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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vividly captures the famous 1953 run-up to Wembley, 5 Aug 1999
By A Customer
Playwright George Bernard Shaw once asked, "What is a Cup tie?" Blackpool supporters could be forgiven for asking the same question. Any Cup excitement in Blackpool prior to 1948 was usually short-lived. The club's FA Cup record before that date was not one to shout from the top of the Tower about. Blackpool had only once progressed to the dizzy heights of the fifth round. Even that modest success was offset by the disappointment of the club being relegated from the First Division in the same 1932/33 season. The only Cup success that the club had experienced was during the Second World War, when guest players from the forces stationed in Blackpool turned out for the side. With the help of a number of stars from other clubs, Blackpool won the Football League War Cup (North) in 1942-43 and then defeated the Cup winners of the South, Arsenal, in a Challenge Cup Final played at Stamford Bridge. One of the guest players that assisted Blackpool during the war was a Stoke City right winger called Stanley Matthews.Blackpool reached the Cup Final in 1948 only to lose 4-2 to Manchester United in what is still regarded as one of the finest FA Cup Finals ever to grace Wembley stadium. In 1951, Blackpool had reached Wembley once again but a lethargic performance by the Seasiders saw Newcastle United, with the help of a little genius called Ernie Taylor, come out on top by two goals to nil. In 1953, Cup fever once again gripped Blackpool. Thirty eight years old Stanley Matthews was about to embark on another quest for a Cup-winners medal as Blackpool began its Cup campaign with an unpromising third round tie against a fancied Sheffield Wednesday. The year 1953 was a memorable one for all Britons. The Coronation on 2 June signaled the dawning of a new Elizabethan era, Everest, the world's highest mountain, was scaled for the first time with a Blackpool man, Alfred Gregory, a member of the summit assault party which supported Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing in their triumphal climb to the top of the world. Squadron Leader Neville Duke, watched by an admiring crowd of 100,000, broke the sound barrier for the first time, flying a Hunter jet at supersonic speed over Blackpool promenade. Gordon Richards had his long-awaited first Derby win on Pinza and the England cricket team regained the Ashes for the first time since 1932/33 in a dramatic final Test win at The Oval. Cup Kings Blackpool 1953 captures many of the more intriguing and obscure aspects of the run-up to Wembley, Stanley Matthews looks back more than forty five years and vividly recalls many of the exciting moments of the Cup run in which he, to most of the nation's delight, finally won his much cherished FA Cup winners medal.Blackpool fans eager to indulge themselves in Matthews memories' and re-live the Seasiders glory days can get their hands on just what they're looking for now. Lifelong Blackpool fan and author Gerry Wolstenholme has written what is a beautifully illustrated tribute to the Tangerines 1953 FA cup-winning-team 'Cup Kings Blackpool 1953' with each of the 1,000 limited editions signed by Sir Stanley himself.
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