On 28 April 1923, around 3,00,000 spectators attended the first FA Cup final played at the famous Wembley Stadium

In England, there are several domestic football knockout tournaments. However, there is one tournament in particular that holds a special place in the hearts of the football fans and i.e., called the FA Cup. Since time immemorial, the last match of the FA Cup has been held at the historic football stadium of Wembley. A few weeks back, the Leicester City club won their first FA Cup against Chelsea. This piece although is not about the fairy tale of Leicester City.

As the headline reads, this piece is about the FA Cup final that was held at the iconic Wembley Stadium for the first time on 28 April 1923. The scenario that day cannot be explained in words. After all, how is it possible to express a Wembley stadium with an official attendance of 1,25,000 and an estimated attendance of around 3,00,000 spectators? Not to overlook, “Billie” the white horse ridden by mounted police grew into the photographic image of the day after the police rode the horse to move the crowds off the pitch.

Moving on to the final match, the game was played between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. While Bolton Wanderers were playing in the first division of English football whereas people were surprised to find West Ham United in the last game because at that juncture, they were a second division football-playing club. Maybe for this reason when the word spread that a London-based club was playing the final match, thousands of football enthusiasts flocked to the newly constructed stadium of Wembley. Not to forget, around 5,000 supporters from Bolton travelled all the way to London HA9 0WS.

To reach the ultimate game, Bolton Wanderers defeated teams such as Norwich City, Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Charlton Athletic and Sheffield United. On the other hand, West Ham United thrashed clubs such as Hull City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Plymouth Argyle, Southampton and Derby County. The match started 45 minutes late because of the crowd but throughout the game, Bolton Wanderers proved to be a dominant side. Within the first two minutes, the first goal of Bolton was scored by David Jack and Jack Smith added the second goal. Bolton Wanderers won the match and lifted Wembley’s first FA Cup trophy. The next morning, the British daily newspaper ‘The Guardian’ wrote the following lines:

“THE WEMBLEY STADIUM FROM THE AIR.”

“AMAZING SCENES AT THE CUP FINAL.”

“200,000 PEOPLE FORCE THEIR WAY INTO THE WEMBLEY STADIUM.”