HISTORY OF THE F.A. CUP

The F.A. Cup is the most glamorous prize in English Football and it provides one of the World's best knockout sporting finals watched by tens of millions worldwide.

The competition was formed back in 1871 where only eight teams took part. All of these sides were amateurs and one club turned up to their game three players short! The only founding team still around today in the Football League is Crystal Palace, although Maidenhead and Marlow still play in Non-League.

To start with there were only a handful of teams who seriously challenged for the cup. Old Etonians (6), Wanderers (5), Royal Engineers and Oxford University (4 each) registered 19 of the first 24 places in the Final of the competition between 1872 and 1883.

In the early F.A. Cup competitions the teams taking part were almost exclusively from the south of Watford, and the first 'northern' club to win the Cup were Blackburn Olympic in 1883 when they beat Old Etonians 2-1.

In 1895, where Aston Villa were the holders, the Cup went missing and Villa were fined. The sanction money was used to purchase a new trophy. It is believed that the old trophy was melted down to produce counterfeit coins!

In 1901 Tottenham Hotspur caused a real shock when their replay victory over Sheffield United made them the first - and only- Non-League side to win the F.A. Cup.

A new trophy had to be introduced again in 1911 due to the amount of replicas of the Cup that were in circulation at the time. It was made in Bradford, and quite fittingly it was Bradford City who were the victors that year to bring the Cup home.

The F.A. Cup returned to action in 1923 after the War and the big change was that the Finals were now to be held at Wembley Stadium. This game between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United will always be remembered as the 'White Horse Final' due to the intervention of mounted Policeman PC George Scorey who stalled a pitch invasion by a crowd of 126,047.

Chelmsford City quickly made their mark in football when in their first season they reached the Fourth Round, their best ever run, after knocking out both Southampton and Darlington before going out to Birmingham City at St. Andrews in front of a 44,494 crowd.

Another Final which lives long in the memory is the Stanley Matthews Final of 1953 in the Coronation year. The 38 year old winger was instrumental in helping Blackpool to a last minute victory over Bolton.

In modern times the F.A. Cup still retains it's unique magic and giant-killings provide some of the most entertaining ties. In 1971 Colchester United upset Don Revie's super Leeds United side, Hereford United knocked out Newcastle the year before, and in 1976 Second Division Southampton beat Manchester United in the Final.

F.A. Cup history continues to be made, like in 1991 and 1993 where Semi-Finals were allowed to be played at Wembley. Recent First Round outings for Chelmsford City have taken them to Wycombe Wanderers and Oldham Athletic. For fans of English Football the magic of the F.A. Cup will never fade away.

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