Aston Villa. A club which has seen over 1,000 individuals pull on the distinctive claret and blue shirt. A club which has seen countless players create unforgettable moments which will be cherished forever.
As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, we are catching up with a host of former Villans, and asking them to recall their favourite moment from their time at Villa Park.
It could be a goal, a match, or the moment they signed. Whichever memory stands out to them, while they were representing our famous club.
Our series continues with 1957 FA Cup final two-goal hero, Peter McParland (Legacy Number: 431).
Born in Newry, Northern Ireland, the inside left began his career with Dundalk, before moving to B6 in 1952. He would go on to spend 10 great years at Aston Villa, scoring 121 goals in 341 games in claret and blue.
McParland holds a unique place in English football history, as the first player in history to score in and win both English major domestic cup finals.
Here, he talks us through the first of the two, the FA Cup final in 1957. Up against Manchester United's famous, formidable Busby Babes - who were aiming for a domestic double having already been crowned First Division champions earlier that season - Villa fought admirably.
After a goalless opening period at Wembley, they broke the deadlock on 68 minutes, McParland crashing a header home from Les Smith's cross. Five minutes later, the Villans were in dreamland. Skipper Johnny Dixon's effort cannoned back off the crossbar, but there was McParland again to thrash home a half-volley and double the advantage.
A late strike from Tommy Taylor, tragically lost in the Munich Air Disaster the following February, made for a nervy finish for Eric Houghton's side, but they saw the game out to lift the famous trophy in The Royal Box. It was the seventh time Villa had done so, and their first major trophy for some 37 years.
We recently sat down with the Villa legend, now 90 years of age, who recalled details from that famous afternoon in the capital, and the pride and emotions he still carries, almost 70 years down the line.
Here is My Villa Moment, in Peter McParland's own words…
Everybody’s ambition was to win the FA Cup – get to the cup final, and win it. I achieved that, and I got the two goals, one of them was the winner.
Manchester United were hot favourites to win the cup, but we had actually played them up in Manchester about two months before the final. We took a lot of confidence from that game, because we were as good as them on the day.
They were the hot, hot favourites to win the double then, but we took confidence from the game against them at Old Trafford.
On the day, the opening six minutes or so of the cup final, we got a good grip of them. We made life difficult for them and were attacking them.
It was an even-stevens game, and second half, we had a good 20 minutes where we played well and got some goals.
The only thing was that we let them get a goal with about 10 minutes to go, and it put a lot of pressure on us.
We knew they would come back and have a go at us, but we held out and it was nice to get the two goals to win the cup.
I’d scored a number of goals during the cup run, and to myself, I thought I would like to score the winning goal in the cup final. Lo and behold, it happened.
The first was a header. I’d scored a lot of goals with my head. It was a beautiful cross from Les Smith, and I copped it full-on with my forehead, straight into the top of the net, under the crossbar.
There was a lot of power in the header I got, and the goalkeeper didn’t have any chance of saving it.
The second one, Johnny Dixon hit the crossbar, with a shot from just inside the area. It hit the bar and went up in the air and I dashed into the middle and caught it coming down on the volley.
It was a perfect volley, straight into the back of the net. It could have gone up the back of the stand, but I made sure. I just went: “Bang!”
I kept it down, and it turned out well. It was great to get a nice volley, a spectacular goal it was, and the header was spectacular too. It’s nice to have that in your locker.
They’re two of the most significant goals of my career. Everybody would like to get to Wembley and get a goal. I got to Wembley and got two goals. I was greedy!
I should have had a hat-trick, actually. I should have scored another goal, but two will do.
Walking up the stairs at Wembley and lifting the trophy was nice. There was a lot of our supporters on one side of the walkway as we were coming back down with the cup. They were all clapping us on the back and giving us a big gee-up over that.
Then, behind the goal, to the right of The Royal Box, were all our Villa supporters. We went over to see them, and they were really out of this world, with their support.
It was great to stand in front of them, with our success, and take the applause and show them the FA Cup, then bring it back to Birmingham.
Villa supporters were hungry for the FA Cup. It was a few years since they’d won it. We had a great turnout in Birmingham when we came back with the cup paraded around.
We went up to the Town Hall and there were thousands there, standing and waiting on us, applauding, which was nice.
It’s something you have inside you. That feeling is special. People come up to me talking about that still, winning the cup, telling me their fathers and grandads watched.
I enjoy that. These people are enjoying what their grandads said to them about me in the cup final, that I was their favourite player. I’m really lucky to have experienced that.
It’s time Aston Villa went back to Wembley and put on a show and won a cup. Villa look as though they have a team now that could win the cup, so I hope they don’t let me down. I want to get to Wembley again and see them.
