1883 FA Cup final

1883 FA Cup final
	Blackburn Olympic, winners
Event	1882–83 FA Cup
	After extra time
Date	31 March 1883
Venue	Kennington Oval, London
Referee	Charles Crump
Attendance	8,000
	← 1882 1884 →

The 1883 FA Cup final was contested by Blackburn Olympic and Old Etonians at the Kennington Oval. Blackburn Olympic won 2–1 after extra time. James Costley and Arthur Matthews scored for Blackburn; Harry Goodhart for Old Etonians. It was a watershed match for the sport, as for the first time in an FA Cup final a working-class team playing the 'combination game' (passing) were triumphant over a team playing the public school tactics of 'rushing' and 'scrimmages'.^[1]

Overview

Blackburn Olympic, coached by former England player, Jack Hunter, had previously eliminated Lower Darwen, Darwen Ramblers and Druids, reaching the final after a 4–0 over Old Carthusians in the semi-final. On the other hand, Old Etonians earned to play their third consecutive final, although they were not the favourites to win the match.^[2]

The following is the chronicle of the match, as it appeared on The Morning Post:

The deciding trial in the competition came off at Kennington-Oval on Saturday. The attendance was very large. In the first half the Old Etonians scored a goal, kicked by Goodhart, but matters were balanced when Massie [sic] got the leather through. At the call of time the score stood at a goal each, and then the extra half-hour was entered upon. A very exciting struggle followed, and at about 15 minutes from the call of time Costley headed the ball through, and no further score being made, Blackburn were winners by two goals to one. The Cup was presented by Major Marindin, and Mr. Coddington, MP for Blackburn, acknowledged the compliment on behalf of the winners. The Etonians suffered a severe loss through Dunn getting damaged during the first half, but, by way of a set-off, the Blackburn team had three of their men crippled. It was a grandly-contested trial, and the Blackburn men won by fast play and good condition.^[3]
— The Morning Post (London), 2 April 1883

A key factor in the Olympians' victory was a tactical innovation. It played a 2-3-5 formation, rather than the familiar 2-2-6 of the Etonians, "which certainly strengthened the defence without essentially weakening the attack."^[4]

Match details

1882–83 FA Cup

31 March 1883

Blackburn Olympic	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Old Etonians
Matthews 107' Costley	Report	Goodhart

Kennington Oval

Attendance: 8,000

Referee: Charles Crump

Blackburn Olympic

Old Etonians



GK		Thomas Hacking
DF		James Ward
DF		Albert Warburton
MF		Thomas Gibson
MF		William Astley
MF		Jack Hunter
FW		Thomas Dewhurst
FW		Alfred Matthews
FW		George Wilson
FW		James Costley
FW		John Yates



GK		John Rawlinson
DF		Thomas French
DF		Percy de Paravicini
MF		Arthur Kinnaird
MF		Charles Foley
FW		Arthur Dunn
FW		Herbert Bainbridge
FW		John Barrington Chevallier
FW		William Anderson
FW		Harry Goodhart
FW		Reginald Macaulay

References

^ What If There Had Been No Port In The Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories!. Witan Books. 2011. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-9529152-8-7.
^ "FA Cup Final 1883 - Match Report". FA Cup History. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
^ "Blackburn Olympic v Old Etonians 2-1 (English FA Cup Final: March 31, 1883)". Morning Post. 31 March 1883 – via Play Up Liverpool.
^ "Memorable association matches". Cricket and Football Field: 2. 13 May 1893.

The Early Years of the FA Cup: How the British Army Helped Establish the World's First Football Tournament: p. 164 Author: James W Bancroft

[WhatIf-1] What If There Had Been No Port In The Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories!. Witan Books. 2011. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-9529152-8-7.

[2] "FA Cup Final 1883 - Match Report". FA Cup History. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2020.

[3] "Blackburn Olympic v Old Etonians 2-1 (English FA Cup Final: March 31, 1883)". Morning Post. 31 March 1883 – via Play Up Liverpool.

[4] "Memorable association matches". Cricket and Football Field: 2. 13 May 1893.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e 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 List of finals Semi-finals Final referees Winning managers Non-English clubs Scottish clubs Non-League clubs in the 5th Round Giant-Killing Award

v t e 1882–83 in English football
« 1881–82 1883–84 »
FA competitions	FA Cup Qualifying rounds Final
Club seasons	Aston Villa Bolton Wanderers West Bromwich Albion