On 20 July 1871, in the offices of The Sportsman newspaper, Charles W. Alcock proposed to the Football Association committee that “it is desirable that a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association for which all clubs belonging to the Association should be invited to compete”. The other committee members were:
- Stair (F.A. Treasurer) (Upton Park)
- C.W. Stephenson (Westminster School)
- J.H. Gifford (Civil Service)
- D. Allport (Crystal Palace)
- M.P. Betts (Harrow School)
- Capt. Francis Marindin (Royal Engineers)
The proposition was carried.
The inaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871. After thirteen games in all, Wanderers were crowned the winners in the final at Kennington Oval, on 16 March 1872. The following year, Wanderers retained the title after receiving a bye to the final, where they beat Oxford University to retain the Cup. The rules were changed for the following season, to help inspire teams to try to get to the final, instead of knowing who their opponents would be before they reached it.
In the 1888–89 season qualifying rounds were introduced, with clubs competing on regional basis until only one was left for the fourth qualifying round, and in the same season, the ‘magic of the cup’ began when Warwick County became the first non-league side to beat a First Division club on 6 October 1888, winning 2–1 away at Stoke.
English (FA) Cup Finals in the Nineteenth Century
Season | Winner | Score | RunnersUp | Venue | |
1871-72 | Wanderers | 1-0 | Royal Engineers | Kennington Oval 2,000 | |
1872-73 | Wanderers | 2-0 | Oxford University | Little Bridge 3,000 | |
1873-74 | Oxford University | 2-0 | Royal Engineers | Kennington Oval 2,000 | |
1874-75 | Royal Engineers | 1-1* | Old Etonians | Kennington Oval 2,000 | |
Replay | 2-0 | Kennington Oval 23000 | |||
1875-76 | Wanderers | 1-1 | Old Etonians | Kennington Oval 2,000 | |
Replay | 3-0 | Kennington Oval 3,000 | |||
1876-77 | Wanderers | 2-1* | Oxford University | Kennington Oval 3,000 | |
1877-78 | Wanderers | 3-1 | Royal Engineers | Kennington Oval 4,500 | |
1878-79 | Old Etonians | 1-0 | Clapham Rovers | Kennington Oval 5,000 | |
1879-80 | Clapham Rovers | 1-0 | Oxford University | Kennington Oval 6,000 | |
1880-81 | Old Carthusians | 3-0 | Old Etonians | Kennington Oval 4,000 | |
1881-82 | Old Etonians | 1-0 | Blackurn Rovers | Kennington Oval 6,500 | |
1882-83 | Blackburn Olympic | 2-1* | Old Etonians | Kennington Oval 8,000 | |
1883-84 | Blackurn Rovers | 2-1 | Queen's Park | Kennington Oval 4.000 | |
1884-85 | Blackurn Rovers | 2-0 | Queen's Park | Kennington Oval 12,500 | |
1885-86 | Blackburn Rovers | 0-0 | West Bromwich Albion | Kennington Oval 15,000 | |
Replay | 2-0 | West Bromwich Albion | Racecourse Ground 12,000 | ||
1886-87 | Aston Villa | 2-0 | West Bromwich Albion | Kennington Oval 15,500 | |
1887-88 | West Bromwich Albion | 2-1 | Preston North End | Kennington Oval 19,500 | |
1888-89 | Preston North End | 3-0 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Kennington Oval 22,000 | |
Blackburn Rovers | 6-1 | The Wednesday | Kennington Oval 20,000 | Loughborough (2QR) | |
Blackburn Rovers | 3-1 | Notts County | Kennington Oval 23,000 | Leicester Fosse (1QR) Loughborough (4QR) | |
West Bromwich Albion | 3-0 | Aston Villa | Kennington Oval 32,810 | Leicester Fosse (1QR) Loughborough (3QR) | |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1-0 | Everton | Fallowfield Stadium 45,000 | Leicester Fosse (3QR) Loughborough (R1) | |
Notts County | 4-1 | Bolton Wanderers | Goodison Park 37,000 | Leicester Fosse (R2) Loughborough (4QR) | |
Aston Villa | 1-0 | West Bromwhich Albion | Crystal Palace 42,500 | Coalville Town (3QR) Leicester Fosse (R1) Loughborough (4QR) | |
The Wednesday | 2-1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Crystal Palace 48,836 | Coalville Town (2QR) Hinckley Town (1QR) Leicester Fosse (4QR) Leicester YMCA ( 1QR) Loughborough (3QR) | |
Aston Villa | 3-2 | Everton | Crystal Palace 65,891 | Coalville Town (1QR) Hinckley Town (1QR) Leicester Fosse (5QR) Loughborough (3QR) | |
Nottingham Forest | 3-1 | Derby County | Crystal Palace 62,017 | Coalville Albion (1QR) Coalville Town (4QR) Hinckley Town (3QR) Leicester Fosse (R1) Loughborough (3QR) | |
Sheffield United | 4-1 | Derby County | Crystal Palace 73,833 | Barwell Swifts (2QR) Coalville Albion (2QR) Coalville Town (2QR) Hinckley Town (1QR) Hugglescote Robin Hood (1QR) Leicester Fosse (5QR) Loughborough (4QR) | |
Bury | 4-0 | Southampton | Crystal Palace 68,945 | Barwell Swifts (2QR) Coalville Town (3QR) Hinckley Town (4QR) Leicester Fosse (R1) Loughborough (3QR) |
Notes: * extra-time played
Seven Leicestershire clubs – Barwell Swifts, Coalville Albion, Coalville Town, Hinckley Town, Hugglescote Robin Hood, Leicester Fosse and Loughborough – entered the FA Cup competition in the nineteenth century. Only Leicester Fosse and Loughborough managed to get through the qualifying rounds, with Leicester Fosse reaching R2 in 1893-94.