The 1909 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1908–09 FA Cup, the 38th season of England's premier club

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

cup competition. The match was played on 24 April 1909 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 ...

, and was contested by

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

and

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, both of the First Division. Manchester United won by a single goal, scored by

Sandy Turnbull Alexander Turnbull (30 July 1884 – 3 May 1917) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward for both Manchester City and Manchester United in the early 20th century. Football career Born in Hurlford to James and Jessie Turnbull of 1 Gibs ...

midway through the first half. This was the first of Manchester United's twelve

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 ...

titles to date.

Match summary

It was the first time that either team had played in an FA Cup Final, but Manchester United went into the match as favourites, having been league champions the previous season. Despite having lost 1–0 to Bristol City at Bank Street just two weeks earlier, Manchester United held a one-point advantage over their opposition with two matches still to play. Both teams usually wore red shirts, so, prior to the final, the FA issued them with orders to change their kit for the match.White; p.118 Manchester United's players sported white shirts with a red V-stripe and a red rose of Lancashire on the left breast, while Bristol City chose to wear blue shirts. Manchester United made an event of the presentation of their new kits, hiring contemporary

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

star

George Robey Sir George Edward Wade, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (20 September 1869 – 29 November 1954),James Harding (music writer), Harding, James"Robey, George" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University P ...

to present the uniforms to the players. 1909 fa cup final

Manchester United

inside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

had been struggling with a knee injury in recent times, but, on the morning of the match, he convinced his manager,

Ernest Mangnall James Ernest Mangnall (4 January 1866 – 13 January 1932) was an English football manager who started his career with Burnley and managed Manchester United between 1903–1912 and then went on to manage Manchester City from 1912–1924, and is ...

, that he could play. Turnbull's claim was endorsed by club captain

Charlie Roberts Charles Roberts (6 April 1883 – 7 August 1939) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre-half in the Football League for Grimsby Town, Manchester United and Oldham Athletic. He spent nine years at United, where he was c ...

, who told Mangnall " urnbullmight get a goal and if he does we can afford to carry him."Murphy; p.23 The star of the Bristol City team was

Billy Wedlock William John Wedlock (28 October 1880 – 25 January 1965), also known as "Fatty" or the "India Rubber Man", was a footballer who played for Bristol City in 1900–01 and from 1905 until his retirement in 1921. Between 1901 and 1905 he played fo ...

, an

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international

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, but he failed to take control of the game and was nullified by. Manchester United's half back trio of Dick Duckworth,

and

Alex Bell Alexander Bell (20 October 1882 – 30 November 1934) was a footballer who played as a wing half. His professional career was mostly spent in England, where he won trophies with Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers. Born in South Africa, he w ...

.Barnes, et al.; p.32 Manchester United

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

Billy Meredith William Henry Meredith (30 July 1874 – 19 April 1958) was a Welsh professional footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each ...

also played an important part in the match, his contribution to his team's attacking opportunities earning him the man of the match award. The only goal of the game came midway through the first half, with Charlie Roberts' earlier comments to his manager proving prophetic. As a result of a Manchester United attack, a shot from

Harold Halse Harold James Halse (1 January 1886 – 25 March 1949) was an English football forward, who played most of his career for Manchester United and then for Chelsea. He was the first player to appear in three FA Cup finals for three clubs. He is a ...

hit the crossbar and the ball fell to Sandy Turnbull, who fired the ball past goalkeeper

Harry Clay Henry A. Clay (29 January 1881 – 9 August 1964) was an English professional association football player in the years prior to the First World War. He made 310 appearances in the Football League and 32 appearances in the FA Cup for his only pr ...

and into the back of the net. Bristol City's closest opportunity came after a fine passing move left inside right Bob Hardy unmarked in front of goal, only to have his shot turned round the post by a diving

Harry Moger George Henry Moger (September 1878 – 16 June 1927) was an English football goalkeeper. Playing career Born in Southampton, Moger started his career with local side Forest Swifts, before joining Southampton St. Marys' main local rivals, F ...

. During the match, Manchester United

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Vince Hayes was injured and had to be removed from the field. As substitutes were not used in those days, it meant that Manchester United were down to 10 men. Mangnall reshuffled his team to retain their numbers in defence, and, after treatment, Hayes returned to the field as a forward. Despite his injury, Hayes lasted to the end of the game, and the match finished 1–0 to Manchester United. Charlie Roberts went up to receive the trophy, becoming the first Manchester United player to lift the FA Cup. After the match, the Manchester United mascot, a goat named Billy, drank too much champagne and died of alcohol poisoning. His head was preserved and hangs on the wall of the Manchester United museum at Old Trafford.

Match details

Road to the final

''Home teams listed first. ''

References

;General * * * * ;Specific

External links

Line-ups

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fa Cup Final 1909

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

1909 in association football

Manchester United F.C. matches Bristol City F.C. matches April 1909 sports events 1909 sports events in London