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Sunderland v Spurs 1961 FA Cup

The only time my dad was worried about overcrowding on the terraces was this game and the Man Utd cup replay a few years later. He was in the Roker end and at times his feet weren't on the floor, he was just carried around by the swell of the crowd.
 

Ballyshannon Lad said:
Isn't that the game that Blanchflower said it was the loudest match he ever played in?
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“I remember sitting in a capacity crowd in Barcelona, the wild excitement of a cup-tie at St.James’s Park and over 60,000 Manchester United fanatics packing the ground at Old Trafford this season. These and many more scenes of wild thrills I remember. But nothing I have ever heard equalled the intensity of that wild roar at Roker Park when Sunderland drew level. As we fished the ball out of the net and those wild-with-delight Sunderland fans streamed onto the field, I began to realise what the man meant when he coined the phrase ‘an ear-splitting roar’. I know the north-east is a fanatical soccer area but I doubt whether it has ever seen such excitement before – or ever will again.”
 
The great Danny Blanchflower said he had never heard a crowd like the one at Roker that day.
RedandWhiteRebel said:
Although 75,000 is our official record attendance,

I believe other matches did surpass that number but they could not be counted as official. Wether it was the turnstiles being overwhelmed or the gates being kicked in allowing thousands to enter unofficially we will never know the true total.

Estimates of over 90,000 but we will never know for sure.
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More than that for the Man Utd replay in 64. offical attandance was something like 48.000 but half the crowd got in for free when the gates broke. People 'watched' it in the streets outside..not sure if they should be counted or not. What a remarkable night it was. (Bobby Charlton with the equalizer in the 119 minute..a header IIRC)
 
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Rob the Ref said:
Still got mine off early 60’s

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Me and my mate, both 11 year old and from Stoney Lane, queued up from 6 o' clock on a Sunday morning for match tickets, both sets of parents not allowing us to go over at midnight. Even that early the queues were massive, stretching round Sandringham Rd and Stansfied St and we didn't think we'd actually get tickets. My rattle as I called it was 3 and six from Woolworths and not anywhere near as solid as the one above.

Us regular Fulwell enders ended up on the cinder track in front of the main stand and just before kick off my rattle broke in two and clattered the lad next to me and he was carted off by the St John's Ambulance people. When McPheat scored the usually very timid me got carried away and invaded the pitch with thousands of others. After the match I had to go home to Hylton Castle as we'd gone middle class, house with a bathroom, the previous week. Went in the house and immediately threw up. It's all the excitement me dad said which didn't impress me mother one little bit. Remember Danny Blanchflower quoted in the press as saying if the crowd hadn't invaded the pitch then Sunderland would have won. So something else for me to feel guilty about!
 
Showed my dad this a few years ago knowing he was in that crowd as a 14 year old lad. Loved listening to his stories of the matches in the late 50s, 60s and early 70s, and my grandad’s stories before that of the great 1930s and 40s matches. Brought a tear watching it again as dad passed in 2024. Thank you for posting.
 
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