1930 FA Cup final

1930 FA Cup final
	Programme cover
Event	1929–30 FA Cup
Date	26 April 1930
Venue	Wembley Stadium, Middlesex
Referee	T. Crew (Leicester)
Attendance	92,499
	← 1929 1931 →

Last updated December 19, 2023

The 1930 FA Cup final was a football match contested by Arsenal and Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium on 26 April 1930. It was the final match of the 1929-30 FA Cup, the 55th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup.

Background

The 1930 Final was the first Cup Final in which both teams entered the pitch side by side, led by Tom Parker and Tom Wilson, in honour of Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman, who had managed Huddersfield to great success in the 1920s.^[1] When Chapman arrived at Arsenal in 1925, he claimed it would take him five years to build a winning team. Five years later, Arsenal's cup final performance proved him right.^[2]

Historically, Huddersfield Town had been a more dominant team, winning the 1921-22 FA Cup. Coached by Chapman, Huddersfield won the league in 1923-4, 1924-25, and 1925-26, making them the first club to win three successive league titles. In 1927-28, Huddersfield Town had finished runners-up in both the league and the FA Cup.^[3] Meanwhile, Arsenal had won nothing in nearly fifty years with only a runners-up performance in the 1926-27 FA Cup to speak of.^[2]

Arsenal came into the game following a 6–6 draw at Leicester City, the highest-scoring draw in English top-flight history, five days prior. Dave Halliday, who scored four of Arsenal's goals that game, was omitted from the Cup Final squad in favour of Jack Lambert.^[4]

The 1930 FA Cup Final is remembered for the Graf Zeppelin passing over the stadium. The Zeppelin was, at the time, the largest airship ever and was around 776 ft in length.^[5]^[1] Prior to the match, King George V was also introduced to the players, a surprise outing as he had been recovering from illness for eighteen months.^[6] The airship saluted him as it passed by.^[7]

After first being broadcast on BBC Radio in 1928, the 1930 final was the first for which a fee was paid for the rights.^[8] It was also only the fifth time that a game had been broadcast live. George Allisson, an Arsenal director and shareholder, would provide commentary.^[2]

The rest of the Cup day programming included a 4-4 draw between Wolves and Bradford Park Avenue, Fred Cheesmuir scoring six goals for Gillingham in their 6-0 defeat of Merthyr town, Lincoln City beating New Brighton 5-2, and Sheffield Wednesday holding their lead at the top of the First Division, beating Grimsby Town 1-0.^[2]

Arsenal's Bill Seddon, who died in January 1993 at the age of 91, was the last surviving player to appear in the game.^[7]

Road to the final

Arsenal

11 Jan 1930

3rd Round

Arsenal	2–0	Chelsea

Highbury, London

25 Jan 1930

4th Round

Arsenal	2–2	Birmingham City

Highbury, London

29 Jan 1930

4th Round Replay

Birmingham City	0–1	Arsenal

St Andrew's, Birmingham

15 Feb 1930

5th Round

Middlesbrough	0–2	Arsenal

Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough

1 Mar 1930

6th Round

West Ham United	0–3	Arsenal

Boleyn Ground, London

22 Mar 1930

Semi-final

Arsenal	2–2	Hull City

Elland Road, Leeds

26 Mar 1930

Semi-final Replay

Hull City	0–1	Arsenal

Villa Park, Birmingham

Huddersfield Town

11 Jan 1930

3rd Round

Bury	0–1	Huddersfield Town

Gigg Lane, Bury

25 Jan 1930

4th Round

Huddersfield Town	2–1	Sheffield United

Leeds Road, Huddersfield

15 Feb 1930

5th Round

Huddersfield Town	2–1	Bradford City

Leeds Road, Huddersfield

1 Mar 1930

6th Round

Aston Villa	1–2	Huddersfield Town

Villa Park, Birmingham

22 Mar 1930

Semi-final

Huddersfield Town	2–1	Sheffield Wednesday

Old Trafford, Manchester

Match summary

Both teams began the match in Chapman's now-famous W-M formation. Arsenal wore red shirts while Huddersfield wore blue and white striped shirts.^[7]^[6]

Arsenal scored the first goal in the sixteenth minute. Allegedly, inside left Alex James had said to Cliff Bastin on the way to the match: "If we get a free-kick in their half early on, I'll slip it out to you on the wing. You give it me back and I'll have a crack at goal." During the match, referee Tom Crew awarded Arsenal a free-kick as James was fouled 40 yards from goal. James took the free kick immediately, a move which was controversial at the time. He passed to Bastin, who slipped it back through to James who then scored the first goal for Arsenal.^[2]

Huddersfield attacked for the rest of the match. Despite the aggressive and risky goaltending by Charlie Preedy, Arsenal's backup goalkeeper, no goals were let in. Alex Jackson had two excellent chances, a header and an excellent left-footed drive that went just wide. Arsenal's defense also effectively to shut down Huddersfield forwards. The Huddersfield defense also performed well, with Roy Goodall preventing Cliff Bastin from threatening the goal.^[9]^[2]

Towards the end of the match, a long clearance from James found centre forward Jack Lambert. Lambert slipped between Huddersfield defenders Goodall and Bon Spence to rush at goalkeeper Hugh Turner. Lambert scored, though had no teammates to celebrate with, and had to clap for himself as he ran back to his own half.^[2] Arsenal had won the cup for the first time.

After the game, the two sides dined together at Cafe Royal, an innovation from Chapman which did not stick.^[2]

Match details

26 April 1930

15:00 BST

Arsenal	2–0	Huddersfield Town
James 16' Lambert 88'	(Report)

Wembley Stadium, Middlesex

Attendance: 92,499

Referee: T. Crew (Leicester)

Arsenal

Huddersfield Town



GK		Charlie Preedy
RB		Tom Parker (c)
LB		Eddie Hapgood
RH		Alf Baker
CB		Bill Seddon
LH		Bob John
OR		Joe Hulme
IR		David Jack
CF		Jack Lambert
IL		Alex James
OL		Cliff Bastin
Manager:
Herbert Chapman



GK		Hugh Turner
RB		Roy Goodall
LB		Bon Spence
RH		Jimmy Naylor
CH		Tom Wilson (c)
LH		Austen Campbell
OR		Alex Jackson
IR		Bob Kelly
CF		Harry Davies
IL		Harry Raw
OL		Billy Smith
Manager:
Clem Stephenson

Match rules

90 minutes.
30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
Replay if scores still level.

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References

1 2 Scott Murray & Rowan Walker (2008). Day of the Match: A History of Football in 365 Days. Pan Macmillan. p. 121. ISBN 0-752-22678-9.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. Hamlyn. pp. 6–13. ISBN 0600588262.
↑ Rundle, Richard. "Huddersfield Town". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
↑ Tony Matthews (2005). Football Oddities. The History Press. ISBN 0-752-49376-0.
↑ Steve Tongue (2016). Turf Wars: A History of London Football. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 1-785-31248-0.
1 2 "1930 FA Cup Semi's + Final". YouTube. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
1 2 3 "The 1930 final - how Arsenal won the cup". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
↑ Stefan Szymanski, Andrew S. Zimbalist (2006). National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer. Brookings Institution Press. p. 154. ISBN 0-815-78259-4.
↑ Moss, P.J. (27 April 1930). "How Arsenal Won The Cup". Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.

External links

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[Book-1] 1 2 Scott Murray & Rowan Walker (2008). Day of the Match: A History of Football in 365 Days. Pan Macmillan. p. 121. ISBN 0-752-22678-9.

[:0-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. Hamlyn. pp. 6–13. ISBN 0600588262.

[3] Rundle, Richard. "Huddersfield Town". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2023.

[4] Tony Matthews (2005). Football Oddities. The History Press. ISBN 0-752-49376-0.

[5] Steve Tongue (2016). Turf Wars: A History of London Football. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 1-785-31248-0.

[:1-6] 1 2 "1930 FA Cup Semi's + Final". YouTube. Retrieved 30 October 2023.

[:2-7] 1 2 3 "The 1930 final - how Arsenal won the cup". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.

[8] Stefan Szymanski, Andrew S. Zimbalist (2006). National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer. Brookings Institution Press. p. 154. ISBN 0-815-78259-4.

[9] Moss, P.J. (27 April 1930). "How Arsenal Won The Cup". Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.

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v t e FA Cup
Seasons	1871–72 1872–73 1873–74 1874–75 1875–76 1876–77 1877–78 1878–79 1879–80 1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Qualifying rounds	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Finals	1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
History Trophy List of finals Semi-finals Final referees Winning managers Non-English clubs Scottish clubs Non-League clubs in the 5th Round Giant-Killing Award

v t e Huddersfield Town A.F.C. matches
FA Cup Finals	1920 1922 1928 1930 1938
FA Charity Shield	1922
Football League play-off Finals	1995 Second Division 2004 Third Division 2011 League One 2012 League One 2017 Championship 2022 Championship
Football League Trophy Finals	1994
Other matches	Charlton Athletic 7–6 Huddersfield Town (1957)