Bullet
Andy Thompson
Yermiyahu's wife said:
http://roger.blogs.exetel.com.au/index.php?/archives/459-The-Spurs-Angels.html
Glory, glory Hallelujah, and the Spurs go marching on...
Spurs had won the League and FA Cup Double that year and entered the European Cup as England's League Champions. Their first ever game in European competition was away to Gornik Zabreze from Poland. They lost 2-4 and were dramatically accused of dirty play by the Poles - which was uncharacteristic for the Tottenham side, famed for playing such beautiful football.
Back in England, the allegation by Gornik that Spurs players 'were no angels' caused a huge stir - and contributed to their downfall.
When Gornik came to Tottenham for the second leg, Spurs fans were slightly downcast about the two goal deficit but half an hour or so before kick-off - with the ground already almost full - three men 'materialised' on the perimeter track, dressed up as angels. The crowd roared as they proceeded to wave placards, which used a 'heavenly' theme to deny the allegations of foul play and proclaim the innocence of our angelic team.
To their credit, the Club permitted them to continue parading in a full circuit all around the running track between the crowd and the pitch, until they eventually arrived back at their starting point. They then 'de-materialised' shortly before the teams came out, back into the 56,000 crowd - which by then was buzzing with excitement! To say that we were motivated by this innovative display from three Spurs fanatics would be an understatement.
The now familiar Spurs signature tune, "Glory, glory Hallelujah, and the Spurs go marching on..."* was born that night, sparked by the crazy antics of the three Spurs Angels. Maybe they even started the song themselves, I don't know for sure - but I wouldn't be surprised!
Then the players came out dressed in an 'angelic' all white strip and - boosted by the crowd - Spurs beat Gornik 8-1 (to win 10-5 on aggregate).
https://www.newstatesman.com/cultur...ights-official-story-tottenham-hotspur-europe
This incensed a group of Spurs fans, Peter Kirby, Dave Casey and Mike Curly. For the return leg in north London, they dressed as angels, replete in sandals, false beards and white sheets, and paraded around the touchline carrying placards bearing slogans such as ‘Rejoice! This is the night of vengeance’ and ‘Glory be to shining White Hart Lane’. On a tumultuous night, the crowd bought into the humour, striking up a chorus of the old hymn Glory Glory Hallelujah. And so one of the most famous traditions in football was born. Spurs won 8-1 that night and, over half a century later, ‘Glory glory hallelujah, and the Spurs go marching on’ is still belted out from the stands.
That European trophy win in 1963 also got the Tottenham angels into a spot of bother, in a row which has some parallels with current controversies over what people read in to the crowd’s expressions of support. The angels turned out on the victory parade down Tottenham High Street, with new placards urging the assembled throng to ‘Praise them for they are glorious’ and declaring ‘Hallowed be thy names’. The Reverend Clifford Hill of High Cross Congregational Church declared their activities “an outrage to Christians”, going on, “The idolisation of a football team by taking quotations from the Bible is wrong’. He wanted the Home Secretary to use the blasphemy laws, but the fans decided on a dignified retreat. “It’s back to civvies for us,” said Kirby. “We have apologised to people who feel offended. We have been appearing for two seasons and against the few who object there are thousands who have welcomed our little performances without taking them in a way in which they were never intended.”
