1923 FA Cup Final - Build-up

Build-up

The match was the first event of any kind to take place at Wembley Stadium, which had not been due to open until 1924 but was completed ahead of schedule. After sub-capacity crowds had attended the first three finals after the First World War at Stamford Bridge, The Football Association (The FA) was unconvinced that the match could fill the large capacity of the new stadium and undertook a major advertising campaign, for fans to attend. Despite these fears, the new national stadium, which had been advertised as the greatest venue of its kind and had an unprecedented capacity of 125,000, proved to be a great lure and drew a large number of casual observers. The fact that a London-based team was competing meant that many football fans from all parts of the city chose to attend. The morning newspapers on the day of the match reported that around 5,000 fans were travelling from Bolton and that they were expected to be joined by "at least 115,000 enthusiasts from London and other parts of the country". The easy accessibility of the stadium by public transport and the fine weather were also factors which contributed to the enormous crowd.

Dad was very nonchalant about it. He said: 'Let's see if we can get in to see the match.' When we got out at Wembley Park we were in a huge wave of humanity all going in the same direction. It was just a solid mass of people, though I don't ever remember feeling scared because the crowd were so good-natured. There was a seething mass at the entrance. Dad said: 'Look, everybody's going over the turnstiles. Let's follow them.' They were locked. The staff had obviously just locked up and left. So we climbed over the fence and the turnstile and found ourselves inside the ground.

The gates were opened at 11:30 am as advertised, three and a half hours before the match was due to begin, and until 1:00 pm the flow of people into the stadium was orderly. By 1:00 pm, however, a vast number of people were pouring into the stadium, and after an inspection by the stadium authorities, the decision was made to close the gates at 1:45 pm. Spectator William Rose said later that Olympic Way was "seething with people" and that "the nearer I got to the stadium the worse it got, by the time I got there the turnstiles had been closed". Although the information was relayed to various railway stations, thousands of people continued to arrive and mass outside the gates. Organisation within the stadium was poor, and in his report on the match the correspondent for the Daily Mail described the stewarding as "useless" and stated that officials in and around the stadium "seemed to know nothing". Fans were not directed to any specific area, and the tiers in the lower half of the stadium filled up much faster than those higher up. As the crowds outside the stadium continued to grow, local police stations were mobilised, but by the time officers arrived the crowd was too large for them to take any effective form of action. At 2:15 pm, the crowds outside the stadium rushed at the barriers and forced their way in. Spectators in the lower tiers had to climb the fences to escape the crush and overflowed onto the pitch itself. Spectator Terry Hickey said later that "To put it mildly, the whole thing was a bloody shambles". The crowd was officially reported as 126,047, but estimates of the actual number of fans in attendance range from 150,000 to over 300,000. The FA refunded 10% of the total gate money to fans who had pre-purchased tickets but were unable to reach their assigned seats. The roads around the stadium were blocked and the Bolton players were forced to abandon their coach a mile from the stadium and make their way through the crowds. The Times stated that at one point it seemed impossible that the match would ever be able to start, but that when King George V arrived, the mood of the crowd changed. After enthusiastically singing "God Save The King", the crowd began to assist the authorities in clearing the playing area.

Eventually mounted policemen were brought in to try to clear the crowds from the pitch, including PC George Scorey, who was mounted on a horse named "Billie" (some sources spell the name "Billy"). P.C. Scorey had not actually been on duty that day but answered a call for emergency assistance as the throng of spectators in the stadium grew. Billie the horse was actually grey, but appeared white in the primitive black and white newsreel footage of the era. Contrary to what is sometimes claimed, other horses were also involved, but the "white" horse, as the most visible in the news footage, became the defining image of the day. Officials later stated that the match would never have been able to start without the actions of P.C. Scorey. When asked about his actions in an interview with the BBC some years later, Scorey said:

As my horse picked his way onto the field, I saw nothing but a sea of heads. I thought, We can't do it. It's impossible. But I happened to see an opening near one of the goals and the horse was very good – easing them back with his nose and tail until we got a goal-line cleared. I told them in front to join hands and heave and they went back step by step until we reached the line. Then they sat down and we went on like that ... it was mainly due to the horse. Perhaps because he was white he commanded more attention. But more than that, he seemed to understand what was required of him. The other helpful thing was the good nature of the crowd.

Eventually the police, assisted by appeals from the players for the crowd to calm, were able to manoeuvre the spectators to just beyond the touchline, and the game began approximately 45 minutes late, while fans stood around the perimeter of the pitch.