Source: Daily_Mail
A regal sporting feast: 1981 and the sport stars from a very different era
[LNB]England take a hell of a beatingNorway beat England 2-1 in the World Cup qualifier in Oslo that sparked a memorable commentary from a certain Bjorge Lillelien. For some reason, he did not pursue a career in the diplomatic corps.[LNB] [LNB]Beefy's AshesIan Botham had the England captaincy taken off him then proceeded to win the Ashes almost singlehandedly. He had already turned round the Headingley Test when he skittled the Aussies witha spell of five wickets for one run in 28 balls at Edgbaston. A brilliant century followed at OldTrafford.[LNB] [LNB] [LNB][LNB]The Nugget strikes goldThe year brought Steve Davis the first of his six world snooker titles all won in the 1980s. He reached seven of the next eight finals but is best remembered for losing the 1985 'final black' classic to Dennis Taylor.[LNB] [LNB] [LNB]Kings of EuropeWhile Alan Kennedy scored to clinch Liverpool's third European Cup win in five years with a 1-0 defeat of Real Madrid (below), Bobby Robson (above) led his Ipswich team to glory in the UEFA Cup. During his 13 years with the Suffolk side, Robson brought in only 14 players from other clubs relying instead on developing his own talent.[LNB] [LNB][LNB] [LNB]Torvill & Dean delightThe entire British nation revealed a previously welldisguised love for the noble sport of ice dance and it was all because of the Nottingham pair, who required no first names. They won their first World and European titles in 1981.[LNB] [LNB]You cannot be serious, manJohn McEnroe appalled the Wimbledon members and became the scourge of show court umpires as he cursed his way to the first of his three singles titles at the All England club then failed to turn up for thechampions' dinner. The brash New Yorker defeated Bjorn Borg in the final to avenge his thrillingfive-set loss the previous year which featured the finest tie break ever. Borg's run of five wins was over.[LNB]It was the year of the last big Royal wedding. So, as Prince William and Kate Middleton prepare to tie the knot, Alan Fraser recalls the sporting stars from a very different era.[LNB]Winston Churchill, Henry Cooper, Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Clement Attlee, Anthony Eden and Margaret Thatcher. No, not the guest list for the 'Royal Wedding of the 20th century' involving the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. Nor one of those imagined seating arrangements for a guaranteed lively fantasy dinner party.[LNB] Those with painful memories stretching back 30 years will recognise the distinguished ensemble above as the famous English leaders and heroes invoked by Norwegian footbal l commentator Bjorge Lillelien when the final whistle blew on Norway's 2-1 victory over England in Oslo. 'Margaret Thatcher, can you hear me?' the increasingly ecstatic - not to mention demented - Lillelien screeched. 'Can you hear me, Maggie? Your boys took one hell of a beating.'[LNB] The year was 1981, as vintage a period for sport as it was for street parties, bunting and cup cakes. You could scarcely imagine the restrained Trevor Bailey summoning up the likes of Ned Kelly and Dawn Fraser when commentating on the 1981 Ashes series. But the Australian cricketers took 'one hell of a beating' thanks primarily to the yeoman efforts of an arch royalist and fierce patriot by the name of Ian Botham.[LNB] [LNB] Bob Willis, Graham Dilley and Co may have contributed but they were most definitely Botham's Ashes, Botham's summer, Botham's year even, by virtue of a succession of astonishing performances at Headingley, Edgbaston and Old Trafford.[LNB] Charles and Diana tied the knot on July 29, the day before the start of the Fourth Test in Birmingham. The country had been at fever pitch since the previous week when Botham conjured a truly comic-book piece of sporting heroism.[LNB] The deposed captain, who had checked out of his hotel that morning, came to the crease with England at 133 for six, crumbling inexorably towards an innings defeat and Ashes humiliation. A blaze of imperious striking later and England were all out for 356 with Botham unbeaten on 149. Willis did the rest with the ball.[LNB] The Royal couple were honeymooning when Botham swapped willow for leather at Edgbaston to produce a match-winning bowling spell of five wickets for one run in only 28 extraordinary balls.[LNB] 'The crowd was fantastic,' recalled Botham. 'The eyes (of the Aussies) were all over the place. I just ran in.' His understated modesty was akin to Seb Coe describing his world record breaking 800 metres that year thus: 'I just ran round - twice.' In reality, noone ran round an athletics track with such style, strength and poetic grace.[LNB] His 1min 41.73sec was to stand unmatched and unbeaten for 16 years. Coe valued titles more than times, however. 'Athletics should not be about times but about finishing first,' he declared.[LNB] Some well known names finished first in 1981. The great Shergar, who knew how to inflict a beating, won the Epsom Derby by a record 10 lengths before achieving similarly comfortable victories in the Irish Derby and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes.[LNB] Sugar Ray Leonard knocked out Thomas 'The Hitman' Hearns in the 14th round of The Showdown at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Leonard won that fight and, controversially, also The War as the return contest was promoted eight years later. Those were the days when fighters were fighters and boxing could be taken seriously - well, semi-seriously.[LNB] 'You cannot be serious,' was about the only thing John McEnroe said at Wimbledon that year which could be repeated in this newspaper without the need for a veil of asterisks.[LNB] When Lady Diana Spencer vacated her seat in the Royal Box during one of his matches, it was put down to Mac's foul mouth. One wag was reported to have quipped: 'The wedding's off - her ears are no longer virgin.'[LNB] The insults were mostly, but not only, reserved for umpires whom he described variously as a 'disgrace to mankind' and an 'incompetent old fool'. However, he also managed to upset the Centre Court crowd by labelling them 'vultures'.[LNB] But the bad boy could play. His victory over Bjorn Borg in the 1981 Wimbledon final brought to an end the Swedish legend's glorious run of five men's titles and 41 matches unbeaten. In football, it was the year of Villa and Villa, Ricky and Aston.[LNB] Tottenham Hotspur won the 100th FA Cup final with a 3-2 replay victory over Manchester City which included the much celebrated, individual slalom goal by Argentine Ricky Villa.[LNB] Aston Villa used only 14 players to lift the First Division championship, giving the lie to the widespread belief that you cannot win trophies with a bunch of nobodies - Dennis Mortimer and Gary Shaw excepted (sorry, Kenny Swain). At their head was Ron Saunders, whose last three managerial jobs were, in order, Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion. No wonder he found religion and became something of a recluse.[LNB] Liverpool won their third European Cup by defeating Real Madrid 1-0 in an undistinguished final which perhaps had something to do with a poor pitch. Rugby had been played at the Parc des Princes in Paris a fortnight earlier.[LNB] The scorer of the only goal was the unlikely Alan Kennedy. 'The ball hit me on the chest and dropped perfectly,' said the left back. 'Basically, I just wellied it towards goal, I think everyone was surprised.'[LNB]No - one should have been surprised that Ipswich Town won the UEFA Cup.[LNB] Plenty more than manager Bobby Robson thought the Suffolk side the best in the country at that time with their mix of English heart in Mick Mills and Terry Butcher and Dutch art in Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen.[LNB] Mind you, they nearly blew it when losing 4-2 away to AZ 67 Alkmaar - more of a postcode than a football club - after winning the first leg 3-0.[LNB]The French rugby team achieved the third Grand Slam in their history, prompting a typically quasi-philosophical remark from captain Jean-Pierre Rives. 'If you want to interest Frenchmen in a sport,' he said, 'you tell them it's war. Andif you want to interest the British in a war, you tell them it's a game.'[LNB] The Ryder Cup wasn't much of a game, never mind a war, in those days.[LNB] The 1981 American team was widely believed to be the strongest ever to visit these shores. All but one of the dozen had tasted major championship success in a side that included Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Ray Floyd, Hale Irwin and JohnnyMiller. Little wonder the margin was 18?-9? at Walton Heath.[LNB]The year produced several notable firsts: the first London Marathon which ended in a dead heat as AmericanDick Beardsley and Norwegian Inge Simonsen crossed the line holding hands; the first time a woman took part in the Boat Race with Sue Brown coxing Oxford; the first of six snooker World Championships for Steve Davis; and the first European and World Championship ice dance titles for Torvill and Dean, no first names required. There was also one noteworthy last. What proved Muhammad Ali's last fight saw the legend lose on points over 10 rounds to Trevor Berbick on December 11.[LNB] The most heart-warming and emotionally uplifting sports story of the year unfolded at Aintree wherecancer sufferer Bob Champion rode intermittently lame Aldaniti to a Grand Nat ional t r iumph that spawned a best-selling biography and a major feature film starring John Hurt.[LNB]Now 2011 is going to have to go some to match that little lot![LNB] VILLA THRILLER: Ricky Villa scored perhaps the most famous FA Cup final goal of all time as TottenhamHotspur beat Manchester City 3-2 in the first replay ever staged at Wembley (left). The first game had beendrawn 1-1 and Argentina star Villa was substituted, television cameras following his tearful exit. Tottenham'swin shared the Daily Mail front page with the shooting of Pope John Paul (right).[LNB] A Roo-yal wedding! United star poses as Prince William ahead of the big dayFrom messy to Messi! How Leo's moment of magic rescued a disappointing Clasico... not for the first timeTom Jones and Noel Gallagher could go head-to-head in Final song battle[LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: Kate Middleton, Muhammad Ali, Ian Botham, John Paul, Margaret Thatcher, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, Bobby Robson, Bob Willis, Johnny Miller, John Hurt, Trevor Berbick, John McEnroe, Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee Places: Paris, Nottingham, Oxford, Liverpool, Birmingham, Las Vegas, Wales, Norway, Argentina, United Kingdom, Europe Organisations: Centre Court
