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1884 F A CUP FINAL
BLACKBURN ROVERS 2
VS
QUEENS PARK 1
SCORER- {BR} SOWERBUTTS, FORREST
{QP} CHRISTIE
29th MARCH-KENNINGTON OVAL-LONDON
ATTENDANCE-4,000
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It was still illegal for member clubs of the Football Association to pay players, football was a pastime and the gentlemen who had created it looked down on the idea that it could be a profession. In the North the attitude was very different. The best players needed an incentive to leave their clubs to go and play for the best teams and the best teams were more than happy to wave the cheque book to entice them.
The matter came to a head in 1884 when two clubs from the North would be disqualified after openly admitting paying their players.
On the pitch a mammoth 100 clubs were entered into the first round draw and yet again the difference in standards between the teams was huge. Blackburn Olympic kicked off the defence of the trophy with a comfortable 5-1 win over Darwen Ramblers but that was small fry to the performances of other clubs during the competition. In total thirty seven games during the cup run ended with the winners bagging at least five goals and the majority of the clubs entered finished on the right or wrong side of at least one of those games. the most notable high scorers were Queens Park who started their cup run with a 10-0 demolition of Crewe and that was matched by Old Carthusians' 10-1 against Reading Minster. Blackburn Olympic's major rivals Rovers were also in fine form beating Southport 7-0 but the shock of the round saw Old Etonians lose 3-2 at Hendon.
Hendon's joy was short lived though as Old Westminsters proved too good for them in winning 2-1 in round two but Blackburn Rovers continued to score for fun with another 7-0 romp, this time over South Shore of Blackpool. Queens Park took their cup tally to a staggering 25 goals in two games as Manchester were dispatched 15-0. The holders had an altogether tougher fixture against an equally good Darwen side before prevailing 2-1. The problems of professionalism surfaced though when Rossendale and Accrington were both expelled for fielding players who were in the pay of the respective clubs. Rossendale denied it strongly but Accrington accepted their fate without a fight.
Blackburn Olympic and Old Westminsters took a rest in round three, accepting byes while poor Oswestry became Queens Park's next victims and may have been reasonably satisfied to keep the score to a respectable 7-1. Blackburn Rovers put paid to Padiham 3-0 but up the road Preston North End emerged as potential candidates for the cup with their impressive 9-1 defeat of Eagley.
Preston's cup dream died in round four, the last sixteen. having travelled to London and earned a 1-1 draw with the stoutly amateur Upton Park they were accused by their opponents of being professional. Preston not only admitted it but went on to say they were proud of it and that every club in the cup from North of Watford bar Queens Park were professional. This was true and the F A knew it but Preston were disqualified anyway and Upton Park took a quarter final birth without need of a replay. There were no protests in the other seven ties as Blackburn Rovers defeated Staveley 5-1 and the Queens Park goal machine did its work on Aston Villa to the tune of 6-1. Blackburn Olympic put paid to Old Wykehamists 6-0 while Old Westminsters put five without reply past Wednesbury Town. Northwich Victoria, Notts County and Swifts completed the quarter finalists line up after coming through tougher engagements.
For the first time all four quarter finals were played on the same day with the cup holders making the headlines. Olympic blew Northwich away 9-1 while across town Rovers also came through easily 3-0 against Upton Park who this time chose not to complain. In Scotland Queens Park found worthy opposition at last in Old Westminsters but still managed to win by the games only goal. Notts County were held 1-1 at home by Swifts but the midlanders managed to finish the job back in London with the only goal of the replay. That result was an historic one as it ensured that for the first time ever there would be no southern representation in the cup final, or the semi finals for that matter. The F A responded by staging both semi finals outside London and hopes in Blackburn were high that the first provincial derby final would take place when Rovers and Olympic were kept apart.
Rovers kept their part of the bargain when Joe Lofthouse scored the only goal of the game against Notts County at Aston Lower grounds in Birmingham. That was the then stadium of Aston Villa and was situated less than 100 yards from where the present Villa Park now stands.
While Notts County were in action there their ground, Trent Bridge, which is today the home of Notts cricket club was the venue for the clash of Queens Park and the cup holders Blackburn Olympic. A hat-trick from Dr John Smith saw the Scots easily overcome the holders 4-1 with Watt scoring the fourth. The result of these two games would have a major bearing on football in Blackburn. Rovers would thrive but Olympic would wilt in the shadow of their neighbours. Blackburn had seven clubs in 1884 but as football got bigger it became clear that the town was only big enough for one club. Olympic had been relegated to Blackburn's second club in the space of an afternoon and before the decade was out they had become the last of six clubs in the town to go out of existance. History could have been very different had the two clubs played eachother in the final as Rovers had never beaten Olympic at that time.
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THE FINAL
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For the third year in a row a Blackburn club were going to the Oval for the cup final and this year there would definately be a new name on the trophy. Rovers had the greater experience as five of their defeated 1882 team returned with them. Queens Park had no English cup final players but every one of their eleven had won the Scottish equivilant. there was great concern North of the border as the Scottish F A were forced to field a reserve eleven to face Wales on the same day to decide the first British Championship without the aid of their first choice Queens Park players. Even then there was still one Queens Park player in their line up having failed to make the eleven for the cup final. Another Queens Park player Fraser would also miss the game through injury but top scorer William Anderson who had netted eleven of his teams forty three goals in just six games was fit.
Rovers had scored an equally impressive twenty-six goals in six games and were looking to their top scorer Jimmy Brown to inspire them.
Queens Park were 6/4 favourites on the day but it would be a day for the underdog and also a day of controversy.
Jack Sowerbutts put the English in front early on but Rovers were very much on the back foot and the goal had come against the run of play. It was no surprise when William Anderson burst through to score what seemed a deserved equaliser only for referee Francis Marindin, a former cup final player himself, to disallow it for offside. The Queens Park players were furious as the goal under the Scottish offside law was legal but in England the rules were different and deemed illegal.
More controversy followed when James Forrest scored a second Rovers goal when clearly offside regardless of which side of the border he was playing. Again Francis Marindin bemused the Scots by this time allowing the goal to stand. Queens Parks players were gentlemen though and would not lower themselves to protesting on the field. Shame for them they didn't as Marindin later stated that the only reason he allowed the goal was precisely because the Scots did not appeal for it to be ruled out. {who says arguing with the ref will get you nowhere?} Queens Park were fast learners though and when Rovers scored two more clearly offside goals they quickly appealed both times and even Rovers couldn't complain when the efforts were chalked off.
The game was now beyond Queens Park but again more controversy follwed when Anderson again scored a good goal from a Scottish point of view but again offside in England. Blackburn of course appealed and Marindin ruled it out. A third strike from Christie was allowed even though the Rovers players again appealed but Marindin ruled in favour of the Scots.
The result was a bitter one to swallow for Queens Park. In Scotland they would have won the game 3-1 but here in England a miscalculation of the offside law and being too gentlemanly to appeal a decision had seen the game end 2-1 to Rovers. There was little doubt that the Scots had been robbed but they accepted it as gentlemen do and applauded Rovers captain Hugh Macintyre, himself a Scot as he accepted the trophy.
Nobody would ever dare question Major Marindin's honesty but a strange post script to this final happened four years later when He refereed the West Brom Vs Preston final. Preston had Scots and Irishmen in their team but Albion were English to a man. Before the game Marindin entered the Albion dressing room to confirm this and when told that indeed they were all English he told them that he hoped they would win. The game seemed to be refereed fairly enough and Albion, the biggest underdogs ever at that time did indeed win.
Marindin would be lucky to referee a school boy kick about for the same action in the modern era. Back then though his position was considered so honest that despite having a clear preference for one team over another he could referee a game without subconcious prejudice.
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THE TEAMS
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BLACKBURN ROVERS
HERBIE ARTHUR
JOSEPH BEVERLEY
FERGUS SUTER
HUGH MCINTYRE {CAPTAIN}
JACK HARGREAVES
JAMES FORREST
JOE LOFTHOUSE
JAMES DOUGLAS
JOE SOWERBUTTS
J INGLIS
JIMMY BROWN
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QUEENS PARK
JOHN GILLESPIE
W ARNOTT
J MACDONALD
{CAPTAIN} CHARLES CAMPBELL
J J GOW
WILLIAM ANDERSON
W W WATT
DR JOHN SMITH
W HARROWER
D S ALLAN
R M CHRISTIE
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