It was Sunderland who halted Arsenal’s run of championship successes. The Wearsiders’ star was inside-forward Horatio “Raich” Carter, and he inspired the club’s title-winning campaign of 1935-36, their first since 1913. Sunderland couldn’t maintain their form, slipping to 8th the following season, but there was compensation in the form of a hrst FA Cup triumph. They came from a goal behind against Preston to win 3-1 in 1937. A Preston side including Bill Shankly made it to Wembley again the following year, with Huddersfield their opponents. A drab, goalless 90 minutes meant that this became the first Wembley final to go into extra time. It was also the first to be decided by a penalty, George Mutch scoring from the spot with the last kick of the match.
Swift is City star
Manchester City were another side that tasted both league and Cup success in the 1930s. In the 1933 FA Cup Final City were thumped 3-0 by Everton, who thus completed a remarkable treble, following their championship wins in the Second and First Divisions in the previous two seasons. The 1933 Final was unique in that the teams wore numbered shirts for the first time, but not in the familiar manner. The Everton shirts were numbered 1 to 11, City’s 12 to 22.
City bounced back to reach the final the following year, and tliis time they got their hands on the Cup with a 2-1 win over Portsmouth. The City side boasted a fine wing-half called Matt Busby, but it was 19-year-old goalkeeper Frank Swift who made the headlines. Swift blamed himself for the goal which gave Portsmouth a half-time lead. FredTilson scored twice for City after the break, but when reporters behind Swift’s goal began counting down the mmutes, it all proved too much. At the fmal whisde he collapsed with nervous exhaustion. Three years later Swift helped City to win their first championship, 44 years after the club entered the league. He went on to become one of the all-time great keepers, spending his entire playing career at Maine Road. After retiring from the game he turned his hand to journalism and was among those killed in the Munich air crash in 1958.
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