John Blackley was part of Hibernian's greatest win over city rivals Hearts, when the Easter Road side recorded a 7-0 victory at Tynecastle way back in 1973.
That result may well be eclipsed next month if Hibs can defeat their neighbours to lift the Scottish Cup.
It needn't have to be 7-0 again – although that would add a sheen to the occasion – but Pat Fenlon's side would shroud their predecessors should they beat Hearts to the cup, while simultaneously ending 110 years without success in the competition.
"A cup final win would certainly eclipse anything that's happened in the past, a Scottish Cup final win against Hearts has never happened," said Blackley, who spent two spells at Hibs spanning 12 years. "The winner would come up trumps big time. It's huge. People like myself who played in that 7-0 game would be more than happy to pass on the baton to these guys, who would make their own history.
"It's not been won in 110 years and that would be great to break that duck. I'm really pleased for the supporters, it's great for the club because it gives them something to hang on to as the last few years have been really hard going for them.
"It's great to see them in that final and it's great for the city. It should be a good day, hopefully. Hearts have had the upper hand for so long but anything can happen on the day. Hibs don't seem to be losing a great deal of goals now which is a pleasing thing, I'm keeping my fingers and other things crossed."
Much of that has been down to the performances and influence of captain James McPake, who joined Hibs on loan from Coventry City in January.
His next task will be to help the Easter Road side overcome Kilmarnock on Sunday, with the club able to strengthen their lead over bottom side Dunfermline Athletic with a win. Blackley has been impressed with McPake thus far and believes the defender will be vital if his side is to enjoy a successful end to the season.
"I think James McPake has made a massive difference," he said. "I don't get a long to many games but I watch them on television and James is such an important feature in the back four and for Hibs. He is a good organiser and motivator; he is vital for Hibs in these next few games."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article