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1888 F A CUP FINAL
WEST BROMWICH ALBION 2
VS
PRESTON NORTH END 1
SCORERS- {WBA} BAYLISS {7}, WOODHALL {77}
{PNE} DEWHURST {52}
24th MARCH-KENNINGTON OVAL-LONDON
ATTENDANCE-19,000
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1888 brought the curtain down on the idea of every competing club entering the competition from the first round. It was also the final time that the cup reigned supreme as the only major trophy on offer as the League Championship was due to kick off just five Months after this final. 149 teams took their place in the first round with cup holders Aston Villa having to travel to Oldbury Town where a comfortable 4-0 victory was achieved. That was nothing to Preston’s first round tie with Hyde. Preston were the favourites to win the cup and sent out a clear message to their rivals when they scored a record twenty-six goals without reply. It remains a record victory in a first class English fixture that is unlikely to ever be beaten but in a strange foot note many of the Preston players sought out the Hyde keeper after the game to request his autograph. Apparently as they had been so impressed with his display. Surely there was a touch of sarcasm in the air that day as it is hard to imagine Preston having time to force good saves from a keeper that picked the ball out of his net every three and a half minutes.
Blackburn, Accrington and Notts Rangers also managed double figures while three ties had to be replayed after protests. Two further clubs withdrew surprisingly after they had both won their first round ties and two further clubs fell foul of the rules and were disqualified.
Preston ultimately put paid to the cup holders' chances in round five after Villa had won at Small Heath, been given a bye in round three and then destroyed Shankhouse 9-0. Preston had also put nine past Bolton in round two before a more humble 4-0 win over Halliwell and a fourth round bye. Sheffield Wednesday were their luckless quarter final opponents. John Goodall with eight goals and J Ross with a massive eighteen had both scored in every round so far and while Goodall was unable to find the net at Wednesday, Ross bagged two more in a 3-1 win.
Last years beaten finalists West Bromwich Albion were also on the march to the quarter finals for the fourth year in a row when Wednesbury Old Athletic felt the force of a Jem Bayliss hat-trick in a 7-1 win in round one. Bayliss scored again at Mitchel St George's in round two but was unable to find the net in his team's 2-1 over Wolves in round three. A bye followed before Bayliss scored all of Albion’s goals in a 4-1 win over Stoke-on-Trent to book a quarter final showdown with Old Carthusians. The Carthusians were proving themselves to be the best Southern amateurs in the cup with 5-0 wins over Hanover Limited and Old Brightonians along the way and gave Albion a real scare at Stoney Lane in front of 8,818. Wingers Tom Pearson and Joe Wilson settled the issue with two each in a 4-2 win though.
High scoring Blackburn had kept up their run with a 5-1 2nd round win at Blackburn Olympic before facing Derby Junction in the last eight. Junction, Derby’s leading club at the time would fold after being snubbed in favour of Derby County for a place in the Football league but on this day they put Blackburn in their place 2-1.
Crewe had an eventful journey to the quarter finals after defeating Welsh side Druids 5-0 in round one. They lost to Swifts only for the amateur side to be disqualified, allowing Crewe to progress. By coincidence their quarter final opponents Middlesborough had also lost an earlier round to Sunderland before benefiting from disqualification. Then in round five Boro easily beat Old Forresters 4-0 only for their opponents to complain about the pitch. The F A supported the protest but Forresters withdrew before a replay could be arranged. Ellis and Price sent Crewe to the semi finals for the only time in their history with a 2-0 win.
West Brom and Preston were overwhelming favourites to win the semi finals after being kept apart by the draw and so it proved. At the Victoria ground in Stoke, Albion swept Derby Junction aside 3-0 with goals from Bayliss, Wilson and Woodhall to book a third consecutive final. At Anfield in Liverpool Preston’s talismanic striker J Ross maintained a record of scoring in every round as he scored against Crewe. John Goodall was the hero though with a hat-trick in a 4-0 win.
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THE FINAL
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Despite many neutrals wanting to see Albion finally win the cup after losing the two previous finals, most could only see one winner of this game. Preston had scored a whopping fifty goals in just six games. When you consider that many teams in the Premiership fail to notch fifty goals in thirty-eight games it puts their performance into perspective. J Ross arrived at the Oval bidding to become the first player to score in every round, although it should be noted that Preston did receive a bye in round four. Their team contained two England Internationals a Scottish International and the first Welshman to play in the big game, goalkeeper Dr Mills-Roberts. What Preston didn’t have was a player with previous cup final experience unlike their opponents. Albion contained nine of last year’s beaten team and seven of those had played in 1886 as well. 19-year-old Billy Bassett was one of the two newcomers although he would become the most famous of the eleven on show.
Preston’s confidence led to pre match arrogance however. Shortly before kick-off several players voiced the concern that their white shirts would get muddy in the process of beating Albion and this would not look good when being pictured with the cup. Club captain Fred Dewhurst was charged with the task of approaching referee Major Marindin with the suggestion that such a photo should be taken before the game. Had Marindin agreed, the photo would be priceless today but instead he replied with the common sense comment “Hadn’t you better win it first Fred.” Marindin was right but the ever-controversial cup final referee then did something unthinkable today. He entered the Albion dressing room before kick off to enquire if a report he had heard that the entire team were English born and bred was true. Captain Jem Bayliss informed him that it was true and indeed every man was local to Staffordshire. Marindin, a strong anglophile, told the Albion players that he hoped they would win. After the controversy concerning his refereeing of two finals involving Scots side Queen’s Park in the past it wasn’t the most tactful thing to do but Marindin it seems was above suspicion of ever being biased.
A Century before belting high balls into the box and hoping for the best carried Wimbledon to success it would prove an effective tactic for Albion. The press, in favour of Preston’s more attractive short passing game, derided, much like in Wimbledon’s case, the ploy but also, just like Wimbledon, it worked.
Preston surged forward from the kick off but found Albion’s keeper Bob Roberts in excellent form. Meanwhile in defence, Preston were having to deal with a succession of long high balls pumped into the box while also trying to contain the surging runs of Albion’s nineteen year old powerhouse, Billy Bassett. A combination of both undid the favourites after just eight minutes. A long raking ball was only half cleared; Bassett collected it just outside the Preston area and teed up Jem Bayliss who fired past Mills-Roberts to put the underdogs in front. Albion, who had failed to score over two games against Blackburn two years previously and against Villa last year had taken just eight minutes to undo the toughest cup final opponents they had yet faced. It was their only opportunity of the first half though as Preston created five clear cut openings but were denied by excellent saves on each occasion.
The favourites surely would make their relentless pressure tell in the second half and sure enough the equaliser came just seven minutes in. Just as Albion’s captain had led by example in scoring, so did Preston’s when Fred Dewhurst finally found a way past Roberts to level matters. There could only be one winner now and the crowd waited for the floodgates to open. With fifteen minutes left it still had not happened, though not for the want of trying by Preston who had forced several more fine saves from the Albion keeper. Then, thirteen minutes from time came a carbon copy Albion strike. Yet again Preston were unable to effectively clear a high ball and yet again Billy Bassett pounced to set up George Woodhall who squeezed a shot under the advancing Mills-Roberts. The Welsh keeper had started a trend that has continued down the years with a succession of great keepers who have hailed from the principality having a day to forget on cup final day. Bob Roberts at the other end was called into action ten times during the match and had made nine saves, two in particular being top drawer. Mills-Roberts had found his goal under serious threat just twice and twice he had been beaten but it would have been harsh to hold the keeper responsible for Preston’s downfall. Patient neat passing had lost out to the idea of getting bodies in the box and belting the ball up to them more in hope than design. That said, Albion had played to their strengths. They knew they couldn’t match Preston in a tactical passing game but they had height and physical presence up front and most importantly a tricky midfielder to be creative when the height and power failed. One thing was for sure, none of the Albion players minded being photographed with the cup in muddy shirts.
The match ball was gilded and presented to one of Albion’s directors after the game and lay undisturbed in a West Bromwich attic for over one hundred years until it was rediscovered and given back to the cup holders as a proud memento of their first cup win.
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THE TEAMS
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WEST BROMWICH ALBION
BOB ROBERTS
ALBERT ALDRIDGE
H GREEN
EZRA HORTON
CHARLES PERRY
TIMMINS
GEORGE WOODHALL
BILLY BASSETT
JEM BAYLISS {CAPTAIN}
JOE WILSON
TOM PEARSON
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PRESTON NORTH END
ROBERT HOWARTH
NICK ROSS
D RUSSELL
J GORDON
J ROSS
JOHN GOODALL
{CAPTAIN} FRED DEWHURST
G DRUMMOND
J GRAHAM
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