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The White Horse Final

Crispin Thomas

Tuesday, May 24th, 2005

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Like Pegasus before him
or long gone fairy tales
the images and memories
to this day still prevails
the twenty eighth of April
in nineteen twenty three
mid scenes of pandemonium
they opened Wembley

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 the crowds they swarmed the turnstiles
all in their thousands drawn
in joy and expectation
the day this home was born
for Bolton and the Hammers
a mighty final tie
but for those still among us
a glint still lights up the eye

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 a stadium full to bursting
a sea of fans and sound
a touchline of supporters stretched
around that heaving ground
with chaos in that mighty bowl
one figure loomed so high
as PC Storey’s snow white steed
came gently trotting by

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 though other men on horseback
all played their vital part
it’s that white horse named Billy
that’s etched in ev’ry heart
whose gentle nudging moved them back
until the pitch was clear
the rest is steeped in history
though numbers are unclear

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 they say two hundred thousand
swept right across that field
though figures may remain unknown
a hero was revealed
and when that joyous Bolton side
stepped up to claim their crown
still Billy stood triumphant
to calm the thousands down

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 some eighty years and more have passed
those towers they have gone
but with the new the memory
of that day will go on
and when we walk across that bridge
one picture still remains
to long remind the future
the day that white horse reigned

© CT05

Notes

Written upon the day they named the new bridge leading to
Wembley Stadium “The White Horse Bridge”.

This after thousands voted on Radio 5 in honour of that day in 1923 when the stadium originally opend to host the Bolton v West Ham United Cup Final .Bolton eventually won 2-0.The game was delayed some 45 minutes in all until PC Storey and Billy,that famous proud white horse (and other constables on black horses too) finally restored some order.
At the time nervous organisers were worried not enough poeple would turn up,so they advertised extensively that there was plenty of room!
It is estimated that between 200-250,000 got into a ground with a capacity of 120,000.It’s a credit to the good natured crowd of the day that very few were injured in the melee.Unimaginable today!
“Wembley -the Church of Football….the home of football” Pele

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/the-white-horse-final/