Wembley Stadium History 1

An account of my visits to the old stadium can be read about here and here.

Wembley Stadium was built by Sir Robert McAlpine in North West London in exactly three hundred days and opened to the public on 28th April 1923 for the FA Cup Final. The stadium was originally called the British Empire Exhibition Stadium as the whole area was to stage the British Empire Exhibition of 1924.

Its opening day became one of the most famous in British sporting history. The game was not all ticket as the FA didn't think the crowd would necessitate it. Up to 300,000 gained access as chaos reigned. The official crowd as listed was 126,047. The game was in danger of being postponed as fans were on the pitch until PC George Scorey on his white horse Billy, cleared the playing area.

The stadium before the roof was added

The stadium was built on a site where a tower once stood which became known as Watkin's Folly. The original idea was to demolish the stadium after the exhibition but it was saved at the suggestion of the chairman of the organising committee.

After the exhibition, an entrepreneur, Arthur Elvin started to buy the disused buildings and demolish them and cashing in on scrap value. The stadium had gone into liquidation so Elvin purchased it. He eventually sold it back to the Wembley Company which paid him shares to give him the largest stake and the role of Chairman.

The final game. October 2000

In 1934 the nearby Empire Pool (now Wembley Arena) was built and it became a venue with the stadium for the 1948 Olympic Games. The stadium was basically a bowl with an upper and lower section. Behind the goals was open terracing with covered seats down the sides and open benches at the front. The crowning glory was the trademark Twin Towers behind the North Stand.

In 1963, a new translucent roof was erected over the whole of the stadium as well as the installation of an electric scoreboard. The stadium also held many other major sporting events as well as football. From 1936 to 1960 it held the first fifteen World Speedway Finals. 

The greatest day

It staged a further eight, with the last in 1981, as well as hosting the Wembley Lions at various times between 1929 and 1971. It held every Rugby League Challenge Cup Final from 1929 as well as the 1992 World Cup Final. Wales used the venue to play International Rugby Union whilst their own Millenium Stadium was being constructed.

Greyhound racing was also a prominent feature, ever since a dog called Spin won the first race at the track in 1927 in front of 50,000 punters until the stadium closed. Wembley's owner's refusal to cancel the regular greyhound racing meant that the match between Uruguay and France in the 1966 World Cup was played at White City.

Evel Knievel in 1975

It also staged Gaelic Sports, American Football, Equestrian Events (including the Horse of the Year Show in 1970 which ruined the pitch before the FA Cup Final), WWF Wrestling, an incredible motorbike stunt by daredevil Evel Knievel as well as many music concerts, including the staggering Live Aid Gig on Saturday 13th July 1985.

Of course, it is with football that Wembley will be forever remembered. Apart from the greatest of days on Saturday 30th July 1966 when England became World Champions and our other games during the tournament, it staged every FA Cup Final, as well as each League Cup Final from 1967, and each Charity Shield from 1974.

For the first twenty-seven years, the only England fixture played there was the game against Scotland until every game was staged there. In European club football, Wembley staged the European Cup Finals in 1963, 1968, 1971, 1978, and 1992 as well the Cup Winners Cup Finals of 1965 and 1993. The stadium also staged the final of Euro 96 as well as all of England's games in the tournament.

It gave amateur and semi-professional players their greatest ever days, staging many Amateur Cup Finals as well as the FA trophy from 1970 and the FA Vase from 1975. It was the ambition of every footballer in the world to play there. Pele described it as thus: "Wembley is the cathedral of football. It is the capital of football and it is the heart of football."

The final FA Cup Final at the stadium saw Chelsea beat Aston Villa, while the final game saw Germany defeat England on Saturday 7th October 2000. It took three years before the stadium was eventually demolished. The new stadium was going to be realigned and it was said the Towers could not be saved. This was extremely sad and it upset many members of the public.

The new stadium has better access, views, scoreboards, seats, catering, and general facilities but not the same buzz of the old place as the white towers came into view and fans walked up the steps to the turnstiles and saw the pitch through the gates for the first time.

I wrote this piece exactly ten years to the day of the final game. I didn't realise I'd miss it as much as I do.

Thanks for the memories.

My personal memories

It's hard to write something relatively brief on a place that gave me so many memories so I'll use an article I wrote for the Scarborough Athletic fanzine, Abandon Chip. Hopefully, this will give you some idea about the place. Please check out the two sections on my visits to the stadium for more details, pictures, tickets, and programmes.

Some of my happiest football memories were spent at the old Wembley Stadium. I was fortunate to see my beloved there four times, including three victories. I was actually a bit disappointed when I got inside for the first time in April 1973. It looked nothing like it did on TV, although Mally Thompson’s winner more than made up for my initial impressions.

I was lucky to make my second visit by the time I was only 8 years old. I had an incredible experience at the 1974 League Cup Final between Wolves and Manchester City, which was played out in front of 100,000 fans.

A teacher and driving instructor Mr Smith ran a bus from Scarborough. I’m not sure where he got the tickets from, but my dad took my brother Paul and me. I was filled with eager anticipation on the way down the motorway. What would such an enormous crowd be like? I was soon to find out.

When we got to our terracing entrance on the concourse it was soon apparent that there was no room to get in. This was a major design fault with the old place in the days of terracing in the lower tier. People congregated around the entrance to gain a better view thus restricting people from getting into the free space further down. 

Mr. Smith played hell with the authorities. Amazingly we were taken through a room and down some steps. We emerged in the player's tunnel and I stood next to the players who were lined up waiting for their cue to walk out. We were then placed at the front of the terracing amongst the Manchester City fans to enjoy an excellent game.

I attended the first ever Merseyside final when Everton and Liverpool battled out a goalless draw for the 1983 Milk (league) Cup. I was at college in Borehamwood at the time. My housemate, Aberdeen fan Andy, suggested we go down to take in the atmosphere, get a programme, and then go home to watch the game. As soon as I got there I was determined to get in.

Andy gave up and left me to my fate. I was about to pay £10 to a Liverpool fan before a decent bloke stopped me, explaining that he was trying to sell me one that had already been used and was then passed back. I wandered about before a local approached me. We negotiated on a tenner to get in. 

He had gathered up a few others who wanted to go in but didn’t have tickets. He gave us all hats to wear (some blue and some red) and ushered us towards a turnstile. There was no sign of any tickets. As soon as we got in he took back his hats and went back outside for more custom. He’d been on the fiddle with the turnstile operators! I remember asking him how I’d pass through the gate inside to reach the terracing without a ticket. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “That’s up to you, mate”.

I now drink in a bar with some blokes of a similar age to me who said they never missed a game at Wembley and often would never pay. They either gave the gateman a few quid and kept going or would sneak in below someone going through. The best tale is of one of them giving a steward a few quid for his fluorescent bib. 

Scarborough. FA Trophy winners 1973

He would then use it to go up to the gate pretending to be a steward with some fans who’d been directed round to that particular entrance (the fans either been his mates or punters willing to pay a backhander to get in). The cheeky sod even used it to get through the crowds to get home quicker (allegedly!). Apparently, there were a lot of lads using similar ruses. I dread to think just how many people really got in.

I also saw some memorable England games at the Venue of Legends. Without a doubt, the most memorable few weeks were based around Euro 96. I was lucky enough to attend all the England matches. The atmosphere against Scotland and Spain only matched the performance against the totally distraught Dutch. 

The final game. October 2000

I was lucky enough to see Brazil, Holland, and Germany three times, as well as Argentina and Italy plus many other teams of varying quality (a freezing cold January night going all the way to see Cameroon being the low point).

A memory that will always stick in my mind apart from the many memorable matches that took place before a World Cup qualifier against Poland in 1989. The England players were warming up. The Geordie trio of Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne, and Peter Beardsley were practicing together. They pinged perfect passes to each other before each in turn would carry out a cameo in ball juggling. 

It went on for 10 minutes and the ball didn’t touch the floor. I was at the anti-climax of the last-ever game against Germany, which was overshadowed to a certain extent by Kevin Keegan’s resignation at the end of the game. We were in a club behind the stadium when the news flashed up on the TV. It brought the biggest cheer all day.

By now I was living within three miles of the stadium. I watched for the best part of a year while it stood dormant, surrounded by political and financial arguments. Members of the local community and corporate hospitality played lots of matches on the sacred turf. Sadly I couldn’t find a way of getting a game.

A bit of the old place still lives on. East Tower Flagpole Base at Brent River Park

Eventually, demolition began, without a lot of publicity. I went to the snooker at the Conference Centre one Sunday in March 2001 and took my camera to try and take some snaps. I was astonished at the sight as I approached. All that was left was the South Stand (where the TV cameras went) and the magnificent towers. 

Within a few weeks, the lot had gone. I felt extremely sad as so many memories disappeared for good while future generations would have to rely on stories, videos, and pictures.