Paul Miller was a young apprentice watching from the stands. Both men later recalled the night to Football Presse, and neither have forgotten it.
There were easier opponents to take the mickey out of than Leeds United in the 1970s. Alfie Conn knew that. He did it anyway.
On 28 April 1975, Tottenham Hotspur faced Leeds at White Hart Lane knowing they needed a victory to guarantee their survival in the old First Division. They were 3–1 ahead and, for a while, the evening was going beautifully. Leeds were champions, but they also had a European Cup final against Bayern Munich coming up.
Then Conn sat on the ball.
Asked by Football Presse what had possessed him to do it, the former Tottenham and Rangers midfielder smiled at the memory. It had not been planned.
"It was the last game of the season, and we had to beat Leeds to stay in the old First Division. It was never planned. It was something that happened.
"The ball got played out to me and I went, 'I'm sitting on it.' And I'm waving the full-back to come and merely saying, 'I'm going to go by you again.'"
It was pure Alfie Conn: cheeky, confident and prepared to take on his opponent. But as he got back to his feet, he looked towards the Tottenham goal and saw Pat Jennings shaking his head.
"And then I said to myself, 'What have you done?'"
Conn had good reason to wonder. Leeds were not a team you wanted to provoke, particularly when your own side were fighting for their lives.
Peter Lorimer scored a spectacular goal from around 30 yards, and suddenly the score was 3–2.
"We're fighting for our lives, you know. So it could have went the other way. I would have got beat that game. I'd have got slaughtered."
Paul Miller remembers it just as vividly. He was a young apprentice at Tottenham, watching from the stands as the match threatened to turn.
"We were 3–1 up and cruising, right? Cruising. Leeds had a European Cup final three to four days later. They didn't want to get injured. They were taking it easy on us.
"Leeds are a lot better team than us, by the way. Different class. They'd just won the league as well."
Then Conn decided to have his fun.
"And Alfie, for some unknown reason, sat on the ball. Well, then Leeds came out and played."
Miller's account of what followed is not quite so amusing.
"They kicked s*** out of us and they got back a goal. And then I think in the end Don Revie said to them, 'Quiet, let's take it, remember we've got a game soon, lads, leave it.'
"But for 20 minutes they absolutely pulverised us. And only Pat in goal kept us in it."
The difference between the two memories is striking. Conn remembers the moment he realised he might have gone too far. Miller remembers watching a comfortable Tottenham performance turn into a fight for survival all over again.
And the players were not about to forgive Conn simply because he had entertained the crowd.
"The lads slaughtered Alfie after, slaughtered him," Miller told Football Presse. "I think he was close to being throttled. They were not happy with him at all.
"Trust me, you wouldn't be. Why would you? You know, we're cruising, everything's nice and easy, and he sits on the bloody ball taking the p*** out of Leeds. You can't take the mickey out of Leeds, of all teams in that era."
Miller was emphatic about the quality and reputation of the opposition.
"Physically and ability-wise, one of the best teams in the world. And we weren't. We were struggling or going down, maybe."
It was a young apprentice's view of the game, but it was also the view of a club desperate to avoid relegation. Tottenham had no margin for carelessness. Conn's little performance had given Leeds a reason to raise their game, and his team-mates were left to deal with it.
For Conn, the memory has never been separated from the danger of the situation.
"Against Leeds of all teams," he reflected to Football Presse, recalling how Tottenham supporters would bring up the incident when discussing his career.
"Everybody, that's the first thing they mention, you sitting on the ball. Sitting on the ball. Leeds."
It was not a goal that supporters remembered first, or a particular pass or tackle. It was Conn perched on the ball, inviting a Leeds player to come and take it off him, with the fate of Tottenham Hotspur hanging over the evening.
The irony was that Conn would have another go at the same trick. The Saturday before the Leeds match, playing against Arsenal at Highbury, he had sat on the ball after the referee stopped the game and gave it to him.
"I says, 'I'll just have a wee seat.' So I sat on top of the ball."
One of the Arsenal players apparently saw the funny side, telling Conn, "Alfie, we are finished. I'll get a shot of you doing it as well."
But Highbury was a different situation. Against Leeds, Tottenham were hanging on to their First Division status, and Conn had picked the moment to wind up one of the most formidable sides in the country.
Fortunately for him, Tottenham held on. They won 4–2, with Conn scoring the fourth goal, and secured their place in the First Division.
The result made the story. The reaction in the dressing room made it even better.
Miller has never forgotten the anger. Conn has never forgotten Jennings shaking his head. And Tottenham supporters have never forgotten the sight of Alfie sitting on the ball against Leeds.
For one evening, with everything at stake, Conn decided to have a laugh. His team-mates were left hoping the joke would not cost them their place in the top flight.
It didn't. But, as Paul Miller made clear, Alfie heard about it afterwards.