1943 Football League War Cup final

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1943 Football League War Cup final
Official programme
Event1943 Football League War Cup
Arsenal Blackpool
2 4
Date15 May 1943
VenueStamford Bridge, London
RefereeF. S. Milner (Wolverhampton)
Attendance55,195
← 1942
1944 →

The 1943 Football League War Cup final was an association football match contested by Arsenal and Blackpool. The match was held at Chelsea's home stadium Stamford Bridge on 15 May 1943, with Blackpool winning 4–2. According to British sportswriter Jon Henderson, it was "widely regarded as the greatest club match" of World War II.

Events

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Background

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Arsenal became the first and only team to participate in two Football League War Cup finals after playing in the 1941 Football League War Cup final, losing 2–1 in playoffs by Preston North End.[1] Blackpool were the favourites to win the 1942 Football League War Cup having defeated the eventual winners Wolverhampton Wanderers 6–1.[2] They withdrew due to the news that military personnel had to stay on their bases during the Easter holidays as the team did not have time to find suitable replacements.[2]

On 1 May 1943, Arsenal defeated Charlton Athletic 7–1 in the South final and on 8 May 1943, Blackpool defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2–1 in the North final.[3]

Prior to the match, Burnley player Harry Hubbick replaced Sammy Jones as Blackpool's left back and Queen of the South player Willie Savage replaced Alec Roxburgh as their goalkeeper.[4] Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Clement Attlee and First Lord of the Admiralty A.V. Alexander were in attendance at the match.[5]

Match and post-match

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At five minutes played, Reg Lewis scored a 20 yard shot for Arsenal which, according to one report, "did everything but talk." Two minutes later, Arsenal player Denis Compton scored with an individual run.[3] John Ross wrote in the Daily Mirror that "after seven minutes", he thought he "would need a cash register to tot up Arsenal's goals".[3]

However, Ronnie Dix scored for Blackpool with a rising shot from 20 yards which Ross said "might have brought a plane down if the net hadn't been in the way".[3] At the 75th minute, Blackpool equalised when Eddie Burbanks scored a low shot against George Marks.[3] With Arsenal focusing their attention on right-winger Stanley Matthews, Burbanks on the other side set up goals in the closing minutes for Jock Dodds and Bobby Finan to see Blackpool defeat Arsenal 4-2.[3]

In his biography of Stanley Matthews, journalist Jon Henderson wrote that the 1943 Football League War Cup Final "was widely regarded as the greatest club match of the war".[6] The Daily Mirror put the combined market price of the Blackpool team at £70,000 which is over £2.5 million in today's money.[2][7] Football chairman Will Cuff said in April 1944 that Blackpool had been the team of the season and the "epitome of good football" having a side who maintained a "fine football standard".[2] Blackpool contested the 1944 North final against Aston Villa in which they won 2–1 in the first leg but were defeated in the second leg 4–2.[2] Aston Villa having the higher aggregate score progressed to the final.[2]

Match details

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Arsenal2–4Blackpool
Lewis 5'
Compton 7'		 Dix
Burbanks 75'
Dodds
Finan
Attendance: 55,195
Referee: F. S. Milner (Wolverhampton)
Arsenal
Blackpool
GK 1 England George Marks
RB 2 England Laurie Scott
LB 3 England Leslie Compton
RH 4 England Jack Crayston
CH 5 England Bernard Joy
LH 6 England George Male (c)
OR 7 England Alf Kirchen
IR 8 England Ted Drake
CF 9 England Reg Lewis
IL 10 England Cliff Bastin
OL 11 England Denis Compton
Manager:
England George Allison
GK 1 Scotland Willie Savage
RB 2 Scotland Fred Pope
LB 3 England Harry Hubbick
RH 4 England George Farrow
CH 5 England Eric Hayward
LH 6 England Harry Johnston
OR 7 England Stanley Matthews
IR 8 England Ronnie Dix
CF 9 Scotland Jock Dodds (c)
IL 10 Scotland Bobby Finan
OL 11 England Eddie Burbanks
Manager:
England Joe Smith

Assistant referees:
J. Weller
T. G. Terrey

References

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  1. ^ Becker, Matt (15 January 2015). "Keep Calm, Carry on and Play Soccer: The Football League War Cup". Paste. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Henderson 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Cooper, Vince (10 May 2023). "The War Cups". Read The League. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  4. ^ Matthews 2016.
  5. ^ "Blackpool Downs Arsenal For Title; Wins by 4-2 Before 55,000 to Capture Unofficial Honors in English Soccer". The New York Times. 16 May 1943. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  6. ^ Henderson 2013, p. 129.
  7. ^ "Inflation calculator". Bank of England. June 2023. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.

Sources

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