World Cup Mexico 1970

I can truthfully say that I witnessed England winning the World Cup in 1966. However, I don't remember the occasion at all, because my twin brother and I had only just turned one year old and we spent most of the day in terylene nappies cheering each and every goal, even those scored by Herr Haller and Herr Weber. Given that our sister was in her fourth year, our older brother had only had his second birthday earlier in February (our youngest brother was not yet even a twinkle in our father's eye) and that friends and family had popped around with their own broods to witness the spectacle of England winning the Jules Rimet Trophy for the first time, it's not surprising that our house in Buckhurst Crescent was chaotic on Saturday 30th July 1966. Roll the time forwards four years and the festival of football that is the World Cup Finals saw it being hosted in Mexico. Swindon was still buzzing from the success of the Robins winning the League Cup and being promoted to Division 2 the previous year, and, with the very real expectation of England being capable of retaining the trophy, the summer of 1970 saw the children of Walcot playing out each and every game on Buckhurst Field.

Along with many of the heroes of 1966 in the England squad, Mexico 1970 was the stage for possibly the greatest ever Brazilian team to appear at the World Cup Finals; Jairzinho, Rivilino, Carlos Alberto to name but three of the Latin American stars to wear the famous yellow shirt of Brazil. But it was Edson Arantes do Nascimento whom the whole world wanted to see in his last appearance at the World Cup. This was of course Pelé and every boy who kicked a ball on the field outside our house that summer wanted to be him. We were too young to go and play football with the bigger boys of the area, but, in those days, we could play outside our house in the road using the garden fence as the goal, because hardly anyone owned a car and it was quite an event when one drove along the street.

Nowadays, any football match from anywhere in the world can be watched, analysed and dissected in real time not only on television, but also on PC's, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Computer graphics help pundits assess gameplay from each and every angle, and the match can be viewed from all sides of the pitch with goals scored being shown from over half a dozen viewpoints within the stadium. If you miss the programme, catch up using the myriad of online players available to watch modern television. Back in 1966, watching matches broadcast live was the innovation. In 1970, watching the live matches in colour was the major change to the way we could see the game, even if the picture was grainy and the only real time analysis was the Replay of the goals.


As the tournament went on, it was apparent that Brazil was going to go all the way and the group

stage win over England (0 - 1) is one of the celebrated games of all time, especially in English folklore with the Gordon Banks save from Pelé and the Bobby Moore tackle on Jairzinho. With England getting beaten by West Germany in the Quarter Finals, it is probably fair to say that most Englishmen's allegiances swapped to supporting Brazil. With this in mind, Mr.Brian Bennett hosted the 1970 World Cup Final in the sports hall of Walcot Boys' Club. I assume tickets were sold for the event which was to see the match between Italy and Brazil being shown on the biggest television that could be hired at the time. Now, today, people have huge flat screen TVs in their living rooms, some hanging on their walls making the front room seem like a cinema rather than the space where the family collects. In 1970, the television that was in the Boys' Club sports hall was large, but, as can be seen from the picture above, the gogglebox in those days was just that, a box. And, the bigger the screen, the larger the cathode ray tube and the larger the wooden cabinet required to house it, and the electrical components, which, then, were mainly valves.

As mere striplings, we often looked enviously over at the bigger boys toing and froing from the Boy's Club and wondered what it was like past those large white outer walls and inside the big white building at the end of the street. Prohibited from attending the venue at any other time by virtue of our young age, on Sunday 21st June 1970, the young boys of the Crescent had the opportunity they had been longing for when we passed through the large metal gates and took our first step inside Walcot Boys' Club. My memory tells me that we were taken pity on by Mr. Bennett and allowed to watch the match for free, but, however we were admitted entry to the event, for me, this was one of those eyes wide, jaw-dropping moments when, all agog, we were allowed to enter the inner sanctum of the pantheon that stood at the end of the road. For so long too young to gain entry to the hallowed

hall of the teenage boys, I, along with my brothers and other small boys of Buckhurst Crescent, found ourselves being escorted into what seemed to me at the time the most impressive edifice in the world - it was akin to entering Wembley Stadium for the first time having been used to the County Ground of the late 1970's/early 1980's.

The television was massive, at least compared to the Telebank TV we had back home. There was some fuss over getting the signal from the aerial, but, eventually, everyone settled down to watch the 1970 World Cup Final. Us little ones were given seats on top of tables so we could see and the excitement was palpable as the game kicked off. I remember the vivid colours of the two teams in their distinctive blue and yellow shirts and the bright Mexican sunshine was in contrast to what was an overcast English summer's day. The hall soon filled with the fug of the men smoking and I seem to remember the odd large can of Brew XI or Watneys Party Seven being handed around as the paying public settled in to watch one of the classic World Cup Finals. This was my first experience of watching football in the presence of a large crowd of men and it has remained indelible on my mind ever since. The noise of the cheers and shouts echoing around the sports hall gave a flavour of what it was like to attend a football match and, for a five year old in the company of so many elder males, it was an exciting education as to what the future had to offer.

Today, you can watch a football match every day, anywhere you want. Modern technology has both

broadened the scope for people to view football wherever they want, but it has also diminished the scope for local communities to come together to witness an event as one. The Mexico 1970 World Cup Final will always be special to me, because, for someone of so tender an age, it allowed me to experience the adult world and, for a brief spell, I and my brothers were considered "big" enough to join the rest of the male population in witnessing a true spectacle in colour for the first time. For so many small boys of the area, this was a rite of passage.

Thank you Mr. Bennett!