The original Crystal Palace, April 20th 1901, saw a World record crowd (110,820) meet to watch the might of Sheffield United playing in the Football League, meet Tottenham Hotspur, a Southern League club, in the FA Cup Final. Spurs won after a 2-2 draw which was replayed at Burden Park, Bolton 3-1 (20,470).
Spurs became the first Southern club to win the cup since the Old Etonians in 1882. In 1883 Blackburn Olympic beat the OEs 2-1 in the final and after that Northern and Midland clubs held the cup until the new century. Spurs, playing in the Southern League at the time, remain the only non-league club to win the cup since the formation of the Football League in 1888.
Football had split the country with the "aristocratic" southerners not getting much success against the professional northerners (and Midlanders) stretching southwards to Lincoln, Loughborough and the like.
The Southern League was set up in 1894 to match the Football League but it remained a junior partner with only southern, Woolwich Arsenal, competing in the Football League and they were stuck in Division Two when the two divisions expanded into 16 in Division One and 15 in Division Two.
Luton joined in in 1898. Bristol City appeared in 1904 in Div 2 and Clapton Orient in 1904. Tottenham eventually were elected into Division Two in 1908 and quickly were promoted to Div One.
By the start of the War (1914-15) Bristol City, Fulham, Arsenal, Clapton Orient were in Division Two (20 teams) and Tottenham and Chelsea in Division One (20 teams).
In the Cup Final, United with nine internationals were lucky to draw. The equalising goal by United was controversial as the referee and linesman were not connecting. Spurs goalie, George Clawley, (good name for a goalkeeper) dropped the ball after saving a shot and then pushed the ball round the post when challenged by the Blades' Walter Bennett. The lineman signaled a corner, the referee Arthur Kingscott arrived on the scene and pointed to the centre spot assuming that the ball had crossed the goal line when dropped. United managed a replay in Bolton, another curious choice since both teams favoured Villa Park. Spurs' manager, secretary and player was John Cameron, an elegant man who in true Spurs' tradition always needed players who had "exceptional qualities of a personal character". Not much change there then.
He had played for Queen's Park in Scotland and Everton and was the first secretary of the Professional Football Players' Union.
Spurs' player Alexander "Sandy" Brown scored in every round.
Spurs celebrated for three days after their win including a night out in Luton where the hotel manager asked the players to "Honour Wine and Women" which they were recorded by the Tottenham Weekly Herald to have "scored heavily in this department".
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