Maurice Hepworth on 1973 FA Cup ordeal and the Bob Stokoe heartbreak that lingered | OneFootball

Maurice Hepworth has relived the week he almost died playing for Sunderland before the 1973 FA Cup final in a new book. According to Sunderland Echo, he recalls the pain, the blue-light dash to hospital and the man he believes saved him.

Then 19 and already blooded in the first team, he hoped to make Wembley, only to be told by Bob Stokoe that Joe Bolton would travel. He captained the reserves against Middlesbrough that Wednesday.

Playing sweeper, he was kneed in the stomach by Tony McAndrew in the first minute and collapsed screaming. Physio Jonny Watters spotted the danger and he was rushed to hospital with life-threatening internal injuries, unable to watch the final.

From hospital he learned Sunderland had shocked Leeds 1-0, Ian Porterfield scoring and Jim Montgomery making a famous double save before Stokoe’s sprint in a red tracksuit. Soon after, team-mates brought the FA Cup to his bedside.

Recovery took about three months. Stokoe then sent him to South Africa with Arcadia Shepherds, where he shifted from left-back to sweeper, won a treble, and returned to captain Sunderland’s reserves.

After a 3-1 win over Notts County, Stokoe told him he was finished despite a two-year deal. He played for Darlington, rebuilt at Arcadia, became 1977 Player of the Year, and retired in 1980 after a broken leg. He later founded a leadership business, guided by Christian faith, and Add To You is released on September 24 via Amazon, Kindle, Audible, Waterstones and other retailers.

Source: Sunderland Echo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”