before catching the 12.30pm to Victoria. Met Tony there and travelled up to THE WORLD CUP FINAL – the most fantastic game of football I’ve ever seen. 1 down, 2-1 up and then they equalized in the last 30 seconds. Hurst scores a fantastic hat-trick and Bobby Moore collected the cup from the Queen. Went to pub and up to Myrna’s for tea (whoever she was!) Caught the 8.09pm to Sussex for a beer with Mum and Dad before watching the highlights on TV”.

Sounds a bit boring now but we never really expected to win and I’m sure it was a four-week “shock”.

I attach the cuttings from the day – as a media man today, it is still surprising that:

- There were 2 London evening newspapers that published on a Saturday

- They each had 2 or 3 editions and the copies I bought at Victoria were printed before extra time

- The colour in the souvenir edition was 2 years before we had colour TV.

Great recall of the colossus Bobby Moore (whose daughter I subsequently worked with for the Lord’s Taverners charity), the eponymous Bally, the 1958 memories of Bobby Charlton and Hursty’s hat-trick (I was behind the goal and that definitely went over the line!)

In 2003, I was lucky enough to be in Sydney to see England’s other (Rugby) World Cup victory and somehow the Sydney Morning Telegraph reported that I was one of 8 in the crowd who’d been at Wembley 37 years earlier. I was texting my daughter – not writing a diary…………………..

John Ayling OBE

Memory added on August 29, 2016

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