The FA Cup

And Nonleague Football History

The FA Cup And Nonleague Football History dovetails together as the tradition of NonLeague sides competing in the Cup has earned the competition it’s unique place in English football heritage.

There is always a great giant-killing story and a small club which captures the heart of the sporting public.

The romance of the FA Cup, with its David against Goliath contests, can be traced back to the early days of the competition when instead of NonLeague versus League; it was amateur against professional.

The early years of the FA Cup, from its formation in 1872, can best be described as shambolic with the kind of convoluted and chaotic draw that would make even a modern-day FIFA administrator throw his hands up in horror.

Teams were given byes seemingly at random, if a tie was drawn both teams went through to the next round and teams scratching from the semi-final, as Queens Park did on two occasions, didn’t raise an eyebrow.

The first two competitions, 1872 and 1873, were won by The Wanderers who won a grand total of three matches to lift the cup twice!

The FA Cup And Nonleague Football History

The cup began to take on its modern aura in the 1880s when Northern clubs began to dominate thanks to the professionals in their teams. Prior to 1882 the FA Cup had really been a competition exclusively for public school old boys sides but that years victory by Old Etonians over Blackburn Rovers would prove to be the last by an amateur side.

Rovers and Olympic from Blackburn would dominate the cup over the next few years and the formation of the professional Football League in 1888 was the final nail in the amateurs coffin.

In response to the domination by the professional teams the Football Association introduced the Amateur Cup in 1894 with the trophy being won in its first year by Old Carthusians.

The Charterhouse old boys team had also won the FA Cup in 1881 so becoming the first team to win both the FA Cup and Amateur Cup. It was a feat that would remain unequalled for nearly 100 years until Wimbledon, who had won the Amateur Cup in 1963, beat Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup Final.

By the turn of the 20^th century the amateurs may have been a spent force as far as winning the FA Cup but the big clubs were shocked in 1901 when Tottenham, then a Southern League side, became the last NonLeague team to win the competition.

Tottenham met the mighty Sheffield United, replete with the amazing Billy Foulke in goal, in front of over 110,000 fans at the Crystal Palace.

Though United opened the scoring, Sandy Brown struck twice becoming the first player to score in every round of the competition, before a controversial equaliser, with the referee ruling the Tottenham keeper had carried the ball into his own net, denied Tottenham the cup.

The NonLeague side were burning with a sense of injustice and in the replay at Bolton Wanderers ran out 3-1 winners with Brown once again on the score-sheet. It was to be the last time a NonLeague team would lift the FA Cup.