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Donald Ford On 1971 Texaco Cup Final


Archie White

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Archie White

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/hearts/saturday-interview-donald-ford-recalls-hearts-run-to-texaco-cup-final-3191043

 

A great article in the Scotsman with Donald remembering the Texaco Cup run of 70/71. Any fan of my vintage will have great memories of that tournament in that season. Donald mentions beating Airdrie 5-0 in the first game but does not mention he scored 4 goals at Broomfield that night. The Burnley second leg was one of those terrific Tynecastle midweek floodlight nights and we put in a terrific performance. I remember a flashing Andy Lynch shot - and Ralph Coates comb-over.  The first game against Motherwell brought up a fantastic goal from Fordie at Tynie and the 2nd leg at Fir Park was another great game with an absolutely packed house. On you tube I believe. The Final was a great occasion and played on a sunny evening I remember. What struck me about Wolves was their bright gold strip in the late evening sun and the speed of their play - Wagstaffe in particular. Once again Donald brought the house down with the first goal but they were just too good for us. Happy days.

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13 minutes ago, Australis said:

Did Leighton James play in the Burnley match, I am sure he was there at the time?

 

No. The Burnley team we beat 4-1 was on a downward spiral and was relegated. James was part of the team that got promoted in 72-3 and started the 73-74 season brilliantly, including stuffing us in the Texaco Cup.   

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Archie White
28 minutes ago, henryheart said:

 

No. The Burnley team we beat 4-1 was on a downward spiral and was relegated. James was part of the team that got promoted in 72-3 and started the 73-74 season brilliantly, including stuffing us in the Texaco Cup.   

 

Yes, they had a player in the 73-74 game at Tynecastle, Martin Dobson, who was different class that night. James was average then I thought.

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50 minutes ago, NANOJAMBO said:

https://www.wsc.co.uk/stories/14036-how-the-texaco-cup-briefly-gripped-parts-of-scotland-and-the-west-midlands

 

Good article here on the tournament in general (don't know where the idea came from about capping the crowd for the 71 final - there wasn't anywhere near 44,000 there). 

Think it was a crowd of about 25-26K.

 

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Archie White
10 minutes ago, EIEIO said:

Think it was a crowd of about 25-26K.

 

 

Yes, 26,000, which was a tournament record at that time.

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Mid Calder Jambo
3 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

Loved this tournament. The UK also rans cup. 😄

Used to get the Texaco Cup stickers at the garage in South Trinity Road,  Now there is one for some to ponder??

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Hearts Heritage

The Burnley game is the only tie where Hearts have recovered from a 3 goal defeceit to go through. Burnley were 3-0 up after 57 minutes of the first leg.

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1 hour ago, NANOJAMBO said:

https://www.wsc.co.uk/stories/14036-how-the-texaco-cup-briefly-gripped-parts-of-scotland-and-the-west-midlands

 

Good article here on the tournament in general (don't know where the idea came from about capping the crowd for the 71 final - there wasn't anywhere near 44,000 there). 

 

If I remember correctly, the police set the limit to the number of tickets that could be sold as was the norm at the time, so it may well have been that the number of available tickets was 44,000. There was a big fuss over Hearts pricing policy for the game. Tickets for the terracing were set at 40p, which was 10p up on the norm, and there were no juvenile tickets available, so all under 16s had to pay the full price. These prices were really steep for the time and had a significant impact on the attendance which was much lower than was expected. 

 

The best thing about the game was seeing Hearts wear their fantastic West Brom style striped shirts with white sleeves for the first time, because after Donald Ford put us one up the rest of the game was spent chasing shadows.

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Roxy Hearts

Donald was my favourite player as a kid in the 70s, when we were terrible! Him and Jim Cruickshank made it bearable. I was delighted when he got picked for the Scotland 74 World Cup Team. Great, intelligent player.

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4 hours ago, Archie White said:

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/hearts/saturday-interview-donald-ford-recalls-hearts-run-to-texaco-cup-final-3191043

 

A great article in the Scotsman with Donald remembering the Texaco Cup run of 70/71. Any fan of my vintage will have great memories of that tournament in that season. Donald mentions beating Airdrie 5-0 in the first game but does not mention he scored 4 goals at Broomfield that night. The Burnley second leg was one of those terrific Tynecastle midweek floodlight nights and we put in a terrific performance. I remember a flashing Andy Lynch shot - and Ralph Coates comb-over.  The first game against Motherwell brought up a fantastic goal from Fordie at Tynie and the 2nd leg at Fir Park was another great game with an absolutely packed house. On you tube I believe. The Final was a great occasion and played on a sunny evening I remember. What struck me about Wolves was their bright gold strip in the late evening sun and the speed of their play - Wagstaffe in particular. Once again Donald brought the house down with the first goal but they were just too good for us. Happy days.

That’s very true but we won the 2nd leg 1-0  for a 2-3 aggregate score. I was at the Airdrie and Motherwell away games  and both were great performances , at Motherwell George Fleming equalised in injury time and we won 2-1 after extra time, great days (some of them anyway)

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My first ever floodlight match at Tynecastle was the 1970 Texaco Cup Match v Burnley, I also remember beating Newcastle the next year with Andy Lynch scoring with a header at the school end

In the early years of the Texaco Cup we got fantastic crowds over 25000 for games against Motherwell, Wolves, Everton and Burnley, way in excess of what most Scottish clubs were getting for European ties around that era.

What killed the tournament was decent English clubs declining invitations to participate or choosing to play there reserve teams

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1 hour ago, Roxy Hearts said:

Donald was my favourite player as a kid in the 70s, when we were terrible! Him and Jim Cruickshank made it bearable. I was delighted when he got picked for the Scotland 74 World Cup Team. Great, intelligent player.

And if Willie Ormond had brought him on against Zaire we'd have scored enough goals to get to the next round.

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Ford was my Hero and I used to remember Gilzean used to do a Cartoon strip of The Home matches one  I remember was V Morton 2-0 down and in the cartoon was Big Ernie Winchester in a cage waiting to come and get at them which I’m sure he did and the cartoon depicted that ,would like to see any cartoons of that era 

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willie wallace
37 minutes ago, jonnothejambo said:

I'm going to digress but does anyone else remember Quizball  ?

 

Hearts had a team in it and I think Donald Ford was in it. 

 

"Route one please, David."

 

:lol:

 

The supporters clubs also had one.

I am not sure it it was just Hearts but I was in the Drylaw branch team and I think we played Glasgow Hearts in East Kilbride.

We had to leave quite quickly after accusations of cheating which turned out to be not proven😀

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1 hour ago, jr ewing said:

Yes.

 

Sorry, but the correct answer is no. Leighton James played in the 1973 game.  

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Archie White
8 minutes ago, henryheart said:

 

Sorry, but the correct answer is no. Leighton James played in the 1973 game.  

Correct!

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6 minutes ago, henryheart said:

 

Sorry, but the correct answer is no. Leighton James played in the 1973 game.  

My memory of Leighton James in that game was that he was rolling about crippled on the halfway line as we attacked their goal and then him having a lazarus style recovery and  charging down to score at the school end but time and age may be playing tricks with me.

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Archie White
45 minutes ago, samgolden said:

Ford was my Hero and I used to remember Gilzean used to do a Cartoon strip of The Home matches one  I remember was V Morton 2-0 down and in the cartoon was Big Ernie Winchester in a cage waiting to come and get at them which I’m sure he did and the cartoon depicted that ,would like to see any cartoons of that era 

I cut out quite a few Gilzean strips at the time but have no idea how to load them on here.

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5 hours ago, henryheart said:

 

No. The Burnley team we beat 4-1 was on a downward spiral and was relegated. James was part of the team that got promoted in 72-3 and started the 73-74 season brilliantly, including stuffing us in the Texaco Cup.   

 

Without googling it, I'm pretty sure James played in the first leg at Turf Moor.

Burnley battered us that night, and the late Georgie Fleming consolation was right out of the blue.

 

Got jumped later on that night in the street by about 6 Burnley guys who were on the hunt for stray Hearts fans

A guy from Drylaw ( Davie Taylor I think his name was), jumped in and saved me getting a right doing and we managed to get away with just a few scrapes.

Lost touch with him over the years unfortunately. 

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Archie White
3 minutes ago, brownkg said:

My memory of Leighton James in that game was that he was rolling about crippled on the halfway line as we attacked their goal and then him having a lazarus style recovery and  charging down to score at the school end but time and age may be playing tricks with me.

Burnley team in our 4-1 win: Waiters,; Latcham, Merrongton; Docherty, Waldron, West; Thomas, Coates, Casper, Bellamy (Nulty), Collins.

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J.T.F.Robertson
2 hours ago, Dsjambo said:

That’s very true but we won the 2nd leg 1-0  for a 2-3 aggregate score. I was at the Airdrie and Motherwell away games  and both were great performances , at Motherwell George Fleming equalised in injury time and we won 2-1 after extra time, great days (some of them anyway)

 

Also at them, plus Burnley and Wolves, away.

 

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4 minutes ago, J.T.F.Robertson said:

 

Also at them, plus Burnley and Wolves, away.

 

Donald Ford was on fire at the Airdrie away game, I think he was the only player to score 4 goals in one game for us until Mark DeVries scored 4 against Hibs over 30yrs later.

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9 minutes ago, Busby8 said:

 

Without googling it, I'm pretty sure James played in the first leg at Turf Moor.

Burnley battered us that night, and the late Georgie Fleming consolation was right out of the blue.

 

Got jumped later on that night in the street by about 6 Burnley guys who were on the hunt for stray Hearts fans

A guy from Drylaw ( Davie Taylor I think his name was), jumped in and saved me getting a right doing and we managed to get away with just a few scrapes.

Lost touch with him over the years unfortunately. 

 

Sorry, but he didn't. You are probably getting mixed up with Steve Kindon. A left winger, he was very similar to James in his running style.

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24 minutes ago, henryheart said:

 

Sorry, but he didn't. You are probably getting mixed up with Steve Kindon. A left winger, he was very similar to James in his running style.

 

Aye, you're probably right. definitely remember the sair face though 😞

 

edit..... it wasn't Kindon i'd got him mixed up with, it was Dave Thomas. He was outstanding and ripped us up on that wing

edit, edit.... and I still have the Comp ticket that George Fleming put aside for me that night. 

Edited by Busby8
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N Lincs Jambo

Back in those days before silly money kicked in down south the difference in standard wasn’t so great. The next season Airdrie got to the final where they lost 2-1 over 2 legs to Brian Clough’s Derby side. Derby won the English league that season.

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55 minutes ago, henryheart said:

 

Sorry, but the correct answer is no. Leighton James played in the 1973 game.  

Didn't realise we played them twice. Or how old I am. 😀

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7 hours ago, Archie White said:

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/hearts/saturday-interview-donald-ford-recalls-hearts-run-to-texaco-cup-final-3191043

 

A great article in the Scotsman with Donald remembering the Texaco Cup run of 70/71. Any fan of my vintage will have great memories of that tournament in that season. Donald mentions beating Airdrie 5-0 in the first game but does not mention he scored 4 goals at Broomfield that night. The Burnley second leg was one of those terrific Tynecastle midweek floodlight nights and we put in a terrific performance. I remember a flashing Andy Lynch shot - and Ralph Coates comb-over.  The first game against Motherwell brought up a fantastic goal from Fordie at Tynie and the 2nd leg at Fir Park was another great game with an absolutely packed house. On you tube I believe. The Final was a great occasion and played on a sunny evening I remember. What struck me about Wolves was their bright gold strip in the late evening sun and the speed of their play - Wagstaffe in particular. Once again Donald brought the house down with the first goal but they were just too good for us. Happy days.

the motherwell away game was something else, had to climb up a lamp post to get over the wall to get in as the gates were closed

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24 minutes ago, Busby8 said:

 

Aye, you're probably right. definitely remember the sair face though 😞

 

edit..... it wasn't Kindon i'd got him mixed up with, it was Dave Thomas. He was outstanding and ripped us up on that wing

edit, edit.... and I still have the Comp ticket that George Fleming put aside for me that night. 

 

How could I have forgot about Dave Thomas? I had family that lived in the area, so I was at Turf Moor in those days on quite a few occasions. It was a strange ground then with a stand behind one goal and across from the covered terrace, where we always stood, was a green fence with open ground behind waiting on a new stand to be built. 

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50th Anniversary of the Molyneux pitch invasion on Wednesday. Be interesting to see how many of us could get over that wall now.

 

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Roxy Hearts
3 hours ago, DesertDawg said:

And if Willie Ormond had brought him on against Zaire we'd have scored enough goals to get to the next round.

Ormond Hibsed it! 😁

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24 minutes ago, norrie1952 said:

2 brilliant nights in my life.Burnley at Tynie under the lights and the packed Fir park.I got in for the ko.

Same here.

 

Vaguely remember pre-match at Well a fan getting lifted and being manhandled directly across the pitch with police dog in attendance. Don't remember police dogs at home games. Just horses. 

 

That was some crush.

 

Fifty years? 

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6 hours ago, davemclaren said:

Loved this tournament. The UK also rans cup. 😄

Scottish teams really took to it. Big night at Fir Park still hovers in the memory.....

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2 minutes ago, 4marsbars said:

Same here.

 

Vaguely remember pre-match at Well a fan getting lifted and being manhandled directly across the pitch with police dog in attendance. Don't remember police dogs at home games. Just horses. 

 

That was some crush.

 

Fifty years? 

Yes  where has it gone.A couple of jambos fighting in the queue at the turnstiles in front of me. It was part of my youth. Glad to have been there 

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davemclaren
17 minutes ago, Section Q said:

Scottish teams really took to it. Big night at Fir Park still hovers in the memory.....

Yeah, some good nights. 

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N Lincs Jambo
2 hours ago, Section Q said:

Scottish teams really took to it. Big night at Fir Park still hovers in the memory.....


We certainly did, 21k and 25k crowds for the Well games. Don’t think we’ve come close since in any competition 

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5 hours ago, Dsjambo said:

Donald Ford was on fire at the Airdrie away game, I think he was the only player to score 4 goals in one game for us until Mark DeVries scored 4 against Hibs over 30yrs later.

Barney Battles did it more than once including 5 in a game against Hibs in one of the minor cups. That was part of a sequence of 3 matches against them where he scored 11 times. 

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6 hours ago, Archie White said:

Burnley team in our 4-1 win: Waiters,; Latcham, Merrongton; Docherty, Waldron, West; Thomas, Coates, Casper, Bellamy (Nulty), Collins.

i was referring to the 1973 game that James played in

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Been posted many times before but its always good to reminisce. 

I believe the fan photo is 'The Rusty Spanner' /Manor branch on their way to Wolverhampton.

Screenshot_20191114_223025.jpg

FB_IMG_1587248956283.jpg

IMG_20190719_160425.jpg

Screenshot_20201015-010704_Facebook.jpg

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iwasthere1954

My memory of the 5 - 0 Airdrie game was driving away from the ground with six Hearts buses lined up with every window tanned in. Their fans really were shit as every time we went there it was trouble. After that game the weegie police changed to buses getting escorted away from grounds.

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davemclaren
2 minutes ago, iwasthere1954 said:

My memory of the 5 - 0 Airdrie game was driving away from the ground with six Hearts buses lined up with every window tanned in. Their fans really were shit as every time we went there it was trouble. After that game the weegie police changed to buses getting escorted away from grounds.

Tanned bus windows was a pretty common thing in the 70s and early 80s. 

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34 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

Tanned bus windows was a pretty common thing in the 70s and early 80s. 

 

 

They were never broken or smashed.

 

Just tanned. 😄

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3 hours ago, dannymack said:

Been posted many times before but its always good to reminisce. 

I believe the fan photo is 'The Rusty Spanner' /Manor branch on their way to Wolverhampton.

Screenshot_20191114_223025.jpg

FB_IMG_1587248956283.jpg

IMG_20190719_160425.jpg

Screenshot_20201015-010704_Facebook.jpg

 

I turned 3 in 1971 so before my time, really. Great pics though, danny, and that's a cracker of a Hearts shirt.

 

Only remember the Anglo/Scottish days in the latter '70's. However, only tie I remember attending was a Hibs game with a schoolmate and his dad who lived next door. They played Blackburn but I don't recall the result now.

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larbertjambo

Great memories of the texaco cup. Was at tynie school till Dec 72. Cup nights were a real buzz as loads of activity in and around ground. Scarf worn to and from school. 

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