'Come on, son, look after the cup while I go to the toilet'
· Yahoo Sports
Newcastle United fan Ken Riley was 14 when Newcastle sealed their third FA Cup in five seasons, beating Manchester City 3-1 at Wembley in May 1955.
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In front of a crowd of 100,000, Bobby Johnstone levelled for City on the stroke of half-time after Jackie Milburn had put Newcastle ahead in the first minute of the game.
But Newcastle struck twice in the second half through Bobby Mitchell and George Hannah to seal victory in what proved to be their last major domestic trophy before the Magpies beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final in 2025.
Sharing his recollections of a memorable trip to London with BBC Radio Newcastle, Riley said his hope was high as he entered the majestic old Wembley Stadium.
"I couldn't believe how big it was and how beautiful it was," he remembered. "It was like Wimbledon turf.
"I was so used to seeing Newcastle's cup games where the ground was a quagmire. It was such a surprise to see what a lovely ground it was. I was very impressed and it was a fantastic game.
"Newcastle, in those days, were classed as a cup team.
"When I talked to people when I was younger and said I was going to Wembley, they said: 'You'll have a good game because Newcastle are cup winners.' So I did expect them to win and was very pleased that they did."
The following morning Ken went down to breakfast in the hotel he was staying in to discover the FA Cup-winning Newcastle team sitting there - with the famous trophy parked next to Magpies captain Jimmy Scoular.
"I said to my father: 'I wonder if I can get some autographs,'" Ken recalled.
"Ron Batty used to live a few doors down from me in Lobley Hill and I wasn't sure if he would know me, but I knew him so I asked him: 'Ron, can I get a few autographs?' He said: 'Why aye, have you got an autograph book? Look, take the menu and the lads will sign the back of it for you.'
"So he gave me the menu and I went round and nearly everybody that was there signed the back of this menu - the breakfast menu at the Great Northern hotel.
"I got round to where Jimmy Scoular was and he had the cup in front of him, and he said: 'Come on, son, sit here and look after this cup because I'm going to the toilet!'"