The FA Cup is the oldest association football competition in the world and a symbol of enormous importance in the history of football in England. In 1872, Wanderers Football Club won the first ever FA Cup football title. The record for most wins is held by Manchester United with 11 wins, followed by Arsenal with 10 and Tottenham Hotspur with 8. The trophy is held by Wigan Athletic, who defeated Manchester City 1-0 in the 2013 final.
FA Cup football in the 1940s
The 1940s was a decade of war. World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. Two opposing military alliances fought each other, the Allies and the Axis. Large parts of the European continent were war zones; playing the FA Cup was not for thinking. Both the Football League and the FA Cup were canceled during the war. The FA reinstated the tournament as soon as the war ended. The first post-war final was played between Derby County and Charlton Athletic.
Attendance figures for the Finals increased postwar. All the finals in the 1940s had more than 98,000 spectators (1946-98,000|1947-98,215|1948-99,842|1949-98,920). Charlton were the only club to have played in two FA Cup finals in the 1940s. Both finals Charlton participated in went to extra time. In 1946 they lost after conceding three goals in extra time against Derby. A year later, they beat Burnley as Duffy scored the only goal of the game in the 114th minute.
club of the decade: Charlton Athletic Football Club was founded in June 1905. Charlton has played in two finals in its history. Both times were in the 1940s. In 1947 they won the Cup thanks to a late goal from Scottish striker Chris Duffy.
player of the decade: Charlton fullback Bert Turner probably wasn’t the greatest player of the decade. Scoring for both teams in an FA Cup final puts you at the top of the Player of the Decade list. It’s not just that Turner scored both the opponents’ Charlton and Derby, but he only differed by a minute between goals. The game was scoreless until the 85th minute, when Turner tried to kick the ball clear, but he only managed to get the ball into his own goal. In the next minute, Charlton fullback Bert Turner scored for his own team when he fired a free kick that was deflected into the net by Woodley. Turner played 179 games for Charlton scoring two goals.
Results and scores FA Cup Finals 1946–49
1946 FA Cup Final (Wembley Stadium)
Derby County – Charlton Athletic 4-1 aet
1-0 B. Turner 85′ (og), 1-1 B. Turner 86′, 2-1 Doherty 92′, 3-1 Stamps 97′, 4-1 Stamps 106′
1947 Final (Wembley Stadium)
Charlton Athletic – Burnley 1-0 aet
1-0 Duffy 114′
1948 Final (Wembley Stadium)
Manchester United 4-2 Blackpool
1-0 Rowley 28′, 1-1 Shimwell 12′ (pen.), 1-2 Mortensen 35′, 2-2 Rowley 70′, 3-2 Pearson 80′, 4-2 Anderson 82′
1949 Final (Wembley Stadium)
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 Leicester City
1-0 Pye 13′, 2-0 Pye 42′, 2-1 Griffiths 47′, 3-1 Smyth 64′