MAY 2nd FA CUP FINALS

FA Cup Finals have, over the years, been played later in the Spring as football fixture lists have become more crowded. Sadly this year there may not be one at all.

In the early years, for example, 1872, the first final was played on March 16th. In the 1880s the date changed to April, the first one on April 10th between Clapham Rovers and Oxford University. 6,000 attended at The Oval. In 1881, the Old Carthusians beat the Old Etonians on April 9th. Here they are..

If you were watching  "The English Game" on Netflix (to be recommended), the Old Etonians beat Blackburn Rovers 1-0 on March 25th 1882. Lord Kinnaird was on one side and Fergus Suter, signed from Darwen, on the other! From then finals were scheduled for late March and early April, and by 1892 the final, with WBA 3 v Aston Villa 0, at The Oval, occurred on March 19th using, for the first time, goal nets invented by John Alexander Brodie. Brodie later became the chief engineer at the Mersey Tunnel construction.

In 1895, the final went to the Crystal Palace on April 20th, this time Aston Villa beat WBA 1-0 with a goal scored, Chatt (hopefully "in the box") in the first minute. The Cup was later stolen from a local boot and shoe shop where it was proudly on show. It was never seen again. Well it's in the photo!

By 1937 the FA Cup was confused with so many other league fixtures that the final was delayed until May 1st, by now, at Wembley. Sunderland beat Preston NE 3-1.Horatio Stratton (Raich) Carter, married Rosie on the last day of April, saw he r for an odd hour during the next few days, captained and scored in Sunderland's first triumph. He received the cup from the Queen in coronation year.
Sunderland won the league the year before... he had gained all those "fortunes" at the ripe old age of 23! Look him up, he's a hero!

Cup Finals, after the war and by 1952, sneaked closer to the end of April, Newcastle played Arsenal at Wembley on May 3rd. The Magpies became the first club to win the cup in successive years since Blackburn Rovers in 1890/1.
The Matthews Final was on May 2nd 1953....surely you know all about that?  One of the best?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07Y5XidXdP4
The next May 2nd was Nottingham Forest v Luton Town in 1959, my first televised FA Cup.

May 2nd 1964 West Ham v Preston NE 3-2.

After that, have a guess!