The lacking European Cup stolen from gamers on pub bender whereas they’d a sport of darts
A European Cup winning team infamously lost the trophy when it was stolen during their players’ boozy celebrations in a local pub.
Aston Villa won the competition, since rebranded as the Champions League, 44 years ago this week in 1982, thanks to Peter Withe’s decisive strike in a 1-0 triumph over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam. But little did they know the cup would soon end up in the hands of police in Sheffield. Officers had their photo taken with the iconic trophy after it vanished from the Fox Inn pub near Tamworth, where Villa left back Colin Gibson and midfielder Gordon Cowans had been partying on May 27, the evening after they were crowned kings of Europe.
Gibson recalled taking the gleaming silver cup – weighing up to 15kg – out of the boot of their car and into the pub. He said: “We used to go out and take the European Cup where we could to show it to the fans… and let them have their pictures taken with it. Gordon and I had had a few drinks, and we were playing a competitive darts match, when someone turned round and said ‘the cup’s gone, it’s been stolen’.
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“At the time you didn’t really realise what was happening. All I can remember is dread and trying to block it out as if it didn’t really happen.”
It emerged that a fellow drinker in the boozer had been annoyed by some of their celebrations and decided to take matters into his own hands by pinching the cup.
Following a bout of guilt, the thief drove the trophy to Sheffield, where he had previously been a student.
Discussing the astonishing episode in 2010, former Fox Inn landlord John Bayliss, a Birmingham City fan, revealed the pub had become a watering hole for Villa players in the early 1980s.
“Some Villa players were regulars, and I played golf against one or two,” he said. “That’s why they came in on that night. I was not even a Villa fan, I supported Blues, but I was friendly with them and went out to Rotterdam to watch the final.
“I remember that the cup was going around the customers, and a lot of them were having their pictures taken. Then one guy took it and said he just wanted a quick picture outside with his car.
”He never came back, so we called the police. They stayed with us, and we didn’t hear anything until about 3am, which is when we got the call from the police in Sheffield.”
Peter Darling, the duty sergeant in Sheffield that evening, shared with the Guardian: “We all wanted a picture but, back then, no one had a camera on them all the time. We had to call in a scenes-of-crime officer and tell him to bring his.”
Mick Greenough, was the officer on duty that night at West Bar Police station in Sheffield city centre. He recalled: “I remember the lad on the desk walked through to the control room and said we’ve got a man at the front desk who says he’s got the European Cup in the car.
“So off he trotted and next thing the swing doors go and there he is at the front desk with the European Cup, with claret and blue ribbons on.”
Graham Wragg, then a 24-year-old constable, said the station rang West Midlands Police to try to find out where the cup had come from, but they failed to get through, after being told they had a major incident to deal with.
“So we rang back, and said we think we know what your major incident is… We said ‘we think we’ve got the European Cup here, would that be connected to it?’ There was a bit of a silence and they said ‘we’re coming to fetch it!'”
The officers were also reported to have played an impromptu match for the cup, because why wouldn’t you! They picked two teams, in full uniform in the garage at the back of the station, and after the game had their photographs taken holding the cup.
The picture and story was only unearthed after a clear-out of the station 28 years later, when the astonishing picture emerged.
The ‘culprit’ of the night was released without charge and his identity still remains very much a mystery.
