1956 FA Cup Final
Encyclopedia
The 1956 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1955–56 staging of English
football's primary cup competition
, the Football Association Challenge Cup, better known as the FA Cup
. The showpiece event was contested between Manchester City
and Birmingham City
at Wembley Stadium in London
on Saturday 5 May 1956. Two-time winners Manchester City were appearing in their sixth final, whereas Birmingham City were seeking to win the competition for the first time, having lost their only previous final in 1931
.
Each club needed to win five matches to reach the final. Manchester City's victories were close affairs, each settled by the odd goal, and they needed a replay to defeat fifth-round opponents Liverpool
. Birmingham City made more comfortable progress: they scored eighteen goals while conceding only two, and won each match at the first attempt despite being drawn to play on their opponents' ground in every round. They became the first team to reach an FA Cup final without playing at home.
Birmingham entered the match as favourites, in a contest billed as a contrast of styles. Watched by a crowd of 100,000 and a television audience of five million, Manchester City took an early lead through Joe Hayes, but Noel Kinsey
equalised midway through the first half. Second half goals from Jack Dyson
and Bobby Johnstone
gave Manchester City a 3–1 victory. The match is best remembered for the heroics of Manchester City goalkeeper, Bert Trautmann
, who continued playing despite breaking a bone in his neck in a collision with Birmingham's Peter Murphy
.
As both Birmingham City and Manchester City were First Division
clubs, they entered the competition in the third round. Manchester City's cup run started with a home tie against Blackpool
. The visitors took the lead after only 10 seconds (their fastest goal ever), but midway through the match, fog enveloped Maine Road
. The match was abandoned during the second half, immediately after City had scored an equalising goal, and replayed the following Wednesday; City won 2–1. In the fourth round Manchester City faced Southend United
at Roots Hall
. The Essex
club's ground had only opened five months previously, and was suffering from drainage problems. Torrential rainfall meant that in the week before the match a trench was dug across the pitch, and sand added. Though Southend were a Third Division
team, their familiarity with the uneven pitch meant the match was closely contested. Southend pressured the Manchester City goal, requiring Bert Trautmann
to make several saves, but Joe Hayes scored the only goal of the game on a City counter-attack to earn a fifth-round tie against Liverpool
.
In the fifth-round match, the teams saw out a 0–0 draw at Maine Road, and the match was replayed at Anfield
. Goals from Jack Dyson
and Bobby Johnstone
gave Manchester City a 2–1 lead, but the game finished in controversial circumstances when the referee blew his whistle for full time as Liverpool's Billy Liddell
was bearing down on goal. Liddell put the ball in the net, but unbeknown to him the goal did not count as the match was already over. In the quarter final Manchester City again played opposition from Liverpool, facing Everton
at Maine Road. Trailing 1–0 at half-time after a Jimmy Harris
goal, City overcame the deficit in the second half with goals from Hayes and Johnstone. Further controversy followed in the semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur
, when in the final minutes of the match, with the score at 1–0 to Manchester City, Tottenham were denied a penalty
after goalkeeper Trautmann grabbed forward George Robb
's leg. No further goalscoring opportunities occurred, and City hung on for the victory.
Manager Arthur Turner
called on his team to match their Third Division opponents Torquay United
for fighting spirit and to produce a "90-minute performance". The players complied; leading 4–0 at half-time, they finished as comfortable 7–1 winners. In the fourth round, Leyton Orient
, who had beaten Birmingham at the same stage four years earlier, posed more of a potential problem. In reality the win was equally comfortable: Eddy Brown
added two goals to his hat-trick
at Torquay. A tight local derby
game followed on a snow-covered frozen pitch at The Hawthorns
. In the first half, goalkeeper Gil Merrick
and his defence did well to keep West Bromwich Albion
out; Trevor Smith
had to clear an Ronnie Allen
header from under the crossbar. In the second half, Birmingham wasted several chances before a one-two
with Brown allowed Peter Murphy
to score from the edge of the penalty area
.
In the sixth round, Birmingham faced Arsenal
on a muddy pitch. In order to relieve the tension on the way to important matches, manager Turner used to encourage the players to sing. Scotsman
Alex Govan
's contribution, Harry Lauder
's rousing "Keep right on to the end of the road", was adopted by his team-mates. As the team coach approached Highbury
with the windows wound down, the fans joined in, continuing their rendition during the game. After first-half goals from Gordon Astall
and Murphy, Birmingham went 3–0 up through Brown with twenty minutes left. Two minutes later, Arsenal scored from 30 yards (27.4 m), Birmingham were unsettled, and Merrick needed to make a fine save from Vic Groves
to maintain the lead. Turner felt the motivation from such a powerful song played a significant part in the day's victory.
Semi-final opponents Sunderland
found Birmingham without "hard-man" left-half
Roy Warhurst
, who had injured a thigh against Arsenal, but in Jack Badham
they had an effective replacement. The club's official history describes this as "probably the finest team performance against top class opposition ever produced" by a Birmingham team. They attacked from the kick-off and nullified Sunderland's pressure and the threat of Len Shackleton
. Noel Kinsey
scored early and the second goal came from a passing move down the left side finished by Astall. As Sunderland threw everyone forward, which left them open at the back, Brown picked up a long through ball and lobbed the goalkeeper. Astall said afterwards that he was surprised they had not scored five, and Brown wrote in his newspaper column:
Birmingham City thus reached the final without playing a single tie at home, a feat which had never previously been accomplished.
. Manchester City were appearing in the final for the sixth time, and for the second consecutive year. They had won the cup twice previously (in 1904
and 1934), and had been beaten in the final three times (in 1926
, 1933
and 1955
). Though Birmingham had less pedigree in the competition, the press viewed them as favourites. The Daily Telegraph contrasted Birmingham's "dazzling Cup run" with the manner in which Manchester City "scraped through", describing the Midlanders as "firm favourites". Interviews with players were typically bullish in tone. Manchester City's Bobby Johnstone opined that "Even an unbiased fan must regard Manchester City with favour", whereas Birmingham's Len Boyd
gauged opinion quite differently: "They say Birmingham City are the hottest Cup favourites since Wolves
crashed to Portsmouth
in 1939
".
During the 1950s the FA Cup final was the only football match to be televised nationally, resulting in heightened media attention for the players and clubs involved. The Players' Union
successfully requested an additional £5 per man for appearing in a televised match, the first time such appearance money had been paid. Birmingham's players signed an exclusive contract with the BBC
committing them to appear only on BBC programmes in the weeks leading up to the final, though their post-match celebration would be covered live by the regional commercial station ATV
. The match itself attracted a television audience of five million, a high figure for the period.
Each club received 15,000 tickets for the final from the Football Association
. Birmingham distributed their share by ballot among those supporters who had followed the team in the earlier rounds of the competition; 22,000 had attended the semi-final, so many thousands were left disappointed. Of the remaining tickets, 4,640 were allocated to the FA, 40,640 to County Association
s, 20,090 to Football League clubs, 2,550 to FA members and 2,080 to the FA Council
and stadium authorities. An enquiry into the black market held following the previous year's Cup Final meant ticket touts kept a lower profile than usual. However, in the week leading up to the game, the cheapest standing tickets, originally sold for 3s 6d
, were changing hands in Birmingham for twenty times face value, or 35% of a manual worker's weekly earnings.
Manchester City spent the week preceding the final at a training camp in Eastbourne
. Two days before the final Bert Trautmann
, who had originally arrived in England as a prisoner of war
, was named Footballer of the Year. Eight players who had played in the previous year's final were selected in the starting line-up. Press speculation in the run-up to the match pondered which of Don Revie
and Bobby Johnstone would be selected, as Johnstone had been suffering from a calf problem. Bill Leivers
was also an injury doubt due to a twisted ankle, and Billy Spurdle
had a boil on his left arm lanced on the eve of the final. Consequently, the Manchester City line-up was not named until the morning of the match. Leivers was passed fit after having two pain-killing injections, but contrary to press expectations Spurdle missed out. This meant both Revie and Johnstone appeared in the line-up, Johnstone switching to outside-right
.
Birmingham also had doubts over their selection. Captain Len Boyd had for some time been suffering from a debilitating back problem, and relied on injections to keep him playing. He missed five of the last seven games of the season, but was passed fit on the Wednesday before the game. Fellow wing half
Roy Warhurst had injured his thigh in the sixth-round match and played no further part in the season, while Badham, who damaged an ankle three weeks before the final, travelled on the Thursday with the rest of the team to their base in Twyford
, Berkshire
. Jeff Hall
was struggling with a virus. When manager Turner announced his team on the eve of the match, Boyd took Warhurst's position at left-half, Badham, who had proved an able deputy in the semi-final, was omitted, and the inexperienced 22-year-old Johnny Newman
came in on the right.
British Railways laid on 38 special trains to take some 19,000 supporters to London, the first of which arrived at St Pancras station
from Manchester shortly after 3 a.m. For the first time, the official programmes were on sale from early morning in an attempt to thwart sellers of unofficial versions. The Birmingham Mail
set up a temporary press
in a Wembley car park to produce a special edition of their Saturday sports paper
, the Sports Argus
, on blue paper rather than the usual pink. As the teams prepared in the dressing rooms, the crowd was led in communal singing, including songs with resonance for each of the two teams, "She's a lassie from Lancashire" and "Keep right on to the end of the road", and the hymn "Abide with Me
", traditionally sung before every FA Cup final. As the teams emerged from the tunnel, Manchester City captain Roy Paul
seized one last opportunity to stir emotion within the players by stopping, raising his fist and shouting "If we don't fucking win, you'll get some of this".
, two outside-forwards
, two inside-forwards
and a centre-forward. However, their tactical approaches differed. Birmingham, described by The Times
as using "iron determination, powerful tackling and open direct methods", employed the traditional English approach of getting the ball to the outside-forwards as quickly as possible, whereas Manchester City adopted tactics inspired by the Hungarian team which had soundly beaten England at Wembley
three years before. The system involved using Don Revie
in a deeper position than a traditional centre-forward in order to draw a defender out of position, and was therefore known as the "Revie Plan
". As both teams' first-choice colours were blue, each team wore their change strip to prevent confusion. Manchester City therefore wore maroon, and Birmingham City wore white.
Birmingham won the toss
and Manchester City kicked off. The Birmingham goal came under pressure almost immediately. Within a minute a far post cross from Roy Clarke
narrowly eluded Hayes. Two corners
followed, the second resulting in a shot by Roy Paul. The next attack, in the third minute, resulted in the opening goal. Revie began the move, exchanging passes with Clarke, and back-heeling for the unmarked Hayes to sweep the ball past Gil Merrick
to put Manchester City ahead. Birmingham's confidence was shaken, resulting in a series of Manchester City corners and a chance for Hayes, but they fought back to equalise in the 15th minute. Astall slipped the ball to Brown, who helped it forward. It rebounded off a Manchester City defender into the path of Welsh international
inside‑forward Noel Kinsey
, who fired home via Trautmann's far post. For the remainder of the first half Birmingham had most of the play, exerting pressure on Manchester City full-back Leivers, but were unable to make a breakthrough. Though Birmingham put the ball in the net twice, Brown was adjudged to be offside on both occasions. With Warhurst missing and Boyd out of position and not fully fit, Birmingham's strength and balance was disrupted, leaving them particularly vulnerable to Manchester City's unconventional style.
During the half-time interval, a row erupted between the Birmingham manager and some of his players about their fitness; in the Manchester City dressing room, a heated exchange took place between Barnes and Revie. Barnes had played defensively in the first half to counter the threat of Peter Murphy
, but Revie urged him to play further forward. Meanwhile, manager Les McDowall
exhorted his players to keep possession and make their opponents chase the ball.
The period immediately after half‑time saw few chances, but then, after just over an hour's play, Manchester City regained their stride and suddenly went two goals ahead. A throw-in to Revie led to interplay on the right wing involving Barnes, Dyson, and Johnstone, resulting in a through-ball which put Dyson clear of the defence to score. Two minutes later, Trautmann collected the ball at the end of a Birmingham attack and kicked the ball long to Dyson, over the heads of the retreating Birmingham players. Dyson flicked the ball on to Bobby Johnstone
, who scored Manchester City's third, becoming the first player ever to score in consecutive Wembley finals in the process.
With 17 minutes remaining, a Birmingham chance arose when Murphy outpaced Dave Ewing
. Goalkeeper Trautmann dived at the feet of Murphy to win the ball, but in the collision Murphy's right knee hit Trautmann's neck with a forceful blow. Trautmann was knocked unconscious, and the referee stopped play immediately. Trainer Laurie Barnett rushed onto the pitch, and treatment continued for several minutes. No substitute
s were permitted, so Manchester City would have to see out the game with ten men if Trautmann was unable to continue. Captain Roy Paul felt certain that Trautmann was not fit to complete the match, and wished to put Roy Little
in goal instead. However, Trautmann, dazed and unsteady on his feet, insisted upon keeping his goal. He played out the remaining minutes in great pain, with the Manchester City defenders attempting to clear the ball well upfield or into the stand whenever it came near. Trautmann was called upon to make two further saves to deny Brown and Murphy, the second causing him to recoil in agony due to a collision with Ewing, which required the trainer to revive him.
No further goals were scored, and the referee blew for full-time with the final score 3–1 to Manchester City. As the players left the field, the crowd sang a chorus of "For he's a jolly good fellow" in tribute to Trautmann's bravery. Roy Paul led his team up the steps to the royal box to receive Manchester City's third FA Cup. Trautmann's neck continued to cause him pain, and Prince Philip
commented on its crooked state as he gave Trautmann his winner's medal. Three days later, an examination revealed that Trautmann had broken a bone in his neck.
sang to the players) despite being unable to move his head, and went to bed expecting his injury to heal with rest. As the pain did not recede, the following day he went to St George's Hospital
, where he was told he merely had a crick in his neck which would go away. Three days later, he got a second opinion
from a doctor at Manchester Royal Infirmary
. An X-ray
revealed he had dislocated five vertebrae in his neck, the second of which was cracked in two. The third vertebra had wedged against the second, preventing further damage which could have cost Trautmann his life.
When Manchester City's train from London reached Manchester, the team were greeted by cameras from Granada TV and an open-top bus. They embarked on a journey from London Road station
to the town hall in Albert Square
, taking a route along some of Manchester's main shopping streets. The size and spirit of the crowds led the Manchester Evening Chronicle to make comparisons with VE Day
. The boisterousness of the crowds in Albert Square meant the Lord Mayor
struggled to make his speech heard above chants of "We want Bert". After the civic reception at the Town Hall and a banquet at a Piccadilly
restaurant, the team returned to the open-top bus and headed to Belle Vue Pleasure Gardens
, near the club's former home of Hyde Road
in east Manchester, where the Chronicle held a function.
An estimated 10,000 people met the Birmingham City party on their return to Snow Hill station
. The players, in the first of a convoy of four coaches, waved to the assembled crowds through the open sun-roof as they proceeded to the Council House
, where the Lord Mayor welcomed them on behalf of the city. Len Boyd addressed the crowds from the balcony before the coaches continued through the city centre and back to St Andrew's, Birmingham City's home ground. The following Wednesday, a dinner was held to honour the club's achievements. Guests included the 84-year-old Billy Walton
, who had joined the club in 1888, six members of Birmingham's 1931 cup final
team, and a trade delegation from the Soviet
city of Sverdlovsk
.
Though the thousands gathered outside the Council House roared "No!" when Boyd said the team felt they had let the supporters down, there were recriminations concerning Birmingham's performance and team selection. The local press suggested that attempts to combat "Wembley nerves" had resulted in an "over-casual approach to the game". The row at half-time had done little for second-half morale, but speaking fifty years later, Gil Merrick placed the blame less on Boyd's questionable fitness than on a failure to discuss how to stop Revie. Alex Govan, convinced that "if Roy Warhurst had been fit then there would only have been one winner", blamed "bad team selection", saying that even without Warhurst he firmly believed "that if Badham had been in we would have won that game. He would never have given Don Revie the room to run the match." Warhurst himself thought the selection of Newman "meant the team had to adapt its style and in the end we used different tactics to those that had been successful all season".
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football's primary cup competition
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
, 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...
. The showpiece event was contested between 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...
and 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...
at Wembley Stadium 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...
on Saturday 5 May 1956. Two-time winners Manchester City were appearing in their sixth final, whereas Birmingham City were seeking to win the competition for the first time, having lost their only previous final in 1931
1931 FA Cup Final
The 1931 FA Cup Final was a football match between West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham, played on 25 April 1931 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece event was the final match of the 1930–31 staging of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge...
.
Each club needed to win five matches to reach the final. Manchester City's victories were close affairs, each settled by the odd goal, and they needed a replay to defeat fifth-round opponents 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...
. Birmingham City made more comfortable progress: they scored eighteen goals while conceding only two, and won each match at the first attempt despite being drawn to play on their opponents' ground in every round. They became the first team to reach an FA Cup final without playing at home.
Birmingham entered the match as favourites, in a contest billed as a contrast of styles. Watched by a crowd of 100,000 and a television audience of five million, Manchester City took an early lead through Joe Hayes, but Noel Kinsey
Noel Kinsey
Noel Kinsey is a Welsh former international footballer, who played as an inside right for Norwich City, Birmingham City and Port Vale.-Club career:...
equalised midway through the first half. Second half goals from Jack Dyson
Jack Dyson
Jack Dyson was both an English first class cricketer and a professional footballer.He started his sporting career as a footballer and spent four seasons with Manchester City during which time he played 62 matches and scored 26 goals...
and Bobby Johnstone
Bobby Johnstone
Robert "Bobby" Johnstone was a Scottish association football player, mainly remembered as one of the Famous Five forward line of Hibernian....
gave Manchester City a 3–1 victory. The match is best remembered for the heroics of Manchester City goalkeeper, Bert Trautmann
Bert Trautmann
Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann, OBE is a German former professional footballer who played for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. Brought up during times of inter-war strife in Germany, Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper...
, who continued playing despite breaking a bone in his neck in a collision with Birmingham's Peter Murphy
Peter Murphy (footballer born 1922)
Peter Murphy , often referred to as "Spud" Murphy, was an English footballer who played as an inside left. He played professionally for three clubs, Coventry City, Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City...
.
Manchester City
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Blackpool Blackpool F.C. Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the... (h) |
2–1 |
| 4th | Southend United Southend United F.C. Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had... (a) |
1–0 |
| 5th | 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... (h) |
0–0 |
| Liverpool (a) | 2–1 | |
| 6th | 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... (h) |
2–1 |
| Semi-final | Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.... (n) |
1–0 |
As both Birmingham City and Manchester City were 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....
clubs, they entered the competition in the third round. Manchester City's cup run started with a home tie against Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
. The visitors took the lead after only 10 seconds (their fastest goal ever), but midway through the match, fog enveloped Maine Road
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England that was home to Manchester City F.C. from its construction in 1923 until 2003...
. The match was abandoned during the second half, immediately after City had scored an equalising goal, and replayed the following Wednesday; City won 2–1. In the fourth round Manchester City faced Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
at Roots Hall
Roots Hall
Roots Hall is a multi-use sports stadium in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, primarily used for football games and is the home of the Football League Two club Southend United. With a capacity of 12,392 Roots Hall is the largest football stadium in Essex, and is the current venue for the final of...
. The Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
club's ground had only opened five months previously, and was suffering from drainage problems. Torrential rainfall meant that in the week before the match a trench was dug across the pitch, and sand added. Though Southend were a Third Division
Football League Third Division South
The Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958....
team, their familiarity with the uneven pitch meant the match was closely contested. Southend pressured the Manchester City goal, requiring Bert Trautmann
Bert Trautmann
Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann, OBE is a German former professional footballer who played for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. Brought up during times of inter-war strife in Germany, Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper...
to make several saves, but Joe Hayes scored the only goal of the game on a City counter-attack to earn a fifth-round tie against 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...
.
In the fifth-round match, the teams saw out a 0–0 draw at Maine Road, and the match was replayed at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
. Goals from Jack Dyson
Jack Dyson
Jack Dyson was both an English first class cricketer and a professional footballer.He started his sporting career as a footballer and spent four seasons with Manchester City during which time he played 62 matches and scored 26 goals...
and Bobby Johnstone
Bobby Johnstone
Robert "Bobby" Johnstone was a Scottish association football player, mainly remembered as one of the Famous Five forward line of Hibernian....
gave Manchester City a 2–1 lead, but the game finished in controversial circumstances when the referee blew his whistle for full time as Liverpool's Billy Liddell
Billy Liddell
William Beveridge "Billy" Liddell was a Scottish footballer, who played his entire professional career with Liverpool. He signed with the club as a teenager in 1938 and retired in 1961, having scored 228 goals in 534 appearances...
was bearing down on goal. Liddell put the ball in the net, but unbeknown to him the goal did not count as the match was already over. In the quarter final Manchester City again played opposition from Liverpool, facing 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 Maine Road. Trailing 1–0 at half-time after a Jimmy Harris
Jimmy Harris (footballer)
James "Jimmy" Harris is a former English professional footballer who played as a forward for Everton and Birmingham City in the First Division...
goal, City overcame the deficit in the second half with goals from Hayes and Johnstone. Further controversy followed in the semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
, when in the final minutes of the match, with the score at 1–0 to Manchester City, Tottenham were denied a penalty
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...
after goalkeeper Trautmann grabbed forward George Robb
George Robb
George Robb is a former footballer who played outside left for Tottenham Hotspur and England. He represented Great Britain at the 1952 Olympic Games. He also had a career as a schoolteacher.-Career :...
's leg. No further goalscoring opportunities occurred, and City hung on for the victory.
Birmingham City
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Torquay United Torquay United F.C. Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley... (a) |
7–1 |
| 4th | Leyton Orient Leyton Orient F.C. Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63... (a) |
4–0 |
| 5th | 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... (a) |
1–0 |
| 6th | 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... (a) |
3–1 |
| Semi-final | 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... (n 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... ) |
3–0 |
Manager Arthur Turner
Arthur Turner (footballer born 1909)
Arthur Owen Turner was an English professional footballer and football manager. He played as a centre-half for Stoke City, Birmingham City and Southport...
called on his team to match their Third Division opponents Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
for fighting spirit and to produce a "90-minute performance". The players complied; leading 4–0 at half-time, they finished as comfortable 7–1 winners. In the fourth round, Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
, who had beaten Birmingham at the same stage four years earlier, posed more of a potential problem. In reality the win was equally comfortable: Eddy Brown
Eddy Brown
Edwin "Eddy" Brown is an English former footballer who played as a centre forward. He played professionally for a number of clubs, but the peak of his career was spent with Birmingham City during their most successful period in the 1950s...
added two goals to his hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
at Torquay. A tight local derby
Local derby
In many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...
game followed on a snow-covered frozen pitch at The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, Sandwell, England, with a capacity of 26,484. It has been the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C. since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the club. The ground was the last Football League ground to be built in the...
. In the first half, goalkeeper Gil Merrick
Gil Merrick
Gilbert Harold "Gil" Merrick , was an English footballer and football manager. Considered one of the best goalkeepers in the UK during the mid-1950s, Merrick was one in a long line of great Birmingham City keepers which included the likes of Johnny Schofield and Harry Hibbs...
and his defence did well to keep 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...
out; Trevor Smith
Trevor Smith (footballer)
Trevor Smith was an English footballer, who played as a centre half for Birmingham City and the England national football team.- Biography :...
had to clear an Ronnie Allen
Ronnie Allen
Ronald "Ronnie" Allen was an English international football player and manager. He was a professional footballer for nineteen years, between 1946 and 1964, making 638 appearances in the Football League, and scoring 276 goals. He also won five caps for England national team...
header from under the crossbar. In the second half, Birmingham wasted several chances before a one-two
Push and run
Push-and-run, also known as a one-two, a wall pass or a give-and-go, is a tactic often used in association football. It was devised and developed by Arthur Rowe, who was the manager of English football club Tottenham Hotspur from 1949....
with Brown allowed Peter Murphy
Peter Murphy (footballer born 1922)
Peter Murphy , often referred to as "Spud" Murphy, was an English footballer who played as an inside left. He played professionally for three clubs, Coventry City, Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City...
to score from the edge of the penalty area
Penalty area
The penalty area , is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends to each side of the goal and in front of it. Within the penalty area is the penalty spot , which is from the goal line, directly in-line with the centre of the goal...
.
In the sixth round, Birmingham faced 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...
on a muddy pitch. In order to relieve the tension on the way to important matches, manager Turner used to encourage the players to sing. Scotsman
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Alex Govan
Alex Govan
Alexander "Alex" Govan is a Scottish former professional footballer who played at outside left. Most of his career was spent with Plymouth Argyle and with Birmingham City during their most successful period in the 1950s...
's contribution, Harry Lauder
Harry Lauder
Sir Henry Lauder , known professionally as Harry Lauder, was an international Scottish entertainer, described by Sir Winston Churchill as "Scotland's greatest ever ambassador!"-Early life:...
's rousing "Keep right on to the end of the road", was adopted by his team-mates. As the team coach approached 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...
with the windows wound down, the fans joined in, continuing their rendition during the game. After first-half goals from Gordon Astall
Gordon Astall
Gordon Astall is a former English professional footballer. He played as an outside right and represented the Football League, the England B team and played twice for the full England side. At club level he made over 450 appearances in the Football League.Astall was born in Horwich, near Bolton,...
and Murphy, Birmingham went 3–0 up through Brown with twenty minutes left. Two minutes later, Arsenal scored from 30 yards (27.4 m), Birmingham were unsettled, and Merrick needed to make a fine save from Vic Groves
Vic Groves
Victor George "Vic" Groves is an English former footballer.Born in Stepney, London, Groves started his career at east London non-league clubs Leytonstone and Walthamstow Avenue, and then briefly as an amateur for Tottenham Hotspur before signing professional forms with Leyton Orient in 1954...
to maintain the lead. Turner felt the motivation from such a powerful song played a significant part in the day's victory.
Semi-final opponents 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...
found Birmingham without "hard-man" left-half
Wing half
In association football, the position of wing half or wing half back) was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries...
Roy Warhurst
Roy Warhurst
Roy Warhurst is an English former footballer who made more than 300 appearances in the Football League playing for Sheffield United, Birmingham City, Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Oldham Athletic. He played as a wing half....
, who had injured a thigh against Arsenal, but in Jack Badham
Jack Badham
John "Jack" Badham was an English professional footballer who played as a full-back or left-half. He played 175 games in the Football League for Birmingham City in the top two divisions....
they had an effective replacement. The club's official history describes this as "probably the finest team performance against top class opposition ever produced" by a Birmingham team. They attacked from the kick-off and nullified Sunderland's pressure and the threat of Len Shackleton
Len Shackleton
Leonard Francis Shackleton, was an English footballer of the post-World War II period. Known as the Clown Prince of Football, he is generally regarded as one of English football's finest ever entertainers....
. Noel Kinsey
Noel Kinsey
Noel Kinsey is a Welsh former international footballer, who played as an inside right for Norwich City, Birmingham City and Port Vale.-Club career:...
scored early and the second goal came from a passing move down the left side finished by Astall. As Sunderland threw everyone forward, which left them open at the back, Brown picked up a long through ball and lobbed the goalkeeper. Astall said afterwards that he was surprised they had not scored five, and Brown wrote in his newspaper column:
Now Sunderland found out how hard it is to score against this terrific defence of ours. Not for nothing have we scored 18 goals against two (both of them freaks) conceded in five ties all away from home. What can I say to do justice to that brilliant goalkeeper Gil Merrick, to wonderful young Trevor Smith and to the matchless Jeff Hall and Ken Green? Once again they mixed the old cement and constructed that brilliant wall of a defence. Sunderland would have needed to call in a firm of demolition contractors to destroy it.
Birmingham City thus reached the final without playing a single tie at home, a feat which had never previously been accomplished.
Build-up
The 1956 final was the second time that Birmingham had reached the showpiece match, having lost 2–1 to West Bromwich Albion in 19311931 FA Cup Final
The 1931 FA Cup Final was a football match between West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham, played on 25 April 1931 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece event was the final match of the 1930–31 staging of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge...
. Manchester City were appearing in the final for the sixth time, and for the second consecutive year. They had won the cup twice previously (in 1904
1904 FA Cup Final
The 1904 FA Cup Final was a football match between Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City on 23 April 1904 at Crystal Palace in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup , it was the 32nd Cup final, and the tenth at Crystal...
and 1934), and had been beaten in the final three times (in 1926
1926 FA Cup Final
The 1926 FA Cup Final was a football match between Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City on 24 April 1926 at Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup , it was the 55th final, and the fourth at Wembley.Each...
, 1933
1933 FA Cup Final
The 1933 FA Cup Final was a football match between Everton and Manchester City on 29 April 1933 at Wembley Stadium in London. The deciding match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup , it was the 62nd final, and the 11th at Wembley...
and 1955
1955 FA Cup Final
The 1955 FA Cup Final was contested by Newcastle United and Manchester City at Wembley. Newcastle won 3–1, with goals from Jackie Milburn in the first minute , Bobby Mitchell and George Hannah. Bobby Johnstone scored City's goal...
). Though Birmingham had less pedigree in the competition, the press viewed them as favourites. The Daily Telegraph contrasted Birmingham's "dazzling Cup run" with the manner in which Manchester City "scraped through", describing the Midlanders as "firm favourites". Interviews with players were typically bullish in tone. Manchester City's Bobby Johnstone opined that "Even an unbiased fan must regard Manchester City with favour", whereas Birmingham's Len Boyd
Len Boyd
Leonard Arthur Miller "Len" Boyd was an English professional footballer who played 333 games in the Football League in the 1940s and 1950s. After serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, Boyd signed for Second Division club Plymouth Argyle, where he spent two seasons playing as an...
gauged opinion quite differently: "They say Birmingham City are the hottest Cup favourites since Wolves
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...
crashed to 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...
in 1939
1939 FA Cup Final
The 1939 FA Cup Final was contested by Portsmouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Wembley. Portsmouth won 4–1, with goals from Bert Barlow, John Anderson and two by Cliff Parker...
".
During the 1950s the FA Cup final was the only football match to be televised nationally, resulting in heightened media attention for the players and clubs involved. The Players' Union
Players' Union
The Players' Union was the popular name for the Association of Football Players’ and Trainers’ Union in the United Kingdom; the original association that became the Professional Footballers' Association....
successfully requested an additional £5 per man for appearing in a televised match, the first time such appearance money had been paid. Birmingham's players signed an exclusive contract with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
committing them to appear only on BBC programmes in the weeks leading up to the final, though their post-match celebration would be covered live by the regional commercial station ATV
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
. The match itself attracted a television audience of five million, a high figure for the period.
Each club received 15,000 tickets for the final from the Football Association
The 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...
. Birmingham distributed their share by ballot among those supporters who had followed the team in the earlier rounds of the competition; 22,000 had attended the semi-final, so many thousands were left disappointed. Of the remaining tickets, 4,640 were allocated to the FA, 40,640 to County Association
County Football Association
The County Football Associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England...
s, 20,090 to Football League clubs, 2,550 to FA members and 2,080 to the FA Council
FA Council
The FA Council consists of 92 elected representatives, from the FA Premier League, the Football League, County FAs, and the non-executive board of The Football Association...
and stadium authorities. An enquiry into the black market held following the previous year's Cup Final meant ticket touts kept a lower profile than usual. However, in the week leading up to the game, the cheapest standing tickets, originally sold for 3s 6d
£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...
, were changing hands in Birmingham for twenty times face value, or 35% of a manual worker's weekly earnings.
Manchester City spent the week preceding the final at a training camp in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
. Two days before the final Bert Trautmann
Bert Trautmann
Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann, OBE is a German former professional footballer who played for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. Brought up during times of inter-war strife in Germany, Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper...
, who had originally arrived in England as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, was named Footballer of the Year. Eight players who had played in the previous year's final were selected in the starting line-up. Press speculation in the run-up to the match pondered which of 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...
and Bobby Johnstone would be selected, as Johnstone had been suffering from a calf problem. Bill Leivers
Bill Leivers
William Ernest Leivers is a former English professional footballer and football manager.-Playing career:...
was also an injury doubt due to a twisted ankle, and Billy Spurdle
Billy Spurdle
William Spurdle is a former football player, who played on the right wing.-Playing career:Spurdle played for Manchester City F.C. between 1949 and 1956 making 160 appearances and scoring 32 goals, including an appearance in the 1955 FA Cup Final...
had a boil on his left arm lanced on the eve of the final. Consequently, the Manchester City line-up was not named until the morning of the match. Leivers was passed fit after having two pain-killing injections, but contrary to press expectations Spurdle missed out. This meant both Revie and Johnstone appeared in the line-up, Johnstone switching to outside-right
Outside forward
Outside forward is a position in association football which refers to a footballer who plays as an advanced forward on the right or left wing - as an outside right or outside left. Typically as part of a 2-3-5 formation or one of its variants...
.
Birmingham also had doubts over their selection. Captain Len Boyd had for some time been suffering from a debilitating back problem, and relied on injections to keep him playing. He missed five of the last seven games of the season, but was passed fit on the Wednesday before the game. Fellow wing half
Wing half
In association football, the position of wing half or wing half back) was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries...
Roy Warhurst had injured his thigh in the sixth-round match and played no further part in the season, while Badham, who damaged an ankle three weeks before the final, travelled on the Thursday with the rest of the team to their base in Twyford
Twyford, Berkshire
For other places of the same name, see Twyford.Twyford is a village and civil parish in the English Royal county of Berkshire. It is situated, at , in the heart of the Thames Valley on the A4 between Reading and Maidenhead, close to Henley-on-Thames and Wokingham.-History:The town's name is...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. Jeff Hall
Jeff Hall (footballer)
Jeffrey James "Jeff" Hall was an English footballer who played as a right back for Birmingham City and England....
was struggling with a virus. When manager Turner announced his team on the eve of the match, Boyd took Warhurst's position at left-half, Badham, who had proved an able deputy in the semi-final, was omitted, and the inexperienced 22-year-old Johnny Newman
Johnny Newman (footballer)
Johnny Newman is an English former footballer and manager. Newman played as a central defender, beginning his career with Birmingham City in 1951 where he won the Second Division and was on the losing side in a FA Cup final. He moved on to Leicester City and then to Plymouth Argyle, for whom he...
came in on the right.
British Railways laid on 38 special trains to take some 19,000 supporters to London, the first of which arrived at St Pancras station
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...
from Manchester shortly after 3 a.m. For the first time, the official programmes were on sale from early morning in an attempt to thwart sellers of unofficial versions. The Birmingham Mail
Birmingham Mail
The Birmingham Mail is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, UK but distributed around Birmingham, The Black Country, Solihull, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire and Staffordshire. The newspaper, which was re-branded from the Birmingham Evening Mail in October 2005, is one of the biggest...
set up a temporary press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
in a Wembley car park to produce a special edition of their Saturday sports paper
Saturday sports paper
The Saturday sports paper is a generic name for a series of local newspapers published in the UK on a Saturday evening containing information about sports matches played on that day. Throughout most of the twentieth century they were very popular, representing one of the few up to date sources of...
, the Sports Argus
Sports Argus
The Sports Argus was a Saturday sports paper printed on distinctive pink paper and published in Birmingham, England between 1897 and 2006....
, on blue paper rather than the usual pink. As the teams prepared in the dressing rooms, the crowd was led in communal singing, including songs with resonance for each of the two teams, "She's a lassie from Lancashire" and "Keep right on to the end of the road", and the hymn "Abide with Me
Abide With Me
The hymn tune most often used with this hymn is "Eventide" composed by William Henry Monk in 1861.Alternate tunes include:* "Abide with Me," Henry Lyte, 1847* "Morecambe", Frederick C...
", traditionally sung before every FA Cup final. As the teams emerged from the tunnel, Manchester City captain Roy Paul
Roy Paul
Roy Paul was a footballer who played as a half-back for Swansea Town and Manchester City...
seized one last opportunity to stir emotion within the players by stopping, raising his fist and shouting "If we don't fucking win, you'll get some of this".
Summary
Both teams employed the formation typical of the era: two full-backs, a centre-half, two wing-halvesWing half
In association football, the position of wing half or wing half back) was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries...
, two outside-forwards
Outside forward
Outside forward is a position in association football which refers to a footballer who plays as an advanced forward on the right or left wing - as an outside right or outside left. Typically as part of a 2-3-5 formation or one of its variants...
, two inside-forwards
Inside forward
In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...
and a centre-forward. However, their tactical approaches differed. Birmingham, described by 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...
as using "iron determination, powerful tackling and open direct methods", employed the traditional English approach of getting the ball to the outside-forwards as quickly as possible, whereas Manchester City adopted tactics inspired by the Hungarian team which had soundly beaten England at Wembley
England v Hungary (1953)
England v Hungary was an international football game played on November 25, 1953. The game was played between Hungary - then the world's number one ranked team, the Olympic champions and on a run of 24 unbeaten games - and England, then the world's number three ranked team, the inventors of the...
three years before. The system involved using 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...
in a deeper position than a traditional centre-forward in order to draw a defender out of position, and was therefore known as the "Revie Plan
Revie Plan
The Revie Plan was a tactical system in association football used by Manchester City in the 1950s. The system was named after Manchester City player Don Revie, who had the most important role in it....
". As both teams' first-choice colours were blue, each team wore their change strip to prevent confusion. Manchester City therefore wore maroon, and Birmingham City wore white.
Birmingham won the 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 Manchester City kicked off. The Birmingham goal came under pressure almost immediately. Within a minute a far post cross from Roy Clarke
Roy Clarke (footballer)
Royston James Clarke was a Welsh footballer who played for Cardiff City, Manchester City, Stockport County and Wales as a winger....
narrowly eluded Hayes. Two corners
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...
followed, the second resulting in a shot by Roy Paul. The next attack, in the third minute, resulted in the opening goal. Revie began the move, exchanging passes with Clarke, and back-heeling for the unmarked Hayes to sweep the ball past Gil Merrick
Gil Merrick
Gilbert Harold "Gil" Merrick , was an English footballer and football manager. Considered one of the best goalkeepers in the UK during the mid-1950s, Merrick was one in a long line of great Birmingham City keepers which included the likes of Johnny Schofield and Harry Hibbs...
to put Manchester City ahead. Birmingham's confidence was shaken, resulting in a series of Manchester City corners and a chance for Hayes, but they fought back to equalise in the 15th minute. Astall slipped the ball to Brown, who helped it forward. It rebounded off a Manchester City defender into the path of Welsh international
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
inside‑forward Noel Kinsey
Noel Kinsey
Noel Kinsey is a Welsh former international footballer, who played as an inside right for Norwich City, Birmingham City and Port Vale.-Club career:...
, who fired home via Trautmann's far post. For the remainder of the first half Birmingham had most of the play, exerting pressure on Manchester City full-back Leivers, but were unable to make a breakthrough. Though Birmingham put the ball in the net twice, Brown was adjudged to be offside on both occasions. With Warhurst missing and Boyd out of position and not fully fit, Birmingham's strength and balance was disrupted, leaving them particularly vulnerable to Manchester City's unconventional style.
During the half-time interval, a row erupted between the Birmingham manager and some of his players about their fitness; in the Manchester City dressing room, a heated exchange took place between Barnes and Revie. Barnes had played defensively in the first half to counter the threat of Peter Murphy
Peter Murphy (footballer born 1922)
Peter Murphy , often referred to as "Spud" Murphy, was an English footballer who played as an inside left. He played professionally for three clubs, Coventry City, Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City...
, but Revie urged him to play further forward. Meanwhile, manager Les McDowall
Les McDowall
Les McDowall was a Scottish football player and manager. He managed Manchester City between 1950 and 1963, and then Oldham Athletic until 1965. McDowall was the longest serving manager in Manchester City's history, his tenure spanning 13 years.Though born in India, McDowall was raised as a Scot...
exhorted his players to keep possession and make their opponents chase the ball.
The period immediately after half‑time saw few chances, but then, after just over an hour's play, Manchester City regained their stride and suddenly went two goals ahead. A throw-in to Revie led to interplay on the right wing involving Barnes, Dyson, and Johnstone, resulting in a through-ball which put Dyson clear of the defence to score. Two minutes later, Trautmann collected the ball at the end of a Birmingham attack and kicked the ball long to Dyson, over the heads of the retreating Birmingham players. Dyson flicked the ball on to Bobby Johnstone
Bobby Johnstone
Robert "Bobby" Johnstone was a Scottish association football player, mainly remembered as one of the Famous Five forward line of Hibernian....
, who scored Manchester City's third, becoming the first player ever to score in consecutive Wembley finals in the process.
Dave Ewing
Dave Ewing was a Scottish footballer who played in the centre half position for Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra, and briefly managed Hibernian....
. Goalkeeper Trautmann dived at the feet of Murphy to win the ball, but in the collision Murphy's right knee hit Trautmann's neck with a forceful blow. Trautmann was knocked unconscious, and the referee stopped play immediately. Trainer Laurie Barnett rushed onto the pitch, and treatment continued for several minutes. No substitute
Substitute (football)
In association football, a substitute is a player who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is not performing well; there may also be tactical reasons such as...
s were permitted, so Manchester City would have to see out the game with ten men if Trautmann was unable to continue. Captain Roy Paul felt certain that Trautmann was not fit to complete the match, and wished to put Roy Little
Roy Little
Roy Little was an English football right back who was born in Manchester. Once he left school at aged 14 he started working in rylands. His first professional club was Manchester City, who he joined from amateur side Greenwood Victoria in August 1949. He did not make his league debut until more...
in goal instead. However, Trautmann, dazed and unsteady on his feet, insisted upon keeping his goal. He played out the remaining minutes in great pain, with the Manchester City defenders attempting to clear the ball well upfield or into the stand whenever it came near. Trautmann was called upon to make two further saves to deny Brown and Murphy, the second causing him to recoil in agony due to a collision with Ewing, which required the trainer to revive him.
No further goals were scored, and the referee blew for full-time with the final score 3–1 to Manchester City. As the players left the field, the crowd sang a chorus of "For he's a jolly good fellow" in tribute to Trautmann's bravery. Roy Paul led his team up the steps to the royal box to receive Manchester City's third FA Cup. Trautmann's neck continued to cause him pain, and Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
commented on its crooked state as he gave Trautmann his winner's medal. Three days later, an examination revealed that Trautmann had broken a bone in his neck.
Details
| Manchester City: | Birmingham City: | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | 1 | Bert Trautmann Bert Trautmann Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann, OBE is a German former professional footballer who played for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. Brought up during times of inter-war strife in Germany, Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper... |
Goalkeeper | 1 | Gil Merrick Gil Merrick Gilbert Harold "Gil" Merrick , was an English footballer and football manager. Considered one of the best goalkeepers in the UK during the mid-1950s, Merrick was one in a long line of great Birmingham City keepers which included the likes of Johnny Schofield and Harry Hibbs... |
|||
| 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.... |
2 | Bill Leivers Bill Leivers William Ernest Leivers is a former English professional footballer and football manager.-Playing 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.... |
2 | Jeff Hall Jeff Hall (footballer) Jeffrey James "Jeff" Hall was an English footballer who played as a right back for Birmingham City and England.... |
|||
| Full-back | 3 | Roy Little Roy Little Roy Little was an English football right back who was born in Manchester. Once he left school at aged 14 he started working in rylands. His first professional club was Manchester City, who he joined from amateur side Greenwood Victoria in August 1949. He did not make his league debut until more... |
Full-back | 3 | Ken Green Ken Green (footballer) Kenneth "Ken" Green was an English footballer born in West Ham, London, who played as a full back. He played for Birmingham City from 1943 to 1959, making 443 appearances in all competitions and scoring 3 goals, and played in the 1956 FA Cup final which Birmingham lost to Manchester City 3-1... |
|||
| 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... |
4 | Ken Barnes Ken Barnes (footballer) Kenneth Herbert Barnes was an English footballer. He played as a half back for Manchester City and Wrexham. On the books of Birmingham City as a youth, Barnes began his football career at amateur level... |
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... |
4 | Johnny Newman Johnny Newman (footballer) Johnny Newman is an English former footballer and manager. Newman played as a central defender, beginning his career with Birmingham City in 1951 where he won the Second Division and was on the losing side in a FA Cup final. He moved on to Leicester City and then to Plymouth Argyle, for whom he... |
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| Half-back | 5 | Dave Ewing Dave Ewing Dave Ewing was a Scottish footballer who played in the centre half position for Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra, and briefly managed Hibernian.... |
Half-back | 5 | Trevor Smith Trevor Smith (footballer) Trevor Smith was an English footballer, who played as a centre half for Birmingham City and the England national football team.- Biography :... |
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| Half-back | 6 | Roy Paul Roy Paul Roy Paul was a footballer who played as a half-back for Swansea Town and Manchester City... |
Half-back | 6 | Len Boyd Len Boyd Leonard Arthur Miller "Len" Boyd was an English professional footballer who played 333 games in the Football League in the 1940s and 1950s. After serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, Boyd signed for Second Division club Plymouth Argyle, where he spent two seasons playing as an... |
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| Forward | 7 | Bobby Johnstone Bobby Johnstone Robert "Bobby" Johnstone was a Scottish association football player, mainly remembered as one of the Famous Five forward line of Hibernian.... |
Forward | 7 | Gordon Astall Gordon Astall Gordon Astall is a former English professional footballer. He played as an outside right and represented the Football League, the England B team and played twice for the full England side. At club level he made over 450 appearances in the Football League.Astall was born in Horwich, near Bolton,... |
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| Forward | 8 | Joe Hayes | Match rules: | Forward | 8 | Noel Kinsey Noel Kinsey Noel Kinsey is a Welsh former international footballer, who played as an inside right for Norwich City, Birmingham City and Port Vale.-Club career:... |
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| Forward | 9 | 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... |
90 minutes normal time. | Forward | 9 | Eddy Brown Eddy Brown Edwin "Eddy" Brown is an English former footballer who played as a centre forward. He played professionally for a number of clubs, but the peak of his career was spent with Birmingham City during their most successful period in the 1950s... |
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| Forward | 10 | Jack Dyson Jack Dyson Jack Dyson was both an English first class cricketer and a professional footballer.He started his sporting career as a footballer and spent four seasons with Manchester City during which time he played 62 matches and scored 26 goals... |
30 minutes extra-time if scores are level. | Forward | 10 | Peter Murphy Peter Murphy (footballer born 1922) Peter Murphy , often referred to as "Spud" Murphy, was an English footballer who played as an inside left. He played professionally for three clubs, Coventry City, Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City... |
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| Forward | 11 | Roy Clarke Roy Clarke (footballer) Royston James Clarke was a Welsh footballer who played for Cardiff City, Manchester City, Stockport County and Wales as a winger.... |
Replay if scores still level. | Forward | 11 | Alex Govan Alex Govan Alexander "Alex" Govan is a Scottish former professional footballer who played at outside left. Most of his career was spent with Plymouth Argyle and with Birmingham City during their most successful period in the 1950s... |
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| No substitutes. | ||||||||
| Manager | Les McDowall Les McDowall Les McDowall was a Scottish football player and manager. He managed Manchester City between 1950 and 1963, and then Oldham Athletic until 1965. McDowall was the longest serving manager in Manchester City's history, his tenure spanning 13 years.Though born in India, McDowall was raised as a Scot... |
Manager | Arthur Turner Arthur Turner (footballer born 1909) Arthur Owen Turner was an English professional footballer and football manager. He played as a centre-half for Stoke City, Birmingham City and Southport... |
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Post-match
Trautmann attended the evening's post-match banquet (where Alma CoganAlma Cogan
Alma Cogan was an English singer of traditional pop music in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed "The Girl With the Laugh/Giggle/Chuckle In Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era...
sang to the players) despite being unable to move his head, and went to bed expecting his injury to heal with rest. As the pain did not recede, the following day he went to St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital
Founded in 1733, St George’s Hospital is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It shares its main hospital site in Tooting, England with the St George's, University of London which trains NHS staff and carries out advanced medical research....
, where he was told he merely had a crick in his neck which would go away. Three days later, he got a second opinion
Second opinion (medicine)
A second opinion is a visit to a physician other than the one a patient has previously been seeing in order to get a differing point-of-view. Second opinions may be sought by a patient under the following circumstances:*Physician recommends surgery....
from a doctor at Manchester Royal Infirmary
Manchester Royal Infirmary
The Manchester Royal Infirmary is a hospital in Manchester, England which was founded by Charles White in 1752 as a cottage hospital capable of caring for twelve patients. Manchester Royal Infirmary is part of a larger NHS Trust incorporating several hospitals called Central Manchester University...
. An X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
revealed he had dislocated five vertebrae in his neck, the second of which was cracked in two. The third vertebra had wedged against the second, preventing further damage which could have cost Trautmann his life.
When Manchester City's train from London reached Manchester, the team were greeted by cameras from Granada TV and an open-top bus. They embarked on a journey from London Road station
Manchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
to the town hall in Albert Square
Albert Square, Manchester
Albert Square is a public square in the centre of Manchester, England.It is dominated by its largest building, Manchester Town Hall , a Victorian Gothic building by Alfred Waterhouse...
, taking a route along some of Manchester's main shopping streets. The size and spirit of the crowds led the Manchester Evening Chronicle to make comparisons with VE Day
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
. The boisterousness of the crowds in Albert Square meant the Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...
struggled to make his speech heard above chants of "We want Bert". After the civic reception at the Town Hall and a banquet at a Piccadilly
Piccadilly Gardens
Piccadilly Gardens is a green space in Manchester city centre, England, situated at one end of Market Street and on the edge of the Northern Quarter...
restaurant, the team returned to the open-top bus and headed to Belle Vue Pleasure Gardens
Belle Vue Zoo
Belle Vue Zoological Gardens was a large zoo, amusement park, exhibition hall complex and speedway stadium in Belle Vue , Manchester, England, opened in 1836...
, near the club's former home of 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 east Manchester, where the Chronicle held a function.
An estimated 10,000 people met the Birmingham City party on their return to Snow Hill station
Birmingham Snow Hill station
Birmingham Snow Hill is a railway station and tram stop in the centre of Birmingham, England, on the site of an earlier, much larger station built by the former Great Western Railway . It is the second most important railway station in the city, after Birmingham New Street station...
. The players, in the first of a convoy of four coaches, waved to the assembled crowds through the open sun-roof as they proceeded to the Council House
Council House, Birmingham
Birmingham City Council House in Birmingham, England is the home of Birmingham City Council. It provides office accommodation for both employed council officers, including the Chief Executive, and elected council members, plus the council chamber, Lord Mayor's Suite, committee rooms and a large and...
, where the Lord Mayor welcomed them on behalf of the city. Len Boyd addressed the crowds from the balcony before the coaches continued through the city centre and back to St Andrew's, Birmingham City's home ground. The following Wednesday, a dinner was held to honour the club's achievements. Guests included the 84-year-old Billy Walton
Billy Walton
William Howard T. "Billy" Walton was an English footballer who played for Small Heath for fourteen years. He made 232 appearances and scored 70 goals in all competitions.-Biography:...
, who had joined the club in 1888, six members of Birmingham's 1931 cup final
1931 FA Cup Final
The 1931 FA Cup Final was a football match between West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham, played on 25 April 1931 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. The showpiece event was the final match of the 1930–31 staging of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge...
team, and a trade delegation from the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
city of Sverdlovsk
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
.
Though the thousands gathered outside the Council House roared "No!" when Boyd said the team felt they had let the supporters down, there were recriminations concerning Birmingham's performance and team selection. The local press suggested that attempts to combat "Wembley nerves" had resulted in an "over-casual approach to the game". The row at half-time had done little for second-half morale, but speaking fifty years later, Gil Merrick placed the blame less on Boyd's questionable fitness than on a failure to discuss how to stop Revie. Alex Govan, convinced that "if Roy Warhurst had been fit then there would only have been one winner", blamed "bad team selection", saying that even without Warhurst he firmly believed "that if Badham had been in we would have won that game. He would never have given Don Revie the room to run the match." Warhurst himself thought the selection of Newman "meant the team had to adapt its style and in the end we used different tactics to those that had been successful all season".
External links
- Game statistics at soccerbase.com
- Film clips at BBC Motion Gallery
- Match report from The TimesThe TimesThe 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...