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1872 F A CUP FINAL
WANDERERS 1
VS
ROYAL ENGINEERS 0
SCORER-BETTS {15 MINS}
16TH MARCH-KENNINGTON OVAL-LONDON
ATTENDANCE-2,000
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KITS BY ANDY BURTON
To reproduce these kits seek permission from the link above
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The origins of the F A Cup date back to a competition held every year at Harrow public school. The school pupils were placed in teams or houses when they entered and Harrow ran a football competition named the cock house cup, the winners of which were the cock house. It was a simple concept and one which remained on the mind of Harrow schoolboy Charles Alcock. In 1863 Alcock was among those who got together to form the Football Association and it was he who approached the Association in 1871 with the idea of a members cup.
The idea was approved and fifteen member clubs answered the call for entrants, including Alcock's own Wanderers club. The competition was simply named the Football Association Challenge cup but that was where the similarity to today's F A Cup ended. Like today there was no seeding to keep the best clubs apart but unlike today if a tie was drawn; both sides progressed to the next round. Queens Park of Glasgow were also given a bye through to the semi finals purely because of the cost of travelling to London where the F A decreed all ties must be played. Donnington School created their own piece of history when they scratched from the competition without kicking a ball, never to enter again.
The rounds were, compared to today, a shambles with both eventual finalists progressing through the first round without kicking a ball. Harrow Chequers scratched before playing Wanderers while Royal Engineers earned a walk over against Reigate Priory. Both did play in the second round though with Wanderers beating Clapham Rovers 3-1 while the Engineers beat Hitchin 5-0.
Even the quarter finals looked shambolic with just five teams as opposed to the normal eight. Wanderers and Crystal Palace drew and under a strange and now defunct rule, both went through. Queens Park were still progressing thanks to a bye while Royal Engineers beat Hampstead Heathens 2-0. At least the Semi finals looked correct with four teams but even then it was not straightforward. Queens Park finally made the trip to London to play the Wanderers. The English bravely held on for a draw against the Scots, who were cup favourites and regarded as the best team in Britain. Under the rules both teams progressed to another round right? wrong!. In a semi final the F A ordered a replay but Queens Park's money ran out and they had to return to Scotland leaving Wanderers with a walk over into the final despite having only won one tie on the way. Royal Engineers on the other hand despatched Crystal Palace, not the modern team but a side representing employees of the London tourist attraction and park, 3-0.
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THE FINAL
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eThe Royal Engineers were the favourites on the day but they were unaware of the idea of being "up for the cup", that little bit extra that all underdogs have carried for over one hundered years in order to provide shock results. Like the competition itself, the final would have been unrecognisable to a modern fan. The two-thousand strong crowd hardly stood out as cup final spectators with no flags, scarves, hats, rosettes or even a badge declaring their colours. The only give away to a fans allegiance may have been the odd uniformed Royal Engineer or an old school tie on show. The pitch had no interior markings either while the goals had no nets and the crossbar was a simple length of tape. As the teams entered the field there was no recognisable goalkeepers, the keepers wore the same jersey as the outfield players and when the match kicked off it would have resembled a game between school boys in a playground with everyone chasing the ball and virtually no passing or recognisable defenders on show.
Royal Engineers set out to control the game early on but were hindered when Edmund Cresswell fell awkwardly and broke his collar bone with just ten minutes gone. With no substitutes allowed the Engineers were down to ten men although Cresswell did return to the game after treatment. He remained a virtual passenger though and the Wanderers took advantage. The only goal came from a gentleman described as A H Chequer. In fact his real name was Morton Peto Betts, a well known figure in football circles and the pseudonym surely fooled no-one. The reasoning behind it seems to have been that Betts had originally chosen to play for Harrow Chequers but after the team scratched from the first round he switched to the Wanderers. This wasn't against the rules as Betts could not have been cup tied as he hadn't played for anyone else during the competition and in any case the idea of not allowing a player to play for more than one club in the same season's competition hadn't been thought up yet. At the final whistle there were no scenes of agony and ecstasy associated with all major sporting finals today. Nor was there a presentation or lap of honour followed by a photo call for the waiting paparazzi. The teams simply shook hands and left the field for a welcome bath and cup of tea, no champaigne, so far as anyone knows anyway. Betts was not required to relive his moment of glory for the media and Major Marindin, the Engineers captain did not have to explain to them where his team went wrong. The cup was presented three weeks later at an F A gala evening in Pall Mall and was declared a roaring success. Fortunately the F A have improved the competition drastically, albeit that they could make an effort to make the final more of a spectacle in the same way that the Rugby League have added a bit of modern pasazz to the big day but the days when Robbie Williams replaces the brass band as the pre match entertainment may not be a long way off.
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THE TEAMS
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1 CAPT WILLIAM MERRIMAN
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R DE C WELCH 1
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CHARLES W ALCOCK 2
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2 CAPTAIN FRANCIS MARINDIN
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MORTON P BETTS 3
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3 LIEUT ADDISON
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ALEXANDER G BONSOR 4
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4 LIEUT EDMUND CRESSWELL
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EDWARD E BOWEN 5
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5 LIEUT MITCHELL
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6 LIEUT RENNY-TAILYOUR
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W CRAKE 6
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T C HOOMAN 7
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7 LIEUT RICH
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EDGAR LUBBOCK 8
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8 LIEUT ALFRED GOODWYN
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ALBERT C THOMPSON 9
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9 LIEUT MUIRHEAD
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ROBERT W VIDAL 10
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10 LIEUT COTTER
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CHARLES WOLLASTON 11
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11 LIEUT BOGLE
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