Thursday 17 June 2010

The Magnificent Seven (+1)

Back in '66 when we hosted The World Cup, The FA used eight grounds across the country. Can you name them? Without googling the answer (and unless you're of a certain age), the chances are you'll probably be able to reel off the first seven: Wembley (obviously), Old Trafford, Hillsborough, Villa Park, Goodison Park, Ayresome Park and Roker Park. But who remembers the eighth? Was it Highbury? White Hart Lane? Well, it was in London; was being the relevant word in that sentence.

The ground nobody remembers is White City. Or to give it its full title, White City Stadium.
Opened in 1908 for the Olympics it had a running track & a cycle track and the infield was blessed with both swimming and diving pools. So how did it come to feature in The World Cup? Unlike today, back in the swinging sixties we didn't live, breathe and sleep football (groan) so when the Wembley bosses wouldn't cancel the dog racing for the night, WC stepped in. They only put the one game on, Uraguay v France, and then it was business as usual. In its lifetime it played host to not only athletics and cycling but rugby union, speedway and greyhound racing. They even put on the odd gig.

In July 1973 a festival that included Edgar Winter, Sly & The Family Stone and Canned Heat played to a full house. The Kinks headlined that day and it wasn't without incident. That said it was rare indeed for a Kinks gig to pass without incident. Ray Davies let his potty mouth get the better of him and resigned from the band live on stage. His missus had just left him and poor old Ray went into meltdown. It wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last.



White City closed its doors for the last time in 1983 and, in 1985, they tore it down. Our friends at the BBC live there now.

9 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. Never knew that it hosted a World Cup game.

    Never went there in my life.

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  3. Don't start me on lost London landmarks - have you seen John Betjeman's early 70s docu' Metroland? You’re missing a real treat if not. Great piece about Wembley in it, and a time capsule of post-war starch and early seventies sparkle

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  4. Metroland is a masterpiece; Betjeman could do no wrong in my eyes. Have you seen his travelogues in Oxon and Wilts? I always tap Betjeman's statue on the arm when I come into St Pancras.

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  5. My flatmate trekked off to White City stadium to get tickets for the dogs for someone's birthday and we were all really looking forward to it. Only this was 1988. When she got there she asked a passer-by where the stadium was they just laughed and told her it had closed five years previously.

    Well, how were we to know?

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  6. I'll keep an eye out for that one ~ I'm sure you've read it, but Trains and Buttered Toast is his genius in a pocket size format, and so forward thinking.

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  7. Wasn't it White City where that David Cassidy fan died from over-excitement (the gig that was the catalyst for his early 'retirement')?

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  8. Good heavens, I hate being a pedant (no I don't) but North Korea's heroic 1966 campaign ended at the hands of Portugal at Goodison Park.

    England played six times at Wembley in 1966 and a further five in 1996. Obviously things in 1966 turned out well, but it would have been nice if they'd done a bit in other areas of the country.

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  9. I'm sure El Tel would have jumped at the chance of playing at Boothferry Park.

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