The 1896–97 FA Cup was the 26th season of the world's oldest

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

). The cup was won by

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, who defeated Everton 3–2 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the competition, played at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In doing so, Aston Villa became only the second team to have won the Double, as they won the league on the same day as their cup victory (and the only team to do this). Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held at neutral venues until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

would be played.

Calendar

The format of the FA Cup for the season had a preliminary round, five qualifying rounds, three proper rounds, and the semi finals and final. Each of the Rounds Proper were played on a set date, whereas the Preliminary and Qualifying Round matches were played on several dates over a given period of time.

First round proper

The first round proper contained 16 ties between 32 teams. The 16 First Division sides were given a bye to this round, as were

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

Small Heath Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...

, Burton Wanderers,

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

from the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. The other Second Division sides were entered into the third qualifying round. Of those sides, only

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial Re ...

and

Burton Swifts Burton Swifts Football Club was a football club based in Burton upon Trent, England. Established in 1871, the club joined the Football League in 1892, remaining members until merging with Burton Wanderers to form Burton United in 1901. Hist ...

qualified to the FA Cup proper. Eight non-league sides also qualified. The matches were played on Saturday, 30 January 1897. One match was drawn, with the replay taking place in the following midweek fixture.

Second round proper

The eight Second Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 13 February 1897. There was one replay, played in the following midweek fixture.

Third round proper

The four Third Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 27 February 1897. There were two replays, played in the following midweek fixture, of which the Preston North End – Aston Villa match went to a second replay the following week.

Semi-Finals

The semi-final matches were both played on Saturday, 20 March 1897. Aston Villa and Everton went on to meet in the final at

. ----

Final

The final took place on Saturday, 10 April 1897 at

. Just under 66,000 supporters attended the match. John Campbell opened the scoring for Villa after 18 minutes. Villa's lead was maintained for only five minutes before Everton equalised, through a goal from Jack Bell. Everton then went in front after

Dickie Boyle Richard Boyle (born 24 September 1869) was a Scottish professional footballer. Career Boyle played club football in Scotland and England for Dumbarton, Everton, New Brighton Tower and Dundee. Honours ;Dumbarton * Scottish League: Champions ...

scored five minutes later, but that lead only lasted seven minutes, when

Fred Wheldon George Frederick Wheldon (1 November 1869 – 13 January 1924) was an English sportsman. He was sometimes known as Fred or Freddie Wheldon. In football, he was an inside-forward with good footwork and an eye for goal who played for England and ...

got an equaliser.

Jimmy Crabtree James William Crabtree (23 December 1871–18 June 1908) was a gifted English footballer of the end of the 19th century. Career Crabtree began his career at Burnley, but left in 1890 and played in non-league football for two years before ret ...

put Villa back in front just before half-time, and Villa managed to come through the second half without conceding, meaning they had become only the second team ever to win the Double in England.

Match details

References

;General
Official site; fixtures and results service
at TheFA.com
1896-1897 FA Cup at soccerbase.com
;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Fa Cup 1896-97 1896-97 1896–97 in English football FA