Four England fans who traveled to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and never returned home reunited last week to watch England's 4-2 victory over Croatia in Dallas. Gary Allen, Stuart Bates, David Arnold, and Garry Hardwicke were all in their early 20s when they left the UK for Mexico, and each went on to build new lives in the United States and Mexico.
Reunion at the Croatia match
Gary Allen, now 63 and living in Atlanta, and Stuart Bates, also 63 and based in Texas, met up at the match for the first time in decades. They were joined by Steve Dawson, known as Texas Steve, who had hosted them 40 years ago and became a close friend. The trio watched the game from $3,000 seats after gate-crashing a Croatian VIP box, where they enjoyed free beer and food.
Gary said: 'It was amazing to see the lads because it had certainly been a while. The place was absolutely packed around the stadium, all the bars were rammed, but once you got inside, it was just incredible.' He added: 'It is the best stadium I have ever watched England in, and they've certainly come a long way since Mexico 86.'
The Disco Firm's adventure
The group, who called themselves The Disco Firm, were mostly Wolves fans from Stourbridge and Lye, Worcester, except David Arnold, a Birmingham City fan from Solihull. They set off for Mexico with little money after losing their jobs in 1986. Garry Hardwicke even told his partner he was going out for milk and didn't return for 12 years.
During the tournament, they traveled to Monterrey and Acapulco, watching every England game until the team was eliminated by Argentina's Hand of God goal. They partied hard, with two of them convincing local women they were England players Peter Shilton and Gary Lineker.
New lives across the Atlantic
Stuart Bates, a father of four now living in Houston, Texas, recalled: 'Stourbridge in the 80s was tough, I had been working on a building site at the time and a lot of the lads had lost their jobs.' He added: 'We were watching Duran Duran videos filmed in Rio and Bowie filming in Australia, and I knew I just wanted to travel.'
Gary built a company in the sewage and drain equipment industry, turning over $20 million annually before retiring last year. Stuart found success in the car industry in Houston, while David became head of a school in Monterrey, Mexico. Garry, nicknamed Rabbit Head, worked as a painter in Atlanta and later moved to Florida, but died two years ago.
A documentary in the works
The men's Mexico adventure is now the subject of a new documentary called Lost Down Mexico Way. The reunion marked the first time Gary and Stuart had seen each other since the 1994 World Cup in the US.
