1904 FA Cup final
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Event | 1903–04 FA Cup | ||||||
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Date | 23 April 1904 | ||||||
Venue | Crystal Palace, London | ||||||
Referee | A. J. Barker | ||||||
Attendance | 61,374 | ||||||
The 1904 FA Cup final was a football match between Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City on 23 April 1904 at Crystal Palace in London. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup), it was the 33rd Cup final, and the tenth at Crystal Palace.
Each team progressed through four rounds to reach the final. Manchester City were a First Division team chasing a league and cup double; Bolton Wanderers were a mid-table Second Division team. Consequently, most observers anticipated a Manchester City win. In a close match featuring strong defensive play, Manchester City won 1–0. The goal, scored by Billy Meredith, was disputed by those with Bolton sympathies, who believed Meredith to be offside. The victory gave Manchester City their first major honour.
Build-up
The final was held at Crystal Palace, the tenth final played at the venue.[1] Neither club had previously won the competition. Bolton reached the final in 1894, but were beaten comfortably by Notts County, losing 4–1 at Goodison Park despite a strong performance by goalkeeper John Sutcliffe.[2]
In their passage to the final Manchester City faced opposition from the top division in all but one round. Second Division
Bolton's cup run started slowly, with a replay required to overcome non-league
Though Lancashire was a football stronghold in the early years of the professional game, providing a large proportion of
Prior to the match the teams both stayed in the suburb of West Norwood, within walking distance of Crystal Palace. Manchester City arrived on 21 April, and were joined the following day by the Bolton Wanderers,[14] who had spent the earlier part of the week at a training camp in Norbreck, near Blackpool.[15] London's Morning Leader described the relaxed nature of the Manchester City players, commenting that "they might have been a tug of war eleven out for a holiday".[16]
The majority of observers, including
Match
Twenty minutes into the game, a pass to the right wing by George Livingstone eluded Bolton's Archie Freebairn,[22] and reached Meredith, who dribbled beyond Bob Struthers for a run on goal. He shot to goalkeeper Davies' left, scoring the opening goal.[4] Reporters with Bolton sympathies, such as ex-Bolton secretary JJ Bentley, claimed the goal to be offside, though the Bolton players made no appeal to the referee.[22][23] The goal led to one over-exuberant Manchester City supporter invading the pitch, and subsequently being escorted away by police, though in contrast to the modern image of the football hooligan, the Sporting Chronicle reported that the man was then allowed back onto the terraces, as the police had been impressed by the level of devotion that he had demonstrated.[24]
Bolton had the majority of possession in the second half, aside from a ten-minute spell,
Match details
Manchester City
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Bolton Wanderers[29]
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Match rules
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Post-match
Manchester City captain Meredith received the trophy from the serving prime minister,[30] Arthur Balfour, a patron of the club.[23] Alfred Lyttelton then made a speech praising the efforts of the two teams. Lyttelton, a former footballer himself, compared the play in the final with the match he played for the England team against Scotland in 1877. Noting that "the game is a good deal changed", he emphasised how the final had demonstrated the importance of teamwork, in contrast to his day when "each man played for himself".[18]
While most of those in attendance behaved well, with few reports of disturbances, later in the day several young men "with provincial accents" appeared at a west London police court charged with drunken disorder. Due to "offence caused by 'scrimmage'", they were issued with fines averaging 10s.[18]
Manchester City did not return directly to Manchester, but instead went to Liverpool, as the club's final league fixture was scheduled for Monday afternoon at Everton. At this point Manchester City were still in contention for the league title. However, a 1–0 defeat at Goodison Park eliminated City from the title race and confirmed The Wednesday as champions.[31] The team arrived in Manchester in that evening, and travelled to the Town Hall to commence a victory parade. From the Town Hall, the parade travelled to Ardwick Conservative Club, via Deansgate, Market Street and Ardwick Green.[18] The number of people lining the route was five times as many as had attended a recent visit by the Prince and Princess of Wales.[32]
References
- ^ James, Manchester – The Greatest City, p54
- ^ Pawson, 100 Years of the FA Cup, p56
- ^ James, Manchester – The Greatest City, p51
- ^ a b c James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p110
- ^ Ward, The Manchester City Story, p12
- ^ Marland, Bolton Wanderers – A Complete Record 1877–1989, p16
- ^ a b Marland, Bolton Wanderers – A Complete Record 1877–1989, p218
- ^ a b Pawson, 100 Years of the FA Cup, p57
- ^ James, Manchester – A Football History, p103
- ^ a b "English Cup Tie: Extraordinary Scenes in London". Manchester Evening News. 23 April 1904. p. 3.
- ^ James, Manchester – A Football History, p105
- ^ a b c "The Association Cup. Victory for Manchester City". The Times (Times Digital Archive 1785–1985). UK. 25 April 1904. p. 11.
- ^ Creighton, Manchester City: Moments To Remember, p11
- ^ a b c "Football Notes – The Final Tie". Manchester Evening News. 22 April 1904. p. 2.
- ^ "English Cup Final – Early Scenes in London". Manchester Evening Chronicle. 23 April 1904.
- ^ "The Cup Final – Prospects for Tomorrow". Manchester Evening Chronicle. 22 April 1904. p. 3.
- ^ Harding, Football Wizard – The Billy Meredith Story, p86
- ^ a b c d e "The Final Tie: Victory of Manchester City". Manchester Evening News. 25 April 1904. p. 2.
- ^ W. Potter, David (2003). Willie Maley: The Man Who Made Celtic. Tempus Publishing.
- ^ "A proud day for Manchester City". Manchester Evening News. 23 April 1904. p. 4.
- ^ Harding, Football Wizard – The Billy Meredith Story, p90
- ^ a b Ward, The Manchester City Story, p13
- ^ a b James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p111
- ^ James, Manchester – A Football History, p106
- ^ a b Pawson, 100 Years of the FA Cup, p58
- ^ Gent, Making Headlines: The History of Bolton Wanderers Football Club as Seen Through the Eyes the Pages of the Bolton Evening News
- ^ "1904 Manchester City". Match report at fa-cupfinals.co.uk. FA-CupFinals.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 July 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ "1904 FA Cup Final Match Details". Sporting Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ "English FA Cup Finalists 1900–1909". Historical Kits. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ Harding, Football Wizard – The Billy Meredith Story, p59
- ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p32
- ^ "The winners of the English Cup, reception of the City team". Manchester Evening News. 26 April 1904. p. 2.
Bibliography
- Creighton, John (1993). Manchester City: Moments To Remember. Ammanford: Sigma Press. ISBN 1-85058-397-8.
- Gent, Leslie (2004). Making Headlines: The History of Bolton Wanderers Football Club as Seen Through the Eyes the Pages of the Bolton Evening News. Bristol: Sports Programme. ISBN 978-0-9537444-4-2.
- Harding, John (1998). Football Wizard – The Billy Meredith Story. London: Robson Books. ISBN 1-86105-137-9.
- James, Gary (2006). Manchester City – The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 1-85983-512-0.
- James, Gary (2005). The Official Manchester City Hall of Fame. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-61282-1.
- James, Gary (2008). Manchester – A Football History. Halifax: James Ward. ISBN 978-0-9558127-0-5.
- Marland, Simon (1989). Bolton Wanderers – A Complete Record 1877–1989. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 978-0-907969-51-8.
- Pawson, Tony (1972). 100 Years of the FA Cup. London: Heinemann. ISBN 0-330-23274-6.
- Ward, Andrew (1984). The Manchester City Story. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 0-907969-05-4.