1953 Life in Football Seventy Years Ago

1953 offers a unique snapshot of life in and around football during Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation year – exploring the matches, personalities and events that lit up the game.

Wembley saw its most exciting FA Cup Final ever with Stanley Matthews finally lifting the trophy. The top flight witnessed its closest-ever finish, and internationally the Mighty Magyars gave England a footballing lesson, as did Uruguay and Argentina.

Sheffield Wednesday’s star striker Derek Dooley tragically lost a leg, and exasperated players went on strike over the unfairness of the contract system and the maximum wage. Others travelled to Colombia in a bid to make mega-money in a FIFA-banned rebel league. Many negotiated the first-ever image rights deals and endorsed everything from football boots and Lucozade to cigarettes and paint.

In a fitting tribute to the new queen, eight of England and Scotland's best teams would clash in a one-off tournament to mark the start of Elizabeth II's reign, the Coronation Cup.

A former journalist, Marvin Close wrote 1923: Life in Football One Hundred Years Ago and I Hope You Die of Cancer: Life in Non-League Football for Pitch in 2022. His other books include More Than Just A Game: Football v Apartheid – The Most Important Football Story Ever Told (with Chuck Korr) and Hope: My Life in Football (with Hope Powell). Marvin also writes dramas and documentaries for TV, radio and theatre.

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