Kevin Moran could have been destined to be remembered as the answer to an obscure sports trivia question: Which player won titles at the highest level of Gaelic football and association football and played in the World Cup finals?All that changed on May 18, 1985, just before half time in the FA Cup final between Everton and Manchester United, who meet again in the Premier League this weekend.
Peter Reid, the Everton midfield player was break away when United international defender Moran brought him down.
Referee Peter Willis brandished a red card and, in doing so, made history and ensured Kevin Moran was the subject of a very different trivia question: Who was the first player sent off in an FA Cup final?
Until that day, Moran was better known for being a superstar in two sports. He was a hero in Dublin after winning two national titles for his hometown club in Gaelic Football, before making the switch to the other code when he joined Manchester United in 1978.
The uncompromising defender was a member of the Reds' FA Cup winning side in 1983 and played an integral role in helping Ron Atkinson's team reach their second FA Cup final in three years.
After that day in May, he was destined to be remembered as the first player sent off in an FA Cup Final, although he has always maintained he was harshly treated, a claim that TV pictures tend to back up.
He said: "I didn't think it was a foul. I had no intention of pulling Peter Reid down and felt I never touched him.
"I went into the tackle from the side and his momentum flicked him over, as if I'd clattered him. I couldn't believe it when I got a straight red."
Despite playing with 10 men for more than half of the game, United ran out 1-0 winners against a strong Everton side bidding to complete an unprecedented treble.
With the scores level after 90 minutes, Norman Whiteside netted a 110th minute winner to secure a memorable victory and prevent Everton adding the FA Cup to the League Championship and European Cup Winners' Cup which they won.
It is difficult for younger football fans to appreciate just how significant Moran's red card was at the time. When United and Everton meet on Saturday, there is a very good chance that one of the teams will finish with ten men.
After all, only two weeks ago, a Premier League record was set when eight players were dismissed over a single weekend. In total, 24 reds have been brandished in the 117 Premier League games to date - a rate of one in every 4.8 matches.
A complete re-interpretation of the rule book, not to mention the introduction of certain new laws, have led to the current status quo.
A defender like Moran would have had the talent to adapt to the new way of playing football but it is safe to assume he could not have operated in quite the same way he did in the 1980's.
But, in 1985, a red card was a hugely noteworthy event especially when, as in the case of Moran, it came in the most high-profile fixture of the season.
The teams at Wembley were:
Everton: Southall, Stevens, Van Den Hauwe, Ratcliffe, Mountfield, Reid, Steven, Bracewell, Sharp, Gray, Sheedy.
Manchester United: Bailey, Gidman, Albiston (Duxbury), Whiteside, McGrath, Moran, Robson, Strachan, Hughes, Stapleton, Olsen.
