It was always a right royal occasion in those far-off days when Newcastle United were the kings of Wembley. As we witness the momentous handover from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III after the longest of reigns we may well recall that United were centre stage during the last royal shift in power.
Winning the FA Cup three times in five short years back in the fifties would normally have meant receiving the grand old pot each time from the same monarch. However when United embarked upon the run in 1951 King George VI was still on the throne and handed over the trophy at what turned out to be his last cup final appearance.
A year later United returned to the Twin Towers to receive the silver pot from Sir Winston Churchill during a time of transition while in 1955 the Queen, accompanied by Prince Philip, was 28 years of age attending only her third cup final since her accession to the throne. The significance of that occasion is highlighted by the fact that United have never claimed a domestic trophy in the 67 years since a young Queen did the honours.
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On the first two visits Joe Harvey was the skipper shaking hands with King George VI and Sir Winston and on the last Jimmy Scoular received the most precious of silverware. Jackie Milburn was one of three Newcastle players to play in all three finals - Bobby Mitchell and Bobby Cowell were the others - and I became a firm friend of Wor Jackie writing more than a couple of books with him.
He told me: "One of the lovely things about cup finals was meeting royalty and other famous people. In 1951 King George VI looked an ill man, brave to be there at all. The next year we received the Cup from Winston Churchill, the greatest hero of my life whose bust occupied pride of place in our house since 1948, and in 55 it was the Queen and Prince Philip.
"When we were introduced to Winston Churchill before the kick off against Arsenal in 52 he smiled at me and said: 'Are you going to grab the headlines again this year?' It really impressed me that a man like that should take notice of a pit lad."
In terms of goals in was the only final when Milburn failed to score. He notched both goals to beat Blackpool 2-0 and claimed what was then the fastest goal in a Wembley final after only 45 seconds against Manchester City. In those early days of her reign the Queen always presented the FA Cup at Wembley. She did so up to 1976.
Now of course her grandson Prince William is the president of the Football Association and as such has brought royalty back to Wembley. Mind you Geordies have no wish to wait until the next royal hand-over - Charles to William - to receive the FA Cup from a reigning monarch at the home of football. We want to break the barren run way before then.
Farewell to unsung hero Dave
Dave Smith was Newcastle United's coach last time they secured a major trophy, the treasured European Fairs Cup way back in 1969. So it was with a heavy heart that I learned he had died a fortnight short of his 89th birthday.
However Dave always had a sense of occasion and timing. He passed away on the same day as the Queen! Dave was a dear friend back in the day and I treasure the fact that only three months ago after a long while we spoke again when he phoned out of the blue having moved up to live in Skipton.
A flamboyant, quirky character with more bounce than a rubber ball, Smith was Joe Harvey's right-hand man before going off to have a successful managerial career winning no fewer than four promotions down the leagues with the likes of Mansfield, Southend, Plymouth, and Torquay.
"Aye Gibbo they were great times at Newcastle," Dave recalled back in May. "No one can take them away. It's been a terrific life. Football has been good to many of us." It has, Dave, it has.
I reminded him of an episode he recalled vividly. United had just played Real Zaragoza on New Year's Day when I received a tip off in my hotel room that something interesting was happening in the foyer so off I raced downstairs. There I found two burly pistol-packing Spanish cops in agitated conversation with Dave Smith and United's winger Jim Scott. Eventually the club interpreter was called and passports carefully examined.
It turned out that the police were looking for two Englishmen called Smith and Scott who had absconded from custody and they were convinced United's pair were the guilty men."I wouldn't care but two canny Scots being taken for Englishmen really hurt," moaned Dave. Another story winged its way to the Chron offices and made a front page exclusive: United Pair In Police Swoop.
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