1920 FA Cup final

1920 FA Cup Final
Stamford Bridge hosted the match
Event1919–20 FA Cup
Aston Villa Huddersfield Town
1 0
After extra time
Date24 April 1920
VenueStamford Bridge, London
RefereeJ.T. Howcroft (Bolton)
Attendance50,018
← 1915
1921 →

The 1920 FA Cup final, the first since the end of the First World War, was contested by Aston Villa and Huddersfield at Stamford Bridge. Aston Villa won 1–0, with the goal coming in extra time from Billy Kirton, to clinch the trophy for a record sixth time.[1] This was the first ever FA Cup Final to require extra time to be played.[2][3]

This was Aston Villa's sixth FA Cup Final win. Their opponents had secured promotion from the Second Division this season, having nearly gone out of business, and were appearing in their first final. Aston Villa captain, Andy Ducat, had represented England at both football and cricket.[4] The Villa team had four surviving members of the club's last F.A. Cup final victory in 1913; Tommy Weston, Sam Hardy, Clem Stephenson and Charlie Wallace.[5] Those four Villa players and Frank Moss had all served in the Armed Forces during World War I.[6] Frank Barson, known for his tough style of play, was warned before the kick-off by the referee against using his normal tactics.[7]

This was Villa manager George Ramsay's sixth FA Cup Final win, a record for a manager, and one that was only equalled in 2015 by Arsène Wenger – against Aston Villa.[6] The trophy was presented by Prince Henry, the fourth son of King George V.[8][9]

  1. ^ "Aston Villa | Club | History | Timeline". Avfc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  2. ^ Tom Davis & Mat Kendrick (18 April 2015). "Aston Villa at Wembley: The 50 most memorable claret and blue moments in the FA Cup". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  3. ^ John Motson (2005). Motson's FA Cup Odyssey: The World's Greatest Knockout Competition. Robson. p. 48. ISBN 1-861-05903-5.
  4. ^ Richard William Cox; Dave Russell; Wray Vamplew, eds. (2002). Encyclopedia of British Football. Psychology Press. p. 16. ISBN 0-714-65249-0.
  5. ^ "Aston Villa's FA Cup Finals". Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Villa's WWI heroes". Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  7. ^ Simon Brunton (16 December 2014). "The forgotten story of … Frank Barson's seven-month ban". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Aston Villa v Huddersfield FA Cup Final 1920". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  9. ^ Rory Benson (15 August 2016). "Aston Villa vs Huddersfield Town: Pick your Terriers team to start at Villa Park". The Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Retrieved 27 December 2016.