The day it all went wrong

March 26, 1949

Pompey were top of Division One and on their way to win the Championship.  In the FA Cup after a succession of home draws they had beaten Derby County 2-1 at Fratton Park in front of a record crowd of 51,385 to reach the semi-final.

The semi-final draw had been favourable pitting them against Leicester City who were struggling in the Second Division and Pompey had beaten them 4-1 in the 1934 semi-final at St Andrews.

The 'Double' of the Championship and FA Cup had not been done in the twentieth century to date and was seen by some as impossible but surely Pompey could achieve it now!  (Only Preston North End in 1889 and Aston Villa in 1897 had managed the feat!)

Pompey had the backing of 23,000 fans in a sell out 62,000 at Highbury that afternoon and played in red shirts as Leicester also wore blue shirts and played in white.

Club President Field Marshall Montgomery had sent the team, through their captain a message (something he was known to do often similar to the message to his troops in WW2.

Despite being odds on favourites Pompey started poorly and after only five minutes a player who would become very famous as a manager, Don Revie put the Foxes in front and it was twenty minutes before the Blues (Reds) levelled through Peter Harris.  Pompey though were not themselves, hesitant in defence and no bite in attack.

After half time Leicester were back in front through Ken Chisholm and then the moment that summed up the day when Harris only six yards from an open goal, dragged a shot wide.  Worse followed as Revie rose to head Leicester's through Ernie Butler's hands and the game was over, the dream of the Double gone!

Excuses and rumours were rife after the game - should the team been at a nightclub the night before? why did they spend time watching the University Boat Race in the morning? and were the team upset by the decision to bring in Bert Barlow in place of Duggie Reid?

With the dream over Pompey soon recovered their form and four weeks later clinched their first Championship when goals by Harris and Ike Clarke helped the Blues win at Bolton's Burnden Park.  The celebrations began but should the prize have been greater?  Leicester lost the final to Wolves 3-1 and would have to wait another 72 years to lift the trophy.

A look through the PHS Archive finds two unofficial programmes produced for the game, something that happened quite often in big games in London in the post war era.

Fans were warned about buying these programmes - who said scammers are something unique to the 21st Century?

Spurs would eventually win the Double in 1961 but Pompey should have done it twelve years earlier.