Football, as we know it today, was invented by well meaning public schoolboys, who turned a brutal folk game into a skilled an disciplined art form, most likely as a bulwark against the perils of masturbation. The FA Cup itself was invented by Old Harrovian Charles Alcock who had seen a knockout competition for the honour of being the “Cock House” (possibly an allusion to aforesaid self-abuse) while at school. The inaugural competition attracted mainly southern clubs, including such legendary footballing luminaries as Hampstead Heathens, Reigate Priory and Hitchin. These early Cup finals were deliberately scheduled before noon, so that the chaps involved in the match could then dash down to the banks of the Thames to enjoy the Boat Race while sipping gingerly on a celebratory Pimms No. 1.
The competition’s earliest hero was A.F. Kinnaird (later Lord Kinnaird), who played for Wanderers and Old Etonians and who was fabled for his dress sense of long white trousers, quartered cap and flowing red beard, predating Spandau Ballet by nearly a century. In total, he appeared in nine Cup finals, winning five Winners’ medals, and played as both goalkeeper and outfield player. His exuberance was legendary. At the 1882 FA Cup Final, he was so overcome with emotion; he stood on his head in front of the stands. Those Victorians were mad, you know.
1882 was a turning point in FA Cup history for another reason, too. Even though Old Etonians won the final, they defeated Blackburn Rovers. This was the first time a northern team had reached the final and an indication of the popularity of football among the working class who had now found something to occupy themselves in between not washing, having too many children and waving their hats in the air unnecessarily.
Perhaps the greatest team of this era was The Corinthians (subsequently known as Corinthian Casuals, who still play today). Formed by N. Lane Jackson in 1882, Corinthians was entirely comprised of public school and university men. They developed into such a strong team that they twice fielded the entire side to play Wales, though this could conceivably be related to the fact that England played those games at Corinthians’ home ground.
For some reason, however, The Corinthians refused to compete in the FA Cup for 40 years – despite beating Cup Winners in friendly games – though this may have something to do with their fabled (and patently ridiculous) sportsman-like ethics. On conceding penalties, for example, the goalkeeper would stand to one side and allow the penalty-taker to score unhindered. Bruce Grobbelaar more recently reintroduced this method, though his reasons were perhaps less driven by the Corinthian spirit than by Asian men with Swiss bank accounts.
These days, it’s sad to report that public schoolboys are a rarity on our football fields (with the exception of young Frank Lampard Jr.) and the lack of discipline, sportsmanship and interestingly-shaped moustaches have never been more keenly felt. By the time of the Football League’s formation, northern teams began to dominate the competition and Preston North End won the League without losing a game and then went on to take the FA Cup without conceding a goal. They were known as The Invincibles, something no one could have accused them of over the past forty years.
In the early years of the Cup, crowds were relatively small mainly due to the lack of decent quality stadia. Up until 1885, 8,000 was the largest attendance, though by 1893 45,000 attended Wolves’ victory over Everton at Fallowfield in Manchester and, once ensconced in Crystal Palace, they continued rising until the 1913 Cup final, where 120,000 watched Aston Villa defeat Sunderland.
In 1904, Manchester City, led by the legendary winger Billy Meredith, beat Bolton Wanderers 1-0 to take the Cup back to Manchester. The victory caused some scandal, mainly on account of revelations of illegal cash payments to players, which resulted in City having their ground closed for a month as punishment. It was also an early example of sponsorship, since Meredith attributed City’s victory not to his redoubtable skills but to Oxo.
After World War I, it was not possible to return to Crystal Palace since it was still being used to store tanks (a policy reintroduced when Palace signed Neil Ruddock). By 1923, a new stadium in Wembley had been built (in just 300 days) for a modest £750,000. The first final was on April 28th 1923 between West Ham and Bolton Wanderers and though the official crowd was 126,047, it’s believed to have been twice as many as that when fans poured over the fences and through turnstiles without tickets. This is the famous White Horse Final, so called after a white horse scored the winner for Bolton.
Even the teams struggled to get into the ground. “We left the motor coach,” said one of the Bolton team, “made our way across some fields, crossed a railway line and, at the outer barriers of the stadium, came upon a man with a spade who was digging a hole under the fence. Through the hole he went; we followed.” It was like a scene from Escape To Victory, except set in Wembley. And not during the war.
The FA Cup is, of course, famed for its acts of giantkilling and some of those victories still ring down the years. Yeovil, led by Alec Stock, overcame Arsenal 2-1 in 1949, while Worcester beat Liverpool in 1959 by the same margin and Bedford Town defeated Newcastle United at St. James’ Park in 1964. Newcastle United were also at the wrong end of a 2-1 margin in 1972 when they were beaten by non-League Hereford United. It’s also notable for Ronnie Radford’s goal, which won the Match Of The Day goal of the season award. The celebrations at the final whistle led fashion commentators to claim that this may well have been the greatest concentration of green snorkel parkas ever recorded. (a match commentated on by one John Motson, cementing his rep with the Beeb and leading to the omnipotent role he has assumed for the last 35 years – a bad thing...Ed).
The occasional underdog has even made it to the Cup Final, too, though Wycombe Wanderers’ relatively recent semi-final placing is the furthest any team below the second tier has ever reached (equalled by Norwich in 1959, Plymouth Argyle in 1984 and Chesterfield in 1997). In 1976, Southampton, then in the old Second Division, beat Manchester United 1-0, aided by the scare tactic of fielding several players with bubble perms, but the most memorable remains Sunderland’s vanquishing of Leeds United in 1973.
In truth it was a bit of a fluke with goalie Jim Montgomery making several incredible saves for the Black Cats, somehow repelling Leeds (who were, indeed, repulsive). It will be remembered primarily for manager Bob Stokoe’s one-man pitch invasion on the final whistle. Dressed in red acrylic tracksuit, a scruffy Mac and trilby, he manfully pounced across the Wembley turf before attempting to have sex with Montgomery. The rustling of acrylic was so great; it’s believed Stokoe’s tracksuit bottoms kept the Middlesex area in electricity for several weeks.
Leeds United were also involved in the dirtiest game ever seen in a final, the 1970 replay against Chelsea (which they lost 1-2), in which the fighting was occasionally rudely interrupted by outbreaks of football. Miraculously, nobody was sent off, though one referee recently reviewed the game and claimed that had it been played under today’s more stringent rules several would have walked the (in this case, not very) lonely walk.
More recently, the Cup Finals have been notable mainly for unrelenting tedium (and in the case of Newcastle United’s performances, unremitting embarrassment).1995’s snore-fest between Everton and Manchester United must surely be the pick of the bunch, though the fact that United were humiliated by a Paul Rideout strike compensated somewhat.
United got their revenge a few years later when they cantered through a 2-0 win against Newcastle United in 1999. They also became the first team to notch ten victories (they also hold the record (15) of most appearances in finals). This is not as impressive as FC Vaduz of Liechtenstein, however, who set the world record for consecutive cup final appearances (17), the first nine of which were against the same team, FC Triesen (which suggests there may actually only be two teams in Liechtenstein, but perhaps we’re being churlish).
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