The 1938 FA Cup Final was contested by

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

and

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. Preston, losing finalists the previous year, won by a single goal. This was their second win in the competition.

Background

After 29 minutes of extra time it was still 0–0 and BBC commentator

Thomas Woodrooffe Thomas Borries Ralph Woodrooffe (24 January 1899 – 25 March 1978) was a British naval officer, broadcaster and writer. He was born in Adelaide, Cape Province, South Africa to George Borries Woodrooffe (1868-1923) and Elizabeth McFarlan "Bessie" ...

said "if there's a goal scored now, I'll eat my hat". Seconds later, Preston were awarded a penalty, from which

George Mutch George Mutch (21 September 1912 – 30 March 2001) was a Scottish footballer. He played as an inside forward. Born in Aberdeen, Mutch started his football career with Avondale before joining Banks O' Dee. He then moved on to Arbroath, and sig ...

scored the winning goal; Woodrooffe kept his promise, though it was one made of cake and marzipan.

Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish football player and manager, who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool. Shankly brought success to Liverpool, gaining promotion to the First Division and winnin ...

(who played in that game for the Preston side) recalls that special moment in his autobiography from 1976: "The ball hit the bar, which was square then, took the paint off it, screamed into the middle of the goal and ran down the back of the net." And then adds: "The paint is on the ball to this day. I saw it again in 1971, when Liverpool reached the final and played Arsenal. When we were preparing for Wembley, Tommy Smith, who was the Preston captain in 1938, came to the training ground at Melwood and showed the ball to his namesake, Tommy Smith, the Liverpool captain in 1971." This was the first FA Cup final to be broadcast on television. It was a repeat of the

1922 FA Cup Final The 1922 FA Cup Final was contested by Huddersfield Town and Preston North End at Stamford Bridge. Huddersfield won by a single goal, a penalty scored by Billy Smith. Overview This was the last final before the opening of Wembley Stadium, and ...

. This time the scores were reversed but once again a penalty was needed to separate the two sides. Three of the players who participated in the final (

Andy Beattie Andrew Beattie (11 August 1913 – 20 September 1983) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He was the first manager of the Scottish national team. Playing career Beattie was born in Kintore, Aberdeenshire and was emplo ...

of Preston and Eddie Boot of Huddersfield) would all manage Huddersfield within 20 years of this final. The last surviving member of the winning team was Bobby Beattie, who died in September 2002 at the age of 86.

Match details

Road to Wembley

Preston North End

Huddersfield Town

References

External links

FA Cup Final lineups
{{DEFAULTSORT:1938 Fa Cup Final FA Cup Finals

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

FA Cup Final 1938 The 1938 FA Cup Final was contested by Preston North End and Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium. Preston, losing finalists the previous year, won by a single goal. This was their second win in the competition. Background After 29 minutes of ex ...