Thursday 27th March 1975.
Town had never got further than the 5th round in the FA Cup.
In 1975, we beat Wolves in the 3rd round, Liverpool in the 4th, setting a new attendance record of 34,709, and then Villa in the 5th round. This was going to be our year, wasn't it?
We drew the reigning champions, Leeds Utd at home in the quarter finals. Went to PR for another attendance smashing record that still stands today. 0-0. Replay at Elland Rd was on a Tuesday, and would have meant taking a day off school. Dad went, me and my elder bro had to listen on the radio. Leeds equalised in the 90th minute. So, on to another replay, and the clubs agreed a neutral venue - Filbert St, Leicester on another Tuesday in March. Dad drove, picked me and my bro up from school and off we went. Another draw! So the clubs agreed to replay it again, at Filbert St on the Thursday 2 days later.
This time, I was told I couldn't go, school had to come first. I was 13, my bro who was 15 went with Dad leaving me at school. But that morning at school me and my mate Stephen couldn't think of anything but the 3rd replay, and then we found out that a supporters coach was stopping in Beccles where we were at school.
F@ck it, we thought, lets do it. We can meet my Dad in the ground, and get a lift back. So we bunked off school, 2 13 year olds, making our way from Beccles to Leicester with no knowledge of parents or anyone else.
Of course, the game has gone down in folklore, with one of the all time great goals from Clive Woods to send us into raptures as we knocked out the mighty Leeds. But I couldn't find my Dad and brother, couldn't get a call on the tannoy, so we had to get on the coach back. It dropped us at Blythburgh on the A12 at about 1:30 am. But that night in Suffolk was snow falling. We walked through the snow to my mates house in Walberswick, and instead of kipping there, I thought it was a good idea to borrow his bike. But as I left, the snow became a blizzard, and it was so heavy you couldn't tell where the road was. I opted to go via the A12 rather than over the Bailey bridge, but in places the snow was drifting and was over a foot deep. It was the eeriest thing I've ever experienced, cycling along the road to Southwold in virgin snow a foot deep in the midst of night. Eventually, I made it home, still in my school uniform with a blue and white scarf, at 3 am. Boy was I in trouble, but I am so glad I did it. [Post edited 31 May 10:52]
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