13th December 1954: Wolves are declared Champions of the World
On the 25th of November 1953, the English and Hungarian national sides played what was later referred to as ‘The Game of the Century’. Hungary walked away as 6-3 victors against England, who for just the second time, were beaten at home. So, there was a particular sense of interest when Hungarian side Budapest Honvéd came to Wolverhampton for a ‘floodlight friendly’ on the 13th of December 1954 with the game being broadcasted live on the BBC, and attended by around 55,000 spectators.
Stan Cullis’ side ran out 3-2 winners after coming back from a two-goal deficit at half time against a Honvéd side filled with superstars of the game including Ferenc Puskás. The result led to national media hailing the Wolves side as ‘Champions of the World’. The game gave French newspaper outlet L’Equipe the idea for an organised European club competition – the European Cup which would debut in the 1955/1956 season.
15th December 1888: First Black Country derby
Wolves’ first Football League game against local rivals West Bromwich Albion came on the 15th of December 1888. Wolves were 2-1 winners on the day with John Brodie opening the scoring. Wolves would complete the double over their local rivals later in the season, with a 3-1 away win coming at Stoney Lane on the 5th of January 1889.
13th December 1986: Steve Bull scores first goal for Wolves
Steve Bull’s first of 306 goals for the club came as the only goal in a 1-0 win against Hartlepool United on the 13th of December 1986. Bully would go on to score fifteen goals in his first season in the Fourth Division, helping Wolves to the play-off final against Aldershot Town, a tie which they would lose 3-0 on aggregate.
27th December 2019: Wolves complete double over defending Premier League champions for the first time
In a game the-day-after Boxing Day, Molineux played host to a visit from defending Premier League champions, Manchester City. Wolves recovered from a 2-0 deficit to beat Man. City 3-2, with a last-minute goal coming from Matt Doherty. Earlier in the season, Wolves had travelled to the Etihad Stadium and beaten Pep Guardiola’s team 2-0 thanks to two goals from Adama Traoré. This was the first time Wolves had done the double over the defending Premier League champions and only the second time Pep Guardiola had been beaten home and away in his managerial career.
-Louis Sharma
