It's not quite that long since either of them won it – the Rebels' last victory came in 1998 and Tipp's a decade later – but it is perhaps reflective of the league's supporting-star status that the second (Cork) and third-most successful hurling counties in Liam MacCarthy terms are meeting on this stage for only the sixth time.
They have contested 16 Munster finals in the intervening 65 years, winning eight apiece.
Though Tipp are actually joint top of the league honour roll, on 19 titles with Kilkenny, while Cork share third place with Limerick on 14.
A newspaper advertisement for the game
The National Hurling League season began on 11 October 1959 and concluded with the final on Sunday 1 May 1960.
What else was happening at the time? Some stories seem wearingly familiar and others quaint.
In the Irish Press newspaper, there was confirmation of a plan to restore the long-abandoned Kilmainham Gaol ('Preservation Scheme for Historic Jail') and a book review headlined 'America, hope of the world – or nothing?'
An advertisement for CIE, now the umbrella group for Irish Rail, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann, declared: "In the spring a woman's fancy gently tuns to the thoughts of hats..." before developing the theme that they had "a hatful of holidays" on offer.
The Cork (now Irish) Examiner reported that three people had been killed by police in Istanbul, where students were protesting against the suspension of an opposition MP, and that five men had been arrested in Manchester for allegedly trying to sell arms to a policeman posing as an IRA member.
The Examiner didn't preview the hurling, with the majority of its two pages of sport on Friday and Saturday devoted to the weekend's racing, though it did mention Archbishop Morris of Cashel receiving a solid silver cross from the GAA, in recognition of him agreeing to become its new patron.
"Whoever wins or loses, thousands have come to see Christy Ring" - Michael O'Hehir
All-Ireland champions in 1958, Tipperary had won the subsequent league and were back in the final after topping one of two six-team groups (1A and 1B), a format that the GAA more or less revisited from 2012-24.
However, Cork, who had lost the 1959 Munster final to Waterford, were regarded as slight favourites. Just like this weekend, the decider was held in Ballintemple, though at Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh's ancestor, the Cork Athletic Grounds.
Writing in the Irish Press - under the headlines 'Cork taken to conquer Tipp' and 'Home forwards can dethrone champions' - Mick Dunne, future RTÉ GAA correspondent and father of Eileen, expressed concern over the availability of two key Rebels, Denis Murphy (who did start but was substituted) and Mick Quane, though said they had "come through the stronger section of the league" and "possess a stronger attack than Tipperary".
Under the headline: "Cork may win: Tipperary's hopes in ground hurling" (Younger readers, ask your elders what that is) The Irish Independent's John D Hickey mused that "No-one can feel really confident about the worth of either side" but hazarded that "Unless the Tipperary inside trio do infinitely [better] than ever before, Cork should finish on top in what should be a gripping game".
The Tipperary Star, above an ad promising a "gleaming new" bottled gas cooker in your kitchen for "only £3.9.6d down" (about €10.50 in today's money, or €256 adjusted for inflation), had the tentatively optimistic headline "A Tipperary win is foreseeable".
In a message that this weekend's underdogs might appreciate, the author 'Winter Green' suggests "We do not delude ourselves into thinking that our chances are rosy but the tradition of the county is to surprise when are chances are far from rosy. So our much-maligned forwards may rise to the occasion..."
In another enduring opinion, the writer describes the venue as being "rather unpopular with motorists", due to its perceived difficulty of access.
The front page story in The Irish Press on Monday was Pope John XXIII's address on St Joseph's Day, the feast of the worker, which was apparently marked by a May Day parade of an estimated 20,000 people in Belfast.
Page 1 of the Irish Independent at that time was entirely given over to death notices and ads but the Pope's call for improvements in working conditions and warnings about "mistaken ideologies", presumably communism, also received prominence, as did rehearsals for Princess Margaret's upcoming wedding and a big crowd showing up in Knock for the "official opening ceremonies of the pilgrimage season".
The Examiner also reported on the Soviet defence minister Marshal Malinovsky warning of the forces at his disposal, under the headline 'Russia still has crushing power'.
The match itself exceeded Tipperary expectations, in front of a crowd variously reported as 28,000-30,000 – some of whom were standing on the roof of the metal stand.
The visitors, whose willingness to travel for the fixture had been criticised, fought back from a 2-05 to 1-05 deficit shortly after half-time and retained the lead to win by four points, 2-15 to 3-08, the great Christy Ring's third goal coming near the end of the 60 minutes.
Jimmy Doyle, who would go on to win five more Celtic crosses, top-scored with nine points. Ringy, just six months shy of his 40th birthday, bagged 3-04 in all.
As commentator Michael O'Hehir noted: "Whoever wins or loses, thousands have come to see Christy Ring."
Rampaging Tipp retain title (Irish Press)
"While they [Tipp] owe thanks to many for this latest victory, they are indebted to none more deeply than to half-forwards Jimmy Doyle, Liam Devaney and Donie Nealon," wrote Mick Dunne.
"This dashingly elusive trio sparkled in a victory that showed up the immaturity of some of the Cork side.
"He [Ring] had Mickey Byrne [Tipperary corner-back] beaten at every turn, but while Ring posed a major threat in every move, he could not bring the League title back to Cork on the almost negligible assistance he got from those around him yesterday."
Tipperary well on top in second half (Cork Examiner)
"Had Christy Ring managed once again to save Cork's face, it would have been a glorious achievement for the Glen star but most unjust to a Tipperary side who were winners all the way.
"For a game so filled with promise it was most disappointing.
"[Jimmy] Doyle can be named as their top forward but one must go to their half-backs to find the root of their domination... John Doyle and Mick Burns secured the wings for Tipp, while Tony Wall, after a doubtful first half against hard-hitting Terry Kelly, opened up and did not look back."
Tipperary's power hurling too much for Cork (Irish Independent)
"... A final that yielded fare of Munster championship splendour in the first half, but fell away in the second period, as the Premier County got well on top, primarily due to the brilliance of midfielder Tom Ryan and half-forwards Jimmy Doyle and Liam Devaney," wrote John D Hickey.
"This was one occasion when even the sheer hurling sorcery of the great Ring couldn't save Cork. He finished with 3-04 but on this occasion the opposition had a man – Jimmy Doyle – whose presence was as great a cause of worry to the Cork defenders as was Ring's wand a source of infinite anxiety to the winners.
"One thing I learned from this match was that it is but folly to imagine that Ring is as other men, in regards carrying his years or in hurling wizardry."
Bright future for young Ring, Tipperary surprised their own followers (Tipperary Star)
The following Friday, the local newspaper was still giddy after the victory, saying that their men had "laid the Cork 'bogey' on its ear good and proper"
"For the Cork fans it was a bitter pill to swallow that on their home ground, a Cork team should go down rather ingloriously to a Tipp side that they felt they would swamp in the end."
A tongue-in-cheek tribute to the brilliant Ring read: "Top scorer for the losers was Christy with a grand total of three goals and four points, and on Sunday's performance it looks as if there is a bright hurling future in front of this boy, of forty odd summers."
The sides met again in that year's Munster final (31 July), Tipperary winning a tighter contest 4-13 to 4-11. They went on to beat Wexford in the All-Ireland, retained the title in '61 and made it four in five years when going back to back again in 64-65, the last time the county managed the feat.
Eight-time All-Ireland winner Ring played his last championship game for Cork in 1962, aged 41. The Rebels did regain Liam MacCarthy in 1966, beating the Limerick side who had dethroned Tipp on the way, but recorded a solitary championship victory against their rivals in the decade, the 1969 Munster final, following which they were runners-up to Kilkenny.
Though the balance of power shifted again after that as Tipperary twice went long periods (1973-87 and 1991-2006) in between championship victories. Cork lead 44-40 overall in that race and 3-2 in the league final tally.
