14 December 1994 - The Hardman Cometh (To Wales)

On 14 December 1994, 30-year old English midfielder Vinnie Jones received his first international call-up--for Wales.

Jones, who was born the English town in Watford, had made his reputation as the leader of the Wimbledon FC "Crazy Gang" that won the 1988 FA Cup over Liverpool. Self-proclaimed as one of football's hardest men, he lived up to the billing by playing with a reckless abandon and earning a slew of red cards along the way. While at Wimbledon, he committed two of his most infamous acts--inflicting a 1986 knee injury on Spurs defender Gary Stevens that eventually ended his career and grabbing Newcastle midfielder Paul Gascoigne by the testicles in 1987.

By 1994, he had rejoined Wimbledon after spells with Leeds United (1989-90), Sheffield United (1990-91), and Chelsea (1991-92) and was hoping to make the move into international football. With England looking elsewhere, he qualified to play for Wales through his maternal grandmother and duly received his first call-up by manager Mike Smith.

To his credit, Jones quickly embraced his new team, learning the Welsh national anthem in short order and reportedly getting a tattoo of a dragon over his heart. But Wales were a side in decline and lost on his debut to Bulgaria, 0-3, in a European Championship qualifier.

Jones went on to make a total of nine appearances for Wales, and even captained the team, but never got to taste international victory. And his "Crazy Gang" behavior followed him as, in just his fourth game, he was ejected in the 27th minute for stepping on an opposing player's groin in a 1-0 loss to Georgia.

17 August 1996 - That Beckham Kid Just Might Be Pretty Good

On 17 August 1996, 21-year old Manchester United midfielder David Beckham grabbed world headlines with a spectacular goal from the halfway line.



The moment came in United's Premier League season opener at Wimbledon FC. By that point, Beckham had been with United for about four and a half seasons as a professional (including a short loan spell at Preston North End) and had made a total of only 42 league appearances. He had only established himself as a regular starter during the previous season, but it was a very successful one, with United winning a league and FA Cup double. Still, while Beckham was clearly a talented player, he was not yet considered a superstar of the sport, and had, in fact, not yet even earned his first England cap.



His profile took a dramatic upward turn against Wimbledon, however. With United already leading 0-2, Beckham received the ball inside his own half and took a short dribble toward the halfway line. Right before he reached it, he spotted Wimbledon keeper Neil Sullivan off his line and ripped an audacious shot toward goal. As Sullivan scrambled backward to reach it, the ball fell over his head and into the net. Two weeks later, Beckham played his first match for England.



United went on to win the league again that season, the second of six league titles Beckham would claim with the club.

14 May 1988 - Game, Set, Match For Wimbledon

On 14 May 1988, Wimbledon won the FA Cup thanks in part to the first-ever penalty save in the history of the tournament final. It was the last major trophy for the club, who moved to Milton Keynes in 2004 to become the MK Dons.

Wimbledon's opponents in the Final were Liverpool, who had won the league by finishing nine points clear of Manchester United. Prior to the Final, they had lost only three times--twice in the league and once in the League Cup--and were heavily favored over Wimbledon, who were seventh in the final table and who had taken only a single point from Liverpool in their two league meetings that season.

Playing before a crowd of over 98,000 at Wembley, Wimbledon took a shock first-half lead when midfielder Lawrie Sanchez headed a free kick home in the 37th minute. Liverpool looked certain to equalize in the second half when the referee awarded them a penalty kick in the 60th minute. But Wimbledon keeper and captain Dave Beasant guessed correctly, diving to his left to stop the shot from John Aldridge. It was the first time in the history of the FA Cup that a keeper saved a penalty in the Final.

Manager Kenny Dalglish subbed Aldridge out four minutes later for Craig Johnston, but the Reds were unable to crack Wimbledon's defense and the score held, 1-0 to Wimbledon. With their reputation as the "Crazy Gang," rumors swirled about wild post-match celebrations, but Beasant later said that he and his teammates were so exhausted after the match that they enjoyed a small party with their families then got to bed early.

5 January 1965 - Happy Birthday To The Hard Man

On 5 January 1965, future Wimbledon defender and film star Vinnie Jones was born in Watford, England.

Jones started his footballing career in 1984 with non-league Wealdstone and spent a season in Sweden before moving to Wimbledon in 1986. There, he was part of the rambunctious "Crazy Gang" that won the 1988 FA Cup, the club's highest achievement. He moved to Leeds the following year, starting a journey that included stints at Sheffield United and Chelsea before returning to Wimbledon in 1992.

He earned a reputation as one of the game's great hard men, getting sent off 12 times in his career. His most notorious incident occurred in a match against Newcastle in 1987 when Jones unnerved Paul Gascoigne by squeezing the young midfielder's testicles. The image was caught on film and became an iconic representation of Jones' style of play.

After leaving Wimbledon again in 1998, he served nine matches as player/manager of QPR before retiring. By that time, his film career was underway, starting with his breakout role as hard man "Big Chris" in Guy Ritchie's 1998 film Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.

Despite his ongoing success as an actor, Jones continues to play football for Hollywood United and has expressed a desire to return to Leeds some day.

8 July 1941 - A Beacon Of Stability In An Otherwise Turbulent Profession

On 8 July 1941, Dario Gradi, future football manager and Member of the Order of the British Empire, was born in Milan.

Gradi's father died when he was very young and Gradi, along with his English mother, moved to London after the end World War II. He had an undistinguished spell as a professional footballer, playing for Sutton United and Tooting & Mitcham United before turning to a career in management. His first managerial position was as assistant coach at Chelsea in 1971.

From 1971 to 1983, he coached at several other clubs, including Sutton United, Derby County, and Wimbledon as an assistant coach, then as a full manager at Wimbledon and Crystal Palace.

In 1983, he moved to Crewe Alexandra, a club that had spent the previous two decades toiling in the Football League's bottom division. He led them to promotion in 1989. They were relegated two years later, but were promoted again in 1994 and then advanced to the second-tier Division One in 1997, where they remained until 2002.

Gradi retired from management on 1 July 2007 after 24 years and 1,244 matches in charge of Crewe Alexandra. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving manager in English football. In recognition of his contribution to the game, he was admitted in 2004 to the English Football Hall of Fame.

He is currently Crewe Alexandra's director of football.