Biography

1959–60 FA Cup
Tournament details
Country	England; Wales
Defending champions	Nottingham Forest
Final positions
Champions	Wolverhampton Wanderers (4th title)
Runner-up	Blackburn Rovers
	← 1958–59 1960–61 →

The 1959–60 FA Cup was the 79th staging of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Wolverhampton Wanderers won the competition for the fourth time, beating Blackburn Rovers 3–0 in the final at Wembley.

Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. Some matches, however, might be rescheduled for other days if there were clashes with games for other competitions or the weather was inclement. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.

Calendar

Round	Date
Preliminary round	5 September 1959
First qualifying round	19 September 1959
Second qualifying round	3 October 1959
Third qualifying round	17 October 1959
Fourth qualifying round	31 October 1959
First round proper	14 November 1959
Second round proper	5 December 1959
Third round proper	9 January 1960
Fourth round proper	30 January 1960
Fifth round proper	20 February 1960
Sixth round proper	12 March 1960
Semi-finals	26 March 1960
Final	7 May 1960

First round proper

At this stage clubs from the Football League Third and Fourth Divisions joined those 30 non-league clubs having come through the qualifying rounds. Crook Town and Barnet also given byes to this round. Matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 14 November 1959. Ten were drawn and went to replays, played on 17–19 November.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team
1	Enfield	4–3	Headington United
2	Darlington	4–0	Prescot Cables
3	Hastings United	1–2	Notts County
4	Bath City	3–1	Millwall
5	Bury	5–0	Hartlepools United
6	Dorchester Town	1–2	Port Vale
7	Rochdale	2–2	Carlisle United
Replay	Carlisle United	1–3	Rochdale
8	Swindon Town	2–3	Walsall
9	Doncaster Rovers	3–3	Gainsborough Trinity
Replay	Gainsborough Trinity	0–1	Doncaster Rovers
10	Wrexham	2–1	Blyth Spartans
11	Tranmere Rovers	0–1	Chester
12	Wycombe Wanderers	4–2	Wisbech Town
13	Accrington Stanley	1–2	Mansfield Town
14	Barnsley	3–3	Bradford City
Replay	Bradford City	2–1	Barnsley
15	Brentford	5–0	Ashford Town
16	Crook Town	2–2	Matlock Town
Replay	Matlock Town	0–1	Crook Town
17	Coventry City	1–1	Southampton
Replay	Southampton	5–1	Coventry City
18	King's Lynn	3–1	Aldershot
19	Rhyl	1–2	Grimsby Town
20	Norwich City	1–1	Reading
Replay	Reading	2–1	Norwich City

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance
21	Shildon	1–1	Oldham Athletic
Replay	Oldham Athletic	3–0	Shildon
22	West Auckland Town	2–6	Stockport County
23	Crystal Palace	5–1	Chelmsford City
24	Southend United	6–0	Oswestry Town
25	Bradford Park Avenue	6–1	Scarborough
26	Exeter City	4–0	Barnstaple Town
27	Bedford Town	0–4	Gillingham
28	Newport County	4–2	Hereford United	10,391
29	Cheltenham Town	0–0	Watford
Replay	Watford	3–0	Cheltenham Town
30	Southport	2–2	Workington
Replay	Workington	3–0	Southport
31	Torquay United	7–1	Northampton Town
32	Walthamstow Avenue	2–3	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
33	York City	3–1	Barrow
34	Kettering Town	1–1	Margate
Replay	Margate	3–2	Kettering Town
35	Gateshead	3–4	Halifax Town
36	Peterborough United	4–3	Shrewsbury Town
37	South Shields	2–1	Chesterfield
38	Colchester United	2–3	Queens Park Rangers
39	Salisbury	1–0	Barnet
40	Burscough	1–3	Crewe Alexandra

Second round proper

The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 5 December 1959, with three matches taking place later. Five matches were drawn, with replays taking place later the same week.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Date
1	Enfield	1–5	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	5 December 1959
2	Bury	2–1	Oldham Athletic	5 December 1959
3	Rochdale	1–1	Bradford City	5 December 1959
Replay	Bradford City	2–1	Rochdale	9 December 1959
4	Southampton	3–0	Southend United	5 December 1959
5	Watford	5–1	Wycombe Wanderers	5 December 1959
6	Reading	4–2	King's Lynn	5 December 1959
7	Walsall	2–3	Peterborough United	5 December 1959
8	Gillingham	2–2	Torquay United	5 December 1959
Replay	Torquay United	1–2	Gillingham	9 December 1959
9	Notts County	0–1	Bath City	5 December 1959
10	Grimsby Town	2–3	Wrexham	5 December 1959
11	Doncaster Rovers	3–2	Darlington	5 December 1959
12	Stockport County	0–0	Crewe Alexandra	5 December 1959
Replay	Crewe Alexandra	2–0	Stockport County	9 December 1959
13	Queens Park Rangers	3–3	Port Vale	5 December 1959
Replay	Port Vale	2–1	Queens Park Rangers	7 December 1959
14	Crook Town	0–1	York City	5 December 1959
15	Exeter City	3–1	Brentford	5 December 1959
16	Mansfield Town	2–0	Chester	5 December 1959
17	Margate	0–0	Crystal Palace	5 December 1959
Replay	Crystal Palace	3–0	Margate	9 December 1959
18	Workington	1–0	Halifax Town	5 December 1959
19	South Shields	1–5	Bradford Park Avenue	5 December 1959
20	Salisbury	0–1	Newport County	5 December 1959

Third round proper

The 44 First and Second Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 9 January 1960. Eight matches were drawn and went to replays, with the Rotherham United–Arsenal match requiring a second replay.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Date
1	Blackpool	3–0	Mansfield Town	9 January 1960
2	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	1–0	York City	9 January 1960
3	Bath City	0–1	Brighton & Hove Albion	9 January 1960
4	Bristol City	2–3	Charlton Athletic	9 January 1960
5	Bury	1–1	Bolton Wanderers	9 January 1960
Replay	Bolton Wanderers	4–2	Bury	13 January 1960
6	Liverpool	2–1	Leyton Orient	9 January 1960
7	Watford	2–1	Birmingham City	9 January 1960
8	Gillingham	1–4	Swansea Town	9 January 1960
9	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Reading	9 January 1960
10	Aston Villa	2–1	Leeds United	9 January 1960
11	Sheffield Wednesday	2–1	Middlesbrough	9 January 1960
12	Crewe Alexandra	2–0	Workington	9 January 1960
13	West Bromwich Albion	3–2	Plymouth Argyle	9 January 1960
14	Sunderland	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	9 January 1960
Replay	Blackburn Rovers	4–1	Sunderland	13 January 1960
15	Derby County	2–4	Manchester United	9 January 1960
16	Lincoln City	1–1	Burnley	9 January 1960
Replay	Burnley	2–0	Lincoln City	12 January 1960
17	Wrexham	1–2	Leicester City	9 January 1960
18	Sheffield United	3–0	Portsmouth	9 January 1960
19	Ipswich Town	2–3	Peterborough United	9 January 1960
20	Newcastle United	2–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	9 January 1960
Replay	Wolverhampton Wanderers	4–2	Newcastle United	13 January 1960
21	Manchester City	1–5	Southampton	9 January 1960
22	Fulham	5–0	Hull City	9 January 1960
23	Bristol Rovers	0–0	Doncaster Rovers	9 January 1960
Replay	Doncaster Rovers	1–2	Bristol Rovers	12 January 1960
24	Bradford City	3–0	Everton	9 January 1960
25	Chelsea	5–1	Bradford Park Avenue	9 January 1960
26	Exeter City	1–2	Luton Town	9 January 1960
27	Scunthorpe United	1–0	Crystal Palace	9 January 1960
28	Huddersfield Town	1–1	West Ham United	9 January 1960
Replay	West Ham United	1–5	Huddersfield Town	13 January 1960
29	Cardiff City	0–2	Port Vale	9 January 1960
30	Newport County	0–4	Tottenham Hotspur	9 January 1960
31	Stoke City	1–1	Preston North End	9 January 1960
Replay	Preston North End	3–1	Stoke City	12 January 1960
32	Rotherham United	2–2	Arsenal	9 January 1960
Replay	Arsenal	1–1	Rotherham United	13 January 1960
Replay	Rotherham United	2–0	Arsenal	18 January 1960

Fourth round proper

The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 30 January 1960. Six matches were drawn and went to replays, which were all played in the following midweek match. For the second round in a row, Rotherham United were held to a second replay, this time against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Date
1	Liverpool	1–3	Manchester United	30 January 1960
2	Southampton	2–2	Watford	30 January 1960
Replay	Watford	1–0	Southampton	2 February 1960
3	Leicester City	2–1	Fulham	30 January 1960
4	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	Blackpool	30 January 1960
Replay	Blackpool	0–3	Blackburn Rovers	3 February 1960
5	Sheffield Wednesday	2–0	Peterborough United	30 January 1960
6	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2–1	Charlton Athletic	30 January 1960
7	Crewe Alexandra	2–2	Tottenham Hotspur	30 January 1960
Replay	Tottenham Hotspur	13–2	Crewe Alexandra	3 February 1960
8	West Bromwich Albion	2–0	Bolton Wanderers	30 January 1960
9	Sheffield United	3–0	Nottingham Forest	30 January 1960
10	Bristol Rovers	3–3	Preston North End	30 January 1960
Replay	Preston North End	5–1	Bristol Rovers	2 February 1960
11	Bradford City	3–1	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	30 January 1960
12	Chelsea	1–2	Aston Villa	30 January 1960
13	Scunthorpe United	0–1	Port Vale	30 January 1960
14	Huddersfield Town	0–1	Luton Town	30 January 1960
15	Swansea Town	0–0	Burnley	30 January 1960
Replay	Burnley	2–1	Swansea Town	2 February 1960
16	Rotherham United	1–1	Brighton & Hove Albion	30 January 1960
Replay	Brighton & Hove Albion	1–1	Rotherham United	3 February 1960
Replay	Rotherham United	0–6	Brighton & Hove Albion	8 February 1960

Fifth round proper

The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 20 February 1960. One match went to a replay in the following mid-week fixture.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Date
1	Preston North End	2–1	Brighton & Hove Albion	20 February 1960
2	Leicester City	2–1	West Bromwich Albion	20 February 1960
3	Luton Town	1–4	Wolverhampton Wanderers	20 February 1960
4	Sheffield United	3–2	Watford	20 February 1960
5	Tottenham Hotspur	1–3	Blackburn Rovers	20 February 1960
6	Manchester United	0–1	Sheffield Wednesday	20 February 1960
7	Bradford City	2–2	Burnley	20 February 1960
Replay	Burnley	5–0	Bradford City	23 February 1960
8	Port Vale	1–2	Aston Villa	20 February 1960

Sixth round proper

The draw for the semi-finals was made on Monday, 22 February 1960. All the original matches were played on Saturday, 12 March 1960.

12 March 1960

15:00 GMT

Burnley	3–3	Blackburn Rovers
Pilkington Pointer Connelly		Douglas pen.' Dobing McGrath

Turf Moor, Burnley

Attendance: 51,501

Referee: J.W. Hunt (Portsmouth)

Replay

16 March 1960

19:30 GMT

Blackburn Rovers	2–0 (a.e.t.)	Burnley
Dobling MacLeod

Ewood Park, Blackburn

Referee: J.W. Hunt (Portsmouth)

12 March 1960

15:00 GMT

Leicester City	1–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers
McDonald		Broadbent Chalmers o.g.'

Filbert Street, Leicester

Attendance: 48,907

Referee: J.S. Pickles (Stockport)

12 March 1960

15:00 GMT

Aston Villa	2–0	Preston North End
Hitchens McParland

Villa Park, Birmingham

Attendance: 69,732

Referee: K. Howley (Middlesbrough)

12 March 1960

15:00 GMT

Sheffield United	0–2	Sheffield Wednesday
		Wilkinson

Bramall Lane, Sheffield

Attendance: 61,180

Referee: J. Kelly (Chorley)

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was made on Monday, 14 March 1960. Both matches were played on Saturday, 26 March 1960.

26 March 1960

15:00 GMT

Aston Villa	0–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers
		Deeley

The Hawthorns, West Bromwich

Attendance: 55,596

Referee: A. Jobling (Lancashire)

26 March 1960

15:00 GMT

Sheffield Wednesday	1–2	Blackburn Rovers
Fantham		Dougan

Maine Road, Manchester

Attendance: 74,135

Referee: J.G. Williams (Nottingham)

Final

7 May 1960

15:00 BST

Blackburn Rovers	0–3	Wolverhampton Wanderers
		McGrath 41' (o.g.) Deeley 67', 88'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 98,954

Referee: Kevin Howley (Middlesbrough)

References

General

The FA Cup Archive at TheFA.com

Specific

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

Tournament details
Country	England Wales
Defending champions	Nottingham Forest
Final positions
Champions	Wolverhampton Wanderers (4th title)
Runner-up	Blackburn Rovers
← 1958–59 1960–61 →