1938 FA Cup final

1938 FA Cup final
Event	1937–38 FA Cup
	After extra time
Date	30 April 1938
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	A. Jewell (London)
Attendance	93,497
	← 1937 1939 →

Last updated February 18, 2025

The 1938 FA Cup final was contested by Preston North End and Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium. Preston, losing finalists the previous year, won by a single goal. This was their second win in the competition.

Background

After 29 minutes of extra time it was still 0–0 and BBC commentator Thomas Woodrooffe said "if there's a goal scored now, I'll eat my hat". Seconds later, Preston were awarded a penalty, from which George Mutch scored the winning goal; Woodrooffe kept his promise, though it was one made of cake and marzipan.^[1]^[2] Bill Shankly (who played in that game for the Preston side) recalls that special moment in his autobiography from 1976: "The ball hit the bar, which was square then, took the paint off it, screamed into the middle of the goal and ran down the back of the net." And then adds: "The paint is on the ball to this day. I saw it again in 1971, when Liverpool reached the final and played Arsenal. When we were preparing for Wembley, Tommy Smith, who was the Preston captain in 1938, came to the training ground at Melwood and showed the ball to his namesake, Tommy Smith, the Liverpool captain in 1971."^[3]

This was the first FA Cup final to be broadcast on television, by the BBC. It was a repeat of the 1922 FA Cup Final. This time the scores were reversed but once again a penalty was needed to separate the two sides.^[4]^[5]

Three of the players who participated in the final (Andy Beattie and Bill Shankly of Preston and Eddie Boot of Huddersfield) would all manage Huddersfield within 20 years of this final.

The last surviving member of the winning team was Bobby Beattie, who died in September 2002 at the age of 86.

Match details

30 April 1938

15:00 BST

Preston North End	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Huddersfield Town
Mutch 119' (pen.)	Report

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 93,497

Referee: A. Jewell (London)

Preston

Huddersfield



GK		George Holdcroft
RB		Frank Gallimore
LB		Andy Beattie
RH		Bill Shankly
CH		Tom Smith (c)
LH		Bob Batey
OR		Dickie Watmough
IR		George Mutch
CF		Bud Maxwell
IL		Bobby Beattie
OL		Hugh O'Donnell
Manager:
James Taylor (acting)



GK		Bob Hesford
RB		Benny Craig
LB		Reg Mountford
RH		Ken Willingham
CH		Alf Young (c)
LH		Eddie Boot
OR		Joe Hulme
IR		Jimmy Isaac
CF		Willie MacFadyen
IL		Bobby Barclay
OL		Pat Beasley
Manager:
Clem Stephenson

Match rules

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

Road to Wembley

Preston North End

8 Jan 1938

3rd Round

Preston North End	3 - 0	West Ham United

Deepdale, Preston

22 Jan 1938

4th Round

Preston North End	2 - 0	Leicester City

Deepdale, Preston

12 Feb 1938

5th Round

Arsenal	0 - 1	Preston North End

Highbury, London

5 Mar 1938

6th Round

Brentford	0 - 3	Preston North End

Griffin Park, London

26 Mar 1938

Semi-final

Preston North End	2 - 1	Aston Villa

Bramall Lane, Sheffield

Huddersfield Town

8 Jan 1938

3rd Round

Huddersfield Town	3 - 1	Hull City

Leeds Road, Huddersfield

22 Jan 1938

4th Round

Huddersfield Town	1 - 0	Notts County

Leeds Road, Huddersfield

12 Feb 1938

5th Round

Liverpool	0 - 1	Huddersfield Town

Anfield, Liverpool

5 Mar 1938

6th Round

York City	0 - 0	Huddersfield Town

Bootham Crescent, York

9 Mar 1938

6th Round Replay

Huddersfield Town	2 - 1	York City

Leeds Road, Huddersfield

26 Mar 1938

Semi-final

Huddersfield Town	3 - 1	Sunderland

Ewood Park, Blackburn

References

↑ Mark Connelly & David Welch (2005). War and the Media: Reportage and Propaganda, 1900-2003. I.B. Tauris. p. 141. ISBN 1-860-64959-9.
↑ Scott Murray (13 May 2011). "The Joy of Six: FA Cup final goals". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
↑ John Roberts & Bill Shankly (2009). Shankly: My Story. Trinity Mirror Sport Media. ISBN 978-1906802066.
↑ Thomas Dunmore & Scott Murray (2013). Soccer For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-118-51065-0.
↑ Nihon Hōsō Kyōkai, NHK Hōsō Bunka Chōsa Kenkyūjo (2003). NHK Broadcasting Studies, Issue 2. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute. p. 132.

External links

FA Cup Final lineups

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[1] Mark Connelly & David Welch (2005). War and the Media: Reportage and Propaganda, 1900-2003. I.B. Tauris. p. 141. ISBN 1-860-64959-9.

[2] Scott Murray (13 May 2011). "The Joy of Six: FA Cup final goals". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2016.

[3] John Roberts & Bill Shankly (2009). Shankly: My Story. Trinity Mirror Sport Media. ISBN 978-1906802066.

[4] Thomas Dunmore & Scott Murray (2013). Soccer For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-118-51065-0.

[5] Nihon Hōsō Kyōkai, NHK Hōsō Bunka Chōsa Kenkyūjo (2003). NHK Broadcasting Studies, Issue 2. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute. p. 132.

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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 2024–25
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History 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 Preston North End F.C. matches
FA Cup Finals	1888 1889 1922 1937 1938 1954 1964
Football League War Cup Finals	1941
FA Community Shields	1938
Football League play-off Finals	1994 Third Division 2001 First Division 2005 Championship 2015 League One
Other matches	Preston North End 26–0 Hyde (1887) 1889 World Championship

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)

1938 FA Cup final

Contents

Background

Match details

Road to Wembley

Preston North End

Huddersfield Town

References

External links