30 Years Ago: Part Five

Win or lose the team’s return home was always going to be big occasion. And despite Maycock’s late goal ensuring it was the latter of the two options, it’s hard to imagine the celebrations being any better had the Lilywhites returned with the actual trophy rather than just the cardboard one John Salter was brandishing after being handed it by a fan.

Like the day that preceded it, what happened on the morning after the final will probably remain forever etched in the memory of those who were there. Cramped into the small market ground in order to welcome the team home appeared to be the entire population of the town. It sounds like a terrible cliché but people were hanging from lampposts and sitting on the roofs of nearby buildings just to catch a glimpse of what was happening on the makeshift stage.

While it’s feasible that Mossley could still make another Wembley final one day, it’s highly unlikely that the return home would be as memorable or as well attended as it was back in 1980. There are a multitude of reasons why but as social commentary is not my speciality I’m going to refrain from listing my thoughts as to why this would be the case. Suffice to say it would involve word ‘community’ prominently.

The clippings below detail the events of that warm Sunday morning back in May thirty years ago and also include a few other photographs from the Wembley trip that didn’t make part four. Who knows, there may be a face or two you recognise?

The clipping below was accompanied by the following caption: 'Mossley's visit to Wembley inspired 16 year old David Leech, a pupil at West Hill School, Stalybridge, to sketch this crowd scene...'
And that’s it for this short yet somehow drawn out (and little read) look back at Mossley's trip to Wembley three decades ago. I hope these postings over the past month and a bit have brought back some happy memories for those of you who were around at the time and if so, I'm glad they were able to instil that warm glow nostalgia always brings.

Hopefully the next thirty years update in a few months time will do the same. That's right, we're not finished with 1980 just yet.