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1893 F A CUP FINAL
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 1
VS
EVERTON 0
SCORER- HARRY ALLEN-60
25th MARCH-FALLOWFIELD ATHLETIC GROUNDS-MANCHESTER
ATTENDANCE-45,000
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The F A had a tough decision to make in 1892 when they found themselves without a home for the 1893 cup final. The Oval at Kennington in London had become far too small for the large gatherings that football attracted while the English & Welsh cricket board must have had some annoyance that the biggest attendance in the home of English cricket every year was for a football match. The F A needed a stadium that could accomodate 35,000 fans, the record crowd at that time had been 32,500 but there were no football stadiums around at the time that could cater for such large numbers. Everton's newly built Goodison Park held 30,000 and was the World's first purpose built football stadium and while it was luxurious by the standards of the day, it presented the F A with the headache of what to do if Everton, one of England's leading league clubs but a side with no cup pedigree, reached the final. The final chioce was an athletics stadium in Fallowfield in Manchester. This natural bowl had an excellent playing surface within its athletics track and was not used by any football club but the arena itself could hold no more than 25,000. It was a strange choice indeed when the facilities at the Crystal Palace grounds in London were no worse and could accomodate 100,000.
In the competition itself, the cup holders West Bromwich Albion kicked off the defence of the trophy at Everton in the first round and it was no surprise when their grip on the trophy was snatched away in a comprehensive 4-1 victory for the Merseysiders. League Champions Sunderland had lost in the semi finals two years running and were determined to give their fans their first taste of cup final fever, as well as the league and cup double. They didn't hang about in round one when Miller's hat-trick and two goals from league top scorer Johnny Campbell saw off Royal Arsenal 6-0. The shock, and the tie of the first round came at Darwen's Barley bank ground where the second division side played out what is regarded as their greatest hour {and a half} against cup favourites Aston Villa. Last years beaten finalists were 3-1 up and seemingly coasting at half time but a Jonty Entwistle hat-trick turned the game on its head as the Salmoners upset the odds to win 5-4.
An all second division second round tie at home to Grimsby Town, easy 5-0 winners over Stockton in round one, ensured lower division representation in the quarter finals. It was Darwen who booked the birth 2-0. The Champions also marched on when Miller and Campbell again scored in a 3-1 win at Sheffield United. These two were joined in the last eight by Everton, Sheffield Wednesday, Wolves, Blackburn and Preston, 9-2 winners over Swifts in round one. The eighth and final birth produced the cup shock of the season when Northern League champions Middlesbrough Ironopolis humbled Notts County 3-2. County would later lodge a protest against two of the Ironopolis players but the F A ruled against them.
FEBRUARY 18TH 1893 QUARTER FINALS
Two of the last eight came from outside the top flight but it proved to be the end of the road for second division Darwen and Northern league Middlesbrough Ironopolis. Ironopolis didn't go down without a fight though and they gave mighty Preston the fright of their lives at Deepdale when they took the lead within a minute of the kick off. Preston recovered to lead 2-1 by half time but Ironopolis forced a deserved replay with a late own goal in a 2-2 draw. Darwen meanwhile came well and truely unstuck when beaten 5-0 at Wolves while the two all top flight ties also gave very one sided results. Sheffield Wednesday lost for the fifth time in six consecutive quarter finals 3-0 at Everton while Champions Sunderland went down by the same score at Blackburn. A week later Middlesbrough Ironopolis were played off the park by a Preston side who, despite being reduced to ten men through injury before half time, were still able to run up a 7-0 win.
SEMI FINALS 4TH MARCH 1893
Everyones cup final tip had been Everton vs Preston but the fates threw the sides together in the semi final at Bramall Lane in Sheffield. The tie was a classic between two of the Nation's most stylish clubs and after Extra time the sides were tied at 2-2 with Gordon and Edgar Chadwick netting for Everton while Cowan and an unrelated Gordon replied for Preston. Meanwhile at Nottingham Forest's Town Ground, today the site of the City transport repair depot, Wolves booked their place in the final when Topham and the 18 year old Joe Butcher cancelled out a Taylor goal for Blackburn in a 2-1 win. While Wolves warmed up for the final, Everton and Preston tried again to join them but yet again two hours of football could not seperate them at Blackburn's Ewood Park, the score 0-0. A third game at Trent Bridge in Nottingham was arranged just five days before the final itself and had it been drawn the final would have to have been moved to a different date. As it was, Everton finally got through after five and a half hours of football with goals from Gordon and Maxwell while Preston's Gordon scored their consolation in a game that ended 2-1.
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THE FINAL
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A moderate crowd of a few thousand made their way to the Oval on cup final day 1893 but their journey this year was to watch a game between two southern County sides. The Everton and Wolves fans, along with the many neutrals made their way instead to Fallowfield. Any chance of Manchester becoming the new permanent home of the final were quickly dashed though. Twenty minutes before kick off the crowd, officially 45,000 but closer to 60,000 had broken through the crush barriers and had spilled onto the pitch. In scenes similar to those witnessed at Wembley thirty years later the police struggled and eventually managed to get the crowd back over the touchline so the game could go ahead. Thankfully the several injuries that were reported were not serious and the crowd remained good humoured despite most not being able to see any of the game. Everton were overwhelming favourites, having sent their reserves to Wolves for a league game the previous week in order that their first team could rest up for the replayed semi final two days later. The reserves beat Wolves' cup final side 4-2 and cock-a-hoop Evertonians were claiming the the final was not a question of who would win but by how many Everton would win by. Sure enough Everton dominated the first half but had difficulty playing their normal style of game because the wingers were being constantly hindered by the stray feet of spectators encrouching over the touchlines. Both sides began to resort to pumping the ball high up the middle of the park to avoid collisions with the fans and it gradually reduced the quality of the game and left the wingers of both teams as virtual spectators themselves. At half time Wolves were more than happy to be level, having not played particularly well. That said though, for all Everton's attacking flair, Billy Rose had only been forced into two saves of any note. Earlier in the week Preston had claimed that the amount of effort they had put into the semi final tussle was costing them the league title in their battle with Sunderland. Now in the second half, Everton's performance in the cup final began to back that idea up. The Merseysiders began to look jaded and heavy legged and the Wolves sniffed blood. Richard Williams, who had been given a quiet first period now found himself much busier in the Everton goal but he had little difficulty coping with anything Wolves could offer. Then on the hour mark came one of the cup finals most controversial moments. Harry Allen, the Wolves captain, collected the ball and from a long way out, lobbed a hopeful shot towards Williams. Allen was the most surprised man on the field when the otherwise faultless young keeper allowed the harmless shot to pass him and bounce into the net. It turned out that Williams had lost sight of the ball as it travelled in the air because he was blinded by the sun in his eyes. The Everton players though were furious, not with their keeper but with the referee who failed to stop the game when an Everton player had had the ball nicked off his toe by a spectator when about to clear his lines. Wolves gained possession and had ultimately scored from the move. Everton remained disgruntled for the remaining half hour in which they created nothing remotely close to an equaliser. When the final whistle was blown the Wolves players were mobbed by delighted fans who naturally invaded the pitch but Everton demanded that the game's status should be changed to that of a friendly and that the final be replayed at a different venue the following week. It could be argued that Everton's claims that the conditions were not right for a competitive match and that they had a case for an appeal were justified but as the F A rightly pointed out, Everton should have appealed before the game, not after their defeat. Either way, the fiasco at Fallowfield ensured that the Athletics ground which is today part of the Firs athletic grounds, would never be used again for a cup final.
One Wolves fan was so delighted that he built a row of houses in Wolverhampton named Fallowfield terrace to mark the club's first cup win and they remain standing today. In 2000 Alf Griffin's cup winners medal fetched £7,475 at auction.
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THE TEAMS
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WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
BILLY ROSE
RICHARD BAUGH
G SWIFT
BILLY MALPASS
HARRY ALLEN {CAPTAIN}
GEORGE KINSEY
ROBERT TOPHAM
DAVID WYKES
JOE BUTCHER
HARRY WOOD
ALF GRIFFIN
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EVERTON
RICHARD WILLIAMS
{CAPTAIN} ROBERT HOWARTH
BOB KELSO
ALEX STEWART
JOHN HOLT
RICHARD BOYLE
ALEX LATTA
PATRICK GORDON
ALAN MAXWELL
EDGAR CHADWICK
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