Skip to main content

Football's Golden Years: Sixties special - From Georgie to El Tel, Pele to Paul McCartney



They say that if you remember the 1960s, you weren't really there. I'm hoping that this selection of images can take us all there, if only for a short time.

The decade that saw such an extraordinary transformation in British life, and became known as 'the Swinging Sixties', affected the world of football as it did everything else.

These 20 images offer snapshots of life in that iconic period, from across the football spectrum.

There's fabled superstar George Best, football greats Pele and Bobby Moore, and plenty of other stars of the time. There's also pictures of fans, grounds, and one of a musical legend.

If any of the pictures bring back particular memories for you, please feel free to share them in the comments section at the bottom of this article.

And we'll be back with another Golden Years feature next Wednesday, where we'll bring you another selection of nostalgic images.


I can't help but think of the famous 'George, where did it all go wrong?' question when I see this 1969 picture. Here, Best shows off his skills to members of the 'Blinkers' ladies team, named after a Manchester nightclub of the same name. Best really did have the world at his feet at the time - a year earlier, he had helped Manchester United to win their first European Cup with an emotional win over Benfica at Wembley. More of George to come later...




Enlarge

These yong fans can't wait to get their hands on a programme for the match between London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in 1966





I think this is a terrific picture, and shows Ken Brown and Terry Venables playing football with some children in 1965, in the street where they both spent childhood years, Dagenham's Bonham Road. Defender Brown played with West Ham for 14 years in a fine career, before he later became a manager, most famously with Norwich. Venables was an influential midfielder with a number of London clubs, including Chelsea and Tottenham. He became one of most well-known managers in the game after retiring, with spells in charge of Barcelona, Spurs and England. He led England to the semi-finals of the European Championship on home soil








Here is a picture of actor Warren Mitchell as the infamous character Alf Garnett at West Ham's Upton Park ground in 1968. The fictional Garnett was the main character in the television comedy Till Death Us Do Part - the bigoted, angry right-winger becoming one of the most memorable fictional figures in British television history. The show's writer Johnny Speight was a West Ham fanatic, and Garnett's support of the club was a regular feature of the show. Ironically, actor Mitchell has always been a keen fan of another London club, Tottenham




There appears to be varing degrees of interest from these Arsenal players as manager Billy Wright explains Highbury's new underground 'blanket' in 1964, that was designed to ensure fewer games would be postponed in bad weather. The players pictured here are Jimmy Magill, Ian Ure, Johnny MacLeod, Alan Skirton, George Eastham and Billy McCullough. Former Wolverhampton and England great Wright managed Arsenal for four years, between 1962 and 1966





These delighted fans have gathered in Glasgow's George Square to celebrate Celtic's European Cup final win over Inter Milan in 1967. Jock Stein's Celtic team, famously full of local players, were the first British team to win the European Cup, when goals from Tommy Gemmell and Stevie Chalmers gave them a 2-1 win in Lisbon. It is still the only time that a side from Scotland has won Europe's premier club competition



I think this picture says rather a lot about the sporting attitudes of the 1960s, and shows England's captain Bobby Moore and wife Tina toasting Portual legend Eusebio at Kensington's Royal Garden Hotel after the 1966 World Cup. Eusebio finished as the tournament's top scorer, with nine goals, as Portugal reached the semi-finals, where they were beaten 2-1 by eventual winners England




Here is Manchester City favourite Mike Summerbee showing off the record player in his new sports car in 1967. Summerbee will always be associated first and foremost with City, after a superb ten-year spell with the club between 1965 and 1975. During that time, City won the league title in 1968, the FA Cup in 1969, and both the League Cup and European Cup Winners Cup in 1970




This picture shows West Bromwich Albion midfielder Ian Collard greeting delighted fans after the Baggies beat Everton 1-0 at Wembley in the 1968 FA Cup final, courtesy of a goal from Jeff Astle. It was a fifth FA Cup success for West Brom, who haven't won a major trophy in the 45 years since




Tottenham great Jimmy Greaves selects a book to read for the train journey to Plymouth, where Spurs were playing a third round FA Cup tie early in 1962. The game proved to be comfortable for Tottenham, who emerged 5-1 winners, with Greaves scoring two of their goals. The London club went on to win the competition for the second successive season




This is quite a picture, and shows QPR fans marching from the club's Loftus Road ground to Wembley for the 1967 League Cup final. In a dramatic final, QPR came back from 2-0 behind to beat the Baggies 3-2, with the winner scored by Mark Lazarus. QPR were the first club from the third tier of English football to win a major trophy




Here is Beatle Sir Paul McCartney arriving at Wembley for the 1968 FA Cup final between Everton and West Bromwich Albion. It has always been a matter of interest in Liverpool as to which of the city's two big football clubs was supported by members of The Beatles. Although not a huge football fan, McCartney admitted in recent years that his family supported Everton, saying in a 2008 interview that 'if it comes to the crunch, then I’m an Evertonian'




England's finest hour came in 1966 when they won the World Cup on home soil - I'm rather pleased to have made the discovery through this picture that manager Sir Alf Ramsey spent the final day of that historic year watching a Division Three match between QPR and Watford at Loftus Road. Rangers, who had the former Chelsea and Tottenham player Terry Venables in their team at the time, comfortably won the match 4-1





Here is Rangers midfield star Jim Baxter in his rather extravagantly decorated car in 1962. Known to Rangers fans as 'Slim Jim', Baxter was a big favourite during his five years at Ibrox, between 1960 and 1965. He moved south of the border, first to Sunderland and then Nottingham Forest. He ended his career with a brief spell back at Rangers, before retiring from the game in 1970 at the age of 31



This picture shows Celtic favourite Tommy Gemmell on his way to a match in 1969 - Gemmell played for the Scottish giants for ten years. He has the rare distinction of scoring in two European Cup finals, the 1967 win over Inter Milan in Lisbon that still ranks as the greatest moment in the club's history, and the 1970 defeat against Feyenoord in Milan







Three members of the England squad - Ian Callaghan, Norman Hunter and Gerry Byrne - sign autographs for young fans outside the team's hotel in Hendon during the 1966 World Cup. Callaghan was the only one of this trio to feature in the tournament, playing in England's 2-0 win over France in the group stages





Now these were the days when FA Cup finals were simply enormous occasions in the sporting calendar. Legendary goalkeeper Gordon Banks is seen here at Leicester's team hotel the day before the 1963 final between the Foxes and Manchester United. Banks is reading a special colour souvenir edition of the London Evening Standard. It wasn't to be a happy day for Banks, as United ran out 3-1 winners at Wembley



Enlarge

George Best was a true icon of the 1960s, with the Manchester United star pictured here before a fashion show at Manchester nightclub Tiffany's in 1966. Best was by this time known by the nickname 'El Beatle', having announced himself to the wider world the previous season, not least when he scored two glorious goals in a 5-1 European Cup win for United against Benfica in Lisbon


Brazil legend Pele recieves a kiss from his wife at a ball in Munich in 1968. Widely considered to be the greatest player in the history of the game, Pele helped Brazil to win World Cups in 1958, 1962 and 1970. The Brazil team that won the third of those, in Mexico, is an iconic one, with their 4-1 win over Italy in the final arguably the finest ever performance by an international team on the biggest stage of all


Chelsea manager Dave Sexton signs autographs for young fans outside Stamford Bridge on the day of his appointment in 1967. He led the club to FA Cup success in 1970, and a European Cup Winners Cup triumph a year later. More disappointing times followed after that however. Sexton notoriously fell out with some of his senior players, and was eventually dismissed in 1974. Three years as manager of QPR followed, before a four-year spell as Manchester United boss

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o