1984: The bravery of Paul Terry

It was an image that would dominate the back pages. When Chris Woakes walked down the steps leading to the boundary edge at the Oval, the crowd stood to applaud this noble deed. With his left arm in a sling and inside his jumper, Woakes arrived at the crease with England requiring 17 runs to win the final Test against India.

With Woakes suffering a suspected shoulder dislocation, it was evident that Gus Atkinson (or extras) would have to get England over the line. Alas, England fell agonisingly short, the sheer will and skill of Mohammed Siraj enabling India to deservedly draw the series. Come the conclusion, a lot of the press coverage inevitably praised Woakes for his bravery.

Woakes' appearance jogged the memories of many an England supporter of a certain age. The circumstances may have been very different from the tail end of England's innings at the Oval, but in July 1984 another English batsmen arrived on the scene sporting the Woakes look. Paul Terry could probably relate to Woakes' pain.

1980: Wimbledon and the magic eye

There was never a dull moment with Ilie Năstase. Walking across centre court in his first round match at Wimbledon in June 1980, the Romanian had his eyes firmly set on a box positioned at the side of the court. He bent down to examine the device, the crowd tittering as Năstase continued to entertain.

This was no ordinary box. In fact, it was a £2,000 machine installed in an attempt to improve officiating in tennis, an early example of technology in a sport, tasked with eliminating any controversial decisions. But as we have found out with the 2025 move away from line judges, initially not everyone was impressed.

1986: England v India Second Test

A year is a long time in English cricket. Take the end of the 20th century as a prime example of the fluctuating fortunes of the national team. In the summer of 1998, England celebrated a rare five-Test series victory over South Africa. A year later, new skipper Nasser Hussain was being booed on the balcony at the Oval after losing to New Zealand.

That series defeat against the Kiwis saw England sink to the bottom of the unofficial world standings. Fast forward a year and Hussain was being soaked in champagne at the same ground as England won the Wisden Trophy against the West Indies for the first time since 1969. You never quite knew what to expect from the English cricket team from one summer to the next.

1984/85: Nottingham Forest v Manchester United

Frustration by Manchester United. Since 1967 the club had tried and failed to win the Division One title, the wait not aided by the success of rivals Liverpool. As the years rolled by and the eighties arrived, the scars became deeper with every false dawn. 

The 1983/84 season was a prime example of the varying emotions experienced by United fans at the time. Going toe to toe with Liverpool through almost the whole campaign, there was hope, expectation, excitement, anticipation, before the inevitable disappointment. Somehow finishing fourth in a two-horse race, United had blown a great opportunity to end the drought.

Golden goals: Paul Gascoigne (1989)

English football was facing a period of introspection during April 1989. As the world in general tried to digest the full horror of the Hillsborough disaster, the future of the national game seemed at a crossroads. Surely this was the tragic tipping point for the sport, a time for English football to get its house in order. 

For too many years the safety of spectators had been taken for granted. Crumbling stadia, perimeter fences and generally poor facilities provided a hostile environment in which to attend matches. The shocking policing of Liverpool fans at Hillsborough, shamefully covered up for decades, combined with this disregard for safety, led to a tragedy beyond comprehension. 

The Taylor Report leading to all-seater stadiums would prove critical for the future direction of the sport, but it would be the success of the national team at Italia 90 that was perhaps the turning point regarding the image of football on the pitch. One man in particular would make his mark on that tournament, yet for both player and country the future looked a little uncertain in April 1989.

Golden goals: Andy Rogers (1984)

There is nothing wrong with a fluke in sport. Cliff Thorburn will forever have a place in Crucible history, achieving the first 147 at the venue in the World Championships. But how many people will recall that the first of his 36 balls was a fluke? From good luck to good luck, mate in a little over 15 minutes of pure theatre.

Football is no different. There are numerous examples down the years of a touch of fortune playing a key part in memorable matches. Jimmy Greenhoff's winner in the 1977 FA Cup final, denying Liverpool the chance of a treble; Darren Bent's beach ball goal; Tommy Boyd in France 98; Bruno Bellone's penalty at Mexico 86.

Another example that may or may not slip under the radar depending on your age or nerd levels happened at the Baseball Ground on the evening of March 14, 1984. A significant moment in the history of Plymouth Argyle that added another chapter in their fairy tale FA Cup adventures in the 1983/84 campaign. Step forward Andy Rogers.

1980/81: Exeter's FA Cup run

Exeter City take on Nottingham Forest in the final match of the 2025 FA Cup fourth round, hoping to pull off a shock against the Premier League high flyers. With victories over Barnet, Chesterfield and Oxford United, Gary Caldwell's team have exceeded expectations in reaching the fourth round. But the current team has a lot more work to do if they want to match the achievements of the 1980/81 squad.

Promoted to Division Three in the 1976/77 season under Johnny Newman and then Bobby Saxton, Exeter consolidated their position over the next two campaigns. When Saxton made the move to Plymouth during in January 1979, new manager Brian Godfrey arrived with a solid platform to build on.

Golden goals: Keith Houchen (1985)

Think of a dramatic goal scored by Keith Houchen in the FA Cup and inevitably your mind will rewind back to May 1987, that diving header for Coventry against Tottenham, his fifth goal in Coventry's memorable cup run. But Arsenal fans can vouch for the fact that Houchen's love affair with the competition truly started just over two years earlier.

Bootham Crescent, York on January 26, 1985, was about as far removed from Houchen's Wembley exploits as you can imagine. A tight ground, a rock hard playing surface, and freezing conditions greeted Arsenal's players and supporters as third division York City awaited in the FA Cup fourth round. All the ingredients required for a giantkilling were lined up.

1987/88: Newcastle v Liverpool

Sunday September 20, 1988. The First Division season has only been in up and running for a month, yet it is hard not to arrive at a premature conclusion. For the millions of viewers watching the BBC live coverage of Liverpool's win at Newcastle, all the evidence points to the fact that the title will once again be going to Anfield.

Hindsight shows us that all the kneejerk reactions were right. Ian Rush may have departed, but Kenny Dalglish had dipped into the transfer market to add key parts to his latest machine. John Aldridge had arrived in January 1987, and with Peter Beardsley and John Barnes joining in the summer, Liverpool were well equipped to wrestle the title back from Everton.

1984 Olympics: Daley Thompson

The unthinkable was about to happen. Britain's golden boy walked to the concrete discus circle knowing that he was throwing for his life, his reputation, his dreams. It was not just the Los Angeles smog that was suffocating the athletes in the Memorial Coliseum. Daley Thompson was a man under pressure.

It all seemed like business as usual after six events in the 1984 Olympic Decathlon. Thompson had managed to build a lead over his great rival Jurgen Hingsen, stamping his authority on the competition from the start. The West German may have arrived in Los Angeles as the world record holder, but when it came to competition, there was no one like Daley.

1989 Open Championship: Mark Calcavecchia

Sunday July 23, 1989: Wayne Grady, Greg Norman and Mark Calcavecchia stand on the first tee at Royal Troon, the centre of the golfing world. For four days they have scrapped and battled, thrilled and entertained, just to get to this point. Four days, 72 holes. But now for four more.

Each man has a tale to tell. One was just a phone call away from missing out on the biggest day of his sporting life. Another would tear up the course on the Sunday, almost defying his final day odds of 25/1 to left the Claret Jug. The third would lead for over two days before stumbling at two par threes, setting up a piece of Open history.

England at Euro 88

England went to West Germany as one of the favourites to win Euro 88. What followed was a nightmare from start to finish that threatened the future of both manager and the national team.

It's not unusual for the national press to go slightly overboard when assessing the prospects of England just before a major tournament. Rightly or wrongly, many squads have departed for World Cups and European Championships with a nation expecting. Germany 2024 will see the hype ramped up to 11.

You can see why many see this as the ideal opportunity for England to end all those years of hurt. The squad Gareth Southgate has at his disposal - certainly from an attacking point of view - suggests England can go one stage better than 2021. But whatever happens, it surely has to be better than their last European Championship in Germany.

1984 Masters: Kirk Stevens' 147

Is it possible for one video on YouTube to sum up a sport at that particular point in time? Something highlighting the key components of a sporting era in one neat package, demonstrating to the uneducated just what it was like to have lived through that time. Yes seems to be the obvious answer. 

Just take football in the 1980s as a case study. Sadly there are numerous clips illustrating the impact of crowd violence on the sport and the lack of safety inside stadiums at the time. Any sporting documentary covering football in this period will inevitably include footage of hooligans, generally accompanied by the Two Tribes soundtrack.

If you wanted a similar experience with snooker then look no further than the Masters semi-final between Jimmy White and Kirk Stevens in 1984. Played at Wembley Conference Centre, here was the sport in a nutshell. A tournament sponsored by a tobacco company; a memorable match covered on BBC television during the glory days of the sport; Stevens in his white suit; two stars who would fill column inches for years to come.

1989 UK Championship: Stephen Hendry

The evening of Sunday December 3, 1989 seemed significant in the world of snooker. As a 20-year-old Stephen Hendry won the UK Championship at Preston there was an overwhelming sense that the baton of power was being passed from one great champion to the next. The end of the decade painted a worrying picture for the dominant figure of the sport in the 1980s.

Steve Davis had lost finals before. Yet this felt different. Since turning professional in 1985 Hendry had been seen as the future of snooker, the boy who could knock Davis off his perch. Winning the 1987 Grand Prix and 1989 Masters, Hendry was flying up the world rankings and justifying the hype surrounding him.

1984: Viv Richards' 189

"I think that's the greatest ODI innings," Australian skipper Pat Cummins said, regarding Glenn Maxwell's stunning unbeaten 201 against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup. "It's the best I've ever seen, probably the greatest ODI innings ever." Former New Zealand wicketkeeper and commentator Ian Smith seemed to agree. "I've never seen anything like it."

Sport naturally sets itself up for debates about the greatest or worst, be it competitor, match, series, tournament, goal, try, shot, insert as appropriate. As soon as anything happens in the sporting arena, you can be fairly confident that within minutes or hours pundits and social media experts will be discussing the merits of what we have just seen.

A Question of Sport: Princess Anne

Not all appearances involving the royal family on the BBC have been cringeworthy. Long before Prince Andrew, Pizza Express, and his revelations of being sweat free, and just prior to the toe-curlingly terrible It's a Royal Knockout, there was a television programme that managed to paint the royal family in a positive light.

Princess Anne appearing on the 200th edition of A Question of Sport was a memorable moment in so many ways. With just four channels to choose from there were many shared television experiences like this throughout the decade, as the likes of JR, Charles and Diana, Den and Angie, and Taylor and Davis attracted millions of viewers.

1987/88: Liverpool v Nottingham Forest

There are always debates relating to greatness in sport. Constant comparisons between individuals and teams from various eras spark conversations in pubs, on phone-ins and social media, as those involved dig their heels in and present evidence supporting their case. 

Arguing about the greatest football team to ever play the sport could prove tiring. Judgement is often clouded by club allegiances, recency bias, or the more mature among us refusing to believe that a team from the distant past will ever be surpassed.

Take the Liverpool team in the 1987/88 season. Surely there can be no argument that Kenny Dalglish's side were great, as they swept aside the rest of the First Division with football that seemed to be from a different planet. The last great Liverpool team of that era has to enter a competitive field as the best to hail from Anfield during the glory years.

1980 Challenge Cup final: Hull KR v Hull

Roger 'The Dodger' Millward had enjoyed a stellar rugby league career. Winning with Great Britain in Australia in 1970; captaining his country in two World Cups; skipper of Hull Kingston Rovers as the club won their first Championship for 54 years. But there was one thing missing off the CV of the 32-year-old.

Millward had never appeared in a Challenge Cup final. "It was the match that I'd waited sixteen years to play in," Millward revealed in his autobiography, in one of the three chapters dedicated to the 1980 Challenge Cup final. "It didn't arrive until my very last season - and my last ever game as a first team player."

1981 Fifth Ashes Test: Tavball

Forget Bazball. In August 1981, England needed a dash of Tavball to clinch the Ashes.

As glorious and euphoric as they were, there could be no disputing that England's wins over Australia at Headingley and Edgbaston had papered over some widening cracks. Batting frailties had been constantly exposed in the face of some excellent bowling from Dennis Lillee, Terry Alderman and Geoff Lawson. The Botham/Dilley "let's give it some humpty" approach had been a rare bright spot in a gloomy series.

Nothing emphasised England's struggles more than the number three position in their batting line-up. Bob Woolmer, Mike Brearley and David Gower had all been tried at first drop during the Ashes, with consistent results. Sadly for England, the returns were consistently poor. Just 77 runs from eight innings at an average of 9.625 highlighted that a different approach was needed. Prior to the Old Trafford Test, England turned to Tavaré.

Golden goals: Steve MacKenzie (1981)

There are moments in sporting history that are often forgotten. For all Kevin Pietersen's heroics, the contribution of Andrew Strauss on the first day of the final Ashes Test in 2005 should not be underestimated. Ian Poulter may have stolen the headlines late on Saturday during the 2012 Ryder Cup, but please remember the role played by Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald in the previous match. And then there is Gordon Smith.

Smith deserves a lot more than being the man remembered for spurning a golden opportunity to win the 1983 FA Cup for Brighton. Scoring a goal in an FA Cup final - the opener at Wembley against Manchester United - should have been the standout moment in Smith's career. Yet subsequent events will always overshadow this.