Sporting bygones: 50 years on from when Anfield Kop chanted in tribute to champions Leeds United

Just minutes earlier, up to 30,000 Liverpudlian voices had filled the air, willing their team on towards the goal that would have kept the title race alive.

Bill Shankly’s side had thrown everything at Leeds United. But there had been no way past a ruthlessly disciplined defence, meaning when referee Arthur Diamond blew the final whistle the visitors from Yorkshire had the point required to clinch a first League Championship.

Don Revie, the architect of United’s success, headed straight for captain Billy Bremner. The two embraced before Revie reminded the Scot of their words before kick-off.

Namely how, if Leeds did clinch the title, Bremner must take the team to the Kop end. Which is how, as Anfield fell silent, a clearly hesitant Bremner started walking towards football’s most famous terrace and thousands upon thousands of dejected scousers, plus one interloper from Yorkshire.

John Helm, for the past few decades one of the most respected commentators in sport but then working as a reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post, had been sent to cover the game from the spiritual home of Liverpool’s support.

“The atmosphere had been electric all night,” he recalled ahead of tomorrow’s 50th anniversary of Leeds’s first title triumph.

“Before kick-off, there had been a real air of expectancy. All those around me seemed to believe it would be Liverpool’s night.

“Shankly’s team gave it a real good go but, in the end, Leeds got the draw. I can still see Billy come towards the Kop. He looked reluctant, to say the least.

“You could hear a pin drop as Billy and the rest of the Leeds team got as far as the penalty area and I did wonder how it was going to end.

“But, then, this chant of ‘Champions, champions, champions…’ began, and within seconds it seemed everyone around me was joining in. The reception was amazing and totally genuine.

“Those Liverpool supporters realised they were fortunate to be watching two great teams at the top of their powers. A magical moment, and one made possible by Don’s great decision to send his players down to the Kop.”

The journey towards that unforgettable night on Merseyside had begun eight years earlier with the appointment of Revie.

Already on the books as a player, his step up to manager came almost by accident. Harry Reynolds, the United chairman, had been asked by Revie to provide a reference for his application to become Bournemouth’s manager.

Only while writing said letter of recommendation did Reynolds realise the qualities he was extolling to the Cherries board were exactly what Leeds needed in their own search for the man capable of bringing lasting success to Elland Road.

So began the gradual building of a team that, in time, would dominate English football for the best part of a decade as youngsters such as Bremner, Eddie Gray, Peter Lorimer, Norman Hunter, Gary Sprake, Paul Reaney and Paul Madeley blossomed alongside older heads such as Jack Charlton and Johnny Giles.

By the start of the 1968-69 season, Revie’s Leeds were ready. After a host of heartbreaking near-misses, United had landed their first major trophy the previous March via a 1-0 win over Arsenal in the League Cup final.

The club was also through to the 1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final, held over until the first few weeks of the following season due to fixture congestion. Leeds duly beat Ferencvaros over two legs to claim a second piece of silverware.

Now, Revie wanted the big one. He astutely saw Manchester United and Liverpool as being on the wane, and the likes of Arsenal and Everton not quite ready to challenge for another couple of years.

By the end of August, United had won five and drawn the other of their opening half-a-dozen games.

This run included a 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Elland Road but it was Revie’s reaction to a fire breaking out at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground that perhaps gives the biggest indication of the tunnel vision driving Leeds forward.

Smoke had been seen in the main stand just as the half-time whistle blew. Revie, once back in the dressing room, began his team-talk as usual and it was only when one of the players opened the door to the toilet that black smoke poured in.

Mike O’Grady, who made 38 league appearances in the title-winning season and scored eight goals, remembers: “Don said, ‘We need to find somewhere a bit quieter, lads’.

“He only wanted to carry on the team-talk, even though it was clear the stand was ablaze. Talk about being focused.”

Leeds did not return to the City Ground until the following February. By then, Revie’s men had reclaimed top spot from a Liverpool side who had earlier taken advantage of an autumn wobble from the Elland Road outfit that had seen a 5-1 defeat at Burnley be followed by three straight draws.

The two great rivals continued to trade blows as winter turned to Spring but Leeds, knocked out of both domestic Cups at an early stage, always looked the most likely to prevail.

A seven-game winning run came as Shankly’s Reds were held by Forest, Arsenal and Stoke City in quick succession and put United firmly in the ascendancy. A win at home to Leicester City, followed by a draw at Goodison Park on a night when Liverpool were held at Coventry left Leeds five points clear with two games to play.

Only the Reds, who had a game in hand, could catch United as fate decreed the two clubs should meet at Anfield on Monday, April 28.

Shankly, a very good friend of Revie, could not resist one last stab at mind games. “If Leeds United do not win the First Division championship this year,” he said during the build-up, “they never will.”

His crude attempts to unsettle United failed miserably. Bremner, Giles et al remained ice cool amid the frenetic atmosphere created by a group of supporters who, by the end of the night, would be acclaiming their great rivals in a quite remarkable act of sportsmanship.

This generosity extended to Shankly, who later walked into the away dressing room and asked Revie if it would be okay to speak to his team.

“We have not lost the title,” the Scot told the assembled players, “you have won it and you’re the best team in the country.”

It was a moment Revie, so close to Shankly that the pair ’phoned each other every Sunday morning, treasured for the rest of his life.