Fred Dewhurst was the first man to lift the FA Cup as Preston North End captain in 1889 at the Kennington Oval in front of 27,000 people, as The Lilywhites comfortably beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 to complete an invincible season.
William Sudell was the manager to guide North End to this historic achievement, and he did lead Preston to the FA Cup final the year before too, beating Hyde United 26-0 on the way which still stands as the biggest win in the competition.
Preston were to be runners up two further times in 1922 and 1937 before Tom Smith would become the second and most recent captain to raise the famous FA Cup trophy aloft for the club in 1938. Further heartache would come at Wembley finals in 1954, and 1964 and two years later would be the last time Preston would reach the final eight of the competition.
Until now.
59 years later Preston North End find themselves in the business end of the most famous competition in world football once more. A memorable victory over Lancashire rivals Burnley 4 weeks ago was an occasion to savour and the appetite has been whetted for the quarter-final ever since.
In those 59 years there has been little to celebrate as a Preston North End fan. A whole generation of fans have not come close to any sort of success that was achieved by the club in the infancy of its existence.
Three league titles have occurred amongst six promotions in that time, but coupled with six relegations, Preston find themselves in a similar position in the league pyramid to that of the 1966 side.
Fans have not even been able to witness just one season in the top flight in all that time, but there is still a strong base of loyal supporters who could never imagine even contemplating following another team.
Many times I’m sure fans have questioned why they put themselves through season after season of false hope and disappointment. But quite simply the answer is ‘But what if….’. Football is a magical game and despite the odds not being in your favour, anything can happen.
The tough times make the great ones even sweeter, and that’s what brings the fans of the hard working city of Preston together. Yes there are more glamorous parts of the world, and more successful football teams, but this is our town, and this is our club.
We share so much history and passion for the football club that unites us, and whilst we are so proud of past achievements we want to write new ones. Rather than just read about previous success, we want to be there to witness greatness.
The great Bill Shankly was in that 1938 FA Cup winning side, and the Aston Villa fans will be in his stand on Sunday hoping to see their team stop Preston North End from writing more history.
But as the clock hits 1:30pm on Sunday afternoon there will be one famous quote from Shankly that will be ringing true for many North End fans in Deepdale in that moment.
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more important than that.“
So over to you Messrs Heckingbottom, McCall, Whiteman, Osmajic and Thordarson. History awaits yourselves and your teammates. By now you should have an idea of how special this football club is. By the end of the quarter final hopefully it has provided a moment for you and every Preston fan that will never ever be forgotten.