1949 FA Cup Final
Encyclopedia
The 1949 FA Cup Final was contested by Wolverhampton Wanderers
and Leicester City
at Wembley Stadium. Wolves finished 6th in the First Division
during that season, and boasted several England internationals among their ranks, while Leicester City had struggled to avoid relegation in the Second Division
and were making their first Wembley appearance.
Wolves won the match 3–1, with goals by Jesse Pye
(2) and Sammy Smyth
. Mal Griffiths
scored the Foxes' reply. Captain Billy Wright was presented with the cup by HRH The Princess Elizabeth (now Elizabeth II).
, who had been preferred to Dennis Wilshaw
, stooped to head in an inch-perfect Hancocks
cross. Leicester kept Wolves at bay until almost half-time, when Pye collected the ball in the penalty area with his back to goal, after the Foxes had struggled to clear a corner, and turned to slam it home for his second.
Leicester brought the game to life immediately after the interval courtesy of Mal Griffiths
, who flicked the ball home after Williams parried Chisholm's initial effort. Within minutes, they believed they were level only for a narrow offside decision to rule out Chisholm's finish. Sammy Smyth
quickly calmed Wolves' nerves when picked up the ball in the centre circle and drove through the Leicester defence before hitting the ball low into the far corner to make it 3–1 and clinch the cup for Molineux
men for a third time.
Leicester were without two of their key players for the game, both of them ruled out by injury. Goalkeeper Ian McGraw was unable to play due to a broken finger, while Don Revie
had suffered a nose injury.
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS:
1
Bert Williams
2
Roy Pritchard
3
Terry Springthorpe
4
Billy Crook
5
Bill Shorthouse
6
Billy Wright (c)
7
Johnny Hancocks
8
Sammy Smyth
9
Jesse Pye
10
Jimmy Dunn
11
Jimmy Mullen
Manager:
Stan Cullis
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{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|-
|3rd Round||align=right|Leicester City||1–1||Birmingham City
|-
|3rd Round (Replay)||align=right|Birmingham City
||1–1||Leicester City
|-
|3rd Round (2nd Replay)||align=right|Leicester City||2–1||Birmingham City
|-
|4th Round||align=right|Leicester City||2–0||Preston North End
|-
|5th Round||align=right|Luton Town
||5–5||Leicester City
|-
|5th Round (Replay)||align=right|Leicester City||5–3||Luton Town
|-
|6th Round||align=right|Brentford
||0–2||Leicester City
|-
|Semi-final||align=right|Portsmouth
||1–3||Leicester City
|-
| ||colspan=4 align=center|(at Highbury
)
|-
|}
|width=50% valign=top|
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|-
|3rd Round||align=right|Wolverhampton Wanderers||6–0||Chesterfield
|-
|4th Round||align=right|Sheffield United
||0–3||Wolverhampton Wanderers
|-
|5th Round||align=right|Wolverhampton Wanderers||3–1||Liverpool
|-
|6th Round||align=right|Wolverhampton Wanderers||1–0||West Bromwich Albion
|-
|Semi-final||align=right|Wolverhampton Wanderers||1–1||Manchester United
|-
| ||colspan=4 align=center|(at Hillsborough
)
|-
|Semi-final (Replay)||align=right|Manchester United
||0–1||Wolverhampton Wanderers
|-
| ||colspan=4 align=center|(at Goodison Park
)
|-
|}
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
and Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
at Wembley Stadium. Wolves finished 6th 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....
during that season, and boasted several England internationals among their ranks, while Leicester City had struggled to avoid relegation in the 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...
and were making their first Wembley appearance.
Wolves won the match 3–1, with goals by Jesse Pye
Jesse Pye
Jesse Pye was an English footballer. He played in the Football League for , and and scored twice in the 1949 FA Cup Final for the former....
(2) and Sammy Smyth
Sammy Smyth
Samuel "Sammy" Smyth was a footballer who played for Liverpool from 1953 to 1954. Smyth was Liverpool's top scorer during the 1953–54 season, scoring 13 goals in all competitions. He helped Wolves win the FA Cup in 1949, scoring a goal in the final itself...
. Mal Griffiths
Mal Griffiths
William Malwyn "Mal" Griffiths was a Welsh footballer who played as an outside right for Leicester City and Wales.Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Griffiths started out in local football before signing for Arsenal...
scored the Foxes' reply. Captain Billy Wright was presented with the cup by HRH The Princess Elizabeth (now Elizabeth II).
Match summary
Wolves started determinedly and took a 13th minute lead when Jesse PyeJesse Pye
Jesse Pye was an English footballer. He played in the Football League for , and and scored twice in the 1949 FA Cup Final for the former....
, who had been preferred to Dennis Wilshaw
Dennis Wilshaw
Dennis James Wilshaw was an English international footballer. He scored 172 goals in 379 appearances in the Football League, and also scored ten goals in twelve appearances for the England national team.-Playing style:...
, stooped to head in an inch-perfect Hancocks
Johnny Hancocks
Johnny Hancocks was an English footballer, most associated with Wolverhampton Wanderers.-Career:A diminutive figure, standing just 5' 4" with size 3 boots, Hancocks played in the Wrekin Schools team before making his debut for hometown club Oakengates Town in the Birmingham League, aged just 15...
cross. Leicester kept Wolves at bay until almost half-time, when Pye collected the ball in the penalty area with his back to goal, after the Foxes had struggled to clear a corner, and turned to slam it home for his second.
Leicester brought the game to life immediately after the interval courtesy of Mal Griffiths
Mal Griffiths
William Malwyn "Mal" Griffiths was a Welsh footballer who played as an outside right for Leicester City and Wales.Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Griffiths started out in local football before signing for Arsenal...
, who flicked the ball home after Williams parried Chisholm's initial effort. Within minutes, they believed they were level only for a narrow offside decision to rule out Chisholm's finish. Sammy Smyth
Sammy Smyth
Samuel "Sammy" Smyth was a footballer who played for Liverpool from 1953 to 1954. Smyth was Liverpool's top scorer during the 1953–54 season, scoring 13 goals in all competitions. He helped Wolves win the FA Cup in 1949, scoring a goal in the final itself...
quickly calmed Wolves' nerves when picked up the ball in the centre circle and drove through the Leicester defence before hitting the ball low into the far corner to make it 3–1 and clinch the cup for Molineux
Molineux stadium
Molineux Stadium is a Premier League football stadium situated in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, England. It has been the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since 1889, and has a long and illustrious history as the first 'new build' stadium in Football League history, one of the...
men for a third time.
Leicester were without two of their key players for the game, both of them ruled out by injury. Goalkeeper Ian McGraw was unable to play due to a broken finger, while Don Revie
Don Revie
Donald George 'Don' Revie, OBE, , was an English footballer who played for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United he managed England from 1974 until 1977...
had suffered a nose injury.
Match details
| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> | LEICESTER CITY: | ||
| 1 | Gordon Bradley |
||
| 2 | Ted Jelly |
||
| 3 | Sandy Scott |
||
| 4 | Walter Harrison |
||
| 5 | Norman Plummer Norman Plummer Norman Leanord Plummer was a Royal Air Force officer and English footballer. During World War 2, Norman served with the RAF, serving in the Far East and in Europe as a navigator in the Lancaster bombers. He was one of the British servicemen that liberated the Belsen concentration camp in 1945... (c) |
||
| 6 | Johnny King Johnny King (footballer born 1926) John "Johnny" King was an English-born footballer who played as a wing half for Leicester City in the 1940s and 1950s.... |
||
| 7 |  Mal GriffithsMal Griffiths William Malwyn "Mal" Griffiths was a Welsh footballer who played as an outside right for Leicester City and Wales.Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Griffiths started out in local football before signing for Arsenal... |
||
| 8 | Jack Lee Jack Lee (footballer) Jack Lee was an English footballer. Lee, was born in Sileby and died in Rugby, and was also a first-class cricketer with Leicestershire.... |
||
| 9 | Jimmy Harrison |
||
| 10 | Ken Chisholm |
||
| 11 | Charlie Adam |
||
| Manager: | |||
| Johnny Duncan Johnny Duncan (footballer) John 'Johnny' Duncan was a Scottish football player and manager, who is most notable for his time at Leicester City.He captained the club to its greatest ever league finishes of 3rd and 2nd place in the First Division in 1927-28 and 1928-29 respectively... |
|||
Bert WilliamsBert Williams (footballer)
Bert Frederick Williams MBE is a former English international football goalkeeper. Nicknamed The Cat, he spent the majority of his playing career at Wolverhampton Wanderers where he won the League Championship and FA Cup....
Roy PritchardRoy Pritchard
Roy Thomas Pritchard was an English footballer. He played over 200 senior games for Wolverhampton Wanderers, with whom he played in the 1949 FA Cup Final.-Playing career:...
Terry SpringthorpeTerry Springthorpe
Terry Springthorpe was an English-American football defender. He began his career in England before moving to the American Soccer League in 1950. He also earned two caps with the U.S. national team.-Club:Springthorpe signed with on August 1, 1947 and played with the team until he transferred...
Billy CrookBilly Crook (English footballer)
William Charles "Billy" Crook was an English footballer who spent the majority of his playing career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, with whom he won the 1949 FA Cup.-Career:...
Bill ShorthouseBill Shorthouse
William "Bill" Shorthouse was an English professional football player and coach, who spent his playing career with Wolverhampton Wanderers.-Career:...
Billy Wright (c) Johnny HancocksJohnny Hancocks
Johnny Hancocks was an English footballer, most associated with Wolverhampton Wanderers.-Career:A diminutive figure, standing just 5' 4" with size 3 boots, Hancocks played in the Wrekin Schools team before making his debut for hometown club Oakengates Town in the Birmingham League, aged just 15...
Sammy SmythSammy Smyth
Samuel "Sammy" Smyth was a footballer who played for Liverpool from 1953 to 1954. Smyth was Liverpool's top scorer during the 1953–54 season, scoring 13 goals in all competitions. He helped Wolves win the FA Cup in 1949, scoring a goal in the final itself...
Jesse PyeJesse Pye
Jesse Pye was an English footballer. He played in the Football League for , and and scored twice in the 1949 FA Cup Final for the former....
Jimmy DunnJimmy Dunn (Scottish footballer born 1923)
James "Jimmy" Dunn is a Scottish former footballer, who spent the majority of his league career with Wolverhampton Wanderers. He is the son of the Scottish international footballer James Dunn.-Career:...
Jimmy Mullen Stan CullisStan Cullis
Stanley Cullis was a professional footballer and manager, most notably for Wolverhampton Wanderers. During his term as manager between 1948 and 1964 Wolves became one of the strongest teams in the British game, winning the league title on three occasions, and playing a series of high-profile...
Leicester City
{|width=100%|width=50% valign=top|
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|-
|3rd Round||align=right|Leicester City||1–1||Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
|-
|3rd Round (Replay)||align=right|Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
||1–1||Leicester City
|-
|3rd Round (2nd Replay)||align=right|Leicester City||2–1||Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
|-
|4th Round||align=right|Leicester City||2–0||Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
|-
|5th Round||align=right|Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
||5–5||Leicester City
|-
|5th Round (Replay)||align=right|Leicester City||5–3||Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
|-
|6th Round||align=right|Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
||0–2||Leicester City
|-
|Semi-final||align=right|Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
||1–3||Leicester City
|-
| ||colspan=4 align=center|(at Highbury
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
)
|-
|}
Wolverhampton Wanderers
{|width=100%|width=50% valign=top|
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|-
|3rd Round||align=right|Wolverhampton Wanderers||6–0||Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
|-
|4th Round||align=right|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...
||0–3||Wolverhampton Wanderers
|-
|5th Round||align=right|Wolverhampton Wanderers||3–1||Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
|-
|6th Round||align=right|Wolverhampton Wanderers||1–0||West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
|-
|Semi-final||align=right|Wolverhampton Wanderers||1–1||Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
|-
| ||colspan=4 align=center|(at Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
)
|-
|Semi-final (Replay)||align=right|Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
||0–1||Wolverhampton Wanderers
|-
| ||colspan=4 align=center|(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...
)
|-
|}