FA Cup Final 1961
Encyclopedia
The 1961 FA Cup Final took place on 6 May 1961 at Wembley with Tottenham Hotspur
beating Leicester City
2–0. Tottenham had already won the League
and were chasing the League and Cup Double
. Spurs became the first club to secure the Double since Aston Villa
achieved it in 1897.
twenty minute
s into the match, Tottenham looked to capitalise. They were unfortunate to see Cliff Jones' goal disallowed for offside in the 38th minute and the first half ended goalless.
The second half kicked off in the same vein as the first had ended until the deadlock was broken in the 66th minute. England striker Bobby Smith latched on to a pass from Terry Dyson
, turned neatly and smashed the ball past Gordon Banks
. The goal naturally lifted Spurs and nine minutes later victory was sealed, when Smith returned the compliment and crossed to Dyson to head home the second to complete the Double.
, former player Walley Barnes
was also pitchside with a radio cameraman to capture the atmosphere before the game and also interview the players during the build up. He was called upon only once during the match itself to comment on the injury to Chalmers. Many other countries brodacast either a full delayed match cast or edited highlights. The telecast was shown in its entirety in the United States
by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
on Wide World of Sports two week
s later on May 20. The contest was the first overseas event to appear on the sports anthology series. The Chalmers storyline was played up to the point that "Poor old Chalmers" became a familiar phrase among fan
s of the television program
.
Almost all the television, radio and newspaper commentators predicted a Tottenham victory but in post game reports all agreed that Spurs had looked out of sorts during the opening fifteen minutes and it was only when Chalmers was injured that they began to have the larger share of the game, again leading to cries for the introduction of substitutes in future. For their part Leicester were considered a little unlucky though few reporters were willing to go as far as to say that the result would have been any different had the injury not occurred.
Chalmers himself only left the field with ten minutes remaining when Tottenham were comfortably in front and any chance of a Leicester victory had evaporated. He was unable to return to collect his loser's medal.
The match was broadcast in black and white as a cup final special edition of the Saturday afternoon sports programme Grandstand
however cinema viewers experienced a first when the traditional pre movie newsreels of both Pathé
and Movietone
broadcast their match reports in colour.
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
LEICESTER CITY:
|
1
Gordon Banks
2
Len Chalmers
3
Richie Norman
4
Frank McLintock
5
Ian King
6
Colin Appleton
(c)
7
Howard Riley
8
Jimmy Walsh
9
Hughie McIlmoyle
10
Ken Keyworth
11
Albert Cheesebrough
Manager:
Matt Gillies
(Allen 2, Jones)
Round 4 Tottenham Hotspur 5–1 Crewe Alexandra
(Mackay, Jones, Smith, Allen, Dyson)
Round 5 Aston Villa
0–2 Tottenham Hotspur (Jones, Neil o.g.)
Round 6 Sunderland
1–1 Tottenham Hotspur ( Jones)
Semi-final Tottenham Hotspur 3–0 Burnley
(Jones, Smith 2) (at Villa Park)
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(Walsh, Ken Leek
, Riley) SL
Round 4 Leicester City 5–1 Bristol City
(Will, Leek 2, Walsh 2) Div 3
(First game abandoned after water logged pitch)
Round 5 Birmingham City
1–1 Leicester City (Riley)
Round 6 Leicester City 0–0 Barnsley
Div 3
Semi-final Leicester City 0–0 Sheffield United
(at Elland Road) Div 2
|}
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
beating Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
2–0. Tottenham had already won the League
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
and were chasing the League and Cup Double
The Double
The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
. Spurs became the first club to secure the Double since Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
achieved it in 1897.
Match summary
Leicester frustrated Tottenham Hotspur in the early exchanges but when full-back Len Chalmers broke his right legHuman leg
The human leg is the entire lower extremity or limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh and even the hip or gluteal region; however, the precise definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb extending from the knee to the ankle.Legs are used for standing,...
twenty minute
Minute
A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
s into the match, Tottenham looked to capitalise. They were unfortunate to see Cliff Jones' goal disallowed for offside in the 38th minute and the first half ended goalless.
The second half kicked off in the same vein as the first had ended until the deadlock was broken in the 66th minute. England striker Bobby Smith latched on to a pass from Terry Dyson
Terry Dyson
Terry Dyson is a retired footballer.- Career:The winger joined Tottenham Hotspur from non-league Scarborough in 1955, and played for Spurs until 1965. He was a regular member of The Double winning side of 1960-61, and scored in the 1961 FA Cup Final against Leicester...
, turned neatly and smashed the ball past Gordon Banks
Gordon Banks
Gordon Banks, OBE is a retired English football goalkeeper. The IFFHS named Banks the second best goalkeeper of the 20th century – after Lev Yashin and ahead of Dino Zoff ....
. The goal naturally lifted Spurs and nine minutes later victory was sealed, when Smith returned the compliment and crossed to Dyson to head home the second to complete the Double.
Coverage of the game
The match was broadcast live by the BBC with live coverage to twelve other European countries. In the United Kingdom the match commentator was Kenneth WolstenholmeKenneth Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC & Bar was the football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s, most notable for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup which included the famous phrase "some people are on the pitch...they think it's all over....it is now!", as Geoff Hurst scored...
, former player Walley Barnes
Walley Barnes
Walley Barnes was a Welsh footballer and broadcaster. He played for Arsenal, being part of their championship-winning side in 1947-48, and he captained the Welsh national side.-Early career:...
was also pitchside with a radio cameraman to capture the atmosphere before the game and also interview the players during the build up. He was called upon only once during the match itself to comment on the injury to Chalmers. Many other countries brodacast either a full delayed match cast or edited highlights. The telecast was shown in its entirety in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on Wide World of Sports two week
Week
A week is a time unit equal to seven days.The English word week continues an Old English wice, ultimately from a Common Germanic , from a root "turn, move, change"...
s later on May 20. The contest was the first overseas event to appear on the sports anthology series. The Chalmers storyline was played up to the point that "Poor old Chalmers" became a familiar phrase among fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
s of the television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
.
Almost all the television, radio and newspaper commentators predicted a Tottenham victory but in post game reports all agreed that Spurs had looked out of sorts during the opening fifteen minutes and it was only when Chalmers was injured that they began to have the larger share of the game, again leading to cries for the introduction of substitutes in future. For their part Leicester were considered a little unlucky though few reporters were willing to go as far as to say that the result would have been any different had the injury not occurred.
Chalmers himself only left the field with ten minutes remaining when Tottenham were comfortably in front and any chance of a Leicester victory had evaporated. He was unable to return to collect his loser's medal.
The match was broadcast in black and white as a cup final special edition of the Saturday afternoon sports programme Grandstand
Grandstand (BBC)
Grandstand was a British television sport programme. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows, alongside BBC Sports Personality of the Year.Its first presenter was Peter Dimmock...
however cinema viewers experienced a first when the traditional pre movie newsreels of both Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
and Movietone
Movietone News
Movietone News is a newsreel that ran from 1928 to 1963 in the United States, and from 1929 to 1979 in the United Kingdom.-History:It is known in the U.S. as Fox Movietone News, produced cinema, sound newsreels from 1928 to 1963 in the U.S., from 1929 to 1979 in the UK , and from 1929 to 1975 in...
broadcast their match reports in colour.
Match details
| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> | TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: | ||
| 1 | Bill Brown |
||
| 2 | Peter Baker Peter Baker (footballer born 1931) Peter Baker is an English former football player. Educated at Southgate County School in North London, he played right-back for Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and was part of the double-winning side of 1960-61 and won the FA Cup with Spurs in 1962... |
||
| 3 | Ron Henry Ron Henry Ron Henry is a retired footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur, and won one cap for England. His grandson, Ronnie, is also a professional footballer.-Club career:... |
||
| 4 |  Danny BlanchflowerDanny Blanchflower Robert Dennis "Danny" Blanchflower was a former Northern Ireland international footballer and football manager, and journalist who captained Tottenham Hotspur F.C. during its double-winning season of 1961. He was ranked as the greatest player in Spurs history by The Times in 2009... (c) |
||
| 5 | Maurice Norman Maurice Norman Maurice Norman is an English former footballer who played nearly 400 times in the Football League as a centre half for Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur. At international level, Norman won 23 caps for the England national team.... |
||
| 6 | Dave Mackay |
||
| 7 |  Cliff Jones |
||
| 8 | John White |
||
| 9 | Bobby Smith |
||
| 10 | Les Allen Les Allen Leslie William Allen is a former English footballer and manager.As a player, 16 year-old Les Allen made his senior football debut in February 1953 for Briggs Sports in an unforgettable FA Amateur cup quarter final tie at Victoria Road, Dagenham against the holders Pegasus, the great amateur team... |
||
| 11 | Terry Dyson Terry Dyson Terry Dyson is a retired footballer.- Career:The winger joined Tottenham Hotspur from non-league Scarborough in 1955, and played for Spurs until 1965. He was a regular member of The Double winning side of 1960-61, and scored in the 1961 FA Cup Final against Leicester... |
||
| Manager: | |||
| Bill Nicholson Bill Nicholson (footballer) William Edward "Bill" Nicholson OBE was an English football player, coach, manager and scout who devoted his life to Tottenham Hotspur in North London.-Early life:... |
|||
Gordon BanksGordon Banks
Gordon Banks, OBE is a retired English football goalkeeper. The IFFHS named Banks the second best goalkeeper of the 20th century – after Lev Yashin and ahead of Dino Zoff ....
Len Chalmers Richie NormanRichie Norman
Richie Norman is a former English footballer who is currently working as a physio at Conference North side Nuneaton Town....
Frank McLintockFrank McLintock
Francis "Frank" McLintock MBE is a Scottish former football defender who played for Leicester City, Arsenal and QPR.-Leicester City:...
Ian KingIan King (football player)
Ian King was a football player. He made up one third of the legendary half-back line with Colin Appleton and Frank McLintock. He made appearances in 244 Leicester games, including 27 appearances in the FA Cup, and 22 appearances in the League Cup...
Colin AppletonColin Appleton
Colin Appleton is a former footballer who played as a wing-half. Appleton began his career at Scarborough, but made his name making 333 appearances for Leicester City during a 12-year period, where he formed a legendary half-back partnership with Frank McLintock and Ian King.He was captain of the...
(c)
Howard Riley Jimmy WalshJimmy Walsh (footballer born 1930)
James "Jimmy" Walsh is a former professional footballer who played for Celtic and Leicester City as a forward. He was a prolific goalscorer and scored the winning goals in both the finals of the 1953 Coronation Cup as well as playing in the 1955 Scottish Cup Final for Celtic...
Hughie McIlmoyleHughie McIlmoyle
Hugh Séamus Dermott Andrew "Hughie" McIlmoyle , is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre forward for Port Glasgow and in the Football League for Leicester City, Rotherham United, Carlisle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bristol City, Middlesbrough and Preston North End...
Ken KeyworthKen Keyworth
Ken Keyworth was a professional footballer in the 1950s and 1960s who played for Rotherham United, Coventry City and Swindon Town and most notably Leicester City....
Albert CheesebroughAlbert Cheesebrough
Albert Cheesebrough is an English former footballer who scored 88 goals in 345 games in the Football League over a sixteen year professional career....
Matt GilliesMatt Gillies
Matthew "Matt" Muirhead Gillies was a Scottish football player and manager who played for, captained, coached and managed Leicester City for a total of 15 years between 1952–1955 and 1956-1968. He is the club's longest serving manager, lasting a decade in the manager's seat between November...
MATCH RULES
|
Tottenham Hotspur
Round 3 Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 Charlton AthleticCharlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
(Allen 2, Jones)
Round 4 Tottenham Hotspur 5–1 Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
(Mackay, Jones, Smith, Allen, Dyson)
Round 5 Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
0–2 Tottenham Hotspur (Jones, Neil o.g.)
Round 6 Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
1–1 Tottenham Hotspur ( Jones)
- Replay Tottenham Hotspur 5–0 Sunderland (Mackay, Smith, Allen, Dyson 2)
Semi-final Tottenham Hotspur 3–0 Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
(Jones, Smith 2) (at Villa Park)
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Leicester City
Round 3 Leicester City 3–1 Oxford UnitedOxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...
(Walsh, Ken Leek
Ken Leek
Kenneth 'Ken' Leek was a Welsh footballer, who played as a centre forward or inside forward for several different clubs and for the Wales national side in a professional career which spanned from 1952 until 1968. He scored 145 goals in the Football League from 396 appearances with five clubs...
, Riley) SL
Round 4 Leicester City 5–1 Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
(Will, Leek 2, Walsh 2) Div 3
(First game abandoned after water logged pitch)
Round 5 Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
1–1 Leicester City (Riley)
- Replay Leicester City 2–1 Birmingham City (Leek 2)
Round 6 Leicester City 0–0 Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
Div 3
- Replay Barnsley 1–2 Leicester City a.e.t. (Riley, Leek)
Semi-final Leicester City 0–0 Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
(at Elland Road) Div 2
- Replay Leicester City 0–0 Sheffield United a.e.t. (at the City Ground , Nottingham)
- 2nd Replay Leicester City 2–0 Sheffield United a.e.t. (Walsh, Leek) (at St Andrews)
|}
External links
- Game statistics at soccerbase.com