1949 FA Cup Final

The 1949 FA Cup Final was the 68th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 30 April 1949 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City. Wolves had finished sixth in the First Division that season and boasted several England internationals among their ranks, while Leicester had narrowly avoided relegation from the Second Division and were making their first Wembley appearance.

1949 FA Cup Final
Event1948–49 FA Cup
Date30 April 1949
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeReg Mortimer (Huddersfield)
Attendance98,920

Wolves won the match 3–1, thus winning the FA Cup for the third time. Jesse Pye (2) and Sammy Smyth scored Wolves' goals, with Mal Griffiths replying for Leicester. Captain Billy Wright was presented with the cup by Princess Elizabeth.

Road to Wembley

Leicester City

3rd RoundLeicester City1–1Birmingham City
3rd Round (Replay)Birmingham City1–1Leicester City
3rd Round (2nd Replay)Leicester City2–1Birmingham City
4th RoundLeicester City2–0Preston North End
5th RoundLuton Town5–5Leicester City
5th Round (Replay)Leicester City5–3Luton Town
6th RoundBrentford0–2Leicester City
Semi-finalPortsmouth1–3Leicester City [1]
(at Highbury)

Wolverhampton Wanderers

3rd RoundWolverhampton Wanderers6–0Chesterfield
4th RoundSheffield United0–3Wolverhampton Wanderers
5th RoundWolverhampton Wanderers3–1Liverpool
6th RoundWolverhampton Wanderers1–0West Bromwich Albion
Semi-finalWolverhampton Wanderers1–1Manchester United
(at Hillsborough)
Semi-final (Replay)Manchester United0–1Wolverhampton Wanderers
(at Goodison Park)

Match summary

Wolves started determinedly and took a 13th-minute lead when Jesse Pye, who had been preferred to Dennis Wilshaw, stooped to head in an inch-perfect Hancocks cross. Leicester kept Wolves at bay until almost half-time, when Pye collected the ball in the penalty area with his back to goal, after the Foxes had struggled to clear a corner, and turned to slam it home for his second.

Leicester brought the game to life immediately after the interval courtesy of Mal Griffiths, who flicked the ball home after Williams parried Chisholm's initial effort. Within minutes, they believed they were level only for a narrow offside decision to rule out Chisholm's finish. Sammy Smyth quickly turned the game around when he picked up the ball in the centre circle and drove through the Leicester defence before hitting the ball low into the far corner to make it 3–1 and clinch the cup for Molineux men for the third time in their history. It was the first of five major trophies that they would win under the management of Stan Cullis.

Leicester were without two of their key players for the game, both of them ruled out by injury. Goalkeeper Ian McGraw was unable to play due to a broken finger, while Don Revie had suffered a nose injury.

Match details

Leicester City1–3Wolverhampton Wanderers
Griffiths  47' Report Pye  13', 42'
Smyth  64'
Attendance: 98,920
Referee: R. A. Mortimer (Huddersfield)
Leicester City
Wolverhampton Wanderers
1 Gordon Bradley
2 Ted Jelly
3 Sandy Scott
4 Walter Harrison
5 Norman Plummer (c)
6 Johnny King
7 Mal Griffiths
8 Jack Lee
9 Jimmy Harrison
10 Ken Chisholm
11 Charlie Adam
Manager:
Johnny Duncan
1 Bert Williams
2 Roy Pritchard
3 Terry Springthorpe
4 Billy Crook
5 Bill Shorthouse
6 Billy Wright (c)
7 Johnny Hancocks
8 Sammy Smyth
9 Jesse Pye
10 Jimmy Dunn
11 Jimmy Mullen
Manager:
Stan Cullis

References

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