1877 FA Cup Final
Encyclopedia
The 1877 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers
and Oxford University
on 24 March 1877 at Kennington Oval
in London. It was the sixth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known in the modern era as the FA Cup
). Wanderers were the reigning cup-holders and had won the competition three times in total. Oxford had also previously won the tournament. Wanderers had reached the final without conceding a goal, defeating Cambridge University in the semi-finals. Oxford had only played three matches in the five rounds prior to the final due to a combination of byes
and opponents withdrawing.
Oxford took the lead in the final when Arthur Kinnaird
, the Wanderers goalkeeper, stepped behind his goal-line while holding the ball, thereby scoring an own goal
. Wanderers equalised in the dying stages of the match and scored the winning goal in extra time. Oxford's goal was struck from the official records after the match, but reinstated over a hundred years later.
were the reigning cup holders and had also won the tournament in both 1872 and 1873. Oxford University
had won the competition in 1874. Both teams entered the competition at the first round stage and were allocated home
matches against Saffron Walden and Old Salopians respectively. Neither match took place, however, as in each case the away
team withdrew from the competition, giving their opponents a bye
into the next round. In the second round, Wanderers and Oxford both scored six goals, defeating Southall
and 105th Regiment
respectively.
In the third round, Wanderers beat Pilgrims 3–0 and Oxford again progressed without playing when their scheduled opponents, the leading Scottish club Queen's Park
, withdrew. Wanderers themselves progressed through the quarter-finals on a bye as an uneven number of teams remained in the competition. Oxford were held to a goalless draw by Upton Park
, but emerged victorious after a replay
two weeks later. In the semi-finals Oxford received a bye, progressing straight to the final, and Wanderers beat the other of the great universities, Cambridge University, 1–0.
, two half-backs
and six forwards, in keeping with the attacking style of play generally employed at the time. Arthur Kinnaird
played in goal for Wanderers, even though he had played as a forward in three earlier cup final appearances. At the time, the position of goalkeeper was not considered a specialised one, and players often alternated between playing in goal and playing in outfield positions. The game was played at Kennington Oval, home of Surrey County Cricket Club
and took place in extremely bad weather, with rain and sleet hampering the players. Wanderers won the coin toss
and chose to begin the match defending the Harleyford Road end of the stadium.
The Wanderers players began the game in relative disarray, which the correspondent from The Sportsman reported was not an uncommon feature of their matches. After fifteen minutes Oxford were awarded a corner kick
, which Evelyn Waddington kicked high towards the goal. Kinnaird caught the ball, but in doing so stepped behind the goal-line. The Oxford players immediately appealed for a goal to be awarded, and after a consultation the officials did so, giving the University team the lead. Some time later, Charles Wollaston
was injured and swapped positions with Kinnaird. At the time the concept of substitution had not been introduced to the sport, so injured players were obliged to remain in the game unless they were completely unable to play on, but it was common for an injured player to "retire into goal", where it was felt he would be less of a liability.
As Wanderers pressed for an equaliser, Francis Birley
took an indirect free kick
, which went into the Oxford goal, but no goal was awarded as the ball had gone straight in without touching another player. Four minutes from the end of the game, Hubert Heron
made what The Field
called a "splendid run" and passed the ball to Jarvis Kenrick
, whose shot eluded Oxford goalkeeper Edward Allington to level the scores and send the game into extra time. Seven minutes into the extra period, William Lindsay
's goalbound shot was headed away by an Oxford player but the ball rebounded to Lindsay who sent it past Allington to give Wanderers a lead which the cup holders kept until the end of the game and thus retained the trophy.
(FA), of which he was a member, that in his opinion he had not carried the ball over the line for Oxford's goal. Despite the fact that the referee had awarded the goal and multiple newspaper reports stated that the ball had clearly gone over the line, Kinnaird's fellow council members took his word for it, and struck the goal from the records, changing the official score to 2–0 (although if Oxford had not scored, there would have been no reason for the game to go to extra time, so by rights they should have annulled Wanderers' second goal as well). For the next century, all sources reported the score of the match as 2–0. In the 1980s, after fresh research into contemporary reports of the game by football historians, the FA reinstated the Oxford goal, and now regard the official final score of the 1877 final as 2–1.
Wanderers F.C.
Wanderers Football Club is an English amateur football club, based in London, that plays in the Surrey South Eastern Combination. Founded as Forest Football Club in 1859, the club changed its name to Wanderers in 1864....
and Oxford University
Oxford University A.F.C.
Oxford University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Oxford.-History:Formed in 1872, the club was a giant of the 1870s, winning the FA Cup 2-0 against Royal Engineers in 1874 and finishing the competition as runners up in 1873, 1877 and 1880, the...
on 24 March 1877 at Kennington Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
in London. It was the sixth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known in the modern era as the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
). Wanderers were the reigning cup-holders and had won the competition three times in total. Oxford had also previously won the tournament. Wanderers had reached the final without conceding a goal, defeating Cambridge University in the semi-finals. Oxford had only played three matches in the five rounds prior to the final due to a combination of byes
Bye (sports)
A bye, in sports and other competitive activities, most commonly refers to the practice of allowing a player or team to advance to the next round of a playoff tournament without playing...
and opponents withdrawing.
Oxford took the lead in the final when Arthur Kinnaird
Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird
Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird KT was a principal of The Football Association and a leading footballer....
, the Wanderers goalkeeper, stepped behind his goal-line while holding the ball, thereby scoring an own goal
Own goal
An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....
. Wanderers equalised in the dying stages of the match and scored the winning goal in extra time. Oxford's goal was struck from the official records after the match, but reinstated over a hundred years later.
Route to the final
WanderersWanderers F.C.
Wanderers Football Club is an English amateur football club, based in London, that plays in the Surrey South Eastern Combination. Founded as Forest Football Club in 1859, the club changed its name to Wanderers in 1864....
were the reigning cup holders and had also won the tournament in both 1872 and 1873. Oxford University
Oxford University A.F.C.
Oxford University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Oxford.-History:Formed in 1872, the club was a giant of the 1870s, winning the FA Cup 2-0 against Royal Engineers in 1874 and finishing the competition as runners up in 1873, 1877 and 1880, the...
had won the competition in 1874. Both teams entered the competition at the first round stage and were allocated home
Home (sports)
In sports, home is a term referring to both the city and stadium, arena, or field where an athletic team plays games at their venue, whilst when the team plays elsewhere then they are considered the away team. The home term can refer to either the sponsoring institution or the place where it is...
matches against Saffron Walden and Old Salopians respectively. Neither match took place, however, as in each case the away
Road (sports)
Road game , more commonly known as an away game, is a reference to all cities and stadia/arenas/fields/venues where an athletic team plays games for which it is not the host. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions...
team withdrew from the competition, giving their opponents a bye
Bye (sports)
A bye, in sports and other competitive activities, most commonly refers to the practice of allowing a player or team to advance to the next round of a playoff tournament without playing...
into the next round. In the second round, Wanderers and Oxford both scored six goals, defeating Southall
Southall F.C.
Southall F.C. is a semi-professional football club based in the Southall area of west London, in the London Borough of Ealing, England. Football has been played in Southall from at least 1871.-History:...
and 105th Regiment
105th Regiment F.C.
105th Regiment Football Club was an English association football club in the 19th Century. They competed in some of the first stagings of the Football Association Challenge Cup, entering the competition between 1875 and 1878.-1875–76:-1876–77:...
respectively.
In the third round, Wanderers beat Pilgrims 3–0 and Oxford again progressed without playing when their scheduled opponents, the leading Scottish club Queen's Park
Queen's Park F.C.
Queen's Park Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland. The club are currently the only amateur club in the Scottish League; their amateur status is reflected by their motto, Ludere Causa Ludendi – to play for the sake of playing.Queen's Park are the oldest...
, withdrew. Wanderers themselves progressed through the quarter-finals on a bye as an uneven number of teams remained in the competition. Oxford were held to a goalless draw by Upton Park
Upton Park F.C.
Upton Park Football Club were an amateur football club from Upton Park, London in the late 19th and early 20th century, now defunct. As well as being one of the fifteen teams that played in the inaugural FA Cup, they also represented Great Britain at the 1900 Summer Olympics football tournament,...
, but emerged victorious after a replay
Replay (sports)
In sports, a replay refers to a second game between two teams after the first game's results were either nullified or ended in a draw. A game may be nullified if the game's result is protested and the organizers ruled to replay the game...
two weeks later. In the semi-finals Oxford received a bye, progressing straight to the final, and Wanderers beat the other of the great universities, Cambridge University, 1–0.
Summary
Both teams chose to play with two full-backsDefender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
, two half-backs
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
and six forwards, in keeping with the attacking style of play generally employed at the time. Arthur Kinnaird
Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird
Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird KT was a principal of The Football Association and a leading footballer....
played in goal for Wanderers, even though he had played as a forward in three earlier cup final appearances. At the time, the position of goalkeeper was not considered a specialised one, and players often alternated between playing in goal and playing in outfield positions. The game was played at Kennington Oval, home of Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
and took place in extremely bad weather, with rain and sleet hampering the players. Wanderers won the coin toss
Coin flipping
Coin flipping or coin tossing or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties...
and chose to begin the match defending the Harleyford Road end of the stadium.
The Wanderers players began the game in relative disarray, which the correspondent from The Sportsman reported was not an uncommon feature of their matches. After fifteen minutes Oxford were awarded a corner kick
Corner kick
A corner kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. It was first devised in Sheffield under the Sheffield Rules 1867...
, which Evelyn Waddington kicked high towards the goal. Kinnaird caught the ball, but in doing so stepped behind the goal-line. The Oxford players immediately appealed for a goal to be awarded, and after a consultation the officials did so, giving the University team the lead. Some time later, Charles Wollaston
Charles Wollaston
Charles Henry Reynolds Wollaston was an English footballer for Wanderers F.C. and England.Wollaston played for Wanderers in the first FA Cup Final in 1872 and scored in the second final of 1873. In all he won five winner's medals, the first player to achieve this feat.He earned four caps for...
was injured and swapped positions with Kinnaird. At the time the concept of substitution had not been introduced to the sport, so injured players were obliged to remain in the game unless they were completely unable to play on, but it was common for an injured player to "retire into goal", where it was felt he would be less of a liability.
As Wanderers pressed for an equaliser, Francis Birley
Francis Birley
Francis Hornby Birley was an English footballer who played as a half back. He won the FA Cup three times in the 1870s and made two appearances for England in 1874 and 1875.-Winchester College:...
took an indirect free kick
Indirect free kick
An indirect free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. Unlike a direct free kick, a goal may not be scored directly from the kick. The law was derived from the Sheffield Rules that stated that no goal could be scored from a free kick...
, which went into the Oxford goal, but no goal was awarded as the ball had gone straight in without touching another player. Four minutes from the end of the game, Hubert Heron
Hubert Heron
George Hubert Hugh Heron was an English footballer who made five appearances as a forward for England in the 1870s and won three FA Cup winners' medals.-Playing career:...
made what The Field
The Field (magazine)
The Field is the world's oldest country and field sports magazine, having been published continuously since 1853.The famous sportsman Robert Smith Surtees, the creator of Jorrocks, was the driving force behind the initial publication...
called a "splendid run" and passed the ball to Jarvis Kenrick
Jarvis Kenrick
Jarvis Kenrick was an English association football player....
, whose shot eluded Oxford goalkeeper Edward Allington to level the scores and send the game into extra time. Seven minutes into the extra period, William Lindsay
William Lindsay (footballer)
William Lindsay was an English amateur footballer who, generally playing as a full back, helped the Wanderers win the FA Cup in 1876, 1877 and 1878 and made one appearance for England in 1877...
's goalbound shot was headed away by an Oxford player but the ball rebounded to Lindsay who sent it past Allington to give Wanderers a lead which the cup holders kept until the end of the game and thus retained the trophy.
Details
| Wanderers | Oxford University | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Arthur Kinnaird Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird KT was a principal of The Football Association and a leading footballer.... |
Goalkeeper | Edward Allington | ||||
| Full-back Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
Alfred Stratford Alfred Stratford Alfred Hugh Stratford was an English sportsman who played first-class cricket for Middlesex and represented the England national football team.... |
Full-back Defender (association football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
Owen Dunell Owen Dunell Owen Robert Dunell was a South African cricketer who captained his country in its first Test match in 1888/89.Although born in Port Elizabeth, Dunell was educated in England at Eton College and Oxford University... |
||||
| Full-back | William Lindsay William Lindsay (footballer) William Lindsay was an English amateur footballer who, generally playing as a full back, helped the Wanderers win the FA Cup in 1876, 1877 and 1878 and made one appearance for England in 1877... |
Full-back | William Rawson William Rawson William Stepney Rawson was a footballer who played at full back for England, and was also an FA Cup Final referee.-Career:... |
||||
| Half-back Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
Francis Birley Francis Birley Francis Hornby Birley was an English footballer who played as a half back. He won the FA Cup three times in the 1870s and made two appearances for England in 1874 and 1875.-Winchester College:... |
Half-back Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
Evelyn Waddington | ||||
| Half-back | Frederick Green Frederick Green (footballer) Frederick Thomas Green was an English footballer who won the FA Cup with Oxford University in 1874 and with Wanderers in 1877 and 1878. He also made one appearance for England in 1876.-Honours:Oxford University... |
Half-back | Rev. James Savory | ||||
| Forward | Charles Wollaston Charles Wollaston Charles Henry Reynolds Wollaston was an English footballer for Wanderers F.C. and England.Wollaston played for Wanderers in the first FA Cup Final in 1872 and scored in the second final of 1873. In all he won five winner's medals, the first player to achieve this feat.He earned four caps for... |
Forward | Rev. Philip Fernandez | ||||
| Forward | Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (footballer) Thomas Bridges Hughes was an English amateur footballer who was the first player to score two goals in an FA Cup Final, with Wanderers in 1876... |
Forward | Edward Hagarty Parry Edward Hagarty Parry Edward Hagarty Parry was a Canadian-born English international footballer.Born in Toronto, Ontario, Ted Parry attended Charterhouse School, and played 3 times for England from 1879-1882. He scored once.... |
||||
| Forward | Hubert Heron Hubert Heron George Hubert Hugh Heron was an English footballer who made five appearances as a forward for England in the 1870s and won three FA Cup winners' medals.-Playing career:... |
Match rules: | Forward | Henry Otter | |||
| Forward | Henry Wace Henry Wace (footballer) Henry Wace was an English amateur footballer who made three appearances for England and played for Wanderers, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1877 and 1878. By profession he was a lawyer who specialised in bankruptcy law.... |
90 minutes normal time. | Forward | Arthur Todd | |||
| Forward | Charles Denton Charles Ashpitel Denton Charles Ashpitel Denton was an English amateur footballer who twice won the FA Cup with Wanderers. In his professional life, he was a solicitor.-Family and education:... |
30 minutes extra-time if scores are level, at captains' discretion. | Forward | Arnold Hills Arnold Hills Arnold Frank Hills was an English businessman, sportsman, philanthropist, and promoter of vegetarianism.Hills was the first President of the London Vegetarian Society and the Vegetarian Cycling and Athletic Club, and also served as President of a London Vegetarian Rambling Club... |
|||
| Forward | Jarvis Kenrick Jarvis Kenrick Jarvis Kenrick was an English association football player.... |
Replay if scores still level. | Forward | John Bain John Bain (footballer) John Bain was an English amateur footballer who appeared for Oxford University in the 1877 FA Cup Final and made one appearance for England in 1877.-Career:... |
|||
| No substitutes. | |||||||
Post-match
Some time after the match, Kinnaird informed the council of the Football AssociationThe Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
(FA), of which he was a member, that in his opinion he had not carried the ball over the line for Oxford's goal. Despite the fact that the referee had awarded the goal and multiple newspaper reports stated that the ball had clearly gone over the line, Kinnaird's fellow council members took his word for it, and struck the goal from the records, changing the official score to 2–0 (although if Oxford had not scored, there would have been no reason for the game to go to extra time, so by rights they should have annulled Wanderers' second goal as well). For the next century, all sources reported the score of the match as 2–0. In the 1980s, after fresh research into contemporary reports of the game by football historians, the FA reinstated the Oxford goal, and now regard the official final score of the 1877 final as 2–1.