The 1903–04 FA Cup was the 33rd season of the world's oldest
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
).
Manchester City
Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
won the competition for the first time, beating
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
1–0 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
at
Crystal Palace, through a goal scored by
Billy Meredith.
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. 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 at neutral venues 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
Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
would be played.
Calendar
The format of the FA Cup for the season had two preliminary rounds, five qualifying rounds, an intermediate round, three proper rounds, and the semi-finals and final.
Qualifying rounds
This season's competition was notable for the addition of an extra preliminary round to the qualifying stages for the first time. 14 clubs from the south-east of England and 10 clubs from the north-east were required to enter the competition at this stage due to the large number of teams from those areas now seeking to participate in the tournament. The most successful club from this stage was Essex side
Leytonstone who progressed to the third qualifying round where they were defeated by
Clapton.
The 10 clubs to progress through to the Intermediate Round from the fifth qualifying round were
Burton United,
Gainsborough Trinity and
Burslem Port Vale from the
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...
and non-league sides
Stockton,
Darwen,
Shrewsbury Town,
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
,
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
,
West Ham United and
Plymouth Argyle. Fulham and Plymouth Argyle were qualifying for the main competition for the first time, while Shrewsbury Town had only previously featured at this stage in
1887-88 (the season before qualifying rounds were introduced).
Intermediate Round
The Intermediate Round featured 10 ties played between the winners from the fifth qualifying round and 10 teams given byes.
Small Heath from the
Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...
and
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
,
Bristol City,
Preston North End,
Woolwich Arsenal,
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
and
Grimsby Town from the
Second Division were entered automatically into this round, as were
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
,
Bristol Rovers and
New Brompton from the
Southern League.
The other Second Division sides had to gain entry to this round through qualifying rounds.
Burton United and
Bradford City were entered in the first qualifying round, while
Glossop
Glossop is a market town in the borough of High Peak (borough), High Peak, Derbyshire, England, east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock. Near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Mancheste ...
was entered in the second qualifying round but withdrew from the competition.
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
,
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
,
Burslem Port Vale,
Chesterfield,
Gainsborough Trinity,
Leicester Fosse,
Lincoln City and
Stockport County were all entered in the third qualifying round.
The 10 matches were played on 12 December 1903. Four ties went to replays, with two going to a second replay and one, between Manchester United and Small Heath, to a third replay.
First Round Proper
The First Round Proper featured 16 ties between 32 teams. 17 of the 18
First Division sides were given a bye to this round, as were
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
from the
Second Division, and non-league
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
,
Millwall Athletic and
Tottenham Hotspur. They joined the ten teams who won in the Intermediate Round.
The matches were played on 6 February 1904. Four matches were drawn, with the replays taking place in the following midweek.
Second Round Proper
The eight Second Round Proper matches were scheduled for 20 February 1904. There was one replay – between Derby County and Wolverhampton Wanderers – played in the following midweek, but this was again drawn and went to a second replay a week later. Tottenham were drawn at home to play Aston Villa, the match started on 20 February but abandoned with the score at 1–0 in Villa's favour after crowd trouble. The FA ordered the game to be replayed at Villa Park and fined Tottenham £350.
Third Round Proper
The four Third Round Proper matches were scheduled for 5 March 1904. Two matches were drawn and replayed in the following midweek.
Semi-finals
The semi-final matches were played on 19 March 1904.
----
Final
The final was the first to be contested by two teams from Lancashire:
Manchester City
Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
and
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
. It was played at
Crystal Palace on 23 April 1904. Manchester City won the match 1–0,
Billy Meredith scoring the only goal.
Match details
See also
*
FA Cup Final Results 1872-
References
;General
Official site; fixtures and results serviceat TheFA.com
1903-04 FA Cup at soccerbase.com
;Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:FA Cup 1903–04
1903–04
1903–04 in English football cups