Donald Trump famously presided over the draw for the 1991/92 Rumbelows Cup quarter-final draw, but the programme editor actually wanted Woody Allen or Robert De Niro prior to landing the now American president.
In a season when the competition went a bit mad, with the Rumbelows Sprint Challenge - where players from Football League teams competed against each other in 100m races - bolted on as well, getting Trump to draw four matches seemed inconceivable prior to it actually happening.
With League Cup draws screened on ITV’s Saturday lunchtime Saint & Greavsie show, the pair being in New York that weekend to be in attendance at Madison Square Garden for the draw for 1994 World Cup qualifying meant that there was an opportunity to get a special guest for the Rumbelows Cup quarter-final draw. They didn't have their eyes on Trump, however, with programme editor, Richard Worth, later revealing to FourFourTwo.
Donald Trump only drew the League Cup quarter-final after a chance encounter
“I told Jim Rosenthal, ‘Why don’t we get an iconic New York name? Let’s find Woody Allen and do the draw in black and white – or Robert De Niro’,” Worth said.
Neither was available, but Worth spotted Trump at a reception and after a conversation with his English secretary, who recognised Saint and Greavsie, they asked if Trump could conduct the Rumbelows Cup draw at Trump Tower. Bafflingly, he agreed.
“Jimmy Greaves will draw the home teams and Donald Trump will draw the away teams,” Football League secretary David Dent declared, deadpan as ever, sitting between the unlikely duo on the 15th floor.
Dent would later call Trump “a normal guy” who had no idea what was going on, nor “what a draw for a cup competition meant”. When Greaves quipped, “I haven’t seen a boardroom like this since I was in Doug Ellis’ at Aston Villa”, Trump chuckled politely.
“I love soccer; I played in high school,” Trump explained. “We’re having the World Cup soon – it’ll be interesting to see how it catches on in the United States. I see the United States won the World Cup for women. That’s pretty good.”
Trump helped to draw out Tottenham vs Norwich, Swindon or Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest or Southampton, Peterborough vs Middlesbrough, and the big one: Leeds vs Manchester United. “You don’t realise what you’ve done…” said Greaves after the last tie was pulled out. “That’s a biggie; that sounds like the game I want to go to,” smiled Trump.
The future POTUS was presented with a Saint & Greavsie mug, then the bunch of strangers in front of him were ushered out of his boardroom and he probably never thought of the Rumbelows Cup ever again. Donald: Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the final.
