 THE FA CUP
The oldest
domestic football competition in the world
("I
used
to be chairman of fa. Now I'm
Chairman of the F.A" - Joe Mears)
The
present
FA Cup trophy is the fourth. The first, the 'little tin idol',
was used from the inception of the Cup in 1871–2 until it was stolen
from a Birmingham shoe shop window belonging to William Shillcock while
held by Aston Villa on 11 September 1895. It was never seen again. The
FA fined Villa £25 to pay for a replacement. Almost 60 years
later, the thief admitted that the cup had been melted down to make
counterfeit half-crowns.
The second trophy was a replica of
the first, and was last used in 1910 before being presented to the FA's
long-serving president Lord Kinnaird. It was sold at Christie's on 19
May 2005 for £420,000 (£478,400 including auction fees and
taxes) to David Gold, the chairman of West Ham United. David Gold has
loaned this trophy to the National Football Museum which is housed in
Preston North End's Deepdale Stadium and it is on permanent display to
the public. A new, larger, trophy was bought by the FA in 1911 designed
and manufactured by Fattorini's of Bradford and won by Bradford City in
its first outing, the only time a team from Bradford has reached the
final. This trophy still exists but is now too fragile to be used, so
an exact replica was made by Toye, Kenning and Spencer and has
been in use since the 1992 final. A "backup" trophy was made alongside
the existing trophy in 1992, but it has not been used so far, and will
only be used if the current trophy is lost, damaged or destroyed. (An
otherwise identical, smaller replica was also made by Fattorini, the
North Wales Coast F A Cup trophy, contested annually by members of that
regional Association.)
The
present
F.A.Cup
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The
second
FA Cup trophy, used between 1896 and 1910.
|
 |
A Brief
History Of The English FA Cup. The
Greatest Club Cup Tournament in The World
At a meeting
held in the
offices of The Sportsman in London on 20th July 1871, a proposal by FA
Honorary Secretary Charles Alcock "that it is desirable that a
Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association,
for which all clubs belonging to the Association should be invited to
compete" met with favour and was finally approved three months later.
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The first FA Cup competition in season 1871-72
had fifteen entries. (This season more than 600 took part.) Wanderers,
a team formed by ex-public school and university players, won the first
final 1-0 against Royal Engineers at Kennington Oval. A crowd of 2,000
attended the match and they each paid one shilling for the privilege.
The original trophy, much smaller than the present one, was made by
Messrs Martin, Hall & Co. and cost £20. In 1895, after Aston
Villa had won the competition, the cup was stolen from the window of a
firm of football outfitters in Birmingham where it had been placed on
display. It was never recovered. The present trophy, played for since
1992, is the competition's fourth and an exact replica of the third.
The
FA Cup has become established as one of the country's great sporting
institutions and is watched throughout the world. It is now 132
years
old and yet, season by season, it generates tremendous interest not
only in the country of its birth but all over the world. The history
and tradition of the competition, and the pageantry of the Cup Final,
is familiar to millions.
All clubs in the Premier League and Football League are automatically
eligible, and clubs in the next six levels of the English football
league system are also eligible provided they have played in either the
FA Cup, FA Trophy or FA Vase competitions in the previous season. Newly
formed clubs that start playing in a high league, such as AFC Wimbledon
or FC United of Manchester, may not therefore play in the FA Cup in
their first season. All clubs entering the competition must also have a
suitable stadium. It is very rare for top clubs to miss the
competition, although it can happen in exceptional circumstances.
Manchester United withdrew from the 1999–2000 competition due to their
participation in the FIFA Club World Championship, although this was
highly controversial at the time.
Welsh sides that play in English leagues are
eligible, although since
the creation of the League of Wales there are only six such clubs
remaining: Cardiff City (the only non-English team to win the
tournament, in 1927), Swansea City, Wrexham, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport
County and Colwyn Bay. In the early years other teams from Wales,
Ireland and Scotland also took part in the competition, with Glasgow
side Queen's Park reaching the final in 1884 and 1885 before being
barred from entering by the Scottish Football Association.
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 The
number of entrants has increased greatly in recent years. In the
2004–05 season, 660 clubs entered the competition, beating the
long-standing record of 656 from the 1921–22 season. In 2005–06 this
increased to 674 entrants, in 2006–07 to 687, in 2007–08 to 731 clubs,
and for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 competitions it reached 762. By
comparison, the other major English domestic cup, the League Cup,
involves only the 92 members of the Premier League and Football League.
The
number
of entrants has increased greatly in recent years. In the
2004–05 season, 660 clubs entered the competition, beating the
long-standing record of 656 from the 1921–22 season. In 2005–06 this
increased to 674 entrants, in 2006–07 to 687, in 2007–08 to 731 clubs,
and for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 competitions it reached 762. By
comparison, the other major English domestic cup, the League Cup,
involves only the 92 members of the Premier League and Football League.
Three clubs have won consecutive FA Cups on more than one occasion:
Wanderers (1872, 1873 and 1876, 1877, 1878), Blackburn Rovers (1884,
1885, 1886 and 1890, 1891), and Tottenham Hotspur (1961, 1962 and 1981,
1982). Six clubs have won the FA Cup as part of a League and Cup
double, namely Preston North End (1889), Aston Villa (1897), Tottenham
Hotspur F.C. (1961), Arsenal (1971, 1998, 2002), Liverpool (1986) and
Manchester United (1994, 1996, 1999). Arsenal and Manchester United
share the record of three doubles. Arsenal has won a double in each of
three separate decades (70s, 90s, 00s). Manchester United's three
doubles in the 1990s highlights their dominance of English football at
the time.
 In
1993,
Arsenal became the first side to win both the FA Cup and
League Cup in the same season, beating Sheffield Wednesday 2–1, in both
finals. Liverpool repeated this feat in 2001, as did Chelsea in 2007.
In 1998–99, Manchester United added the 1999 Champions League crown to
their double, an accomplishment known as the European treble. Two years
later, in 2000–01, Liverpool won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup to
complete a cup treble.
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Portsmouth
have
the unusual accolade of holding the FA Cup for
the longest unbroken period of time; having won the Cup in 1939, the
next final was not contested until 1946, due to the outbreak of the
Second World War. The FA Cup has only been won by a non-English team
once in its history. Cardiff City were the club to achieve this in 1927
when they beat Arsenal in the final at Wembley. They had previously
made it to the final only to lose to Sheffield United in 1925, and lost
another final to Portsmouth in 2008.
Since the foundation
of the Football League, Tottenham Hotspur in 1901
have been the only non-league winners of the FA Cup. They were then
playing in the Southern League and were only elected to the Football
League in 1908. At that time the Football League consisted of only two
18-team divisions; Tottenham's victory would be comparable to a team
playing at the third level of the English football pyramid (currently
League One) winning today. In the history of the FA Cup, only eight
teams who were playing outside of the top level of English football
have gone on to win the whole competition, the most recent being West
Ham United, who beat Arsenal in 1980. Excluding Tottenham in 1901,
these clubs were all playing in the old Second Division, no other Third
Division or lower side having so far reached the final.
Arguably, one of the
most famous of these 'upsets' was when Sunderland
A.F.C. beat Leeds United 1–0 in 1973. Leeds were third in the First
Division and Sunderland were in the Second. Three years later Second
Division Southampton also achieved the same feat as Sunderland against
First Division Manchester United by the same 1–0 scoreline. The other
non-top flight winners of the FA Cup were Notts County in 1894, the
first non-top flight team to win the FA Cup since the inception of the
league; Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1908; Barnsley in 1912; and West
Bromwich Albion in 1931. West Bromwich Albion remain the only team to
have won the FA Cup and promotion from the second flight in the same
season.
Thus far the FA Cup
final has never been contested by two teams from
outside the top flight. Uniquely, in 2007–08, three of the four
semi-finalists (Barnsley, Cardiff City and West Bromwich Albion), were
from outside the top flight, although Portsmouth F.C. went on to win
it.
|
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F.A. Cup Final by Year
 |
The
First
FA Cup was won by the Wanderers
against the Royal Engineers. Based in Battersea, Wanderers won five FA
Cup finals in seven years including the first in 1872. Players were
selected from the various former public school clubs but as these began
to enter the FA Cup, Wanderers were wound up in 1883. The Royal
Engineers were formed in 1862 under the captaincy of Major F Marindin,
the army club were beaten FA Cup finalists in 1872, 1874 and 1878,
winners in 1875. They were the first to adopt a team approach to the
game. |
 |
| Wanderers |
|
Royal
Engineers |
 The
F.A. Amateur Cup
The
FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs.
It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when The Football Association
abolished official amateur status.
Following the legalisation of professionalism within football,
professional teams quickly came to dominate the sport's main national
knock-out tournament, the FA Cup. In response to this, the committee of
the country's oldest club, Sheffield F.C., suggested in 1892 the
organisation of a separate national cup solely for amateur teams, and
even offered to pay for the trophy itself. The Football
Association
(the FA) declined the club's offer, but a year later decided to
organise just such a competition. N.L. Jackson of Corinthian F.C.
was appointed chairman of the Amateur Cup sub-committee and arranged
for the purchase of a trophy valued at £30.00, and the first
tournament
took place during the 1893–94 season. The entrants included 12
clubs
representing the old boys of leading public schools, and Old
Carthusians, the team for former pupils of Charterhouse School, won the
first final, defeating Casuals. The old boy teams competed in
the
Amateur Cup until 1902, when disputes with the FA led to the formation
of the Arthur Dunn Cup, a dedicated competition for such teams.
The Amateur Cup ended in 1974 when the FA abolished the distinction
between professional and amateur clubs. The strongest amateur teams
instead entered the FA Trophy, which had been set up five years earlier
to cater for those teams outside The Football League which were
professional rather than amateur. A new competition, the FA Vase, was
set up to cater for the remaining amateur clubs, and was generally
regarded as a direct replacement for the old competition.
Bill Regan (Romford 1948-49) is believed to have been the first ever
American-born individual to play in the FA Amateur Cup final which was
itself the first to have been played at Wembley Stadium.
The first tournament attracted 81 entrants, with three qualifying
rounds used to reduce the number down to 32 for the first round proper.
For the following season, the previous season's semi-finalists joined
at the first round proper along with other leading clubs chosen by the
FA, with the numbers made up by teams progressing through the qualfying
rounds. This remained the standard format until 1907, when the
number
of entrants to the first round was doubled to 64 and the number of
rounds prior to the semi-finals increased to four. The competition
continued under this format until it was discontinued in 1974.
Wembley Stadium was the venue for the final between 1949 and 1974.
Matches in the Amateur Cup were played at the home ground of one of the
two teams, as decided when the matches are drawn. Occasionally games
were moved to other grounds. In the event of a draw, the replay was
played at the ground of the team who originally played away from home.
The second replay, and any further replays, were usually played at
neutral grounds.
The final was held at various different grounds in the early years of
the competition, with a venue located somewhere in between the home
towns of the two participating clubs usually chosen. After the Second
World War the final moved to Wembley Stadium, and was played there
every year until the competition ended. In the 1950s attendances for
the final reached 100,000, comparable to the FA Cup final
itself.
Almost all of the winners over the years were from either the Isthmian
League, based in London and the Home Counties, or the Northern League,
based in North East England, with Bishop Auckland the most successful
club with 10 wins. Amateur Cup winners who later turned professional
and gained entry to The Football League include Wimbledon, Wycombe
Wanderers and Barnet.
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Bishop
Auckland
|
Wycombe
Wanderers
1930-31
|
Hendon
1964-65
|
Crook
Town
1900-01
|
 |
 |
|
|
| Kingstonian 1932-33 |
Barnet
1959
|
Woking
1957
|
Pegasus
1951
|
THE
PEGASUS PHENOMENON
Pegasus FC were
unique and their like will never be seen again.
Giants of the amateur game in the 1950s
Pegasus titanic Amateur Cup Final clash with the mighty Bishop Auckland
provided the highlight of the decade yet the club itself existed for
only 15 years.
But the Pegasus FC
story is one of great achievement on the field of play and their
decline due more to a changing university culture rather than
inadequacy on the pitch. The brainchild of Harold ‘Tommy’ Thompson,
who later become chairman of the Football Association, Pegasus FC were
a team made up of players from both Oxford and Cambridge universities. Their ethos was to rekindle the Corinthian
spirit within football and their brief was to compete in the FA Amateur
Cup – two objectives that they managed to achieve very successfully. The club would take part in no league
competitions but would prepare for their cup matches by playing
friendly matches although the players would still turn out for their
own universities and club sides. The 1951 Cup Final
was eagerly awaited as it pitted the new ‘glamour’ boys Pegasus against
the granite-hard northern giants of Bishop Auckland.
A record crowd of 100,000 packed into Wembley Stadium and witnessed a
thrilling match with Pegasus holding on for a 2-1 victory.
Wembley
again
hosted Pegasus FC in 1953 and another capacity crowd saw the university
men hammer Harwich and Parkestone 6-0, the match being over as a
contest inside 15 minutes with Pegasus already two goals to the good.
Unbelievably,
Pegasus FC had won the Amateur Cup twice within five years of being
formed with the explicit intent of doing just that.
Included in their Cup winning
line-ups were John Tanner (Charterhouse), Tony Pawson
(Winchester), Donald
Carr (Repton) and Ken Shearwood
(Shrewsbury), all of whom
played in both Finals. They were joined in the 1953 Final by Reg
Vowells (Brentwood) and G.H McKinna
(Manchester GS). Tanner and Pawson were both England Amateur
Internationals, while Shearwood subsequently became Master in charge of
Football at Lancing College. Another England amateur international and
Pegasus player of the late 1950s, Robin Trimby (Forest), ran
football at Shrewsbury School for 21 years.
Dennis
Saunders,
the captain became a Master at Malvern College & Head of Lillishaw
Academy .Vic Buckingham, became Manager of West
Bromwich Albion and Fulham .
Doug Insole was an England Cricketer and President of the MCC. Gerry
Alexander,
the West Indies wicketkeeper.
Jonathan Clegg, Harry Potts.
Gorden
McKinna
.
|
| F.A.
Amateur Cup Winners and Runner-up, 1893 to 1974 |
| Season |
Winner |
Runner-up |
Result |
Ground |
| 1893-94 |
Old
Carthusians |
Casuals |
2-1 |
Athletic
Ground, Richmond |
| 1894-95 |
Middlesbrough |
Old
Carthusians |
2-1 |
Headingley
Stadium |
| 1895-96 |
Bishop
Auckland |
R
A (Portsmouth) |
1-0 |
Walnut
Street, Leicester |
| 1896-97 |
Old
Carthusians |
Stockton |
1-1,
4-1 |
Tufnell
Park & Feethams |
| 1897-98 |
Middlesbrough |
Uxbridge |
2-1 |
Crystal
Palace |
| 1898-99 |
Stockton |
Harwich
& Parkeston |
1-0 |
Linthorpe
Road, Middlesbrough |
| 1899-1900 |
Bishop
Auckland |
Lowestoft
Town |
5-1 |
Leicester |
| 1900-01 |
Crook
Town |
King's
Lynn |
1-1,
3-0 |
Dovercourt
& Ipswich
|
| 1901-02 |
Old
Malvernians |
Bishop
Auckland |
5-1 |
Headingley
Stadium |
| 1902-03 |
Stockton |
Oxford
City |
0-0,
1-0 |
Reading
& Feethams
|
| 1903-04 |
Sheffield |
Ealing |
3-1 |
Bradford |
| 1904-05 |
West
Hartlepool |
Clapton |
3-2 |
Shepherd's
Bush |
| 1905-06 |
Oxford
City |
Bishop
Auckland |
3-0 |
Stockton-on-Tees |
| 1906-07 |
Clapton |
Stockton |
2-1 |
Stamford
Bridge |
| 1907-08 |
Depot
Battallion, R E |
Stockton |
2-1 |
Bishop
Auckland |
| 1908-09 |
Clapton |
Eston
United |
6-0 |
Ilford |
| 1909-10 |
R
M L I Gosport |
South
Bank |
2-1 |
Bishop
Auckland |
| 1910-11 |
Bromley |
Bishop
Auckland |
1-0 |
Herne
Hill |
| 1911-12 |
Stockton |
Eston
United |
0-0,
1-0 |
Ayresome
Park |
| 1912-13 |
South
Bank |
Oxford
City |
1-1,
1-0 |
Reading
& Bishop Auckland |
| 1913-14 |
Bishop
Auckland |
Northern
Nomads |
1-0 |
Leeds |
| 1914-15 |
Clapton |
Bishop
Auckland |
1-0 |
New
Cross |
| 1915-19 -
Competition not
held due to World War I |
| 1919-20 |
Dulwich
Hamlet |
Tufnell
Park |
1-0 |
The
Den |
| 1920-21 |
Bishop
Auckland |
Swindon
Victoria |
4-2 |
Ayresome
Park |
| 1921-22 |
Bishop
Auckland |
South
Bank |
5-2 |
Ayresome
Park |
| 1922-23 |
London
Caledonians |
Evesham
Town |
2-1 |
Crystal
Palace |
| 1923-24 |
Clapton |
Erith
& Belvedere |
3-0 |
The
Den |
| 1924-25 |
Clapton |
Southall |
2-1 |
The
Den |
| 1925-26 |
Northern
Nomads |
Stockton |
7-1 |
Roker
Park |
| 1926-27 |
Leyton |
Barking
Town |
3-1 |
The
Den |
| 1927-28 |
Leyton |
Cockfield |
3-2 |
Ayresome
Park |
| 1928-29 |
Ilford |
Leyton |
3-1 |
Arsenal
Stadium |
| 1929-30 |
Ilford |
Bournemouth
Gasworks Athletic |
5-1 |
Boleyn
Ground |
| 1930-31 |
Wycombe
Wanderers |
Hayes |
1-0 |
Arsenal
Stadium |
| 1931-32 |
Dulwich
Hamlet |
Marine |
7-1 |
Boleyn
Ground |
| 1932-33 |
Kingstonian |
Stockton |
1-1,
4-1 |
Champion
Hill & Feethams |
| 1933-34 |
Dulwich
Hamlet |
Leyton |
2-1 |
Boleyn
Ground |
| 1934-35 |
Bishop
Auckland |
Wimbledon |
0-0,
2-1 |
Middlesbrough
& Stamford Bridge |
| 1935-36 |
Casuals |
Ilford |
1-1,
2-0 |
Selhurst
Park & Boleyn Ground |
| 1936-37 |
Dulwich
Hamlet |
Leyton |
2-0 |
Boleyn
Ground |
| 1937-38 |
Bromley |
Erith
& Belvedere |
1-0 |
The
Den |
| 1938-39 |
Bishop
Auckland |
Willington |
3-0 |
Roker
Park |
| 1939-45 -
Competition not
held due to World War II |
| 1945-46 |
Barnet |
Bishop
Auckland |
3-2 |
Stamford
Bridge |
| 1946-47 |
Leytonstone |
Wimbledon |
2-1 |
Arsenal
Stadium |
| 1947-48 |
Leytonstone |
Barnet |
1-0 |
Stamford
Bridge |
| 1948-49 |
Bromley |
Romford |
1-0 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1949-50 |
Willington |
Bishop
Auckland |
4-0 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1950-51 |
Pegasus |
Bishop
Auckland |
2-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1951-52 |
Walthamstow
Avenue |
Leyton |
2-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1952-53 |
Pegasus |
Harwich
& Parkeston |
6-0 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1953-54 |
Crook
Town |
Bishop
Auckland |
2-2,2-2,1-0 |
Wembley
Stadium & St James' Park & Ayresome Park |
| 1954-55 |
Bishop
Auckland |
Hendon |
2-0 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1955-56 |
Bishop
Auckland |
Corinthian-Casuals |
1-1,
4-1 |
Wembley
Stadium & Ayresome Park |
| 1956-57 |
Bishop
Auckland |
Wycombe
Wanderers |
3-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1957-58 |
Woking |
Ilford |
3-0 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1958-59 |
Crook
Town |
Barnet |
3-2 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1959-60 |
Hendon |
Kingstonian |
2-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1960-61 |
Walthamstow
Avenue |
West
Auckland Town |
2-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1961-62 |
Crook
Town |
Hounslow
Town |
1-1,
4-0 |
Wembley
Stadium & Ayresome Park |
| 1962-63 |
Wimbledon |
Sutton
United |
4-2 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1963-64 |
Crook
Town |
Enfield |
2-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1964-65 |
Hendon |
Whitby
Town |
3-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1965-66 |
Wealdstone |
Hendon |
3-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1966-67 |
Enfield |
Skelmersdale
United |
0-0,
3-0 |
Wembley
Stadium & Maine Road |
| 1967-68 |
Leytonstone |
Chesham
United |
1-0 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1968-69 |
North
Shields |
Sutton
United |
2-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1969-70 |
Enfield |
Dagenham |
5-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1970-71 |
Skelmersdale
United |
Dagenham |
4-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1971-72 |
Hendon |
Enfield |
2-0 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1972-73 |
Walton
& Hersham |
Slough
Town |
1-0 |
Wembley
Stadium |
| 1973-74 |
Bishop's
Stortford |
Ilford |
4-1 |
Wembley
Stadium |
Summary
of winners
| Barnet |
Bishop Auckland |
Bishop's Stortford |
Bromley |
Clapton |
Crook Town |
| Depot Bn., Royal Engineers |
Dulwich Hamlet |
Enfield |
Hendon |
Ilford |
Kingstonian |
| Leyton |
Leytonstone |
London Caledonians |
Middlesbrough |
North Shields |
Northern Nomads |
| Old Carthusians |
Old Malvernians |
Oxford City |
Pegasus |
RMLI Gosport |
Sheffield |
| Skelmersdale United |
South Bank |
Stockton |
Walthamstow Avenue |
Walton & Hersham |
Wealdstone |
| West Hartlepool |
Willington |
Wimbledon |
Woking |
Wycombe Wanderers |
Casuals |
10. Bishop
Auckland, 5. Clapton,
Crook Town, 4. Dulwich
Hamlet, 3. Bromley,
Hendon, Leytonstone, Stockton 2. Enfield,
Ilford, Leyton, Middlesbrough, Old Carthusians, Pegasus, Walthamstow
Avenue
1.
Barnet,
Bishop's Stortford, Casuals, Depot Bn. Royal Eng.,
Kingstonian, London Caledonians, North Shields, Northern Nomads, Old
Malvernians, Oxford City, RMLI Gosport, Sheffeld,
Skelmersdale United,
South Bank, Walton & Hersham, Wealdstone, West Hartlepool,
Willington, Wimbledon, Woking, Wycombe Wanderers |
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1966:
Football glory for England
TERRYTOONS
ARE BACK SO IS MIGHTY TERRY 
Once
again
the NEWS OF THE WORLD hack
nerds have shown their jealousy and true identities by writing about
our National Heroes. 
![[ image: Ken Richardson: Faces jail sentence]](http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/260000/images/_264166_richardson150.jpg)
Burton
Albion 
Torquay
United
Football
League Clubs
The Informed
Investor 
THE BATTLE OF
STAMFORD BRIDGE 
