Sat Apr 23, 2022 4:01 pm
How adopting a black cat called Trixie helped Cardiff win 1927 FA Cup final
Patrick Kidd
Ninety-five years ago today the BBC broadcast its first FA Cup final. It would be historic for a couple of other reasons, most notably for being the first, and so far only, time that the cup has been lifted by a non-English side. Queens Park, from Glasgow, had lost twice to Blackburn Rovers in the 1880s, and Cardiff City had lost the 1925 final 1-0 to Sheffield United, before making history by the same margin against Arsenal two years later.
It was also the first and only time victory has been down to a small black cat. Hughie Ferguson may have been on the scoresheet for his 74th-minute winner, and Dan Lewis, the Arsenal goalkeeper, deserves an assist for fumbling his attempted save and elbowing the ball backwards into the net, but as Richard Whitehead makes clear in his excellent new history of the tournament, The Cup, the credit is really due to Trixie from Southport.
Cardiff first encountered Trixie when Ferguson spotted her prowling the links during a team-bonding trip to Royal Birkdale golf club before their fifth-round tie against Bolton Wanderers, the holders. Convinced she was a good omen, he traced her owners and persuaded them to sign a loan deal for as long as Cardiff stayed in the cup. They agreed, as long as they could have two tickets for the final.
Cardiff beat Bolton 2-0, scraped past Chelsea by the odd goal in five in a replay, and beat Reading 3-0 in the semi-final. There was, therefore, no greater responsibility that Fred Keenor, the Cardiff captain, had before Wembley than ensuring Trixie was looked after and match-fit.
Photos show this heavy-smoking, hard-drinking veteran of the Somme hugging her tenderly and putting her in her basket for the match, where she had a better view than the king or the prime minister. After the win, she never returned to her owners, but lived out her days at Ninian Park with all the sardines she could eat.