The 1962 Football League Cup Final was won by
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, who defeated
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
4–0 on aggregate over two legs. The first leg, played on 26 April 1962 at Rochdale's ground,
Spotland, was won by Norwich 3–0. They then won the second leg 1–0 a week later on 1 May 1962,
at their own ground,
Carrow Road. This was Norwich City's first major trophy. Rochdale remained for a long time the only club from the lowest division – Division 4, which was the equivalent of the current League 2 – in English league football to reach the League Cup Final, until the feat was repeated by
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
, after their aggregate 4–3 win over
Aston Villa.
The captain of the winning Norwich City team was Ron Ashman.
Rochdale's manager
Tony Collins became the first
BAME
A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship betwe ...
manager to lead a team in a major English cup final.
Route to the Final
Second division Norwich City were drawn away in the first round to fourth division
Chesterfield, and what should've been an easy victory for The Canaries turned into a mighty battle at
Saltergate
Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, was the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139-year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in Englan ...
, with Norwich eventually emerging as 3–2 victors. The reward was a home tie against third division
Lincoln City at
Carrow Road. Again Norwich should've emerged as comfortable victors but ended up winning 3–2 again. A tougher tie awaited in the third round, against fellow second division side
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
at Carrow Road, and for the third consecutive match Norwich ran out 3–2 winners. This earned them a bye through the fourth round, and a quarter final tie away at
Roker Park
Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated ...
against second division
Sunderland. For the first time in the tournament, they did not win 3–2, instead emerging as 4–1 victors in a much more decisive victory. In the two-legged semi final they drew their first top division opponents,
Blackpool, with the first match held at Carrow Road. Norwich were again 4–1 victors, leaving them with margin for error when the tie returned to
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...
five days later, when they lost 2–0, just scraping through as 4–3 aggregate winners.
Fourth division Rochdale, on the other hand, had started out travelling away to
The Dell to play
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, a tie in which a draw would be considered a great result for The Dale. A draw was what they achieved in a hard-fought encounter which ended 0–0 and earned them a replay at
Spotland. To the surprise of everyone, they triumphed 2–1. In the second round they played at home to fellow fourth division side
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
, who rarely challenged as Rochdale finished 4–0 winners. They again played at home in the third round, with the visitors being second division
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
, and Rochdale were again the victors in a tight 1–0 win. Like Norwich, they received a bye through the fourth round to the quarter finals, where they drew another fourth division side,
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
at Spotland. The match ended 2–1 to The Dale, putting them into the semi finals and earning them a lucrative two-legged tie against
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
, their first top division opponents. They sprung a massive surprise by winning the first leg 3–1 at Spotland, but were almost felled in the return leg at
Ewood Park two weeks later, as Rovers led 2–0, a result which would have put them through on the away goals rule, but a later Rochdale goal saw them progress as 4–3 aggregate winners.
Matches
References
{{Rochdale A.F.C.
League Cup Final
EFL Cup Finals
League Cup Final 1962
League Cup Final 1962
eague Cup Final
Football League Cup Final
Football League Cup Final