1963 FA Cup Final
Encyclopedia
The 1963 FA Cup Final was the final of the 1962–63 FA Cup, the 82nd season of England's premier club football competition. The match was played at Wembley Stadium (which was fully roofed for the first time) on 25 May 1963 and contested by Manchester United
and Leicester City
. United won 3–1, with a goal from Denis Law
and two from David Herd
. Ken Keyworth
scored for Leicester.
Having survived the third scare in the fifteenth minute United took a stranglehold on the match which they never relinquished, peppering Gordon Banks goalmouth with several shots off target before finally taking a deserved lead after half an hour. A Bobby Charlton shot had been saved comfortbaly by Banks who then bowled the ball out to Gibson. Paddy Crerand read the throw and raced in to intercept the ball twenty five yards from the Leicester goal before passing to Denis Law, who turned and fired past Banks and two defenders to open the scoring. Indeed Law could have had a second goal ten minutes later when he took the ball around Banks but was unable to steer tha ball into the goal under pressure from two defenders.
Leicester improved at the start of the second half and indeed were presented with yet another chance by the nervous Gaskell who dropped the ball at the feet of Cross who was unable to get his shot on target. United though gradually regained their supremacy and deservedly sealed Leicester's fate after fifty-seven minutes when a cross field ball from Giles found Charlton unmarked. He raced into the box and shot at Banks who could only parry the shot into the path of David Herd who tapped into the empty net, triggering victorious choruses of When the reds go marching in
from the United fans.
Leicester surprisingly got a lifeline with ten minutes left when a speculative Frank McLintock shot was met by Ken Keyworth who scored with a well placed diving header. This raised the tension levels but there remained little sign of a Leicester fightback as United continued to dominate with Law hitting the post with a header a minute before the game was finally won in the eighty-fifth minute. The otherwise competent Banks came for a Giles cross and fumbled the ball into the path of Herd who turned and fired past two defenders on the goal line to complete the victory.
, making it the nineteenth cup final to be broadcast live on television. The programme was presented by David Coleman
from pitch side where he spent the build up to the game interviewing the players and officials as they walked onto the field an hour before kick off. He then handed over to commentator Ken Wolstenholme
, whose eleventh final this was as the television commentator. The match was broadcast in black and white with the BBC requesting that one team change kit as the red of United and blue of City would be indistinguishable to the viewers. A newsreel broadcast was also shown in cinemas that evening by both Pathé
and Movietone
both in colour. BBC Radio coverage was provided by Raymond Glendenning
and Alan Clarke (sports commentator)
with a young Brian Moore
acting as pitchside reporter
commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme
speculated that United's victory was as a result of their having been more match sharp, having had to play to avoid relegation right to the end of the season while Leicester had lost their sharpness with nothing to play for in the closing weeks of the season.
When interviewed after the match by David Coleman
this was a view shared by United manager Matt Busby
who felt that his team were a side of big game players while winning captain Noel Cantwell felt that their poor league placing had made it increasingly harder for the team as the season had gone on. Neither Leicester manager Matt Gillies
nor captain Colin Appleton offered any excuses and both merely felt like their side had underperformed on the day and been outplayed by a better team, Appleton adding "I can't understand how that team (United) finished where they did in the league."
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...
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...
. United won 3–1, with a goal from Denis Law
Denis Law
Denis Law is a retired Scottish football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s....
and two from David Herd
David Herd (footballer)
David George Herd is a Scottish former international association footballer. His regular position was as a forward where he was a consistent goal scorer.-Family:...
. Ken Keyworth
Ken Keyworth
Ken Keyworth was a professional footballer in the 1950s and 1960s who played for Rotherham United, Coventry City and Swindon Town and most notably Leicester City....
scored for Leicester.
Build-up
Despite fielding nine internationals United had struggled during the season while their opponents City had performed well, doing the league double over United in the process and thus entered the final as slight favourites. The importance of televised coverage came to the fore this year as the two sides tossed for choice of colours despite traditionally wearing red and blue shirts respectively. Those colours would look identical to the viewers on their black and white televisions so Leicester, having lost the toss switched to white.The game
The opening fifteen minutes of the game were error strewn and Leicester could easily have found themselves three goals in front as United's clearly nervous goalkeeper, David Gaskell presented them with three opportunites to fire into an unguarded net. On each occasion Keyworth, Stringfellow and Gibson in turn were unable to finish the moves off with a last ditch United challenge keeping the scoreline blank.Having survived the third scare in the fifteenth minute United took a stranglehold on the match which they never relinquished, peppering Gordon Banks goalmouth with several shots off target before finally taking a deserved lead after half an hour. A Bobby Charlton shot had been saved comfortbaly by Banks who then bowled the ball out to Gibson. Paddy Crerand read the throw and raced in to intercept the ball twenty five yards from the Leicester goal before passing to Denis Law, who turned and fired past Banks and two defenders to open the scoring. Indeed Law could have had a second goal ten minutes later when he took the ball around Banks but was unable to steer tha ball into the goal under pressure from two defenders.
Leicester improved at the start of the second half and indeed were presented with yet another chance by the nervous Gaskell who dropped the ball at the feet of Cross who was unable to get his shot on target. United though gradually regained their supremacy and deservedly sealed Leicester's fate after fifty-seven minutes when a cross field ball from Giles found Charlton unmarked. He raced into the box and shot at Banks who could only parry the shot into the path of David Herd who tapped into the empty net, triggering victorious choruses of When the reds go marching in
When The Saints Go Marching In (sport)
"When the Saints Go Marching In" is used by a number of teams in various sports. It may be used as the team's theme song or reserved for when they score. It may be used with the standard lyrics, specialized lyrics, or no lyrics at all....
from the United fans.
Leicester surprisingly got a lifeline with ten minutes left when a speculative Frank McLintock shot was met by Ken Keyworth who scored with a well placed diving header. This raised the tension levels but there remained little sign of a Leicester fightback as United continued to dominate with Law hitting the post with a header a minute before the game was finally won in the eighty-fifth minute. The otherwise competent Banks came for a Giles cross and fumbled the ball into the path of Herd who turned and fired past two defenders on the goal line to complete the victory.
The coverage
The game was broadcast live on BBC television as a cup final special edition of GrandstandGrandstand (BBC)
Grandstand was a British television sport programme. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows, alongside BBC Sports Personality of the Year.Its first presenter was Peter Dimmock...
, making it the nineteenth cup final to be broadcast live on television. The programme was presented by David Coleman
David Coleman
David Coleman, OBE is an English former sports commentator and TV presenter who worked for the BBC for almost fifty years. In 2000, he was awarded the Olympic Order, the highest honour of the Olympic movement....
from pitch side where he spent the build up to the game interviewing the players and officials as they walked onto the field an hour before kick off. He then handed over to commentator Ken Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC & Bar was the football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s, most notable for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup which included the famous phrase "some people are on the pitch...they think it's all over....it is now!", as Geoff Hurst scored...
, whose eleventh final this was as the television commentator. The match was broadcast in black and white with the BBC requesting that one team change kit as the red of United and blue of City would be indistinguishable to the viewers. A newsreel broadcast was also shown in cinemas that evening by both Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
and Movietone
Movietone News
Movietone News is a newsreel that ran from 1928 to 1963 in the United States, and from 1929 to 1979 in the United Kingdom.-History:It is known in the U.S. as Fox Movietone News, produced cinema, sound newsreels from 1928 to 1963 in the U.S., from 1929 to 1979 in the UK , and from 1929 to 1975 in...
both in colour. BBC Radio coverage was provided by Raymond Glendenning
Raymond Glendenning
Raymond Glendenning was a BBC radio sports commentator.-Early years:He was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, and was educated at Newport High School and the University of London...
and Alan Clarke (sports commentator)
Alan Clarke (sports commentator)
Alan Clarke was a BBC Radio sports commentator from 1947-1969, who covered every major football event alongside Raymond Glendenning, Maurice Edelston, Brian Moore and Peter Jones. He was at the microphone as Geoff Hurst scored England's 4th in the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final. He died in May 1969 at...
with a young Brian Moore
Brian Moore (commentator)
Brian Moore was a British sports commentator.-Early life:Moore was born in Gillingham, Kent and educated at the Cranbrook School, Kent, which was also the school of fellow commentators Peter West and Barry Davies....
acting as pitchside reporter
National anthem
The tradition at the end of the cup final was always to play the national anthem after the cup and medals had been presented but the United players were criticised in the press for not respecting this tradition as they began hoisting Cantwell onto the shoulders of Quixall and Crerand as the band began to play. Nearby journalists had to tell the United players to stop. The practice was done away with from the following season.Post-match
BBCBBC
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...
commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC & Bar was the football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s, most notable for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup which included the famous phrase "some people are on the pitch...they think it's all over....it is now!", as Geoff Hurst scored...
speculated that United's victory was as a result of their having been more match sharp, having had to play to avoid relegation right to the end of the season while Leicester had lost their sharpness with nothing to play for in the closing weeks of the season.
When interviewed after the match by David Coleman
David Coleman
David Coleman, OBE is an English former sports commentator and TV presenter who worked for the BBC for almost fifty years. In 2000, he was awarded the Olympic Order, the highest honour of the Olympic movement....
this was a view shared by United manager Matt Busby
Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season...
who felt that his team were a side of big game players while winning captain Noel Cantwell felt that their poor league placing had made it increasingly harder for the team as the season had gone on. Neither Leicester manager Matt Gillies
Matt Gillies
Matthew "Matt" Muirhead Gillies was a Scottish football player and manager who played for, captained, coached and managed Leicester City for a total of 15 years between 1952–1955 and 1956-1968. He is the club's longest serving manager, lasting a decade in the manager's seat between November...
nor captain Colin Appleton offered any excuses and both merely felt like their side had underperformed on the day and been outplayed by a better team, Appleton adding "I can't understand how that team (United) finished where they did in the league."
Match details
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