1904 FA Cup Final
Encyclopedia
| 1904 FA Cup Final |
|---|
 |
| Winner |
| Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894... |
| Runner Up |
| Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001.... |
| Score |
| 1–0 |
| Date |
| 23 April 1904 |
| Venue |
| Crystal Palace Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace, in the former parkland and also usurping part of the former grand prix circuit.It was... |
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
and Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
on 23 April 1904 at Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace, in the former parkland and also usurping part of the former grand prix circuit.It was...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known 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...
), it was the 32nd Cup final, and the tenth at Crystal Palace.
Each team progressed through four rounds to reach the final. Manchester City were a First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
team chasing a league and cup double; Bolton Wanderers were a mid-table Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
team. Consequently, most observers anticipated a Manchester City win. In a close match featuring strong defensive play, Manchester City won 1–0. The goal, scored by Billy Meredith
Billy Meredith
William Henry "Billy" Meredith was a Welsh footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each domestic trophy in the English football league and also gained 48 caps for Wales, for whom he...
, was disputed by those with Bolton sympathies, who believed Meredith to be offside. The victory gave Manchester City their first major honour.
Build-up
The final was held at Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace National Sports Centre
The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace, in the former parkland and also usurping part of the former grand prix circuit.It was...
, the tenth final played at the venue. Neither club had previously won the competition. Bolton reached the final in 1894
1894 FA Cup Final
The 1894 FA Cup Final was contested by Notts County and Bolton Wanderers at Goodison Park. Notts County won 4–1, with goals by James Logan and Arthur Watson. Jim Cassidy scored for Bolton...
, but were beaten comfortably by Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
, losing 4–1 at Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
despite a strong performance by goalkeeper John Sutcliffe
John Willie Sutcliffe
John William "J.W." Sutcliffe , commonly known as John Willie Sutcliffe, was an English football and rugby union player. J.W...
.
In their passage to the final Manchester City faced opposition from the top division in all but one round. Second Division Woolwich Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, City's opponents in the second round, were the exception. Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
were defeated 3–2 at Hyde Road
Hyde Road
Hyde Road was a football stadium in Ardwick, Manchester, England. It was home to Manchester City F.C. and their predecessors from its construction in 1887 until 1923, when the club moved to Maine Road. It was named after Hyde Road, a road which begins at the east end of Ardwick Green South in...
in the first round, and the visit to Arsenal yielded a 2–0 win. A club record crowd of 30,022 watched the quarter-final against Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
, but a 0–0 draw meant a replay at Ayresome Park
Ayresome Park
-External links:**-References:...
was required, which City won 3–1 to set up a semi-final against The Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
. Two goals from Turnbull and one from Meredith gave City a 3–0 win at Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
.
Bolton's cup run started slowly, with a replay required to overcome non-league Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
. A 4–1 victory over Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
secured a quarter-final berth at Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
. As a Second Division team with a poor away record, Wanderers were clear underdogs in the quarter-final, particularly in view of Sheffield United's strong home form. Nevertheless, Bolton prevailed 2–0 courtesy of goals by Sam Marsh and Billy Yenson. At this point Marsh had scored in every round of the competition. A 1–0 defeat of Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
in the semi-final took Bolton to the final.
Though Lancashire was a football stronghold in the early years of the professional game, providing a large proportion of Football League teams, the cup final had never been contested between two Lancashire clubs until the 1904 final. 30,000 supporters from the region travelled to London, sparking press reports of records for North-South rail travel. Lacking alternative accommodation, several thousand slept on the platforms at Euston
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
and St Pancras
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
. A jovial atmosphere built up, with the Manchester Industrial Boys Band playing Hiawatha
Hiawatha (A Summer Idyl)
"Hiawatha " is a popular song written by Neil Moret in 1901. James O'Dea added lyrics in 1903 and the music was re-subtitled ""....
. However, in London itself, the match received less attention than a final featuring a southern team would have done. Tickets in an uncovered stand cost 5s
£sd
£sd was the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies used in the Kingdom of England, later the United Kingdom, and ultimately in much of the British Empire...
.
Prior to the match the teams both stayed in the suburb of West Norwood
West Norwood
West Norwood is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth.It is primarily a residential suburb of south London but with some light industry near Knights Hill in the south....
, within walking distance of Crystal Palace. Manchester City arrived on 21 April, and were joined the following day by the Bolton Wanderers, who had spent the earlier part of the week at a training camp in Norbreck, near Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
. London's Morning Leader described the relaxed nature of the Manchester City players, commenting that "they might have been a tug of war
Tug of war
Tug of war, also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war or rope pulling, is a sport that directly pits two teams against each other in a test of strength. The term may also be used as a metaphor to describe a demonstration of brute strength by two opposing groups, such as a rivalry between two...
eleven out for a holiday".
The majority of observers, including the Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
correspondent, expected a win for Manchester City, as they had performed strongly over the League season, lying second in the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
on the day of the final, whereas Bolton were a mid-table Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
side whose most talented forward, Boyd, was sidelined through injury. Manchester City had one injury worry, Billy Holmes, who had missed the previous league match after sustaining an injury against Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
. George Livingstone
George Livingstone
George Turner "Geordie" Livingstone was a Scottish football player. His regular position was at inside-forward....
, initially a doubt, was passed fit well in advance. When the final lineups were announced, both teams had one change from the semi-finals. For Bolton, Boyd was replaced by Clifford, who had not played in any of the previous rounds, and Archie Freebairn switched to Boyd's usual flank "with a view to coping with Meredith". For Manchester City, Sam Ashworth replaced Holmes. Both teams played 2-3-5, the standard formation of the period.
Match
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Arthur Balfour
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, DL was a British Conservative politician and statesman...
, Colonial Secretary
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
Alfred Lyttelton
Alfred Lyttelton
Alfred Lyttelton QC was a British politician and sportsman who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sports: cricket , football , athletics , rackets and real tennis , displaying an ability that made him...
, Postmaster General Lord Stanley
Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby
Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby KG, GCB, GCVO, TD, PC, KGStJ, JP , known as Lord Stanley from 1893 to 1908, was a British soldier, Conservative politician, diplomat and racehorse owner. He was twice Secretary of State for War and also served as British Ambassador to...
and Lord Kinnaird
Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird
Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird KT was a principal of The Football Association and a leading footballer....
. Also in attendance were cricketers WG Grace, GL Jessop and CB Fry, plus several members of the Australian cricket team. Manchester City entered the field of play first, led by captain Billy Meredith
Billy Meredith
William Henry "Billy" Meredith was a Welsh footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each domestic trophy in the English football league and also gained 48 caps for Wales, for whom he...
, with the Bolton team emerging shortly after. Manchester City won the toss, and elected to play towards the southern end of the ground in the first half, with the wind at their backs. The opening exchanges were fairly even, the Athletic News reporting that "For some time there was little to choose between the rivals", but that "Manchester were the more systematic and scientific".
Twenty minutes into the game, a pass to the right wing by George Livingstone
George Livingstone
George Turner "Geordie" Livingstone was a Scottish football player. His regular position was at inside-forward....
eluded Bolton's Archie Freebairn, and reached Meredith, who dribbled beyond Bob Struthers for a run on goal. He shot to goalkeeper Davies' left, scoring the opening goal. Reporters with Bolton sympathies, such as ex-Bolton secretary JJ Bentley
John Bentley (football manager)
John James Bentley was an English football player and manager, captain, and variously secretary, treasurer and president of Turton F.C., secretary of Bolton Wanderers, the fourth full-time secretary of Manchester United, president of the Football League and vice-president of The Football...
, claimed the goal to be offside
Offside (football)
Offside is a law in football which states that if a player is in an offside position when the ball is touched or played by a teammate, he may not become actively involved in the play...
, though the Bolton players made no appeal to the referee. The goal led to one over-exuberant Manchester City supporter invading the pitch, and subsequently being escorted away by police, though in contrast to the modern image of the football hooligan, the Sporting Chronicle reported that the man was then allowed back onto the terraces, as the police had been impressed by the level of devotion that he had demonstrated.
Bolton had the majority of possession in the second half, aside from a ten minute spell, but the performance of the Manchester City defence limited Bolton's goalscoring opportunities. The Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
singled out Herbert Burgess
Herbert Burgess
Herbert Larry Burgess was an English football player.Born in Openshaw, Manchester, Burgess began his football career with Glossop North End, but soon signed for Manchester City. He made his debut for City on 5 September 1903, playing at left back away to Stoke City on the opening day of the...
for particular praise in this respect, writing that City had "considerable reason to be thankful to their left-back, Burgess... ...the famous International played a game which has rarely been surpassed". The Bolton Evening News took a rather different view, claiming that physical play by Burgess provoked the ire of the crowd. Bolton's adoption of "kick and rush" tactics resulted in a spell of pressure, but to no avail. Bolton's best chance came in the final five minutes, a shot by White which "missed by inches". The match finished 1–0, giving Manchester City their first major honour.
Match details
| style="font-size: 100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> | Manchester City: | ||
| Goalkeeper | Jack Hillman Jack Hillman Jack Hillman was an English football goalkeeper who played for Burnley, Everton, Dundee, Manchester City and Millwall.-Career:... |
||
| 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.... |
Johnny McMahon | ||
| Full-back | Herbert Burgess Herbert Burgess Herbert Larry Burgess was an English football player.Born in Openshaw, Manchester, Burgess began his football career with Glossop North End, but soon signed for Manchester City. He made his debut for City on 5 September 1903, playing at left back away to Stoke City on the opening day of the... |
||
| 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... |
Sammy Frost | ||
| Half-back | Tommy Hynds Tommy Hynds Thomas "Tommy" Hynds was a Scottish footballer.Hynds started out as a centre half at Celtic, but was mainly a reserve; his time there included a loan spell at Bolton Wanderers in 1899. He left the Glasgow side to join Manchester City in September 1901. His City debut came on 5 October 1901 in a... |
||
| Half-back | Sam Ashworth | ||
| Forward | Billy Meredith Billy Meredith William Henry "Billy" Meredith was a Welsh footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each domestic trophy in the English football league and also gained 48 caps for Wales, for whom he... |
||
| Forward | George Livingstone George Livingstone George Turner "Geordie" Livingstone was a Scottish football player. His regular position was at inside-forward.... |
||
| Forward | Billie Gillespie Billie Gillespie Billie Gillespie was an English football player who was a centre forward who 'hung around in the penalty circle and picked up lots of goals'. He played for Manchester City F.C. between 1896 and 1904 appearing 217 times and scoring 125 goals.... |
||
| Forward | Sandy Turnbull Sandy Turnbull Alexander "Sandy" Turnbull was a Scottish football player who played as a forward for both Manchester City and Manchester United in the early 20th century.... |
||
| Forward | Frank Booth Frank Booth (footballer) Frank Booth was an English footballer who played in the outside left position and who was born in Hyde in 1882. He had two spells as a Manchester City player between 1902 and 1906 and in 1911. In total he made 98 appearances for the team and scored 18 goals. He also won one cap for the... |
||
| Secretary: | |||
| Tom Maley Tom Maley Tom Maley was a Scottish football player and manager.Born in Portsmouth to a soldier from County Clare, Maley spent his entire playing career in Scotland, with Partick Thistle, Dundee Harp, Hibernian, Third Lanark and Celtic. An amateur during his playing days, he worked as a school teacher and... |
|||
Dai Davies (footballer born 1880)
David "Dai" Davies was a Welsh rugby union, professional rugby league, and association football player of the 1890s, 1900s and '10s who at club level played rugby union for Llanelli RFC, at representative level played rugby league for Wales, and Lancashire, and at club level for Swinton , and...
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....
Walter Brown (footballer)
Walter Ephraim Brown was an English footballer who played in the Football Alliance for Small Heath. Brown was born in the Handsworth district of Birmingham and played football for several local clubs before spending a couple of months with Small Heath at the beginning of the 1891–92 season...
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...
Sam Greenhalgh
Samuel Greenhalgh was an English footballer who played as a centre half in The Football League with Bolton Wanderers and Aston Villa in the early 20th-century.He was a member of the Bolton Wanderers team which won the 1904 FA Cup Final....
John Somerville (footballer)
John Somerville was an English footballer and manager, serving in both capacities, as well as that of secretary, for Bolton Wanderers.Joining the club in 1890, he went on to make 293 appearances for the club, playing in the 1894 FA Cup Final...
MATCH RULES
|
Post-match
Manchester City captain Meredith received the trophy from the serving prime minister, Arthur Balfour, a patron of the club. Alfred Lyttelton then made a speech praising the efforts of the two teams. Lyttelton, a former footballer himself, compared the play in the final with the match he played for the England team against Scotland in 1877. Noting that "the game is a good deal changed", he emphasised how the final had demonstrated the importance of teamwork, in contrast to his day when "each man played for himself".While most of those in attendance behaved well, with few reports of disturbances, later in the day several young men "with provincial accents" appeared at a west London police court charged with drunken disorder. Due to "offence caused by 'scrimmage'", they were issued with fines averaging 10s
£sd
£sd was the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies used in the Kingdom of England, later the United Kingdom, and ultimately in much of the British Empire...
.
Manchester City did not return directly to Manchester, but instead went to Liverpool, as the club's final league fixture was scheduled for Monday afternoon at Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
. At this point Manchester City were still in contention for the league title. However, a 1–0 defeat at Goodison Park eliminated City from the title race and confirmed The Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
as champions. The team arrived in Manchester in that evening, and travelled to the Town Hall
Manchester Town Hall
Manchester Town Hall is a Victorian-era, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. The building functions as the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments....
to commence a victory parade. From the Town Hall, the parade travelled to Ardwick
Ardwick
Ardwick is a district of the City of Manchester, in North West England, about one mile east of Manchester City Centre.By the mid-19th century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealthy suburb of Manchester, but by the end of that century it had become heavily industrialised...
Conservative Club, via Deansgate
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road through the city centre of Manchester, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long....
, Market Street and Ardwick Green
Ardwick Green
Ardwick Green is a public space in Ardwick, Manchester, England. It began as a private park for the residents of houses surrounding it. Manchester acquired it in 1867 and turned it into a public park with an ornamental pond and a bandstand....
. The number of people lining the route was five times as many as had attended a recent visit by the Prince and Princess of Wales.