Today I'm going back 42 years to 1980 and York City's season-opening League Cup 1st Round 1st Leg tie at home to the monkey hangers of Hartlepool United played at Bootham Crescent in front of a disappointing crowd of just 2,444.
Taking a look at the Hartlepool side as shown on the programme cover, there are a few names that will resonate with York City fans as well as some of the bigger names in the English football world. John Bird, a former Newcastle United player, would go on to manage the monkey-hangers before moving up to manage York City. Bobby Kerr is most famous for a long career at Sunderland, the high point of which was captaining them to victory in the 1973 FA Cup Final against Leeds United. Keith Houchen is another successful former FA Cup Finalist (Coventry City 1987) as well as being a legend at York City for his penalty which knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup at Bootham Crescent in 1985. Finally on the Pool subs bench there's Phil Brown who would go on to have a long career in management, notably at Hull City (who he took into the Premier League) and Southend United.
1980/81 was the 21st season of the Football League Cup and, at the time, the 1st Round 1st Leg was played on the Saturday a week before the League season itself started. The 2nd Leg was played during the following midweek so it was perfectly possible to be out of the League Cup before kicking a ball in anger in the League itself. York won the featured match 2-1 and went to Hartlepool's Victoria Ground three days later and secured a goalless draw to advance into the 2nd Round. Now here was real excitement for City fans with the possibility of drawing a top level side in the 2nd round. Sadly for York however they drew a less than glamourous Second Division Bristol Rovers who they defeated 2-1 at home in the 1st Leg before succumbing 1-0 at Eastville to be eliminated on the away goals rule which operated in the competition at the time. League Cup winners that season were Liverpool who eventually defeated West Ham United 2-1 in a Replay at Villa Park after an initial 1-1 draw at Wembley AET.
York would go on to have a dreadful League season and finished bottom of the 92 clubs back in the days when there was no automatic relegation into the National League and so City survived via re-election. Hartlepool did much better in League Division Four and ended up safely in 9th position. Bristol Rovers? Well they finished bottom of the Second Division.
CRB Match No. 93
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