There were only great FA Cup memories for Peter McNamee, the man who shot down 'The Gunners'
The FA Cup may have changed almost beyond recognition since the glory days of the competition when the BBC and ITV started their Final day broadcast at 9am.
But virtually everyone surely retains special memories of what used to be called ‘the greatest knockout competition of them all.’
The PT used to speak regularly to Peter McNamee, a little Scottish winger who delivered one of the great Posh moments when scoring the winner in a 2-1 success over mighty Arsenal in a fourth round tie in 1965.
McNamee made 331 appearances for Posh between 1954 and 1966, scoring 126 goals. McNamee continued to live in the city until he passed away in August, 2021. He was a great character, one still remembered fondly by anyone who came into contact with him.
McNamee told the PT: “I can’t ever remember getting knocked out of the FA Cup in the early rounds. We were the giant killers of our day, even in non-league football. Before the big games we used to go to Blackpool and train on the beach. We knew we had to be quicker and sharper than the bigger clubs to have a chance.
"And when we got into the Football League (from 1960) the big games kept coming. I remember playing well and scoring against Aston Villa in front of over 64,000 fans even though we lost.
"The biggest game everyone remembers was obviously against Arsenal and for me to score the winning goal was just incredible. We were in dreamland after the game. We couldn’t believe we had actually done it, but I don’t remember much about the night as we all went out in town. All I really remember is never having to buy a drink all night.
"On the Monday we crowded around the radio in the dressing room to listen to the draw. There were clubs we wanted and ones we didn’t want and we got drawn at home to Swansea, one of the teams we definitely didn’t want!
"I think they were in Division Two and we managed to beat them in a replay after a 0-0 draw at home. We then lost 5-1 at Chelsea in the quarter-final at Stamford Bridge after playing with 10 men as Vic Crowe picked up an injury in the days before substitutes were allowed. For me the FA Cup only held great memories.”
The win over Arsenal remains the only Posh success against a top flight club in the FA Cup.
The home game with Swansea in the following round attracted the highest gate (30,096) ever recorded at London Road. The Arsenal match has also set a record of 30,056.
Reaching the quarter-finals in the 1964-65 FA Cup is the best run in Posh history.