 Official programme | |||||||
| Event | 1943 Football League War Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 15 May 1943 | ||||||
| Venue | Stamford Bridge, London | ||||||
| Referee | F. S. Milner (Wolverhampton) | ||||||
| Attendance | 55,195 | ||||||
The 1943 Football League War Cup final was an association football match contested by Arsenal and Blackpool. The match was held at Chelsea's home stadium Stamford Bridge on 15 May 1943, with Blackpool winning 4-2. The match was widely regarded as the greatest club match during World War II.
Arsenal became the first and only team to participate in two Football League War Cup finals after playing in the 1941 Football League War Cup final, losing 2-1 in playoffs by Preston North End. [1] Blackpool were the favourites to win the 1942 Football League War Cup having defeated the eventual winners Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-1. [2] They withdrew due to the news that military personnel had to stay on their bases during the Easter holidays as the team did not have time to find suitable replacements. [2]
On 1 May 1943, Arsenal defeated Charlton Athletic 7-1 in the South final and on 8 May 1943, Blackpool defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in the North final. [3]
Prior to the match, Burnley player Harry Hubbick replaced Sammy Jones as Blackpool's left back and Queen of the South player Willie Savage replaced Alec Roxburgh as their goalkeeper. [4] Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Clement Attlee and First Lord of the Admiralty A.V. Alexander were in attendance at the match. [5]
At five minutes played, Reg Lewis scored a 20 yard shot for Arsenal which, according to one report, "did everything but talk." Two minutes later, Arsenal player Denis Compton scored with an individual run. [3] John Ross wrote in the Daily Mirror that "after seven minutes", he thought he "would need a cash register to tot up Arsenal's goals". [3]
However, Ronnie Dix scored for Blackpool with a rising shot from 20 yards which Ross said "might have brought a plane down if the net hadn't been in the way". [3] At the 75th minute, Blackpool equalised when Eddie Burbanks scored a low shot against George Marks. [3] With Arsenal focusing their attention on right-winger Stanley Matthews, Burbanks on the other side set up goals in the closing minutes for Jock Dodds and Bobby Finan to see Blackpool defeat Arsenal 4-2. [3]
The match was widely regarded as the greatest club match of the war. [2] The Daily Mirror put the combined market price of the Blackpool team at £70,000 which is over £2.5 million in today's money. [2] [6] Football chairman Will Cuff said in April 1944 that Blackpool had been the team of the season and the "epitome of good football" having a side who maintained a "fine football standard". [2] Blackpool contested the 1944 North final against Aston Villa in which they won 2-1 in the first leg but were defeated in the second leg 4-2. [2] Aston Villa having the higher aggregate score progressed to the final. [2]
       Arsenal |     Blackpool |
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Assistant referees: |
Sir Stanley Matthews was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game and one of the greatest players of all time, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing football, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards. His nicknames included "The Wizard of the Dribble" and "The Magician".
This article concerns football records in England. Unless otherwise stated, records are taken from the Football League or Premier League. Where a different record exists for the top flight, this is also given. This article includes clubs based in Wales that compete in English leagues.
Stanley Harding Mortensen was an English professional footballer, most famous for his part in the 1953 FA Cup final, in which he became the only player ever to score a hat-trick in a Wembley FA Cup Final. He was also both the first player to score for England in a FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign and the first England player to score in the tournament proper.
The Football League War Cup was an association football tournament held between 1939 and 1945. It aimed to fill the gap left in English football by the suspension of the FA Cup during the Second World War. Though it was often referred to in contemporary coverage as the "League Cup" or "Football League Cup", it is not to be confused with the later English football competition with the same name, which was formed in 1960 and is currently known as the EFL Cup. As with all wartime football in England, records and statistics from the competition are not considered official.
Ephraim Dodds was a Scottish professional footballer. He played in the 1936 FA Cup final, and, at the time of his death was the oldest surviving player to have played in a final at Wembley Stadium.
The 1953 FA Cup final, also known as the Matthews Final, was the eighth to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War. The football match was contested between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers, with Blackpool winning 4–3, equalling the record for the highest scoring FA Cup Final which had been set in the final of 1890. The match became famous for the performance of Blackpool winger Stanley Matthews, after whom it was nicknamed. It was the third FA Cup Final to feature a hat-trick, scored by Blackpool's Stan Mortensen. Blackpool were making their third FA Cup final appearance in six years having been losing finalists twice, in 1948 and 1951.
The 2008 Football League Cup Final was a football match played on 24 February 2008. It was the first League Cup Final to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, and the first to be played in England since the old Wembley was demolished in 2000. The defending champions were Chelsea, who beat Arsenal in the 2007 Final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. The final was contested by Tottenham Hotspur, who beat Arsenal 6–2 on aggregate in the semi-final, and Chelsea, who beat Everton 3–1 on aggregate. Tottenham Hotspur defeated Chelsea 2–1, after extra time, winning their first trophy in nine years.
The history of the FA Cup in association football dates back to 1871–72. Aside from suspensions during the First and Second World Wars, the competition has been played every year since.
The 1999–2000 FA Cup was the 119th staging of the FA Cup. Both the semifinals and final of the competition were played at Wembley Stadium for the last time before reconstruction work began. The competition culminated with the final between Chelsea and Aston Villa. The game was won by a goal from Chelsea's Roberto Di Matteo, giving them a 1–0 victory.
The 1952–53 season was Blackpool F.C.'s 45th season in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division One, then the top tier of English football, finishing seventh.
The history of Blackpool Football Club between 1887 and 1962 covers the years from the club's foundation, via a split from another Blackpool-based club; the period of nine years before they gained membership to the Football League; their recovery after losing their League status after only three seasons; and finally their rise into Division One, which was then the top tier of English football. Aside from the League, Blackpool also appeared in three FA Cup Finals in six years, finding success in their third attempt, in 1953. The same year, the club supplied the England team with four players for an international game against Hungary.
Nathan Abayomi Delfouneso is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for AFC Fylde.
The 1964-65 season was Chelsea Football Club's 51st of competitive football, and their 38th in the English top flight.
The 2010–11 season marked the return of Newcastle United to the Premier League following a season in the Championship. They finished in 12th place.
The 2010–11 season was Blackpool F.C.'s debut season in the Premier League, after winning the 2009–10 Championship play-off Final in what was their 99th consecutive season in the Football League. It was also their 28th overall season in English football's top tier, but their first since 1971. It was Ian Holloway's second season as manager. The club finished 19th and were relegated back to the Championship.
The 2011–12 season was the 120th season in Liverpool Football Club's existence, and their 50th consecutive year in the top flight of English football, but they were not participating in any UEFA competition for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
The 1896–97 season was the 16th season of competitive association football and 5th season in the Football League played by Small Heath F.C., an English football club based in Birmingham. In 1895–96, Small Heath finished in 15th position in the 16-team First Division and were relegated via the test match system. In 1896–97, they finished 4th in the Second Division.
The 1897–98 Football League season was the 17th season of competitive association football and 6th season in the Football League played by Small Heath Football Club, an English football club based in Birmingham. They finished in sixth place in the 16-team division. Having failed to gain exemption from the qualifying rounds of the 1897–98 FA Cup, they entered the competition in the third qualifying round and lost that opening match to Burslem Port Vale. In local cup competitions, they lost to Walsall in the second round of the Birmingham Cup, were eliminated by West Bromwich Albion in the first round of the Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup, and reached the semi-final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup where they again lost to West Bromwich Albion.
The 1953 Football Association Charity Shield was the 29th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Football League First Division and FA Cup competitions. It was held at Highbury Stadium on 12 October 1953. The game was played between Arsenal, champions of the 1952–53 Football League and Blackpool, who had beaten Bolton Wanderers to win the 1953 FA Cup Final. This was Blackpool's first FA Charity Shield appearance to Arsenal's ninth.
The 2015 FA Cup final was an association football match played between Arsenal and Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 May 2015. Organised by the Football Association (FA), it was the 134th final of the Football Association Challenge Cup, the world's oldest football cup competition. En route to the final, Arsenal defeated Hull City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Middlesbrough, Manchester United and Reading. Aston Villa secured victories over Blackpool, Bournemouth, Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool in the rounds before the final.
