Charlie Hurley's European debut on a night when England kicked off its European adventures
On a night when the Wembley floodlights were finally plugged in to allow the first English side to play in Europe a new teenage star in Charlie Hurley was born. Still a teenager, Charlie Hurley’s form for Millwall was so good during the first few months of the 1955-56 season that despite playing for a Third Division South club he was picked as part of the London XI side that became the first English team to play in a European competition, the Inter-City Fairs Cup. In Scotland, Hibernian, by entering the European Cup, became the first British club side to play in Europe. The London XI game took place at Wembley against Frankfurt on Wednesday October 26th 1955 when the floodlights at the stadium were also employed for a match for the first time. The line-up gives some idea of just how good Hurley already was at just nineteen: Ted Ditchburn [Tottenham], Peter Sillett [Chelsea], Stan Willemse [Chelsea], Danny Blanchflower [Tottenham], Charlie Hurley [Millwall], Cyril Hammond ...