Scot Hughie Ferguson's son and grandson will be in the stands to support Cardiff
THERE will be many a Cardiff City fan pinching themselves and choking back the tears when their team walks out at Wembley this afternoon for their first appearance in an FA Cup final for 81 years.
It will be an undeniably proud moment for the cl
ub and the city, but today's showpiece of the English club season carries with it a broader national importance as the Bluebirds attempt to emulate their feat of 1927 when they became the first and, to this day, only team to take the famous silver trophy out of England.
The Welsh national anthem Land Of My Fathers has been added to the traditional pre-match community singing of God Save The Queen and Abide With Me (which received its first airing on that day in 1927). For the first time in 81 years nationalistic fervour will be an added ingredient to the heady mix of emotions felt by the participants' supporters on FA Cup final day.
However, for two Scots among the Cardiff contingent sitting in the magnificent new stands of Wembley, ties of blood, rather than land, will be the driving force on a proud day tinged with poignancy.
Tom and Hugh Ferguson will be in attendance this afternoon hoping to see someone emulate their celebrated father and grandfather by scoring the winning goal for Cardiff.
At the beginning of March, The Scotsman told the remarkable and ultimately tragic tale of Hughie Ferguson, one of the greatest British goalscorers of the inter-war period. Ferguson set a scoring record of 284 which stands to this day at Motherwell before moving to Cardiff in 1925 for a then astronomical fee of £4,000. Two years later he entered that club's folklore when he scored the only goal at Wembley as Cardiff defeated Arsenal 1-0 to win the FA Cup.
Sadly, two years after this crowning achievement, Ferguson's glittering career ground to a halt and his life was cut cruelly short at Dundee. Suffering from an imbalance of the inner ear and, his family believe, an undiagnosed brain tumour, Ferguson lost form and became the victim of fierce barracking from the Dundee fans who had such high hopes for their illustrious signing. Dropped from the team, Ferguson was last seen alive on the evening of 7 January 1930 after a training session at Dens Park.
The next morning he was found by a painter lying huddled over a gas ring in one of main stand's rooms, a cap drawn tightly over his head.
He left behind a pregnant wife, Jessica, and two children. In the years to follow, the Ferguson legend has lived on, particularly in Motherwell and Cardiff, but more importantly in the hearts of his family who have retained great pride in Hughie's achievements – the most famous of which remains that Wembley winner that slipped out of Arsenal goalkeeper Dan Lewis' grasp – through subsequent generations.
Grandson Hugh, who will attend the game today with his father Tom (Hughie's son) spoke to The Scotsman from his Edinburgh home again this week and, when asked if he ever thought he would see the day when Cardiff would again reach an FA Cup final, he didn't have to think too long. "No is the short answer," he laughed. "Up until this season they haven't ever come close.
"I've grown up with the story of my grandfather and it's incredible that Cardiff will be back at Wembley. I'm really happy for them and looking forward to the game.
"When they won away at Middlesbrough in the quarter-finals and were drawn to play Barnsley in the semi- finals, that's when you started to think that it might just happen."
Hugh, 51, attended that Barnsley match with friends as Cardiff squeezed past their fellow Championship side 1-0 to set up today's date with destiny.
"It wasn't the best game, and it was a bit backs to the wall, but just to see them make it back to Wembley for the first time since 1927 was special," he said.
Today will be even more so for Hugh as his dad Tom, who was just three years old when his own father died, accompanies him down Wembley Way. "My dad's really made up about it all and looking forward to the day," said Hugh. "He has seen Cardiff play a few times many years ago at Ninian Park and I think he's been to Wembley before for an England-Scotland game, but this will be something else."
Hugh has kept in contact with the club and tries to attend games when he is in the Cardiff area through his job as a salesman for a medical firm. However, he is keen to point out that he and his father will today be among the fans, for whom the name Hughie Ferguson is still held dear, and not nibbling prawn sandwiches in the corporate suites.
"They're not free tickets," he explained. "I contacted the club after the semi-final and two or three weeks later I got two tickets in the post. I emailed them back as more of the family would like to have been there, but they emailed back to say 'I'm afraid not'. I'm sure the demand in Cardiff has been huge."
With the Welsh capital in a frenzy over the match, and given the extra- ordinary nature of the Ferguson story, it's unsurprising that Hugh has been taking plenty of calls from the media this week. "BBC Scotland and BBC Wales have both brought film crews, there's a preview programme on in Wales tonight (Friday] and I'm giving an interview with Radio Wales before the match. There's also been quite a few newspapers on the phone."
Like the 1927 team, the current Cardiff line-up contains a strong Scottish flavour, with Gavin Rae, Kevin McNaughton and Steven Thompson all hoping to feature. It raises the tantalising prospect of one of them emulating their late, great compatriot, and Hugh said: "It would be great if one of the Scottish boys did score the winner, but I wouldn't care who it was, so long as Cardiff lift the cup.
"They are clearly the underdogs. Portsmouth are a good side, but, in a one-off game, who knows."
A Cardiff win would make it a dream season for Hugh, whose first love, Motherwell, sealed a European place last week. A regular at Fir Park with his daughter he admits he would love to see Cardiff win the cup then draw Motherwell in the Uefa Cup next season. "That just crossed my mind recently," said Hugh. "It would be quite something if that did happen."
His fabled grandfather would surely agree.
The full article contains 1135 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
