15 January 2023 , 07:00
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David Jack scored the first goal at Wembley 100 years ago in the FA Cup final but had his thunder stolen by a white horse called Billie.
As 200,000 fans – most of them East end day trippers on a knees-up – spilled out of the stands at the overcrowded national stadium's baptism, mounted copper PC George Scorey's steed helped to clear the pitch. When the game kicked off 45 minutes late, with the excess hordes ringed around the touchline, Bolton Wanderers beat West Ham 2-0 in a chaotic showpiece which became synonymous with the cavalry.
But Jack's controversial goal will be celebrated by the Trotters in April, when they unveil a blue plaque at his birthplace – which is now a supermarket - on the centenary of the White Horse final. Capped nine times by England, Jack was the first player to be transferred for £10,000 when he joined Arsenal in 1928, and the first to win the FA Cup with two different clubs at Wembley.
His move to the Gunners is hilarious tale of old-fashioned, bar-room intrigue and Jack's 89-year-old nephew Bob, who plans to represent the family at the plaque ceremony, is still amused by its glorious subterfuge. He said: “The story goes that Herbert Chapman, the Arsenal manager, negotiated the deal in a hotel lounge and when he arrived early, he persuaded the waiter to keep everyone plied with gin and tonic.
“But while Chapman's glass contained only tonic water, the Bolton delegation were supplied with large doubles, and they got on so well that he managed to haggle fee down to a figure he considered an absolute bargain. So my uncle made the first five-figure transfer in world football, but it would probably have been a lot more without Mr Chapman getting the barman onside first.
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“In the end, the fee was £10,647 and 10 shillings (or 50p in new money). I don't know if that sum included the tab for all those gin and tonics.”
By then, Jack had already left his mark - and Scotland Yard police horse No. 62 Billie had left its hoofprints - on Wembley's trampled lawn. If the Euro 2020 final was shameful disorder, the first game under the twin towers 100 years ago was simply overwhelmed by the invasion from pie and mash heartlands.
The Firm: David Jack (second right) with his father, Bob (in overcoat) and brothers Donald (left) and Rollo (right)London Underground reported selling 241,000 tickets to Wembley on the day, while some West Ham fans sailed up the Thames from Southend or Tilbury, docked at Barking and walked the last 15 miles across town because all the buses were rammed.
Jack, one of only three players to score more than 100 top-flight goals for two different clubs – Alan Shearer and Jimmy Greaves are the others, so he's in exalted company – executed his game plan to perfection. Nephew Bob, a retired accountant who was awarded the MBE for services to bowls, revealed: “My father told me he spoke to David before the game and he said, 'As soon as I get the ball I'm going for goal.' He was as good as his word - he scored after just two minutes.
“But there was some controversy about whether the goal should have stood because a West Ham defender, Jack Tresadern, couldn't get back on the pitch after taking a throw-in. Allegedly he was surrounded by fans who were standing right on the touchline, and in his absence my Uncle David found more space in the box than he was expecting.
Send in the cavalry: PC George Scorey, aboard celebrated white horse Billie (top, centre), tries to clear the pitch (S&G and Barratts/EMPICS Sport)“He struck his shot with such force that it hit a spectator who was standing with his face pressed against the net looking through the mesh, and it knocked him unconscious. It was an extraordinary occasion made famous by the white horse, but as a family we have always been proud of my uncle making history as scorer of the first-ever goal at Wembley.”
Wembley was so overrun in the 1923 final that the teams didn't even bother leaving the field at half-time - because the route back to the dressing rooms was impenetrable. And Bolton's second goal was also contentious, with the Hammers claiming Jack Smith's shot had cannoned off a post. Referee David Asson ruled it had rebounded off a spectator camped immediately behind the goal.
Jack came from a footballing family – his two brothers, Rollo and Donald, also played for Bolton along with their father, Robert, who later managed Plymouth Argyle.
He is still the third-highest goalscorer in Bolton's history and in Arsenal's all-time top 10. If Billie the white horse got a nosebag for clearing the Wembley pitch, a blue plaque is the least David Jack deserves.