Biography

1886 FA Cup final
Event	1885–86 FA Cup
	Blackburn Rovers won after a replay
Final
Date	3 April 1886
Venue	Kennington Oval, London
Referee	Francis Marindin
Attendance	17,000
Replay
Date	10 April 1886
Venue	Racecourse Ground, Derby
Referee	Francis Marindin
Attendance	12,000
	← 1885 1887 →

The 1886 FA Cup final was a football match between Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, 3 April 1886 at Kennington Oval in south London. The result was a goalless draw. Albion wanted to play extra time but Blackburn declined and so a replay was necessary. This took place a week later at the Racecourse Ground in Derby, the first venue outside London to stage an FA Cup final match. Blackburn won 2–0 to win the tournament for the third successive time. Following Wanderers (1876–1878), Blackburn were the second team to win three successive finals and, as of 2023, remain the last to do so. Their goals were scored by Jimmy Brown and Joe Sowerbutts. Both matches were refereed by Major Francis Marindin.

The replay was the final match of the 1885–86 FA Cup, the 15th edition of the world's oldest football knockout competition, and England's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, better known as the FA Cup. Blackburn were making their fourth (of eight) appearances in the final; Albion their first (of ten). It was the first final to involve two extant clubs who are still members of either the Premier League or the English Football League.

Route to the final

Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn's Jimmy Forrest was a five-time winner of the FA Cup.

Following their debut in 1879–80, this was the seventh time Blackburn Rovers played in the FA Cup. Having been runners-up in 1881–82, they had won the competition in both 1883–84 and 1884–85. Blackburn began the 1885–86 tournament with an away tie^{[note 1]} at nearby Clitheroe. They won this 2–0 and then had three successive home ties before being awarded a bye through the fifth round (the last sixteen) to the quarter-finals. They were drawn away to Brentwood at the Essex County Cricket Ground where Blackburn won 3–1 to reach the semi-finals. This match, played on 13 March at the Derbyshire County Cricket Ground, was against Swifts. Blackburn won 2–1 with goals scored by Nat Walton and Thomas Strahan.^[1]

**Blackburn Rovers**
Round	Opposition	Score
1st	Clitheroe (a)	2–0
2nd	Oswaldtwistle Rovers (h)	1–0
3rd	Darwen Old Wanderers (h)	6–1
4th	Staveley (h)	7–1
5th	bye
6th	Brentwood (a)	3–1
Semi-final	Swifts (n)	2–1

West Bromwich Albion

In the sixth round, Jem Bayliss scored Albion's first FA Cup hat-trick.

West Bromwich Albion made their FA Cup debut in 1883–84 and this was their third season in the competition. They were drawn at home in every round prior to the semi-final. In the first two rounds, they defeated Aston Unity 4–1 and Wednesbury Old Athletic 3–2. They received a bye to the fourth round, where they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–1. Old Carthusians were defeated by a single goal in the fifth round. A hat-trick from Jem Bayliss—the first by an Albion player in the FA Cup^[2]—contributed to a 6–0 quarter-final victory over Old Westminsters, putting Albion into the FA Cup semi-final for the first time (they had reached the quarter-final in 1884–85). The semi-final took place at Aston Lower Grounds and was against one of Albion's local rivals, Small Heath Alliance. Albion won 4–0—Arthur Loach and George Woodhall each scoring twice—to become the first Midlands club to reach the FA Cup Final.^[3] After the game, Small Heath supporters invaded the pitch and then pelted missiles at vehicles bound for West Bromwich, causing several injuries.^[4]

**West Bromwich Albion**
Round	Opposition	Score
1st	Aston Unity (h)	4–1
2nd	Wednesbury Old Athletic (h)	3–2
3rd	bye
4th	Wolverhampton Wanderers (h)	3–1
5th	Old Carthusians (h)	1–0
6th	Old Westminsters (h)	6–0
Semi-final	Small Heath Alliance (n)	4–0

Match

Pre-match

The 1886 final was the first to involve two extant clubs who are still members of either the Premier League or the English Football League. The match took place on the same day as the University Boat Race and, in its Sporting Intelligence section the following Monday, the Daily News reported that the kick-off was delayed until four o'clock so that people attending the Boat Race would be able to see the final too. The newspaper said the crowd was "probably the largest to attend an FA Cup final".^[5]

Final

The syndicated match report, published in each of the Daily News, The Morning Post and The Standard, said there was "an immense number of spectators, numbering about 17,000".^[5]^[6]^[7]

According to the Daily News, Blackburn refused to play extra time because they realised that Albion "had the better of them". The FA said the replay would be the following Saturday, 10 April, at either Derby or Kennington.^[5]^[8] The Standard, however, correctly specified Derby as the replay venue.^[7]

Replay

The replay in Derby on 10 April was the first FA Cup final match to be played outside London. There were fears that the match would have to be postponed when Derby was hit by a blizzard that morning, but it blew over and the snow had thawed before the kick-off was due. Albion supporters carried cards saying "Play Up Throstles".^[9] Nat Walton played for Blackburn instead of Joseph Heys. Albion were unchanged.

Details

Final

3 April 1886
16:00 GMT

Blackburn Rovers	0–0	West Bromwich Albion
	^[5]^[6]^[7]

Kennington Oval, London

Attendance: 17,000

Referee: Major F. A. Marindin, RE
Umpires: M. P. Betts (Kent) and
J. C. Clegg (Sheffield)

Blackburn
Rovers

West Bromwich
Albion



GK	Herbie Arthur
RB	Richard Turner
LB	Fergus Suter
RH	Jimmy Forrest
CH	Hugh McIntyre (c)
LH	Joseph Heys
OR	Jimmy Douglas
IR	Thomas Strachan
CF	Jimmy Brown (captain)
IL	Joe Sowerbutts
OL	Howard Fecitt
Club secretary:
Thomas Mitchell



GK	Bob Roberts
RB	Harry Bell
LB	Harry Green
RH	Ezra Horton
CH	Charlie Perry
LH	George Timmins
OR	George Woodhall
IR	Tommy Green
CF	Jem Bayliss (captain)
IL	Arthur Loach
OL	George Bell
Club secretary:
Team selection by committee only (till 1890)

Match rules

90 minutes duration (two halves of 45 minutes each; teams change ends at half-time).^{[note 2]}
No extra time if scores level at end of normal time.^{[note 3]} Result to be settled by replay at a later date.^{[note 4]}
No substitutes allowed.^{[note 5]}

Notes

Players are listed above according to their positions on the field. There was no shirt numbering in 1886.^{[note 6]}

Replay

10 April 1886
15:00 GMT

Blackburn Rovers	2–0	West Bromwich Albion
Brown Sowerbutts	^[18]

Racecourse Ground, Derby

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Major F. A. Marindin, RE
Umpires: (tbc) M. P. Betts (Kent) and
J. C. Clegg (Sheffield)

Blackburn Rovers

West Bromwich Albion



GK	Herbie Arthur
RB	Richard Turner
LB	Fergus Suter
RH	Jimmy Forrest
CH	Hugh McIntyre
LH	Nat Walton
OR	Jimmy Douglas
IR	Thomas Strachan
CF	Jimmy Brown (captain)
IL	Joe Sowerbutts
OL	Howard Fecitt
Club secretary:
Thomas Mitchell



GK	Bob Roberts
RB	Harry Bell
LB	Harry Green
RH	Ezra Horton
CH	Charlie Perry
LH	George Timmins
OR	George Woodhall
IR	Tommy Green
CF	Jem Bayliss (captain)
IL	Arthur Loach
OL	George Bell
Club secretary:
Team selection by committee only (till 1890)

Match rules

90 minutes duration (two halves of 45 minutes each; teams change ends at half-time).^{[note 2]}
No extra time if scores level at end of normal time.^{[note 3]} Result to be settled by replay at a later date.^{[note 4]}
No substitutes allowed.^{[note 5]}

Notes

Players are listed above according to their positions on the field. There was no shirt numbering in 1886.^{[note 6]}

Notes

^ In English football, a match between two teams in a knockout tournament such as the FA Cup is known as a "tie". This has no connection with a tie (draw), which is a result with identical scores or points.
^ ^a ^b The duration of a football match has been 90 minutes since an agreement in 1866 for the match between London and Sheffield.^[10]
^ ^a ^b The FA introduced the option of extra time into its rules in 1897.^[11]
^ ^a ^b The 1875 final was the first in which a replay took place;^[12] this method of deciding the winners continued until 1999.^[13] The 2005 final was the first to be settled by penalty shoot-out.^[14]
^ ^a ^b Although there were isolated instances of substitution in earlier times, it was not until the beginning of the 1965–66 season that substitutes were first allowed in English top-class matches, and then only for replacement of injured players.^[15]
^ ^a ^b The first known instance of shirt numbering in English football was in March 1914.^[16] It was not until the 1939–40 season that a numbering system was formally introduced.^[17]

References

^ Collett 2003, p. 139.
^ Matthews 2007, pp. 392–393.
^ Matthews & Mackenzie 1987, p. 201.
^ McOwan 2002, p. 17.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Sporting Intelligence". The Daily News. No. 12, 475. 5 April 1886. p. 3.
^ ^a ^b "Football". The Morning Post. No. 35, 503. 5 April 1886. p. 2.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Football Association Challenge Cup". The Standard. No. 19, 259. 5 April 1886. p. 6.
^ "Football". Manchester Guardian. 5 April 1886. p. 7.
^ Collett 2003, p. 22.
^ Young, Percy M. (1981) [1962]. Football in Sheffield. Sheffield: Dark Peak. p. 22. ISBN 978-09-50627-24-3.
^ Murray, Andrew (24 June 2016). "A brief history of (extra) time: is the format right for the modern game?". FourFourTwo. Bath: Future plc. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
^ Collett 2003, p. 19.
^ McNulty, Phil (4 February 2005). "FA Cup in danger of losing lustre". London: BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
^ "FA Cup Finals". London: The Football Association. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
^ Ingle, Sean (25 July 2001). "Whatever happened to Len Shackleton's old club?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
^ Cavallini, Rob (2007). Play Up Corinth: A History of The Corinthian Football Club. p. 114. ISBN 978-07-52444-79-6.
^ "27. Gunners wear numbered shirts". Arsenal History. London: The Arsenal Football Club plc. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
^ "Sporting Intelligence". The Daily News. No. 12, 481. 12 April 1886. p. 6.

Sources

Collett, Mike (2003). The Complete Record of the FA Cup. Cheltenham: SportsBooks Ltd. ISBN 978-18-99807-19-2.
McOwan, Gavin (2002). The Essential History of West Bromwich Albion. Headline. ISBN 978-07-55311-46-0.
Matthews, Tony; Mackenzie, Colin (1987). Albion! A Complete Record of West Bromwich Albion 1879–1987. Breedon Books. ISBN 978-09-07969-23-5.
Matthews, Tony (2007). West Bromwich Albion: The Complete Record. Breedon Books. ISBN 978-18-59835-65-4.

External links

FA Cup Results Archive
1885–86 Competition Results at rsssf.com
FA Cup Final lineups
Soccerbase summary – first match Archived 1 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
Soccerbase summary – replay^{[permanent dead link]}
Match report at www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk

[tie-1] In English football, a match between two teams in a knockout tournament such as the FA Cup is known as a "tie". This has no connection with a tie (draw), which is a result with identical scores or points.

[mins-12] The duration of a football match has been 90 minutes since an agreement in 1866 for the match between London and Sheffield.^[10]

[extra-14] The FA introduced the option of extra time into its rules in 1897.^[11]

[replay-18] The 1875 final was the first in which a replay took place;^[12] this method of deciding the winners continued until 1999.^[13] The 2005 final was the first to be settled by penalty shoot-out.^[14]

[subs-20] Although there were isolated instances of substitution in earlier times, it was not until the beginning of the 1965–66 season that substitutes were first allowed in English top-class matches, and then only for replacement of injured players.^[15]

[shirts-23] The first known instance of shirt numbering in English football was in March 1914.^[16] It was not until the 1939–40 season that a numbering system was formally introduced.^[17]

[FOOTNOTECollett2003139-2] Collett 2003, p. 139.

[FOOTNOTEMatthews2007392–393-3] Matthews 2007, pp. 392–393.

[FOOTNOTEMatthewsMackenzie1987201-4] Matthews & Mackenzie 1987, p. 201.

[FOOTNOTEMcOwan200217-5] McOwan 2002, p. 17.

[DN0504-6] "Sporting Intelligence". The Daily News. No. 12, 475. 5 April 1886. p. 3.

[MP0504-7] "Football". The Morning Post. No. 35, 503. 5 April 1886. p. 2.

[ES0504-8] "The Football Association Challenge Cup". The Standard. No. 19, 259. 5 April 1886. p. 6.

[MG0504-9] "Football". Manchester Guardian. 5 April 1886. p. 7.

[FOOTNOTECollett200322-10] Collett 2003, p. 22.

[11] Young, Percy M. (1981) [1962]. Football in Sheffield. Sheffield: Dark Peak. p. 22. ISBN 978-09-50627-24-3.

[13] Murray, Andrew (24 June 2016). "A brief history of (extra) time: is the format right for the modern game?". FourFourTwo. Bath: Future plc. Retrieved 12 October 2020.

[FOOTNOTECollett200319-15] Collett 2003, p. 19.

[16] McNulty, Phil (4 February 2005). "FA Cup in danger of losing lustre". London: BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 October 2020.

[FACF-17] "FA Cup Finals". London: The Football Association. Retrieved 28 October 2020.

[19] Ingle, Sean (25 July 2001). "Whatever happened to Len Shackleton's old club?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 October 2020.

[21] Cavallini, Rob (2007). Play Up Corinth: A History of The Corinthian Football Club. p. 114. ISBN 978-07-52444-79-6.

[22] "27. Gunners wear numbered shirts". Arsenal History. London: The Arsenal Football Club plc. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2020.

[DN1204-24] "Sporting Intelligence". The Daily News. No. 12, 481. 12 April 1886. p. 6.

[note 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[note 2]

[note 3]

[note 4]

[note 5]

[note 6]

[18]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

FA Cup
Seasons	1871–72 1872–73 1873–74 1874–75 1875–76 1876–77 1877–78 1878–79 1879–80 1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Qualifying rounds	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Finals	1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
History Trophy List of finals Semi-finals Final referees Winning managers Non-English clubs Scottish clubs Non-League clubs in the 5th Round Giant-Killing Award

1885–86 in English football
« 1884–85 1886–87 »
FA competitions	FA Cup Qualifying rounds Final
Related to national team	Home Championship
Club seasons	Aston Villa Bolton Wanderers Eastville Rovers (Bristol Rovers) Luton Town Millwall Rovers Newton Heath LYR (Manchester United) St. Mary's Y.M.A. (Southampton) Stoke West Bromwich Albion

Blackburn Rovers F.C. matches
FA Cup Finals	1882 1884 1885 1886 1890 1891 1928 1960
League Cup Final	2002
FA Charity Shields	1912 1928 1994 1995
Full Members' Cup Final	1987
Football League play-off Finals	1989 Second Division 1992 Second Division
Other matches	1940 Football League War Cup final

West Bromwich Albion F.C. matches
FA Cup Finals	1886 1887 1888 1892 1895 1912 1931 1935 1954 1968
League Cup Finals	1966 1967 1970
FA Charity Shields	1920 1931 1954 1968
Football League play-off Finals	1993 Second Division 2007 Championship
Other matches	1888 World Championship 5–3 v Manchester United (1978) Len Cantello Testimonial Match (1979) Battle of Bramall Lane (2002)

Route to the final

Blackburn Rovers

West Bromwich Albion

Match

Pre-match

Final

Replay

Details

Final

Replay

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links