Cork May 2010 – The Day Eddie Gave England The Blues ...

The Day Eddie Gave England The Blues by Shane Murphy (first published in the May 2010 Cork City FORAS Co-op programme) Â* By the time England and the United States take to the pitch for their opening match in South Africa, the story of what is widely regarded as the greatest World Cup shock ever will have been told many times. Rooney, Gerrard and Terry, however, probably won’t be aware that it was a former Blue who led America to victory against England in 1950. Ed McIlvenny, the US captain, went on to become Waterford player-manager, although his place in football history is due mainly to the events of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Eddie was born in Greenock, Scotland in 1924 and <a href="http://www.nfljerseys-supply.com/ "><strong>cheap nba jerseys</strong></a> played with Wrexham in the English Third Division North for two seasons before moving to America in 1949. He excelled with the Philadelphia Nationals and was called up to the US World Cup squad. Giovanni Trapattoni would certainly have liked the liberal player qualification rules of the time. Eddie only had to declare his “intention to apply for citizenship” in order to play for his adopted country. He never actually applied. The 1950 World Cup was the first that England entered. The FA had considered the concept beneath them until then. When Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney, Jackie Milburn and the rest of the England squad reached Rio, one Brazilian newspaper announced “The Kings of Football have Arrived”. Meanwhile, the US were massive outsiders – a hastily-assembled bunch of dishwashers, postmen and undertakers. McIlvenny was the only professional. They had lost 9-0 to Italy in a warm-up match and were rated 500-1 shots by bookies to win the World Cup – which had only 13 participants. England were 3-1 favourites. The Americans began the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Spain while England eased themselves in with a comfortable 2-0 win over Chile. This only enhanced the feeling that the second match would be a walkover. England chose to rest two of their stars – Matthews and Milburn. Even still, a team including Finney, Stan Mortensen, Alf Ramsay and Billy Wright was expected to teach the Yanks a thing or two about football. United States manager Bill Jeffries put it plainly: “We have no chance”. Despite earning only his second cap, right half McIlvenny was handed the captaincy for the game on the basis that he was British (Harry Keough skippered the Americans in the opening match “because he spoke Spanish”). England, wearing blue, attacked from the first whistle and had six great chances in the opening twelve minutes – even hitting the post twice. However, the underdogs weathered the storm and took the lead completely against the run of play after 39 minutes. A McIlvenny throw-in released Walter Bahr. His shot from 25 yards would have been covered by keeper Bert Williams, but Joe Gaetjens flicked the ball to the net with a diving <a href="http://www.nfljerseys-supply.com/"><strong>kids nfl jerseys</strong></a> header. England were stunned and the mainly Brazilian crowd erupted. In the second half, England attacked relentlessly, but goalkeeper Frank Borghi (a Purple Heart-winning war hero) was unbeatable. To add to the surreal atmosphere, at one point the American physio ran on to treat an injured player, tripped up and knocked himself out when his bag of chloroform burst open. The US held out for their most famous victory. Middlesbrough’s Wilf Mannion was in shock, famously saying “Bloody ridiculous. Can’t we play them again tomorrow?” These days, Sepp Blatter would probably have acceded to his wish! The result was such a surprise that some English newspapers assumed that the telegraph was a mistake and published the score as England 10 – USA 1. The public were actually more upset that the England cricketers had lost to the West Indies for the first ever time on the same day. Despite including all of their stars for the last group game, England were ambushed by Spain and again lost by a single goal. Their early exit was all the more embarassing (and costly) as the FA had booked hotels and flights for after the final on the assumption that they would be bringing the cup home with them. That honour went to Uruguay. The US lost their final group game 5-2 to Chile, but went home with their heads held very high. Ed McIlvenny’s performances earned him a transfer to Matt Busby’s Manchester United. He never played for the States again – settling for just those three international <a href="http://www.nfljerseys-supply.com/ "><strong>football jerseys</strong></a> caps – and only played twice for United before transferring to Waterford in 1951. He had four successful years with the Blues both as a player (switching to inside left forward) and manager (coming second in the league in 1955). He ran a football school in England when he retired and he died in 1989 aged just 64. He fared better than goalscorer Gaetjens who returned to his native Haiti and was murdered by Papa Doc Duvalier’s dictatorship in 1970. The legacy of that match lives on though. All of the players were inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame and a film was made in 2005 about their exploits. “The Game of their Lives” starred Gerard Butler, Patrick Stewart and singer Gavin Rossdale with the former West Ham, Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday star John Harkes playing McIlvenny. The USA jersey for the 2010 World Cup with its diagonal stripe on a white background is a tribute to the team of 1950 as they hope it inspires them to beat England once more. England, on the other hand, never wore blue again. Their second strip has been red ever since. But if North Korea beat Brazil in this year’s World Cup, watch out for their captain. Who knows? Hendo might be getting the chequebook out!