Hugh Fisher was a vital member of the Southampton FC Cup winning squad who beat Manchester United at Wembley in 1976 and it is a shame that he now needs to sell his winners medal at auction, but it is good to see that he has received a decent price for it.
Hugh Fisher did not play at Wembley on May 1st 1976 as Saints lifted the only major trophy in their history, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't a big part of the squad or for that matter his contribution to the FA Cup run that year was insignificant.
Indeed Saints were on the verge of departing the competition at the first hurdle, as the 90th minute arrived, they were 1-0 down to an Aston Villa side until Hughie popped up with a last gasp equaliser that took the tie to a replay at Villa Park 4 days later where two goals by Jim McCalliog gave Southampton a 2-1 victory after extra time.
Hughie would play in that game as well and indeed he would start every game from the 3rd round up to the semi final, he would have played in that one as well, but being the consummate professional he admitted to Lawrie McMenemy that he had a slight strain and it was decided that he was better sitting this one out on the bench.
Perhaps that cost him his place in the starting line up at Wembley, after coming back from injury at the start of the season he had missed only one game in the League and cup up to the semi at Stamford Bridge, Paul Gilchrist replaced him and took his chance in more ways than one, scoring the first goal in the 2-0 win against Crystal Palace in the 74th minute before David Peach made the game safe 5 minutes later.
Mike Channon would later claim that the ball had brushed his sock on the way in, but he was joking(I think)
So it was between Paul Gilchrist and Hughie for a place in the final, but Gilchrist got the nod and Hughie was an unused sub.
Hughie would get on the Wembley pitch a few months later, again he was sub that day, but he came on for Mel Blyth and so could lay claim to playing at Wembley for the club.
The The Daily Echo has reported that Hughie's medal has now been sold at Auction, fetching £12,000, well above the Auctioneers estimate.
I am glad for Hughie in one sense, in that this is a substantial sum, but sad for him in others, in that firstly he needed to sell the medal and secondly it will no longer be in his possession, a great memento of his time at Southampton FC