History of The FA Cup - 19th Century

19th Century

On 20 July 1871, in the offices of The Sportsman newspaper, C. W. Alcock proposed to the Football Association committee 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". The other committee members were:

• A. Stair (F.A. Treasurer) (Upton Park)
• C.W. Stephenson (Westminster School)
• J.H. Gifford (Civil Service)
• D. Allport (Crystal Palace)
• M.P. Betts (Harrow School)
• Capt. Francis Marindin (Royal Engineers)

The proposition was carried and the inaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871.

Four first-round matches were the first FA Cup games ever played – on 11 November 1871. The first Cup goal was scored by Clapham Rovers player Jarvis Kenrick in a 3-0 win over Upton Park (Kenrick scoring twice in the process). The following year, on 16 March 1872, Wanderers became the first winners of the FA Cup, beating Royal Engineers 1-0 at The Oval. Fifteen clubs had entered, only twelve actually played, and there were thirteen games in total. The winning goal was scored by Morton Peto Betts, who played under the pseudonym of 'A.H. Chequer'. In 1873, Wanderers retained the title after receiving a bye to the final, the 'Challenge Round', where they beat Oxford University to retain the Cup. The rules were changed for the following season, to help inspire teams to try to get to the final, instead of knowing who their opponents would be before they reached it.

In 1873, Sheffield confirmed a unique place in FA Cup history, knocking out Shropshire Wanderers on the toss of a coin; the only time a tie has been decided in this way.

In 1876, Thomas Hughes was the first to score more than once in the final, in a replay match in which Wanderers defeated Old Etonians 3-0. In the same final, Alexander Bonsor from the losing side became the first to score in two consecutive finals (both of which his team lost).

Lord Kinnaird won the Cup for a then record fifth time in 1882, three times with Wanderers and twice with the Old Etonians. Earlier in 1877, he also scored the first own goal in the final with Wanderers defeating Oxford University 2-1. But in 1883 Blackburn Olympic broke the "old order of things" to defeat Old Etonians in the final to become the first professional club to win the trophy. The win marked a turning point in the culture of the game in England.

In 1884 and 1885 Scottish side Queen's Park reached the final, the first time a non-English side had done so. They lost both times. (Scotland had had its own Scottish Cup since 1873.) (See also: Scottish clubs in the FA Cup) In 1886, Jimmy Brown of Blackburn Rovers became the first to score in three consecutive finals from 1884 to 1886 (winning all three). Blackburn Rovers also became the second club to win three consecutive FA Cups and remain the only club still in existence to win "three in a row" to this day, as Wanderers, who achieved the feat 6 years earlier, were disbanded in 1883. The following year, Aston Villa legend Archie Hunter became the first player to score in every round of the FA Cup in Villa's victorious 1887 campaign (beginning from the second round, as Villa had a bye in the first). This feat was bettered in 1901 by Sandy Brown of Tottenham Hotspur, who scored in all rounds from the first. On 15 October 1887, Preston North End defeated Hyde 26–0, which remains the record score in an FA Cup tie.

The modern cup was beginning to be established by the 1888–89 season, when qualifying rounds were introduced, with clubs competing on regional basis until only one was left for the Fourth Qualifying Round, and in the same season, the 'magic of the cup' began when Warwick County became the first non-league side to beat a First Division club on 6 October 1888, winning 2-1 away at Stoke. The only game to be played on Christmas Day took place, Linfield Athletic beating Cliftonville 7-0.

In 1889, Preston North End became the first club to achieve the double of winning the FA Cup (beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0) and the Football League Championship in the same season. This double was even more extraordinary in that the league was won without a single defeat, a feat which would not be repeated in the top division until 2003–04, by Arsenal. Equally impressive was that the cup was won without conceding a single goal. Such was the team's dominance that it was nicknamed "The Invincibles".

William Townley scored the first hat trick in the history of the FA Cup final, in the 1890 match between Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday (6-1)

On 25 March 1891, Notts County reached the FA Cup final for the first time. The Magpies were defeated 3–1 by Blackburn Rovers at The Oval, despite having beaten the same side 7-1 in the league only a week earlier.

Notts County made up for this on 31 March 1894, when they won the FA Cup at Goodison Park, defeating Bolton Wanderers 4-1 in a game in which Jimmy Logan scored the second hat-trick in FA Cup final history - and the last until 1953 (when Stan Mortensen scored three times for Blackpool FC in their 4-3 win over Bolton Wanderers). This achievement is also memorable for Notts County becoming the first club outside the top division to win the FA Cup: Notts County finished 3rd in Division Two that season. However, as they have not won the FA Cup since then, this means that Notts County have been waiting longer than any other winning professional club to win the trophy for a second time.

Aston Villa's Bob Chatt scored the winner in the 1895 FA Cup Final with the then-fastest goal after just 30 seconds; his record stood until broken by Louis Saha in 2009, who scored in 25 seconds. In September 1895 the Cup was stolen from the window of sporting goods outfitter William Shillcock, in Newtown Row, Birmingham. Despite the offer of a £10 reward, the trophy was never seen again. The FA fined Villa £25, a sum which paid for Vaughton's Ltd of Birmingham to produce a new trophy, an exact replica of the original. Almost 60 years later, the thief admitted that the cup had been melted down to make counterfeit half-crowns.