Buddy Holly (having died only weeks earlier) and Elvis Presley were fighting it out at the top of the charts, while Kerry and Derry were about to do battle in their first NFL Final meeting. Yes, you read correctly... these NFL Finals between the Oakleafers and the Kingdom also existed in 1959.
Derry were fresh from defeating Kerry in the 1958 All-Ireland semi-final, while Kerry, God love them, had yet to win their 19th All-Ireland title.
There was no M1 motorway in those days, and there is no record of reduced ticket prices for the final, but 32,405 fans witnessed Derry suffer a three point defeat (2-8 to 1-8).
Disappointing I'm sure it was. But things got even worse two years later when the sides met again in the NFL decider. 151 less people turned up at Croke Park than in 1959, but I'm reliably informed that (the great) Mick O'Connell ran the show for the Kingdom from midfield as his side romped to a 20 (twenty) point victory (4-15 to 1-6).
By this stage, Elvis was busy moaning about a wooden heart, but you can bet the Derry players felt a whole lot worse.
Last year (that's 2008 folks), barely 10'000 fans managed to drag themselves to Parnell Park to witness the third NFL Final between the sides. It's been swiftly granted 'classic' status in Derry, as the Oakleafers fought back from a 2-4 to 0-3 deficit after 25 minutes to win by four points (2-13 to 2-09).
It made up for those defeats in '59 and '61, but as Kerry speak of revenge this week in order to gain motivation, it appears that Derry could do with another win themselves to help balance things a little more evenly.
Is a twenty point victory too much to ask?
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