When the Jacksonville Jaguars play the Atlanta Falcons on October 1 at Wembley Stadium in London, it will mark the 43^rd time the NFL has held a regular-season or preseason game on British soil.

The first time was 40 years ago today (August 6, 1983), when the Cardinals met the Minnesota Vikings in the Global Cup. It was the brainchild of John Marshall, a former Hollywood screenwriter whose International Promotions Limited company sponsored the exhibition game. The Super Bowl had been televised in England for the first time the previous January—viewers stayed up into the wee hours of the morning because of the time difference—and Marshall believed there was interest to be mined in American football.

The Global Cup was played on a Saturday. The Cardinals, who had been practicing for a few weeks at training camp at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, flew out of St. Louis on a Global Airlines 707 charter that departed Lambert Field at around 7 p.m. Thursday and arrived at London’s Gatwick Airport at 10 a.m. Friday London time—some nine hours later. 

“It was a long, long, long flight,” former Big Red guard Joe Bostic recalled recently. 

The Cardinals’ traveling party numbered about 100, including 64 players. “We were sardines in a can,” quarterback Neil Lomax told the Post-Dispatch. Defensive end Al “Bubba” Baker described the flight as “something you do to somebody who commits a capital crime.”

“The big guys were complaining that they didn’t have very much room,” recalled Willard Harrell, a 5-8 running back who managed to climb into the overhead luggage bins and stretch out briefly.

Upon arrival in London, the team immediately bused to Wembley Stadium for a 30-minute workout and interviews afterward. When Cardinals staff members met with stadium officials to discuss their needs for game day, one of the things they requested was room in the press box for their coaches. At first, this confused the Brits; you see, in London coaches are buses. 

During his press conference before the game, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle said, “We don’t think we can export the NFL to Europe. But perhaps, on occasions, we can have a game here and develop some interest.”

Tickets for the game ranged from five pounds ($7.50) for standing room only, to 15 pounds ($22.50) for the majority of seat, to 50 pounds ($75) for seats along the 50-yard line. The game attracted 32,847 fans to Wembley, whose football configuration had been set up for 80,000.

The Wembley locker rooms were so small that both the Cardinals and Vikings had to dress for the game at hotels. Kickoff was 5:30 p.m. Saturday London time (11:30 a.m. St. Louis time) and the game was televised in St. Louis by KSDK Channel 5.

“I can tell you that in St. Louis, there is a very great deal of interest in this game,” said Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill told the London media. “It’s being televised back to St. Louis, and players always want to play well when they know their friends and families will be watching.”

The game, which the Vikings won, 28-10, wasn’t particularly memorable. The Cardinals rushed 18 times for 46 yards, the quarterbacks completed 16 of 31 passes for 147 yards and three interceptions—“My arm felt dead,” Lomax said. “The jet lag was terrible.”—and were sacked eight times. Neil O’Donoghue kicked a 39-yard field goal, but missed attempts from 32, 43 and 44 yards. The Big Red’s biggest offensive play was a 48-yard pass from Lomax to Roy Green. Rookie defensive back Cedric Mack intercepted a Tommy Kramer pass and returned it 68 yards, setting up the only Cardinals touchdown, a 12-yard pass from Rusty Lisch to running back Randy Love.

“The thing that was really weird was the fans (see story below),” Bostic said. “Some of them would start cheering, and then the whole stadium would erupt. We would be walking back to the huddle (after a play) and somebody would start yelling, and (there would be) this whole crescendo, like you might have scored a touchdown. You were like, What the heck is this all about?”

Off the field, Bostic recalled how hard it was to get a cold beer in London, where pubs and restaurants traditionally serve their lager at warmer temperatures than in the U.S.

“You’re looking at the menu of beer and I don’t recall any Bud Lite or Budweiser or Miller,” he said. “It was a lot of that thick, dark stuff. We’d order one and they’d hand us a bottle and it was at room temperature. ‘That’s all we serve here.’ ”

When the players asked for a cold beer, they were handed a container with a few beers in four or five inches of tap water. 

“We (finally) got them turned around,” Bostic said. “They found some ice and put it in a tub. We shoved a bunch of beers in there and it was somewhat drinkable.” 

Sunday was a day off for the Cardinals, many of whom rested and tried to recover from the jet lag. Others toured the city, making the usual stops at Buckingham Palace or the Tower of London, or went riding on the Thames River.

“Elois Grooms, Lee Nelson and I took a train to the coastal city of Brighton,” former Big Red wide receiver Pat Tilley recalled. “When we got there, we went to the beach and came to a nude beach. Lee and I walked way over to the sides of it, but Elois walked right down the middle. Everybody looked at Elois like, ‘Oh, there’s a non-naked guy.’ They were gawking at him.”

Thousands of American military men who were stationed throughout Europe were in attendance for the game and most seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

“Everybody was crying about nothing to do in England so we chartered three busloads and came down,” said Kenneth Fadden Jr., a U.S. civilian working at the Royal Air Force base at Laken Heath north of London. “We’re all fired up and enjoying ourselves to the max.”

“But the hot dogs are awful and the seats are overpriced at 15 pounds ($22.50),” Fadden said.

A couple of the local U.S. Air Force bases even provided cheerleaders for the game.

‘It’s kind of exciting,” Marye Jeff, 19, of San Bernardino, California said. “We’re such a small base. I can’t get over everybody asking me for my autograph and my picture. I never dreamed I’d cheerlead at an NFL game.”

The local fans in attendance were enthusiastic, although a bit befuddled by American football traditions.

“They aren’t going to introduce them all, are they?” said Guy Horchover, 19, as the announcer gave the names of the starting teams. ‘It’s rather good, isn’t it, when they’re actually playing, but it’s bloody annoying with all those stops between plays.”

“It takes them an hour to play 20 minutes. And why is the referee always dropping yellow dusters on the field?”

Cera Wynne, 21, a rugby player, was fascinated by the hugging going on in the end zone after the touchdown.

“They’re so friendly. When they hit each other, they pat each other on the bums. But I think it’s a bit over the top all those guys hugging and kissing each other after the score.”

Londoner Martin Winston said he thought the game was “exciting” and very entertaining.

“It’s a heck of a lot simpler than I thought from watching it on TV. I’ve been at Wembley for the Football Association Cup finals but this was just as great. The only difference is the crowd’s more civilized.”

But not everybody was so crazy about this American game.

“All those people out there with big shoulders just running into each other and hiding the ball under there while they run,” said Chief Inspector Bernard Lockhurst, traffic coordinator at the game. “The clock stops, they huddle, shout out numbers, clap hands, and then they start hitting each other all over again. I mean, is that all football is about?”