Courier Country heroes of Wembley

Trio played key part in remarkable FA Cup triumph 80 years ago

The Wembley heroics of three forgotten footballers from Tayside and Fife are being remembered after 80 years.

John “Jock” Anderson from Dundee, Jimmy Guthrie from Luncarty and Lewis Morgan from Cowdenbeath joined forces to overcome the odds and help Portsmouth win the FA Cup in May 1939.

Pompey became the biggest outsiders to win a Wembley final, and the players received £25 each for their triumph against the hot favourites Wolves – less than the band who played before the game.

Jock Anderson scored one of the goals for Portsmouth in the 4-1 win and captain Jimmy Guthrie was presented

“He blazed a trail for a procession of players who came to Pompey via Dundee

with the cup by King George VI, but the sporting achievements are often forgotten because of the impending war.

Colin Farmery, who heads up history and archiving at Portsmouth FC, said: “It’s quite remarkable that three players from Tayside and Fife – all linked with the city of Dundee – should join together and help give the club one of its greatest ever days.

“This year is the 80th anniversary of the club winning the FA Cup for the first time and it has been a great opportunity to put their achievements in the spotlight again.

“It’s very sad that Jock isn’t really remembered in Dundee. He was one of the city’s finest football exports, for sure, and his record speaks for itself.

“Perhaps the fact he decided to stay in the south contributed to the fact he became a bit of a forgotten hero, but I’m delighted to set the record straight.”

The Wembley showpiece was to be the last FA Cup final before the competition was suspended for seven years because of the outbreak of the Second World War.

All professional contracts were terminated by the Football Association when war broke out. All competitions were cancelled and players were called up into the forces or drafted into war work.

Graham Dubber, Pompey History Society archivist, said: “When Jock headed south in 1933 he blazed a trail for a procession of players who came to Pompey via Dundee over the next two or three years.

“Lew Morgan, Scot Symon, Jimmy Guthrie and Jimmy Beattie would all follow him through the door at Fratton Park, and of course Morgan and Guthrie went on to play alongside Jock in the cup-winning side of 1939.

“Jock wrote himself into Pompey folklore with his goals in the run to the final that year. That triumph at Wembley was not to be repeated again for another 69 years.

“Unfortunately, Jock was one of that generation of players whose careers were shortened by the Second World War.

“He’d almost certainly have gone on to enjoy even more success with Pompey, but circumstance dictated otherwise.”

Bert Barlow opened the scoring from Anderson’s pass at Wembley in 1939 before the Dundee striker himself doubled Pompey’s lead on the stroke of half-time.

Cliff Parker got another two in the second half, before Wolves pulled one back.

Peter Jeffs from the Pompey Former Players’ Association said: “As a fan, I would say that Jock was one of the most popular and successful of a stream of Scottish recruits in the pre-war years who moved way down south to Fratton Park.

“Jock made a huge contribution to Pompey’s FA Cup triumph in 1939.”

Pictures: Getty. Above: Jimmy Guthrie is held aloft by his team-mates at Wembley. Above right: George Formby with Jimmy and Blackpool captain James Blair at Fratton Park a week after the win.