Old Baggies - WBA Former Players

As a kid, is there any bigger dream than scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup Final at a packed Wembley Stadium? Actually making it happen is a million to one shot. Frank Griffin turned that dream into reality when he strode forward and placed that shot in a million into the Preston North End net on May 1st, 1954.

Photo from the WBA archive

There was a sad irony about the untimely passing of Frank Griffin on 4th June 2007, at the age of 79. His death came just a week after Albion had played at the new Wembley Stadium, the site of Frank’s greatest moment for the Throstles, the venue where he etched his name forever more into the history books, into folklore, by striking the winning goal in the 1954 FA Cup Final, bringing the trophy back to the midlands and ensuring that the “Team of the Century” did not end that celestial campaign empty handed.

With three minutes to go in that final showpiece fixture of the season, Albion and Preston North End were locked at 2-2, injury time looking all but certain. Yet in almost every game, a late chance comes calling. On May 1st 1954, it called for Griffin, as he recalled.

“I was resigned to extra time. Suddenly, Joe Kennedy sent a pass to Reg Ryan who chipped the ball forward to me. I cut in without really knowing whether I would shoot or centre. As I passed full-back Joe Walton and got into stride, I saw an opening.

“Immediately I slammed in a scoring shot – and turned to see my colleague tearing towards me with beaming smiles. Arms wrapped round me, I was nearly strangled, and gasped for breath as the lads pummelled and smacked my back. I had won the cup in the last seconds. Could there be a greater moment in a player’s life?”

That goal was precious relief for an Albion side who had long led the First Division throughout the 1953/54 season, only to disintegrate as injuries and international call ups took a heavy toll on the team.

The side that had been chasing the double – they would have been the first to achieve it in the 20th century – eventually had to settle for second place and there were fears as the Baggies headed for Wembley that a season of majestic football would end without a prize.

Griffin’s goal dispelled that nightmare scenario, putting the icing on a magical day for him, a day when Albion’s outside-right outshone his Preston counterpart, England’s Tom Finney, the man who, along with Stanley Matthews, denied Griffin the England cap his talents deserved.

Griffin was an old school winger back in the days when teams played with two men hugging the touchline, looking to beat the full-back for pace or trickery, then arrow in crosses for one of the three inside forwards to get on the end of.

Albion were a little bit out of the ordinary in that regard, Ronnie Allen anything but the conventional battering ram centre-forward, but the precision of Griffin’s crossing was still a potent weapon, allowing Allen and Johnnie Nicholls in particular to dart into the box and crash shots past many a helpless goalkeeper. That was the signature of a majestic side, all pace, intelligence, sleight of hand, integrity of purpose. And Griffin was at the heart of it.

Frank Griffin, born on 28th March 1928, joined the Throstles from Shrewsbury Town in April 1951, only a month after he first turned professional, having previously played for Eccles Town. He was plucked from that comparative obscurity by manager Jack Smith, as Albion looked desperately for a replacement for another great right winger, Billy Elliott, at the end of a career savaged by war.

Photo from the WBA archive

Griffin made his debut for the club in the final game of the 1950/51 season, a 1-1 draw at Roker Park, but by the time the following season came around, he was very much a fixture in a team that was beginning to mature, heeding the call to greatness – Allen, Nicholls, Ryan, Lee, the great Ray Barlow, Millard, Rickaby were all present and correct alongside Griffin.

Frank was steady as Albion made a faltering start to the campaign, winning only twice in the first 12 games. But then the number seven stepped up to the plate with six goals in five games as Albion beat Portsmouth 5-0, won 5-2 at Anfield and beat Manchester City 3-2 to slowly climb the table.

Griffin took his fine goalscoring form into the next season when first Jesse Carver and then Vic Buckingham took charge, Albion embracing a continental style reminiscent of the mighty Hungarians, Frank’s pace, ease on the ball, and intelligent running making him a perfect fit. The Baggies finished fourth that season and were poised for an assault on the title itself.

Frank played a big part as Albion pursued the double scoring seven goals, including one in the legendary 7-3 win at Newcastle, before scoring the most important one of all, the one that captured the FA Cup.

The team evolved further in the years that followed, new faces such as Bobby Robson, Don Howe and Derek Kevan coming to the fore, but Griffin remained a regular contributor to the side, making and scoring goals until the competition that brought him his lasting fame showed a more capricious side of its nature, taking away his career.

Against Sheffield United, in a fifth round FA Cup replay on February 19th 1958, Frank suffered a broken leg in two places, an injury that rarely mended well in those days. He played half a dozen more games in the stripes, collecting one last goal in a 4-2 win at Preston on January 31st 1959, but the burst of acceleration, that special bit of devilment had gone out of his play forever.

In the summer of 1959, Griffin left for Northampton Town for a final season in the lower leagues, before playing non-league football for Wellington Town. His Albion career amounted to 275 first team games and 52 goals, but like so many of his era, his legacy goes far beyond mere figures.

The flickering black and white film images that we still have of Griffin’s devastating directness, his powerful shot and his eye for a chance tie us to our heritage, offer a glimpse of one of the truly great Albion teams of all time.

Frank Griffin’s goal that won the 1954 FA Cup is one of the immovable, rocklike foundations upon which we continue to build this football club. That goal and all that it meant continues to provide us with our inspiration, offering us aspirations for a future when future Albion heroes emulate that feat.

Frank Griffin will be immortal for as long as the game of football matters in this country. He scored the winning goal in the greatest cup competition that there is. He won the cup. He set the standards that every club must aspire to. Every football mad lad in the country wants to grow up to be Frank Griffin, even if they’ve not yet heard of him. But they will. Because the names of FA Cup winners echo down the decades.

We are all standing on the shoulders of giants. Giants like Frank Griffin will never leave us.