When Shorts Were Short concerns itself solely with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast takes 1954 as its starting point, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, to 1992, when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren't short, we don't talk about it.

Part 2 of our comprehensive interview with Arsenal’s ’71 double-winning ‘keeper Bob Wilson, also, of course, for an entire generation, the presenter of what was during his time with the show, the formidable Football Focus, the Saturday lunchtime preview show that existed within the BBC’s Grandstand.

This week, plenty of ground covered with Bob now established as Arsenal’s new number one ‘keeper from the late sixties. We discuss the shock League Cup defeat to third division Swindon in 1969 on a terrible Wembley pitch, and how that second consecutive League Cup final loss triggered the wave of big success that followed under Bertie Mee and Don Howe in the next couple of seasons.

Bob tells us about Liverpool boss Bill Shankly singling him out for mind games on the eve of the ’71 FA Cup Final. We also look at Bob finally playing for his beloved Scotland in the early seventies, the early end to his career through injury, the switch to TV and the launch of Football Focus, the Match of the Day years with the one and only Jimmy Hill, , coaching the great Pat Jennings at Arsenal as he pioneered the goalkeeping coaching that’s now a big part of the British game, the shock move to ITV and the sad loss of his daughter that led to the creation of the Willow Foundation, the only national charity working with seriously ill young adults aged 16 to 40 to give them unforgettable Special Days. All that and more.

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SHOW NOTES

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Willow Foundation

Twitter @Willow_Fdn

Arsenal v Liverpool 1971 FA Cup Final

Arsenal v Stoke 1972 FA Cup semi-final

Football Focus 1986-87

Match of the Day

Bob Wilson – Left sock first

This work can also be supported via Ko-Fi, a tip jar for creators where you can buy them a digital coffee.

And please subscribe, rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or any other platform you may be using to listen to the show.

If the shorts weren't short, we just don't talk about it.

This week’s episode is our first two-parter, a comprehensive interview with Arsenal’s ’71 double-winning ‘keeper Bob Wilson, also, of course, for an entire generation, the presenter of what was during his time with the show, the formidable Football Focus, the Saturday lunchtime preview show that existed within the BBC’s Grandstand.

Bob had three hugely successful careers. As the Arsenal number one of the late sixties and early seventies, and as we’ll hear, securing the number one shirt of his beloved north London club was far from easy. Then there was the football broadcasting career, first with the BBC and then later at the end, with ITV, but he was also the man who, after seeing the Brazilian ‘keepers training with a goalkeeping coach during the ’66 World Cup who brought that into the British game. Goalkeeping coaches, and goalkeepers, in this country owe a huge debt to the man whose signature save, diving head first at the feet of an opponent, arguably shortened his career.

This week we concentrate on Bob’s early life, studying at Loughborough University, almost becoming a Busby Babe, playing as an amateur for Wolves’s reserves during the back end of the Stan Cullis era, before he finally ends up at Arsenal where it’s five years before he finally nails down the number one spotwith a fine performance in a FA Cup fifth round replay defeat at Birmingham.

Support the podcast via Patreon

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook shortswereshort

SHOW LINKS

Twitter Bob Wilson

Willow Foundation

Twitter @Willow_Fdn

Quizball Appearance 1971

WBA v Arsenal 1969 FA Cup 5th Round

The podcast can be supported with a donation via Paypal.

This work can also be supported via Ko-Fi, a tip jar for creators where you can buy them a digital coffee.

And please subscribe, rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or any other platform you may be using to listen to the show