Linfield FC recalls with pride a famous Irish Cup Final triumph on this March 29 date - exactly 92 years ago, back in 1930.
Three years ago this club awarded the prestigious Torrans Trophy to honour the career of one of the All-Time Greats and Legends of this club, the one and only Joe Bambrick from Roden Street close to Windsor Park.
In this anniversary tribute Linfieldfc.com highlights a significant Irish Cup Final success in an incredible 1929/30 season for 'Head, heel or toe, slip it to Joe'.
The 1929/30 season brought an astonishing 94 goal return from the humble gasworker who is honoured by his former club with his image proudly on display on the Linfield board room wall and with one of the hospitality suites on Linfield match days named in honour of a true giant in the footballing history of his club and country.
The first few months of 1930 were quite remarkable in the life and career of the Linfield centre forward who was later to be transferred to Chelsea on December 24, 1934.
At nearby Celtic Park on February 1, 1930 Joe achieved immortality scoring 6 goals in Ireland's 7-0 win against Wales. Remarkably, that goalscoring record for a British player in international football remains intact to this very day.
Interestingly, two days later, he only scored once in Linfield's 5-1 league win away to Portadown.
However, a few weeks later, on this anniversary March 29 date in 1930 Linfield lined up to play the Irish Cup final against Ballymena United at Celtic Park, close to Joe's modest home and where he'd created international footballing history only weeks earlier.
Linfield had already been crowned league champions that 1929/30 season and the team that went in search of a League and Cup Double 92 years ago today was as follows : Lawson, Brown, Watson, McCleery, Jones, Sloan, Houston, McCracken, Bambrick, Grice and McCaw.
Ballymena had defeated Linfield 7-4 in a Boxing Day 1929 league game but a few months later, it was League Champions Linfield who lifted the Irish Cup trophy, thanks to a 4-3 triumph with all 4 goals scored by the goalscoring machine, Joe Bambrick.
Interestingly, an image of Joe's winners' medal from that memorable Irish Cup final triumph is visible by visiting
http://www.thenationalfootballcollection.org.uk/joe-bambrick-1930-irish-cup-winners-medal.
Joe wasn't finished with scoring winning goals in cup finals in that unforgettable 'goal-den' season.
At Solitude on April 9, 1930 Joe scored a hat-trick as Linfield defeated Glentoran 3-1 to win the County Antrim Shield final and Joe rounded off a goal fest of a season, scoring both goals in Linfield's 2-0 win in the Charity Cup Final against Belfast Celtic at Solitude on May 17, 1930.
All in all, a truly remarkable few months in the life and career of an All-Time Legend of this club and one who Linfield FC is proud to honour in our Windsor Park home.
A truly golden career of the goalscoring master Joe Bambrick who in a poll chaired by the legendary Malcolm Brodie MBE in 2011 was named the 4th All-Time Greatest Linfield player - with only Tommy Dickson, Jackie Milburn and Noel Bailie MBE in front of him in that Hall of Fame.
The Bambrick Cup Final - 29 March 1930
Linfieldfc.com looks back at one of this club’s most memorable Irish Cup Final successes from yesteryear on this significant 92nd anniversary date.
The following 'Look at Linfield' article was published for the programme against Ballymena in September 2014.
The Games that made our History – by Roy McGivern
Linfield v Ballymena, Irish Cup Final, 29 March 1930
This walk down memory lane features another memorable Linfield Irish Cup success. The 1930 final was against Ballymena and became known as the ‘Bambrick Final’ after legendary striker Joe Bambrick.
Bambrick signed for Linfield in 1927 and spent a wonderful seven seasons at the club. He really came to prominence though in the 1929/30 season with an incredible 94 goals for club and country. He scored 50 in Linfield’s league campaign that season as they claimed the title by a six point margin over big rivals Glentoran. Just a few months before the Irish Cup Final, Bambrick played for Ireland against Wales at Celtic Park and scored a remarkable six goals as they thrashed the Welsh side 7-0. Three other Linfield players, McCleery, Jones and Sloan, also starred in that game and all later appeared for their club in the cup final.
Ballymena were holders of the cup having beaten Belfast Celtic in the 1929 final in their first season as a senior club. They went into the big game with high hopes of another victory although they suffered a blow when star striker McCambridge was transferred to Chelsea ahead of the final. Linfield already had 14 cup wins under their belts but their last success was in 1923 so the pressure was on to recapture the blue riband trophy of local football.
A big crowd was in attendance at Celtic Park and Ballymena played into a fierce wind in the first half. Linfield bombarded the opposition goal but it was the half hour mark before the opening goal arrived. Jones lobbed a ball forward and Bambrick, with his back to goal, somehow struck the ball over his head and past Gough in the Ballymena goal. Ten minutes later Bambrick got his and Linfield’s second. McCaw crossed from the right and Bambrick was perfectly placed to head past Gough. Just as it looked like the Blues might run away with the game, Ballymena struck back on the stroke of half time. Linfield’s defence failed to clear Murphy’s corner and Reid fired the ball home from close range.
The Braidmen now had the advantage of the wind at their backs in the second half and the equaliser arrived though centre forward Shiels. With the game evenly poised at 2-2, that man Bambrick struck again. His first attempt was saved by Gough but when Grice played it back to the deadly striker he blasted the ball into the net to put the Blues ahead. Once again Ballymena fought back and Shiels snatched another goal to level the score at 3-3 with 15 minutes remaining. Tragedy struck for Ballymena when Kilpatrick and Watson clashed and the former was forced off the pitch and taken to the nearby Royal Victoria Hospital for treatment to a serious head wound.
The Blues now had a one man advantage and they made it pay with the decisive strike by Bambrick with only a few minutes left on the clock. The international striker started the move with a pass to Houston and, when the winger centred the ball to Bambrick, he struck a superb shot into the net to make it 4-3 to Linfield. What a final and what a finish for Bambrick and for Linfield. The Belfast News Letter paid the following tribute to the victorious Linfield team:
“There were many heroes for Linfield including Sloan, McCleery, McCracken and Houston. I leave Joe Bambrick to the last. In league games, cup engagements, internationals and friendlies he has scored over seventy goals this season. May he be long spared to Irish football. He scored four wonderful goals in a great final but was as modest as ever at the end.”
The Belfast Telegraph reported “Once again Linfield have achieved their ambition of bringing off that admirable double of the League Championship and the Irish Cup. It was a fine achievement and both Linfield and Ballymena put in fine performances which produced a record gate of £1,507. What more can you say about Joseph Bambrick and his winning goal was as fine a bit of work as you will ever see on a football field.”
A wonderful achievement for Bambrick and for Linfield and little wonder that the legendary striker is still regarded as one of the club’s finest ever players. For the record, the Linfield team which defeated Ballymena to win the 1930 Irish Cup Final was: Lawson, Brown, Watson, McCleery, Jones, Sloan, Houston, McCracken, Bambrick, Grice, McCaw.
