Leicester v City FA Cup Final 26 April 1969

Went there and back on a Finglands coach that picked us up on Platt Lane. As we set off we crashed into a Hillman Imp. I was thrown into the back of the seat ahead of me. Cut my head and had a blinding headache. Paramedics arrived and asked if anyone was hurt. I averted their gaze and pulled my homemade top hat down over my wound. I was convinced I’d be taken to hospital and miss the trip. A new coach was summoned and off we went.
Stood behind and to the left of the goal we scored in.
First trip to London for me, never mind Wembley, aged 18.
 
denislawsbackheel said:
Went there and back on a Finglands coach that picked us up on Platt Lane. As we set off we crashed into a Hillman Imp. I was thrown into the back of the seat ahead of me. Cut my head and had a blinding headache. Paramedics arrived and asked if anyone was hurt. I averted their gaze and pulled my homemade top hat down over my wound. I was convinced I’d be taken to hospital and miss the trip. A new coach was summoned and off we went.
Stood behind and to the left of the goal we scored in.
First trip to London for me, never mind Wembley, aged 18.
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Great memory to have mate
 
Was 12 and went on the train from Picadilly with my dad. They were actually selling programmes on Picadilly Station and Joe Corrigan who wasn't a first teamer then signed mine.
Sat at the side right in line with Nelly Youngs winning goal. Funny thing I remember is they weren't real seats but like school gym branches just loose on the terrace and when we stood on them to get a better view a lot tipped over. No one seemed to bother but can't imagine that today !
 
My dad and uncle took us to that game I don’t remember how we got there and back
The car broke down on the way home
I was 8 at the time and I missed the goal because everyone stood up and me being a short arse back then just gazed at everyone cheering jumping up and down.
 
Great memories, I was fourteen and went to every round of the cup that year. Including the away win at Blackburn on a knackered old coach from Hubert Hackett’s in Levenshulme, which broke down in Car Park leaving the ground. In those days you needed to collect programme tokens from home games on a token sheet and covers of away programmes and submit them with your ticket application. I think you needed 40 (from fading memory). I was a few short so I cut out the tokens for the missing numbers out of the previous seasons’ programmes and guessed they’d be so busy in the ticket office they wouldn’t notice - they didn’t ! My ticket arrived and I put it under the mirror over the fireplace…the fucking thing slid out and slowly wafted it’s way into out on to an open coal fire - never moved so fast before or since and snatched it before it burnt. Great day out at Wembley. Just knew we’d do it !
 
Rory Bluelow said:
Great memories, I was fourteen and went to every round of the cup that year. Including the away win at Blackburn on a knackered old coach from Hubert Hackett’s in Levenshulme, which broke down in Car Park leaving the ground. In those days you needed to collect programme tokens from home games on a token sheet and covers of away programmes and submit them with your ticket application. I think you needed 40 (from fading memory). I was a few short so I cut out the tokens for the missing numbers out of the previous seasons’ programmes and guessed they’d be so busy in the ticket office they wouldn’t notice - they didn’t ! My ticket arrived and I put it under the mirror over the fireplace…the fucking thing slid out and slowly wafted it’s way into out on to an open coal fire - never moved so fast before or since and snatched it before it burnt. Great day out at Wembley. Just knew we’d do it !
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Oh yes the tokens, think there was a sheet in an early season programme to pull out and stick them on.
The season ticket books used to have lettered stubs you use for particular matches. Remember one of my dad's mates sending off with loads of the wrong lettered stubs to get extra and he got them !
 
Rory Bluelow said:
Great memories, I was fourteen and went to every round of the cup that year. Including the away win at Blackburn on a knackered old coach from Hubert Hackett’s in Levenshulme, which broke down in Car Park leaving the ground. In those days you needed to collect programme tokens from home games on a token sheet and covers of away programmes and submit them with your ticket application. I think you needed 40 (from fading memory). I was a few short so I cut out the tokens for the missing numbers out of the previous seasons’ programmes and guessed they’d be so busy in the ticket office they wouldn’t notice - they didn’t ! My ticket arrived and I put it under the mirror over the fireplace…the fucking thing slid out and slowly wafted it’s way into out on to an open coal fire - never moved so fast before or since and snatched it before it burnt. Great day out at Wembley. Just knew we’d do it !
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I can also proudly say that I went to every round of that great FA Cup run.
My Dad was a musician at The New Elizabethen Ballroom, Belle Vue and one of his fellow band mates used to take me in his car to the away games.
He drove me to Newcastle and Blackburn ( it ended up as an evening match due to the game being postponed a number of times due to freezing weather) and he took me and Dad to Villa Park for the semi -final vs Everton.
And he accompanied us on the coach from Middleton to Wembley, I am pretty sure it was Rex who took the photo of me and Dad outside Wembley I posted earlier.
 
Gray said:
Just look at the ticket price 12s 6d, starting price this year is £45.
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Yes, I had a ticket priced at 12/6d, but had to pay £5 for it to get it and felt that I had been massively overcharged (£5 was a lot of money then).
When I got to Wembley I found I was behind the goal at the Leicester fans' end. I had to suppress my delight when Neil Young scored (at the far end).
What no one ever mentions is that King Colin missed a sitter at my end, and I had a perfect view of it. Tony Coleman put in a perfect cross from the left, and Colin had a free header about 8 or 10 yards out bang in front of the goal, and he put it straight at Peter Shilton.
 
Early start after a sleepless night. Brand new red and black scarf. Ticket safety pinned into my jacket by my mam so I wouldn't lose it. ("I'm 14 mam, I won't lose it"...). Meet my mate at the coach stop, and find that his mam has done exactly the same.
Picked up in Burnage by Fingland's coach, sandwiches and crisps were all eaten before we got to Lymm corner.
Seemed to take ages to get to the services, where all our spending money was quickly swallowed up.
I remember seeing Wembley for the first time... it was spectacular. We walked around the outside of the whole stadium. No bother from Leicester fans or jobsworth stewards etc. Just a friendly day out.
The match was forgettable. Apart from Nelly's goal and the lap of honour, there wasn't much I remember.
I must have slept all the way home.
Newcastle 12 months earlier, Wembley again less than 12 months after... The stuff of every schoolboy's dreams. There was no way it could ever get better than that....

Or could it...?

:-)
 
Big Swifty said:
Yes, I had a ticket priced at 12/6d, but had to pay £5 for it to get it and felt that I had been massively overcharged (£5 was a lot of money then).
When I got to Wembley I found I was behind the goal at the Leicester fans' end. I had to suppress my delight when Neil Young scored (at the far end).
What no one ever mentions is that King Colin missed a sitter at my end, and I had a perfect view of it. Tony Coleman put in a perfect cross from the left, and Colin had a free header about 8 or 10 yards out bang in front of the goal, and he put it straight at Peter Shilton.
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£1 in 1969 has risen to £16.69 with inflation. So the £45 cheapest ticket is a complete rip off.
 
Gray said:
£1 in 1969 has risen to £16.69 with inflation. So the £45 cheapest ticket is a complete rip off.
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The club let the majority of the tickets out of the backdoor for the game, sold with train packages at greatly inflated prices for example. Those who had collected sufficient tokens who had queued up were turned away at Maine Road.

As well as the guy above paying £5, you could "pay at the gate" £5 too, everyone was on the take.
 
My Dad had died that year, when I got up at 5am to go to Wembley, I did not have a ticket and was hoping to get one at the ground. My mother had left me a note with my sandwiches with a £% note, she wrote my Dad would have wanted me to see the game and to make sure I got a ticket. I paid £5 for a 12 and 6 ticket in the City end , Brings a tear to my eye thinking about my Mother was so thoughtful to give me the £5.

Great day and memories I was shocked at how dirty the stadium looked l has I walked down Wembley Way.
 
Gray said:
We won the European Cup Winners Cup the following year in Vienna and the match was not televised in the UK. The TV companies showed the FA Cup Final reply between Leeds & Chelsea instead.

Absolutely disgusting.
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Brian Clough really gave it to all the other pundits at half time. When the other pundits were blabbing on about how the FA cup was going. He shut them all up when he said " excuse me, there is a far far more important game going on tonight and not a one of you have mentioned it. How are City doing in that European final"
You could cut the atmosphere with a knife. Really admired him since that.
 
My dad went with my grandad. I still have the ticket stub. I grew up hearing mum moan they didn't take her (got married in 67).... But me and mum made up for it with our own trips - was so proud to take her in 2011 and all the times since.

Four generations have seen city in the fa cup final - my grandad (56 and 69), dad (69), me (2011, 2013, 2019, 2023, 2024), and my son (2023, 2024). And my mum did 15 Wembley trips with me inc 3 fa cup finals...

Boy i've turned this post into a sob story/life story, sorry.
It's just it's 5 years next week since my dad died, a week after the 50 year anniversary of this match.
And in 7 weeks it will be a year since i lost mum, and here i am repeating the very emotional trip last year - same hotel same team (and same result hopefully). It's all a bit of a headfuck.. I miss her.

Anyway, happy anniversary to the 69 final - i grew up loving our history, brilliant team :)
 
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My first final aged 17 with my then girlfriend Sue,we left at midnight on the Friday on Connelys coach from Gorton Hyde road near the Plough pub.I also had to send the tokens and the front covers from our away games from that season,also I put a note in asking for an extra ticket for my wife and yes I was sent the 2 tickets.We did eventually get married but it only lasted a few years,I wonder if she still remembers that cup final day ?
 
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