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       #Post#: 105089--------------------------------------------------
       Fifty years ago...
   DIR By: Acme Thunderer
       Date: May 1, 2026, 9:50 am
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       Difficult to believe that it is fifty years ago today since
       Southampton of the old Division 2 caused a major upset by
       beating Man Utd 1-0 in the 1976 FA Cup Final, with David
       Coleman's familiar "one nil" coming late on with a goal which
       may or may not have been offside, no VAR to confirm in those
       days. My understanding is that match referee Clive Thomas, the
       last referee from Wales to take charge of an FA Cup Final, is
       still with us fifty years on and, if he is, he must certainly be
       the longest-surviving FA Cup Final referee still with us today.
       How many other FACF referees lived for another fifty years I
       wonder? Arthur Luty (1954) and Norman Burtenshaw (1971) come to
       mind. Any others?
       #Post#: 105097--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Fifty years ago...
   DIR By: John Treleven
       Date: May 1, 2026, 1:33 pm
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       1876
       F.C.) 
       1876r William Stepney Rawson (Oxford, Oxfordshire) (Oxford
       University F.C.)  
       1877
       F.C.)
       1882
       1925
       Nottinghamshire)
       1929
       1934
       1949
       Yorkshire)
       1954
       1971
       Norfolk)
       1976
       #Post#: 105242--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Fifty years ago...
   DIR By: Acme Thunderer
       Date: May 4, 2026, 3:56 am
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       --- Quote from: John Treleven link ---
       >
       > 1876
       Rovers F.C.) 
       > 1876r William Stepney Rawson (Oxford, Oxfordshire) (Oxford
       University F.C.)  
       > 1877
       F.C.)
       > 1882
       > 1925
       Nottinghamshire)
       > 1929
       > 1934
       > 1949
       Yorkshire)
       > 1954
       > 1971
       Norfolk)
       > 1976
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Thanks for this JT. Yes, Stanley Rous lived to a great age and I
       remember meeting the great man at our local RA in 1972. I think
       in days of old, when FA Cup Finals tended to be awarded to
       referees approaching retirement age, it would probably have been
       much more difficult for referees to live for another 50 years,
       bearing in mind too that upper age limits for deaths were
       generally lower than they are now. Arthur Luty was an obvious
       exception and I wondered about Kevin Howley (1960) and Jim
       Finney (1962), but they died in 1997 and 2008 respectively. I
       think we may be seeing more FACF referees passing the 50 year
       mark as time goes on, perhaps including George Courtney (1980)
       and Keith Hackett (1981).
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