THIS MEANS WAR
“IT GOT A BIT NASTY AND BRUTAL. THERE WERE LOTS OF HARD CHALLENGES, BUT YOU CAN’T TURN THE OTHER CHEEK, OR THEY KILL YOU”
Nothing, as the famous saying goes, says ‘happy fourth minute’ like a good old-fashioned studs-up challenge to the chest that leaves the cuts to prove it. On November 7, 1964, that’s what Goodison Park bore witness to, when one of the most brutal and bruising fixtures in the history of English football kicked off – a little too literally – in style.
When Everton tussled with newly promoted Leeds in the First Division, that early reducer was returned with a haymaker which earned Toffees left-back Sandy Brown a rare red card of the era. Later, two players were carried off following a blood-curdling challenge that led some fans to believe both were dead as they lay motionless on the ground. This white-hot game, played on a backdrop of unruly unrest on Merseyside, was so ferocious that referee Ken Stokes took the sides off for 10 minutes to cool down – an English league first.
Jack Archer of The People frequently winced throughout a “spine-chilling encounter”, The Observer’s John Arlott lamented an “unhappy day for English football”, while The Guardian’s Brian Crowther lambasted supporters for their “disgusting behaviour”.
So why was the match which birthed ‘Dirty Leeds’ so violent? Was the Battle of Goodison as terrible as
