12th December 1953
On this day in 1953, Wigan Athletic recorded their highest home attendance in a match that took place during their pre-League days. The occasion was an all non-league FA Cup 2nd Round match against Hereford United, held at Wigan’s former Springfield Road ground. The match attracted a crowd of 27,526 spectators. Wigan emerged victorious with a 4-1 win, securing a place in the 3rd Round where they were set to face Newcastle. Notably, Wigan’s best attendance at their current DW Stadium is 25,133, achieved during a Premier League match against Manchester United in May 2008.
12th December 1984
The 12th of December 1984 marked a significant event in the European Cup Winners Cup for Celtic. The Scottish club had been drawn against Rapid Vienna in the Second Round of the competition for the 1984/85 season. The first leg took place in Austria, where Celtic suffered a 3-1 defeat. However, they managed to overturn the deficit in the second leg in Glasgow, winning 3-0 and seemingly securing a 4-3 aggregate victory. Unfortunately for Celtic, the match at Parkhead was marred by crowd trouble, including a bottle being thrown onto the pitch and a linesman being targeted with missiles, primarily coins. As a result, UEFA ordered the second leg to be replayed at a venue at least 100 miles from Glasgow.
The replayed match was held at Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground on 12th December, with approximately 40,000 Celtic fans making the journey south. In a turn of events, Rapid Vienna won the match 1-0, resulting in a 4-1 aggregate victory for the Austrians. The match was again overshadowed by incidents, as two Austrian players were attacked by Celtic fans. Consequently, UEFA imposed sanctions on Celtic, ordering them to play their next home European match behind closed doors and fining them £17,000. Rapid Vienna advanced to the final of the European Cup Winners Cup that season, where they were defeated by Everton. Meanwhile, Celtic’s only home European match in the 1985/86 season, against Atletico Madrid, was played without spectators.