It's A Cup Final Knockout 1975
British Domestic Series

Presenters:
Stuart Hall
Eddie Waring

Referee:
Arthur Ellis

Scoregirls:
Karen Apted
Rena Edwards
Frances Sinclair
Marilyn Ward

Production Credits:

Production Team: Paul Loosley, Alan Wright; Engineering Manager: Geoff Lomas; Sound: John Drake; Designer and Games Deviser: Stuart Furber; Producer: Barney Colehan; Director: Geoff Wilson

A BBC Manchester Production

Key: Domestic Special ● = Winner of Special   ▲ = Promoted to Position / ▼ = Demoted to Position

GB

It's A Cup Final Knockout 1975

FA Cup Final Special

Event Staged: Sunday 27th April 1975 at 4.45pm
Venue: Wimbledon F.C. Football Ground (Plough Lane),
Wimbledon, Greater London, England

Transmission:
BBC1 (GB): Saturday 3rd May 1975, 12.45-1.35pm (as part of Cup Final Grandstand)

Celebrity Supporters (non-participating):
Fulham F.C. - Les Barrett, John Lacey and Les Strong (Fulham players), Jim Langley (former Fulham player), Harry Fowler (actor and comedian), Clodagh Rodgers (singer);
West Ham United F.C. - Ronnie Boyce, John McDowell and Tommy Taylor (West Ham United players), Alan Seely (former West Ham United player), Kenny Lynch (actor and comedian)

Weather Conditions: Overcast

Winners' Trophy presented by: Tommy Taylor (West Ham United Footballer)

Teams: Fulham F.C. v. West Ham United F.C.

Team Members included:
Fulham F.C. - Kevin Carson, Mark Hayden, Louise McGuinness, Beverley Peake, Jill Peake, Graham Reid, Malcolm Steel, Sue Thompson and John Went;
West Ham United F.C. - Terry Finch, Adrian Hennessey, Tony Massey, Graham Thompson, Dave Tiffin and Linda Tillett.

Games: Bobbin Football Slalom, Seesaw Football, Pass the Medicine Ball, Caterpillar Burst, Threading the Needle, Water Board, The Descent, Balloons from the Pole;
Jokers: Joker Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd

 W • West Ham United F.C. ●
 F • Fulham F.C.

12
8

The Host Town

Wimbledon, Greater London

Wimbledon is a district of south-west London in the borough of Merton with a population of around 57,000 inhabitants. Locked between Wandsworth to the south, Kingston-upon-Thames to the east, Mitcham to the west and Sutton to the north, the area is most notably known worldwide for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, which have been staged at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 1877. The residential area is split into two distinct sections known as the ‘village’ and the ‘town’, with the High Street being part of the original medieval village, and the ‘town’ being part of the modern development since the building of the railway in 1838.

The area has been inhabited since the Iron Age, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1087 when the area was part of the manor of Mortlake and owned by wealthy families. The village developed with a stable rural population co-existing alongside nobility and wealthy merchants from the city. In the 18th century, The Dog and Fox public house became a stop on the stagecoach run from London to Portsmouth. The stagecoach horses would be stabled at the rear of the pub in the now named Wimbledon Village Stables. In 1838, the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) opened a station to the south-east of the village at the bottom of Wimbledon Hill and its location shifted the focus of the town's subsequent growth away from the original village centre.

Electric trams in London operated in London between 1860 and 1952, after which they were abolished completely. Shortages of steel and electrical machinery and the unviable cost of running the services were cited as the main reasons for their demise and this was coupled with the tram system being considered inflexible and out-dated. Around 1935, the phasing-out began in earnest with their replacement by diesel powered buses and trolleybuses, after a large proportion of the carriages and tracks were nearing the end of their useful life. The last electric trams received a rousing reception when they ‘ran in’ on the morning of Sunday 6th July 1952 at New Cross Depot. In 1990, Croydon Council with London Regional Transport put a project to Parliament to re-introduce trams to London. This was passed as The Croydon Tramlink Act, 1994 and on Monday 2nd June 1997, the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line was closed for conversion to operation as part of the new Tramlink tram operations. Part of platform 10 was utilised for the single track terminus of Route 3 and rail tracks and infrastructure were replaced with those for the tram system. The new service opened on Tuesday 30th May 2000.

Wimbledon Station was also the haunt of a 'Railway Collection Dog'. Airedale Terrier "Laddie" was born in September 1948 and started work on Wimbledon Station in 1949, collecting donations on behalf of the Southern Railwaymen's Homes at Woking, via a box strapped to his back. He retired in 1956 having collected over £5,000 and spent the rest of his days with the residents at the Home. On his death in 1960, he was stuffed and returned to Wimbledon Station. He continued to collect for the Homes, in a glass case situated on Platform 5, until 1990 when he retired once more and became part of the National Railway collection.

The Visiting Clubs

Fulham Football Club was founded in 1879 and plays its home matches at Craven Cottage and is located 4 miles (6km) north of Wimbledon.

West Ham United Football Club was founded in 1895 and plays its home matches at the London Stadium and is located 11 miles (18km) north-east of Wimbledon.

The Venue

Wimbledon F.C. Football Ground (Plough Lane), Wimbledon

The games were played at Plough Lane, the home ground of Wimbledon Football Club, from September 1912 until May 1991.

The leasehold on the disused swampland at the corner of Plough Lane and Haydons Road was purchased by Wimbledon Football Club in 1912. The pitch was consequently fenced in and the playing surface improved, while a dressing room was built. A stand holding 500 spectators was erected, and Wimbledon played their first match at the ground on 7th September 1912, a friendly match against Carshalton Athletic which was drawn 2-2. Improvements continued to be made to the ground during the First World War (1914-1918), and Plough Lane soon became the pride of the club. In 1918, vice-president A. Gill Knight boasted that the club had "the finest ground in the southern district".

The South Stand was added in 1923, purchased from Clapton Orient (later to be known as Leyton Orient), and the terrace in front of the North Stand was improved during 1932-33. The ground was considered good enough to host an amateur international match, when England took on Wales on 19th January 1935. At the outbreak of the Second World War (1939-1945), the ground's capacity stood at around 30,000. However, damage inflicted during the Second World War meant that extensive redevelopment was necessary after the club returned in 1944. The South Stand had been bombed, and the incomplete fencing resulted in the club not even being able to charge for admission. Instead, half-time collections were taken to keep Wimbledon going. The South Stand was restored to its former glory in 1950, and during the 1950-51 season, the capacity returned to around the 25,000 mark. Glass panels were fitted at each end of both stands two years later, at the cost of £90 8s (£90.40) - a sum equivalent to £1,882 in 2009. Floodlights were purchased in July 1954, and the North Stand was completely rebuilt before the 1957-58 season. The ground’s freehold was then purchased from Merton Borough Council by chairman Sydney Black for £8,250 in November 1959, and he then donated it to the club. Black announced at the same time that the floodlights purchased five years earlier would be erected on eight pylons the next year at the cost of £4,000. Due to inflation, the price paid by Black for the stadium would have been equal to £143,097 in 2009. This figure became significant, as one of the conditions of the sale of the ground was the insertion of a pre-emption clause stating that if the site was ever to be used for any purpose other than sport, the Council would have the right to buy the ground back for the same price it had been paid, regardless of inflation. As the pound sterling's value decreased over the years, this clause became a double-edged sword. It protected the club from asset strippers, but also meant that the stadium's value could never grow above the £8,250 that Black had paid in 1959. The first match under the new floodlights took place on 3rd October 1960, in a London Charity Cup match against Arsenal with the visitors winning 4-1.

The club came to national prominence with a superb F.A. Cup run as non-League 'minnows' in the 1974-75 season. Entering the competition at the first qualifying round, Wimbledon saw off five teams to find themselves in the third round proper, where they became the first non-League team that century to beat a First Division side away from home by defeating Burnley at Turf Moor. In the fourth round, the team held the reigning First Division Champions Leeds United to a 0-0 draw at Elland Road, before narrowly losing the replay 1-0 to an own goal in front of over 40,000 spectators at Selhurst Park.

The ground remained largely unchanged until the club's election to the Football League in 1977, though during 1971-72 an attempt was made to start a market on the club's grounds to raise funds. The High Court ruled that this plan contravened a statute decreed by Charles I (1600-1649) in 1628 forbidding any market within seven miles of that of Kingston-upon-Thames. The court reckoned the distance between Kingston market and Plough Lane to be 5½ miles (8.8km), so no market was built. Despite election to the Football League in 1977 and subsequent success, the club was still plagued by financial trouble. To try and ease the strain on the club, in April 1983, Wimbledon bought out the pre-emption clause inserted back in 1959 for £100,000. A year later, they sold the ground and club to Samir ‘Sam’ Hammam, a Lebanese businessman for £3 million!

Following the publication of the Taylor Report in 1990, which introduced new safety measures for stadia, including the regulation that they be all-seated by August 1994, the board of the club decided that Plough Lane could not be economically redeveloped to meet the new standards. The work required to modernise Plough Lane would have been difficult and expensive, but not impossible as the board claimed. A supposedly temporary ground-share with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park was announced the same year, to begin for the start of 1991-92. Wimbledon's final first team match at Plough Lane came on 4th May 1991, ironically against new landlords Crystal Palace. 10,002 spectators saw Crystal Palace beat Wimbledon 3-0, before swarming onto the pitch to bid farewell to the ground. Plans to build a new 20,000-seat stadium in the London Borough of Merton had been approved by the local council in 1988, but the stadium was never built and a public park was later erected on its planned site.

Plough Lane continued to be used by both Wimbledon and Crystal Palace as the home ground for their reserve teams' home matches. This was the case until 1998, when Sam Hammam sold the ground to supermarket chain Safeway. Safeway sought to build a supermarket on the site for four years but, after local residents' opposition and local authority objections to their plans, gave up in 2002. They demolished the stadium during the summer of that year and subsequently sold the vacant site to David Wilson Homes in November 2002. Planning permission was granted to the developer in October 2005 to build 570 flats, and the development was completed in 2008. Following lobbying by Wimbledon supporters, the development agreed to adopt a Wimbledon Football Club theme, with the entire site named ‘Reynolds Gate’ after former player Eddie Reynolds (1935-1993). The six individual blocks that comprise the development were also named after former players, managers and a chairman: Bassett House (Dave Bassett), Batsford House (Alan Batsford (1932-2009)), Cork House (Alan Cork), Lawrie House (Lawrence Sanchez), Reed House (Stanley Reed) and Stannard House (Harry Stannard (1916-2002)).

In 2001, after rejecting a variety of possible local sites and others further afield, the club announced its intention to move 56 miles (90km) north to Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. The idea of Wimbledon leaving south London was deeply unpopular both with the bulk of the club's established fan-base and football supporters generally, but an independent commission appointed by the Football Association granted permission in May 2002. The large majority of Wimbledon F.C. supporters strongly opposed the idea of moving, feeling that a club transplanted to Milton Keynes would no longer represent Wimbledon F.C.'s legacy and traditions, and having campaigned against the proposed move, viewed its sanctioning as the "death of their club". A group of supporters responded by forming a new club, A.F.C. Wimbledon, to which most Wimbledon fans switched allegiance. The club began playing in League Two of the Football League, at their home ground of Kingsmeadow in Kingston upon Thames, a ground they shared with Kingstonian until May 2020.

Since its inception in 2002, A.F.C. Wimbledon had stated that one of its primary aims was to return to Merton, with a new stadium close to what it regarded as its spiritual home of the original Plough Lane, where the original Wimbledon F.C. had played for over 80 years. This aim formed the basis of a project to create a new purpose-built stadium on the site of the Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, located on Plough Lane approximately 250 yards (229m) from where the old football stadium had stood. Plans to develop the greyhound stadium site as either a multi-purpose stadium or as a football stadium were publicised frequently by the club and the media prior to 2013. In 2013, the club announced that discussions were underway with Merton Council over a joint bid for the greyhound stadium and surrounding land, in cooperation with developer Galliard Homes, to build a new football stadium, 600 residential units and a wide range of shops and community facilities. The plans for the football stadium were approved unanimously by Merton Council on 10th December 2015. Clearance of the site in preparation for the new football stadium and housing was begun on 16th March 2018.

A.F.C. Wimbledon played the first four home matches of the 2020-21 season at Loftus Road, the home of Queen’s Park Rangers, whilst the Plough Lane stadium was being completed. The club played its first match at the new Plough Lane site, named The Cherry Red Records Stadium, behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, on the evening of 3rd November 2020 with a 2-2 draw against Doncaster Rovers.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Bobbin Football Slalom

The first game - ‘Bobbin Football Slalom’ - was played in unison two minutes duration and featured a male competitor from each team armed with a football and wearing a large wooden bobbin over his shoulders and around his waist. Whilst one end of a rope had been tethered to a scaffold frame on the ground, the other end had been wound around the bobbin. Along the 30ft long course were five slalom poles. On the whistle, the competitor had to dribble the football down the course and zigzag through the slalom poles whilst rotating the bobbin and keeping control of the ball. After reaching the fifth pole, he had to return to the start in the same manner. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

From the outset of this straightforward game, Fulham took control and reached the turnaround point after 48 seconds of elapsed time followed by West Ham United in 57 seconds. On the return journey the Fulham competitor made an error at the third slalom pole, whereby he failed to dribble the ball around the correct side of the pole when recovering it after kicking it too far forward. Although Fulham arrived at the finish line ahead of their rivals, referee Arthur Ellis informed their competitor of the error and disqualified him. In the meantime, West Ham United had completed the game in 1 minute 42 seconds.

Game 2 - Seesaw Football

The second game - ‘Seesaw Football’ - was played individually over two minutes duration and featured two male competitors from each team armed with a football and standing at one end of a seesaw. Attached to the other end of the seesaw was a small upright hoop and 3ft (0.91m) in front of the game was a larger hoop attached to a pole. On the whistle, one of the competitors had to dribble the football up the seesaw keeping it under his control. As he approached the far end, the other competitor then had move forward in order to counterweight him and level out the seesaw. The first competitor then had to kick the ball through the small hoop and, if the seesaw had been counterweighted correctly, also pass it through the big hoop to score 1pt. The first competitor then had to return down the seesaw and repeat the game throughout. The team scoring the greater number of points would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this somewhat difficult game saw the participation of Fulham and they scored with two of the four balls kicked, on their 1st and 3rd essays. The score was declared as 2pts.

The second heat featured West Ham United and they scored with one of the three balls kicked, on their 2nd essay. Their score was confirmed as 1pt.

Game 3 - Pass the Medicine Ball

The third game - ‘Pass the Medicine Ball’ - was played individually over two minutes duration and featured four male competitors from each team armed with a large builder’s mortar board. Each competitor had one of their ankles tethered to the ground by a rope. On the whistle, a female team-mate had to place a medicine ball onto the mortar board of the nearest competitor and then he had to balance it there whilst moving down the course towards the second competitor. The first competitor then had to pass the ball to the second by raising one end of his mortar board whilst the second competitor did likewise with his board to ensure that the ball did not roll off. The second competitor then had to pass the ball to the third competitor in the same manner and then the third had to pass it to the fourth competitor. He then had to run to the end of the course to pass the ball to a second female team-mate who then had to place it in one of six large hoops laid out on the ground. The game would be played continuously throughout and if a ball dropped to the ground, it could be replaced at that point by the female. The team collecting all six balls in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this simple and straightforward game saw the participation of Fulham and they collected the first five balls after 15, 29, 44, 55 and 67 seconds of elapsed time respectively and then completed the game with the sixth ball in 1 minute 22 seconds.

The second heat featured West Ham United and they collected the first five balls after 12, 20, 30, 41 and 52 seconds respectively and then completed the game with the sixth ball in 1 minute 04 seconds.

Game 4 - Caterpillar Burst

The fourth game - ‘Caterpillar Burst’ - was played in unison over 1 minute 30 seconds duration and featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team standing inside a contraption comprised of four boards, the ends of which were attached to each other by two rings. On the whistle, the two competitors had to move down the course by pulling the boards over their heads and then under their feet. Whilst doing so, they had to burst ten balloons which were laid out in a straight line on the ground. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

This was a very straightforward game which West Ham United completed in 1 minute 04 seconds. Having already lost the game, Fulham abandoned any further play.

Game 5 - Threading the Needle

The fifth game - ‘Threading the Needle’ - was played individually over 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Fulham presenting their Joker for play. The game featured three male competitors from each team armed with a large pole disguised as a needle and cotton and a course comprising three large nooses hanging down from hurdles increasing in height. On the whistle, the competitors had to thread the needle and cotton through the first noose and then climb through it themselves. This then had to be repeated with the other two nooses and then the trailing end of cotton had to be hooked onto a pole to finish the game. Competitors could pass through the nooses in any manner of their choice. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward and oft-repeated game saw the participation of West Ham United and they completed the game without mishap in 1 minute 24 seconds.

The second heat featured Fulham and they also completed the game without mishap but in a much faster time of 45 seconds.

Game 6 - Water Board

The sixth game - ‘Water Board’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and featured five male competitors from each team lying on their backs in front of a large podium. On the whistle, the competitors had to raise their legs in the air in order to support a large wooden board on which buckets of water would be placed. They then had to work together to move the board along the 50ft (15.24m) course using only their feet. As the plank moved away from the last competitor in the line, he then had to get up and run to the front of the other four competitors and lie down in the same posture as previously. This then had to be repeated by each subsequent competitor until the board had been transported to the finish line. The water in the buckets then had to be poured into a container and measured. The teams had the option to carry as many buckets as they wished. The team collecting the greater volume of water would be declared the winners.

This was a very tough game for both teams but saw West Ham United faring better than their rivals. Whilst West Ham United inched their way along the course without problem, Fulham encountered mishap after mishap with the board slipping from their control. After 2 minutes and 33 seconds of elapsed time, West Ham United had reached their destination and five buckets of water were poured into the measuring container. With Fulham still halfway down the course, the final whistle was blown. Despite having won the game by default, referee Arthur Ellis announced that West Ham United had collected enough water to reach seven marks on the dipstick.

Game 7 - The Descent

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘The Descent’ - was played individually over 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and featured five competitors (three males and two females) from each team and a large descending ramp. Four of the competitors (two males and two females) were armed with large nets and located at the top of the ramp whilst the third male was standing on the ground at the side of the equipment. On the whistle, the first competitor had to descend the ramp on a mat and as they passed the halfway mark, they had to catch a football in their net that had been kicked by the ground-based male. The game then had to be repeated by each of the other ramp-based competitors and then throughout until the end of permitted time. The team catching the greater number of footballs would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of West Ham United and they were able to catch 7 balls from the twenty-four kicked on their 5th, 6th, 8th, 17th, 18th, 21st and 23rd essays.

The second heat featured Fulham and they were able to catch 19 balls from the twenty-three kicked, missing only those on their 1st, 16th, 22nd and 23rd essays.

Game 8 - Balloons from the Pole

The eighth and final game - ‘Balloons from the Pole’ - was played in unison over two minutes duration and witnessed West Ham United playing their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team and a 20ft (6.1m) high pole on which 15 balloons had been attached at the top. On the whistle, the first male had to climb to the top of the pole to collect a balloon. He then had to return to the start and hand the balloon to a female team-mate. The second competitor then had to repeat the game. They then had to be played alternately in the same manner until all their balloons had been collected. The team completing the game in the faster time or the team collecting the greater number of balloons would be declared the winners.

This was a very straightforward and uneventful game which saw West Ham United collecting 9 balloons and Fulham collecting 7 balloons.

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

There was a magnificent Eddie Waring goof in this programme. He was tasked with interviewing special guest Clodagh Rodgers between Games 3 and 4 and muddled through as only dear Eddie could, then strolled off, thanking her. This wouldn't necessarily be a 'goof', but Clodagh's first name is pronounced 'Clo-da' and not 'Clo-dag' as Eddie vocalised on departing!

Additional Information

The existing recording of this programme at the BBC is unedited, running as a consequence to 1 hour 13 minutes and does not contain end credit captions. The recording starts with two shambolic attempts to record a preview trailer to be shown on BBC Television in the week leading up to transmission. It was unusual that the end credit captions were not recorded on location (particularly seeing as the opening captions were), and it seems likely that these would have been added in post production. The unedited nature of the recording also reveals delays for technical hitches, including Eddie Waring's hand held radio microphone breaking down.

The souvenir four-page pamphlet for this event was of little use to those who attended, as none of the games included in the preview it contained actually featured on the day. The details and intended running order of the advertised games can be found under each of the actual games played above. The actual event featured eight games, whereas there were only seven initially planned to be played.

West Ham United F.C.'s win in It's A Cup Final Knockout was repeated in the 1975 F.A. Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. The match, which kicked off at 3.00pm on Saturday 3rd May, was won 2-0 by West Ham United, with both goals scored by Alan Taylor, the first in the 60th minute and the second four minutes later.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

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