On this day in 1963, the FA Cup 3rd Round was heavily disrupted by the severe winter weather, known as the “big freeze”. Out of the 32 scheduled ties, only three were played, with the final match of the round not concluded until 11th March. The Lincoln versus Coventry tie was notably postponed 15 times, while 14 other matches faced 10 or more postponements. During this period, Bolton Wanderers did not play a single competitive match between 8th December and 16th February due to the adverse conditions.
5th January 1966
----------------
England faced Poland at full international level for the first time on 5th January 1966. The match took place at Goodison Park, the home of Everton, and ended in a 1-1 draw. Bobby Moore scored his first goal for England, a rare feat as he only scored twice in his 108 appearances for the national team. This match marked England’s first of their World Cup-winning year, with manager Alf Ramsey fielding eight players who would later secure the World Cup in July. The missing trio of Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst, and Martin Peters were replaced by Arsenal’s George Eastham and Joe Baker, and Burnley’s Gordon Harris, with the latter earning his only England cap.
5th January 1985
----------------
Burton Albion, then part of the Northern Premier League, had a remarkable FA Cup run during the 1984/85 season. On 5th January 1985, they faced Leicester City in the Third Round. The match was held at Derby County’s Baseball Ground to accommodate a larger crowd, drawing an attendance of 22,492. Burton started confidently, but with the score at 1-1, their goalkeeper Paul Evans was struck by a missile from the crowd, causing a delay as he recovered. Despite the incident, Evans continued to play as Burton had already used their substitute. Leicester eventually triumphed 6-1, with Gary Lineker scoring a hat-trick. Due to the crowd disturbances, the FA declared the match void and ordered a replay behind closed doors at a neutral venue. The replay took place on 16th January at Coventry City’s Highfield Road, which had undersoil heating, and Leicester won 1-0.