Walsall had gone on a 12-match unbeaten run in the Third Division, and after beating Blackpool, Barnsley and Shrewsbury in the first three rounds of the League Cup, were drawn to meet Arsenal at Highbury. Kearns spent the morning of the match loading 36-gallon kegs of beer at the Conservative Club before catching the team coach at lunchtime. “We played them off the field,” he says of the game against Arsenal. “Underdogs can sometimes get a result with a bit of luck, but we played quality football. Alan Buckley, the manager, wanted people who could play, and we proved that you didn’t have to kick your way out of the lower divisions, you could pass the ball and play attractive football.”
The 2-1 win against Arsenal was followed by a 4-2 win against Rotherham. Then came Liverpool in the semi-finals. Walsall earned a 2-2 draw in the first leg at Anfield with Ally Brown and Mark Rees scoring. But the dream came to an end at Fellows Park, where Liverpool won 2-0 in the second leg and went on to win their fourth consecutive League Cup. [The numbers refer to a photograph, which is not carried on the website.]
1 Garry Pendrey A Birmingham defender for 13 years, he was coach at Walsall during their cup run before becoming manager at Birmingham as they dropped to the Third Division. He coached at Southampton and Coventry under Gordon Strachan and is Strachan’s assistant at Celtic.
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2 Mark Rees An England schoolboy winger, Rees joined the Saddlers in 1979 and spent 11 years at the club. He is a painter and decorator in Birmingham.
3 Kevin Summerfield A Walsall-born winger who played for the England youth team, Summerfield had spells with West Brom and Birmingham before signing for Walsall in 1982. He spent two years at Fellows Park and spent time at Plymouth and Shrewsbury. He is assistant manager at Sheffield Wednesday.
4 Mick Kearns He was finishing a second spell at Walsall when he came out of retirement to lend a helping hand as goalkeeper. Kearns, who won 18 caps for the Republic of Ireland, spent six years with Walsall in the 1970s, and after a spell at Wolves, returned to Fellows Park. He is still with the club as the community officer and goalkeeping coach.
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5 Lee Sinnott The England youth and under-21 international spent a season at Walsall before being sold to Watford in 1983. He also had three stints at Bradford City, among other clubs, and is manager of Yorkshire non-league side Farsley Celtic.
6 Ron Green Signed from non-league Alvechurch, Green took over as first-team keeper from Kearns, but was injured early in the season. He returned to deny Liverpool at Anfield before joining Shrewsbury in the summer of 1984. After spells at several clubs he returned to Walsall in 1989 for three seasons. He is a postman in Sutton Coldfield.
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7 Peter Hart The Walsall captain made his name at Huddersfield, where he played 210 league matches in six years. He joined Walsall in 1980 and was a regular in defence for 10 years, playing in 390 league games. He is now a vicar in Cannock.
8 Colin Brazier A tall, elegant defender, he linked up well with Hart in the defence. Brazier was a substitute for Wolves in a League Cup final victory and played for Birmingham and Luton. He had 144 games for Walsall before joining Kidderminster. He lives in Measham and is a company rep.
9 Ken Mower The Walsall-born left-back played 415 league matches during his 13-year career. He still lives in the town and is a company rep.
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10 Brian Caswell The utility defender and midfielder spent 12 years at Walsall, playing 400 league matches. He had a season with Doncaster and then joined Leeds, but was to retire because of injury after a loan spell at Wolves. He works for a BMW car dealership in Birmingham.
11 Richard O’Kelly One of a crop of players who joined Walsall from Alvechurch, the West Bromwich-born forward scored 56 goals in 205 league outings for the Saddlers in seven years. O’Kelly joined Port Vale for two seasons before returning to Walsall in 1988. Finished his career at Grimsby and is assistant manager at Bournemouth.
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12 Phil Hawker Signed by Walsall from Birmingham after a loan spell, Hawker struggled to win a first-team place at centre-back, but his fortunes changed when he switched to midfield. An England youth international, he played in 177 league games. He played one game for West Brom and helps run a family business in Solihull.
13 Alan Buckley He scored one goal in 16 games for Nottingham Forest before launching his career with Walsall. A short but determined striker, Buckley hit 174 league goals in 419 games in two spells with the club. He won promotion from the Fourth Division in his first season as player-manager in 1979-80. He had four spells as manager or joint- manager and then twice won promotion with Grimsby. Now coaches in the Grimsby area.
14 David Preece A left-sided midfielder, Preece joined Walsall as an apprentice in 1980 and played in 111 league games in four years. A tiny but combative player, he moved to Luton for £150,000, helping them win the League Cup. An England “B” international, he also played for Derby and Birmingham. He is a painter and decorator in Bridgenorth.
15 Craig Shakespeare The Birmingham-born midfielder joined Walsall in 1981 and played in 284 league matches in eight years. He had a season with Sheffield Wednesday, but had more success at West Brom and Grimsby, where he linked up with former boss Buckley. He is youth team coach at West Brom.
16 Mark Bates The Walsall-born defender played in only six first-team games during his year with the club. He then played eight games for Shrewsbury before dropping out of professional football in 1985.
17 Paul Jones The 20-year-old midfielder broke into the first team after signing as an apprentice. He played in 143 league matches in six years. before moving to Wolves in 1989, but was unable to win a regular place. He is assistant manager of Chase Town.
18 Carl Page A young full-back who was on the club’s books but never made the first team in his stay at Fellows Park. He dropped out of professional football.
19 Mark Taylor Another of the young players in the youth set-up, he signed for Walsall in the summer of 1984 and in five years played 113 league games. Also played in the midfield for Sheffield Wednesday and Shrewsbury and, at 39, turns out for Redditch.
20 Richard Beeton An apprentice defender who failed to make his mark at the club.
21 Stephen Clews The midfielder spent four years at Walsall on the fringe of the first team. He played for Walsall Wood and Eccleshall, where he runs a security company. Clews remembers training sessions with the club: “We used to play five-a-side, and Pendrey and Buckley would join in and try to score all the goals. Then we used to go for fish and chips after training.”
22 David Kelly A teenage striker who was signed from Alverchurch and in five years scored 63 goals in 147 league outings. West Ham forked out £600,000 for Kelly in 1988, but the move did not work out. He also played for Newcastle, Wolves and Sunderland among his 12 clubs as well as winning 26 caps for the Republic of Ireland. After playing for 21 managers and costing a total of £3,150,000 in transfer fees, he went into management and was assistant at Tranmere and Sheffield United. He is assistant manager at Preston.