The first thing I noticed (even before the white horse - more of him later) was the pockets of supporters wearing the floppy flat caps. "They're northern" i surmised. Certainly the 1923 FA Cup final was contested between West Ham and Bolton, so I've a chance of being right.
The Wikipedia entry tells of the FA heavily promoting the game ahead of its move to 125000 capacity Wembley as they feared a low attendance. Some estimated the crowd in attendance at over 300,000, hence the need for police crowd control. Our fans who regularly watch County away will be comforted by complaints back in 1923 about the poor standard of stewarding.
Other little tidbits (one of which leads to an unanswered question that maybe you can help me with). Bear in mind that Wembley was so packed that the crowd were on the edge of the pitch. Bolton's first goal came when West Ham's full-back got tangled up with spectators. When the ball hit the back of the West Ham net it knocked one supporter unconscious.
The white horse was actually grey (he simply appeared white on the film).
The policeman on the horse was given tickets to subsequent finals but never attended as he had no interest in football.
And here's the bit that I need your help with.
Bolton's goalkeeper that day was Dick Pym. He was born in Exeter. Given that Pym is an unusual surname I am curious to learn if Dick was a relative of Exeter-born goalkeeper Christy Pym.
I've googled and haven't been able to establish a definite link, though I did find out that Dick Pym toured Argentina with Exeter City, returning to Britain with a parrot. When the parrot died Dick buried it in the goal area at St James Park. Exeter promptly went on a losing streak which led to the parrot being exhumed.
Ahh, google. It's a wonderful thing.
But if anyone knows the answer to my Pym question please feel free to share.
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