Unforgettable
March 16, 1872: One win in four games and Wanderers FC are in their first ever FA Cup final. There are also unimaginable scenes there today before the world‘s first winner of a cup competition is determined in the “fastest and hardest match” to date.
16.03.2024, 00:0515.03.2024, 15:17
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At the end of the 19th century, football was much more of a recreational activity than a professional sport. The first football clubs emerged in England in the late 1850s. So does Wanderers FC. It was founded in 1859 and the first official game took place in 1862. The Wanderers were one of the founding members of the English Football Association (FA) in 1863.
The team from the London district of Battersea was quite successful in the initial phase. Between 1862 and 1863 the team remained undefeated for three years until the series ended with a 0-4 defeat against Harrow School. However, for whatever reason, the Wanderers had to compete with only nine players. The most successful period began in 1872 with the first season of the FA Cup, the world‘s first cup competition.
Eight strikers and a collarbone after ten minutes
On March 16, 1872, the final took place in front of 2,000 fans at the Kennington Oval in London. Opponents are the favored Royal Engineers. There are no free kicks, penalties or substitutions yet, the field markings are rudimentary, but there are already eleven against eleven players. The Wanderers have eight nominal strikers on the pitch and the Engineers have seven. The sun is shining and there is a fairly strong wind. The Wanderers win the choice of place and choose the side with the sun and the wind behind them.
As mentioned, the Engineers are considered the favorites. They play a short passing game, while the Wanderers – as was usual at the time – rely on long balls and dribbling skills. But after ten minutes, Edmund Creswell breaks his collarbone. It is the first recorded injury in a football game for posterity. But Creswell cannot be substituted and has to fight through the rest of the game.
A team photo of the Royal Engineers from 1872.Image: Wikipedia
The preparatory work of the “Prince of Dribbling”
After 15 minutes the Wanderers are 1-0. Robert Walpole Sealy Vidal, the “Prince of Dribbling,” performs an excellent solo, plays the ball to the middle, where Pedro Morton Betts just has to push it in.
Vidal logically got his nickname because of his brilliant dribbling. In the past, when the “scoring team” still had a face-off after a goal, legend has it that he once scored three goals without an opponent touching the ball in between. Betts, for his part, was actually a defense attorney. However, in his only international match for England in 1877 he acted as a goalie. In the final game he appeared under his pseudonym AH Checker. He got his nickname because he mostly chased leather for the Harrow Checkers.
The first FA Cup final goalscorer: Pedro Morton Betts.Image: Wikipedia
70,500 pounds for the gold medal from 1872
Not much is known about the rest of the game. But the Wanderers successfully defend themselves against the actually better Engineers and win the title. The newspaper “The Field” reports “the fastest and toughest match that has ever taken place in this stadium” and the Wanderers “played one of the best games individually and collectively since the FA was founded”.
The players only receive the trophy, a silk pin and a gold medal a month later. In 2010 the only known gold medal will be auctioned. It is bought by the Professional Footballers’ Association for 70,500 pounds.
The semi-final opponent ran out of money
Another notable thing about the Cup triumph is the Wanderers’ route to the final. 15 teams start the competition, which has a knockout format from the start. The Harrow Checkers, the first opponent, give forfeit. In the second game, the Wanderers defeated Clapham Rovers 3-1.
In the quarter-finals there is a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace. The competition format dictates that either the game is replayed or the organizers can determine that both teams advance. The latter happens and the Wanderers meet Queens Park of Scotland in the semi-final. The first game ends 0-0. The Scots will no longer play in the replay because there is no money for a second trip from Glasgow to London – the Wanderers are in the final.
Image: Wikipedia
The end in 1887 – the rebirth in 2009
In 1873 the Wanderers defended the title. As defending champions, they qualified directly for the final and defeated Oxford 2-0. The Wanderers also won the FA Cup in 1876, 1877 and 1878. In the fifth triumph, the game takes place in front of 5,000 spectators. The opponents are again the Royal Engineers. After that, the club went downhill. In 1881 he took part in an official championship for the last time, and in 1887 the team was dissolved.
But in 2009 – apparently with the blessing of the descendants of the former players – the club was brought back to life. It should only play charity games. But in 2011 the club registered in the “Surrey South Eastern Combination” league. A historic game will take place on November 7th 2012. 140 years after the first FA Cup final, the Wanderers will meet the Royal Engineers at Kennington Oval for revenge. They lose 1:7.
The second leg 140 years later: The Wanderers lose 1:7 at Kennington Oval.Image: Getty Images
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In the “Unforgotten” series, we look back on a major event in sports history on each anniversary: whether it’s an outstanding sporting achievement, a moving drama or a funny anecdote – it’s all there.
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