The Enforcers — Limited Edition NFT Collection Celebrating the Hard Men of Football. Part 5
Player 5 — Wilf Copping
WILF COPPING
In the days when a clean-cut appearance was the fashion of the day, Wilf Copping went against the trend and fielded stubble which added to his already tough, rugged reputation. With his crooked nose and a propensity for bone-crunching tackles, Copping’s scowl was enough to make any opponent wince before a game. Yet, as is the case with many of these hard-men, he was a fair and sporting-like character who possessed excellent ball control and whose pinpoint passes could change the game on the counterattack.
He began his career at Leeds United in 1929 and remained there for five seasons clocking up 162 appearances. In 1934 he signed for Arsenal where he helped them win the FA Cup in 1935/36 and two league titles. It was during his time at Arsenal that Copping played in (and won man of the match) the infamous ‘Battle of Highbury’ game — a particularly violent fixture between England and Italy. According to Stanley Matthews: “The game got under way and from the very first tackles, I was left in no doubt that this was going to be a rough house of a game. For the first quarter of an hour there might just as well have not been a ball on the pitch as far as the Italians were concerned. They were like men possessed, kicking anything and everything that moved bar the referee. The game degenerated into nothing short of a brawl and it disgusted me.” Eddie Hapgood later claimed that “ Wilf Copping enjoyed himself that afternoon. For the first time in their lives the Italians were given a sample of real honest shoulder charging, and Wilf’s famous double-footed tackle was causing them furiously to think.” Stanley Matthews added: “Just before half-time, Wilf Copping hit the Italian captain Monti with a tackle that he seemed to launch from some where just north of Leeds. Monti went up in the air like a rocket and down like a bag of hammers and had to leave the field with a splintered bone in his foot.” England won the game 3–2.
Copping eventually returned to Leeds 1939 before being stationed in North Africa when WWII broke out. Famous quote: “The first man in a tackle never gets hurt” — certainly not to be messed with! 20 England caps.
The Enforcers Limited Edition Series from Vintage Niftys
6 vintage renowned hard men of football start the match clean and untouched, looking as if butter wouldn’t melt! But we don’t want them to stay like that do we, no sir! Blend them with headbutts, punches and brutal tackles and get them SENT OFF! Featuring a rich blend path and additional ‘side’ blends there should be enough to keep the players busy and to keep you out of trouble!
The Enforcers is a limited set of collectible NFT’s celebrating some of football’s legendary hardmen. Start with the base player card and blend them with ‘attribute cards’ to create bruised and battered versions of themselves which ultimately leads them to an overnight stay at Her Majesty’s pleasure! That’s right, locked up in a cell for the night! There are 6 base players Frank Barson, Willie Woodburn, Norman Hunter, Ron “Chopper” Harris, Wilf Copping and Tommy Smith, each with their own biography on the B side.
Dropping Saturday 29th January 17:00 UTC
Vintage Niftys, The Enforcers limited edition series is dropping on Neftyblocks on January 29th 17:00UTC.
Whitelist drop for the first 24hrs then open to the hordes after. To qualify for the drop collectors must hold the Vintage Niftys Season Ticket NFT which is included in the Welcome Whitelist Pack (dropped 20th November). Welcome Whitelist Packs can be found here on AtomicHub.
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