35 years ago today over 90,000 fans attended the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.
Nothing unusual about that, you might think, but on May 3rd 1980, for the first and so far only time in the history of the game the final was between two teams from the same city – Hull FC would play Hull Kingston Rovers and the winners would have a lifetime of bragging rights.
I was 11 years old at the time and a mad keen Hull KR fan – I had been supporting the team for three years and attended home games with a couple of my friends and their families.
I played rugby league for my school, Ferens Juniors, and they always ran a trip to the Challenge Cup final and fortunately I was booked on this year’s trip. It wouldn’t be my first Challenge Cup Final – I went with school to the 1979 final between Widnes and Wakefield Trinity – but obviously this one was special and we realised that even at such a young age.
Hull KR had qualified for the final with a defeat of second division Halifax to qualify for their first Wembley final since 1964, while Hull FC had seen off self-proclaimed Cup kings Widnes to get to Wembley for the first time since 1960.
The excitement within the city had not been seen before for a rugby league match and the rush for tickets for the final was amazing.
Rovers were the reigning League Champions and Hull FC had defeated Rovers in the Floodlit Trophy final in front of 18,000 fans at the Boulevard back in December and were the best-supported team in the league, having won promotion from the second division by winning all of their league games the previous season.
On the morning of the match people travelled down to the match in car, on coaches from local pubs and social clubs or on train – the BBC were at Paragon Train station in Hull as our school boarded the train down to London.
My dad travelled with me along with my school friends and Rovers and Hull fans from different schools and areas of the city were all mixed in together – it was a new experience for me and the atmosphere was raucous and exciting with everyone decked out in club colours wearing team jerseys, scarves and hats and carrying flags and wearing rosettes.
The city was left nearly empty and the local businesses would have suffered that day – there was a sign painted on a white sheet that could be seen as people travelled out of the city that read “Last one out turn out the lights” such was the exodus expected.
We arrived at Kings Cross Station and I don’t think they knew what had it them in the capital – why where all these people dressed in red and white and black and white singing about ‘Red Red Robins’ and ‘Old Faithful’ and talking in a strange northern accent descending upon their town?
It seemed even stranger because people wearing red and white and black and white were holding hands and seemed to be friends and members of the same family – what was going on?
I remember we got to London quite a few hours before the match so the school had laid on a little bit of sight-seeing before we headed to Wembley – I recall being impressed by Cleopatra’s Needle on Victoria Embankment!
I don’t recall travelling to Wembley itself but what I do remember is the walk up Wembley Way towards the famous Twin Towers.
It was a mass of red and white and black and white and the noise from the fans singing the club songs was deafening at times – you could tell a few people had been in the pubs and had a few beers but the atmosphere was fun and there was no hint of any trouble – people had known each other for years and had waited a lifetime for this game in some instances and they certainly weren’t going to spoil what was a great day for the city of Kingston upon Hull.
We got into the stadium about an hour before the match and at the old Wembley you used to climb up a few steps from the gangways that held the bars and food outlets and over used tilets and as you ascended you could feel the atmosphere build and hit you in the face as you found your seat. Even at that time there was hundreds of flags and banners flying around this iconic stadium and the quantity only increased as we got closer to kick off and sang the traditional “Abide with Me”.
As the two teams walked out of that famous tunnel side by side across the pitch to be presented to the Queen Mother before the match the atmosphere grew to fever pitch and ‘Red Red Robin’ and ‘Old Faithful’ battled each other for supremacy just as the two sides would in just a few minutes. There were so many flags flying I couldn’t understand how anyone could see.
Hull KR were led by the legendary Roger Millward, who was playing in his first Challenge Cup Final, and who was also our player coach, while Hull FC were captained by the outstanding loose forward Steve ‘Knocker’ Norton – two international players who had started their careers at their hometown club Castleford.
Rovers had another legend of the game who was playing in his first Challenge Cup Final. World Cup-winning captain Clive Sullivan, a former Hull FC star, was now 37 years old and would line up on the left wing for Rovers – what no one knew at the time is that both Millward and Sullivan would be playing their last game for Rovers in this match.
Hull FC had much more Challenge Cup final experience with five players, Graham Bray, John Newlove, Charlie Stone, Steve Norton and Keith Boxall who had tread the hallowed turf previously against just one for Hull KR – Brian Lockwood.
This was a historic occasion but the game will not be remembered as a classic – as an 11 year old at the time I didn’t think about that kind of thing but was just in awe of the sights and sounds of the day.
The game had the typical start of a local Derby with aggression and errors the order of the day but it was my side, Rovers, that started the stronger and opened the scoring after just seven minutes.
Wingman Steve Hubbard had been a revelation in his first full season in the team and had broken the club record points in a season total that was held by the legendary Neil Fox and it was Hubbard who got the first try on the board off the back of a move that had failed all week in training.
Rovers were 40 yards out from the Hull line and a move set in motion by Roy Holdstock and Allan Agar resulted in Brian Lockwood releasing a wonderful pass for Hubbard, a big man for a winger, to charge onto the ball and score.
In the process referee Fred Lindop judged that Hubbard had been fouled in the act of scoring and a penalty try was awarded. Unfortunately, Hubbard missed the conversion but did kick the penalty from in front of the posts and Rovers led 5-0.
Almost immediately Rovers were attacking the FC line again and just as Millward released the ball to Phil Lowe, Hull hooker Ronnie Wileman flew at Millward and hit him with a high shot which was penalised. Hubbard converted to give Rovers a 7-0 lead and it was not known until after the match that the challenge had broken Millwards jaw – the injury that would end his career.
Hull FC winger Tim Wilby got his team back into the game with a try from close range but Sammy Lloyd could not convert and it was the injured Millward who had the last word of the half with a drop goal to give Rovers an 8-3 lead.
The Rovers fans sent our heroes back to the changing rooms with huge cheers and the smiles on our faces were full of relief as we were all very nervous as this was one final we did not want to lose.
The second half was even tighter than the first and was very nerve wracking as Hull pounded the Rovers line for long periods but Rovers defence stood firm.
Lloyd slotted over an early penalty in the half to get the score back to 8-5 but the only other score of the game was a Hubbard penalty with just five minutes left which gave Rovers a 10-5 victory – a score line that will never be forgotten by either side – simply because us Rovers fans won’t let FC fans forget about it and we have named a bar at our ground the 10-5 club.
Brian Lockwood won the coveted Lance Todd Trophy and our part of the stadium went delirious as Millward climbed the 39 steps to collect the Challenge Cup Trophy from the Queen Mother along with his team mates.
I remember the team walking around the pitch and I was determined to wait for them even though our teachers had told us to get ready to leave. I was waving my flag and turned round to realise that I had been left by everyone – fortunately I saw my dad coming back down the steps to collect me but I made sure I waved the team passed me.
It was manic leaving the ground to get back into London and I remember a skinhead in FC colours heading towards me – I was a bit concerned but all he wanted to do was shake my hand and say well done – that’s the kind of day it was.
All of us got back into London and actually had time to go to the cinema before we had to get back to King Cross for our late train home. It was a long and tiring day and the atmosphere on the train home was a little subdued as everyone was very tired but it didn’t stop a few renditions of ‘Red Red Robin’ and some FC fans managed to raise themselves to sing ‘Old Faithful’
We got back into Hull late and my friends dad picked us up as we did not have a car and they lived in the next street to us anyway.
The homecoming took place the next day and thousands of fans swarmed into the Hull City Centre outside the town hall to receive the team and see them raise the Challenge cup once more.
I didn’t make it into town – instead I stood along part of the route and took some photos as the open top bus paraded by – it was the perfect end to a perfect weekend.
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