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1882 F A CUP FINAL
OLD ETONIANS 1
VS
BLACKBURN ROVERS 0
SCORER- ANDERSON {8}
25th MARCH-KENNINGTON OVAL-LONDON
ATTENDANCE-6,500
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KITS BY ANDY BURTON
to reproduce these kits seek permission from the link above
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In ten years of the F A cup only six teams, all based in the South of England and all amatuer to a man, had contested the cup final. In 1882 the northern "shamateurs" made their strongest bid yet to claim the cup. The early regional rounds saw northern clubs far exceed their southern counterparts in numbers and long before the semi finals the F A announced that should a northern club reach the last four than a venue other than the Oval would be used for the first time in a semi final. The idea of finding a neutral venue more central to the two participants had been born. The strange idea of allowing a team a bye into the final was also dispensed with as the F A, eager to bring order to the competition, arranged for byes to be granted in earlier rounds to ensure four semi finalists. At last reaching the semi finals would now mean reaching the last four as opposed to three.
All the clubs, big and small still had to take part from round one and yet again it produced a catalogue of easy victories for the main contenders. Holders Old Carthusians brushed aside Esher Leopold 5-0. Wednesbury Old Athletic and Blackburn Rovers were the highest scorers of the round as both notched up 9-1 victories over Birmingham St Georges and Blackburn Park Road respectively. These two would march on through the rounds to meet in the last eight. Notts County did even better in round two as they hammered Wednesbury Strollers 11-1. Henry Cursham netted a double hat-trick and would go on to score a record 48 goals in the F A cup. Though his own personal account of this game had him scoring a triple hat-trick. County bowed out in round three as did the holders, Old Carthusians who suffered a 2-0 reverse at home to Royal Engineers. Most of the weaker sides had been eliminated by this stage and Only Sheffield Wednesday managed five goals in a 5-1 win over Staveley. Wednesday were also on course for the semi finals but the Royal Engineers were not, going down 2-1 at Old Forresters in the fourth round. Old Etonians had made steady progress throughout the competition and a 6-3 win over Maidenhead booked their quarter final spot.
Old Etonians were the only one of the seven quarter finalists to already have their name on the trophy and it was perhaps fitting that they should be the one to recieve a bye into the semi finals. The other three quarter finals involved an all northern clash, an all southern clash and a north vs south encounter. In the Northern battle Blackburn Rovers saw off Wednesbury Old Athletic 3-1 while in the South Marlow needed a replay before scoring the only goal against Old Forresters. Upton Park headed North to face Sheffield Wednesday and returned having been well and truely spanked 6-0.
The semi final draw was kind to the Northerners of Sheffield and Blackburn as they would face eachother and guarentee a team from outside the home counties in the final for the first time. The first meeting in Huddersfield was a tense affair in which neither side could find the breakthrough but the replay could hardly have been more different. At Fallowfield in Manchester, Blackburn blew Wednesday away with a thumping 5-1 win. Old Etonians found little resistance from Marlow in the other semi final at the Oval as they coasted through at the first attempt 5-0.
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THE FINAL
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There is a belief that the first visit of a Northern club to the cup final was more than a simple clash of North vs South but also a clash of social status. In truth though Blackburn Rovers were not a pure working class Northern club as many would like to believe and in fact were a club that was embracing all sections of society in the Lancashire town. They had been formed by a group of Old Malvernians in the mould of the old boys teams such as their opponents in this final, Old Etonians. Rovers though were a club aiming to be the best in Lancashire and quickly embraced working class players who had the ability to make the team and like many of their local rivals they looked North of the border to induce the more talented Scots South to pay for play. It made Rovers perhaps the most cosmopolitan team ever to visit the Oval, with a curious mix of Southern styled Old boys, working class men and a hint of professionals in their ranks. Never before had a team recieved such a send off as Blackburn did for this final as thousands gathered outside the train station to see their heroes off.
Old Etonians were huge favourites though and boasted a team packed with cup final experience. None more so than club captain Arthur Kinnaird bidding for a fifth winners medal in his eighth final. Not wishing to be outdone by the fervance of Rovers supporters, the Londoners stopped Kinnaird's carriage as it approached the Oval, unclipped the horses and carried it the final few dozen yards themselves to honour the local hero.
The final was very different to any seen before in London. Rovers played the game the Northern way, passing from wing to wing and often going in hard in the challenge but their game was out of sorts on this day and to many it seemed that nerves had got the better of them. Old Etonians coped without too much trouble with these tactics in the early stages and from virtually their first attack they scored through Anderson in the 8th minute. It was a scrappy effort owing more to luck than good football but they all count and it proved enough to prevent Rover's from imposing their more robust style on the match. As the game wore on Old Etonians took control as Rover's tired in the London sunshine and those who had made the journey South realised well before the end that it wasn't to be their day.
The cup would stay in the home Counties for one more year at least although even the Old Etonians most ardent fan, their local MP had to admit at the celebration dinner that the winning goal was "A happy accident" as opposed to the total fluke that Rovers had regarded it as. Arthur Kinnaird became the first captain to be presented with the cup at the ground rather than at the dinner, a decision made by the F A should Blackburn have been fortunate enough to take the trophy home with them. Kinnaird then adopted a very unvictorian attitude to the whole occasion. He first summoned his players together and suggested they parade the trophy to the spectators, a tradition that has remained ever since, and then he performed a head stand for the dignitaries in the pavillion. The second act didn't become tradition but the spontanaity of his celebration has showed itself in various forms ever since.
Old Etonians and their Southern amateur style had won this battle but Rovers and their Northern professional style would go on to win the war as time would tell.
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Arthur Kinnaird {bearded} waits for the ball to come down as Old Etonians and Blackburn battle it out. Rovers had already adopted their famous blue and white halved colours by 1882 but strangely wore hoops on this occasion.
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THE TEAMS
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BLACKBURN ROVERS
R HOWARTH
HUGH MCINTYRE
FERGUS SUTER
H SHARPLES
{CAPTAIN} FRED HARGREAVES
JOE DUCKWORTH
JAMES DOUGLAS
T STRACHAN
JIMMY BROWN
G AVERY
JACK HARGREAVES
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OLD ETONIANS
JOHN RAWLINSON
T H FRENCH
PERCY DE PAVARCINI
ARTHUR KINNAIRD {CAPTAIN}
C W FOLEY
P C NOVELLI
ARTHUR DUNN
REGINALD MACAULEY
HARRY GOODHART
WILLIAM ANDERSON
J B CHEVALLIER
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