Another Landmark Date Looms In Celebratory Year
If fans of Tottenham celebrate the return of the “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah” era in years ending in “1,” then Wolves supporters should prepare for a quickening of the heartbeat when the year ends in “4”. The fact that the team hasn’t won the League Cup for 50 years has already been acknowledged multiple times in 2024. Even more magnificent, Wolves won the championship in 1953–54, the year they reached the pinnacle of the English game. Furthermore, those with more modest goals undoubtedly noticed that it has been ten years since Kenny Jackett’s team won League One.
Now, another milestone looms…..it will soon be 70 years since Molineux staged arguably its most famous ever fixture.
Staggeringly, that wasn’t a title-winning day, nor even an afternoon or night on which those with gold and black running through their veins celebrated a cup success.
It was the evening on which Honved came to the West Midlands and Stan Cullis’s men interrupted a thrilling and ultimately unsuccessful title defence by putting the Magical Magyars to flight under Wolverhampton’s newest and most inspiring lights.
To remind ourselves how massive a deal it was to restore some national pride following England’s home and away thrashings by Hungary, we need look no further than the attendance figures.
When Wolves secured the title for the first time by beating Tottenham 2-0 here in April, 1954, the crowd numbered 44,055.
For Honved’s visit in a supposed friendly eight months later, 54,998 packed into the ground. That’s nearly 11,000 more despite the fact this was in winter less than a fortnight before Christmas.
So when we hear from the older generations what huge celebrations and pride there were as Johnny Hancocks (penalty) and Roy Swinbourne (2) overturned a 2-0 half-time deficit and secured a 3-2 victory, we have some statistics as further evidence of the magnitude of the occasion.
As we approach an important milestone anniversary, we wait to learn what sort of nod will be given to this momentous date from Wolves’ past.
The least we can do is play our part in preserving the memory of a match that led to Cullis hailing his men as the best club team in the world….another endorsement of what an achievement it was to win.
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