Category Archives: FA Cup

Roy Clarke and the 1955 FAC Semi Goal

In 2003 I interviewed Roy Clarke about his 1955 semi-final goal for Manchester City (which happened on this day, 26 March, in 1955). It was the only goal of the game and sent City through to the 1955 FA Cup final where they faced Newcastle. Roy was always an entertaining character whenever I met up with him. This is what he said about his goal when we discussed it all those years ago:

‘Joe Hayes centred a free kick towards Bobby Johnstone.  I was in the outside left position near the back of the box and I just had a feeling that Bobby would miss the ball.  I don’t know why but it was clear as day to me that this would be my chance, not Bobby’s.  Before the ball even reached Bobby I started to dive.  It passed him and I connected.  I headed with such pace that the ball flew past the Sunderland ‘keeper and into the far corner.

‘There’s a couple of photographs taken of the goal.  One shows the mud and the wet, the other shows the cold, wet fans stood in the Villa Park Main Stand paddock.  They didn’t celebrate or show any emotion because I think they were soaking wet and couldn’t move!‘

Subscribers can read more about Roy and that game here:

Manchester City Hall of Fame: Roy Clarke’s significant game

1969 FA Cup Semi – Everton v Manchester City

On this day (22 March) 1969 Manchester City and Everton met in the FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park. Here for subscribers is the story of that day, including material from interviews I have performed with some of the key people (such as Tommy Booth). Enjoy!

Subscribe to get access – Annual

To read this and all the other in-depth articles please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time (see below). Annual subscribers get full access to everything posted since December 2020 and the hundreds scheduled to be posted during their subscription.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

To read this and all the other in-depth articles please subscribe. It’s £3 a month (cancel anytime). Monthly subscribers get full access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and everything scheduled to be posted during their subscription.

Subscribe

I’d like to thank you for taking the time and trouble to visit my website. I have been researching and writing about Manchester football since the 1980s. I am not employed by anyone and I do not have sponsorship either and so I’ve set up this website to help share my 32 years plus writing and research.

The intention is to develop the archive and to provide access to as much of my material as possible over the coming weeks, months & years. Subscribers can already access hundreds of articles/posts including PDFs of a couple of books and exclusive audio interviews, talks etc.

It costs £20 a year (it works out £1.67 a month) or £3 if you’d like to sign up a month at a time to get full access for as long as you subscribe. If you’d like to check whether it’s value for money, have a search through content before subscribing – or even subscribe for a month, access what you want and then cancel!

Thanks for the support, Gary.

The 1933 FA Cup Semi Final – Manchester City v Derby County at Huddersfield

On this day (18 March) in 1933 Manchester City faced Derby County in the FA Cup semi-final at Leeds Road. Here for subscribers is the story of that day, including images, a match report and film of the game. Enjoy!

Subscribe to get access – Annual

To read this please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time (see below). Annual subscribers get full access to everything posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming year, including audio interviews, talks, articles and books.

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

To read this please subscribe. It costs £3 a month (cancel anytime) or £20 a year (see above). Monthly subscribers get full access to everything posted since 1 October 2022 and those scheduled to be posted during their subscription, including audio interviews, talks, articles and books.

Subscribe

Finding 1904 Objects

As a trained historian I am always wary about saying that something is the first or that something’s an absolute fact unless I can properly prove it. It’s important to not jump to assumptions and to act responsibly. The quest to uncover football’s history and ensure the facts not the fiction are recorded drives me on. In addition, I am keen to locate items that can link us directly with a particular moment or achievement. So I’d just like to talk about a few items that I’ve been desperate to locate for several years…

There are many items from Manchester City’s long history that I have been searching for over many, many years. I could write a book about them but here’s the story of a few objects connected with the 1904 FA Cup final and one item I’m after tracking down survived for years and I’ve discovered that it was housed in Burnley for at least 40 years.

Many objects connected with Manchester’s first major trophy success still exist including the original-style FA Cup (housed at the National Football Museum – go and take a look when you can); a watch presented to manager Tom Maley (and some of the others presented to the players); a banner made by members of the Alexander Family (club officials and directors from 1894 through to the modern day; the flag is in City’s archive); players’ medals and various newspaper cuttings and photographs. However, there are three important items that I know existed that have vanished.

I am going to start with the 1904 FA Cup final ball, which was stored in Burnley into the 1950s.

Hillman’s Ball

At the end of the 1904 FA Cup final goalkeeper Jack Hillman charged past an opponent to pick up the ball and claim it as his own. The 1904 FA Cup final became the possession of City’s Hillman and he kept hold of it throughout his life. For many years he had it on display in his sweet shop on Thurston Street, Burnley and it is believed it was still in that building at the time of Hillman’s death in 1952.

According to reports the ball was painted in City’s colours – Cambridge Blue and White was worn for the 1904 final – and was inscribed as the 1904 English Cup winning ball. Back then the FA Cup was more commonly known as the English Cup.

Following Hillman’s death there is uncertainty over what happened to the ball. It seems it stayed in Burnley, so if there’s anyone reading with information please get in touch. If the ball managed to survive into the 1950s then it is possible it is still around somewhere.

I managed to get a Burnley newspaper to do a piece on this a few years back but sadly no one came forward with any information.

Film of the Final

The 1904 FA Cup final was filmed and shown in pubs and exhibition halls for at least a month after the final. Several copies of the film must have existed as it was shown in multiple locations at similar times but, to date, none of these copies have been found. Many photos from the 1904 final (including this one of Meredith scoring) are believed to have been taken from the original footage. In recent years older football films have been located in the north-west and I live in hope that one day a metal film cannister will be found with the words ‘1904 English final’ scrawled across will be identified.

The Players’ Shirts

Not one of the 1904 FA Cup final shirts has ever been found despite many of the players saving other equally important shirts. The 1904 shirt carried no badge and as City played a League game only 2 days after the final and travelled straight to Everton from London, it’s possible the same kit was worn again. Players such as Billy Meredith and Sandy Turnbull did save other important shirts and it’s possible the kits may have stayed within family circles but not recognised for their significance due to the lack of a badge. Frank Booth, a prominent member of the team, died in 1919 and is buried in Denton – maybe his family retained the shirt and it still resides in the region?

If you know of any of these items and can help locate them then please do. The film is probably the one that appeals most to me, but both the ball and a shirt would be great finds too.

You can find out more about 1904 here:

Manchester City – FA Cup Winners Since 1904

Villa Defeated

Today (14 March) in 2006 Manchester City defeated Aston Villa 2-1 to reach the FA Cup quarter-final. City’s goals were scored by Georgios Samaras (17 minutes) and Darius Vassell (48). Steve Davis netted for Villa with five minutes to go but the Blues managed to hold out for the win.

City boss Stuart Pearce commented: ‘I was so proud of my players – they were fantastic. All of them were outstanding. I thought we played pretty well when we did the things we’re good at. There was a bit of pressure on us – people think being at home it was a foregone conclusion but it never is.’

MCFC v LFC 1988

Today (13 March) in 1988 Second Division Manchester City faced Liverpool in the FAC quarter final.  At the time this was seen as a major game, shown live on television and it was full of the usual controversy that these games tend to have. You can read the full story and watch highlights of it here:

Subscribe to get access – Annual

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Annual subscribers get access to everything posted on the site. Do a few searches and see what you think. It costs £20 a year (or £3 per month – see below).

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Monthly subscribers get access to everything posted on the site since 1 October 2022. It costs £20 a year (above) or £3 per month (cancel anytime).

Subscribe

Controversial Goal

Today (12 March) in 1932 the FAC semi between Manchester City and Arsenal ended in a 1-0 last minute winner for the Gunners. This semi was controversial and it had major repercussions for City. You can read the full story (and watch highlights) below:

Subscribe to get access – Annual

Read this article and the entire website when you subscribe today. Annual subscribers (£20 per year) get full access to everything posted on the site (including interviews, articles, talks and books) so far plus new material for the length of their subscription. There’s also a monthly option (see below).

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Read this article and the entire website when you subscribe today. Monthly subscribers (£3 per month, cancel anytime) get full access to everything posted on the site since 1 October 2022 plus new material for the length of their subscription. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

Subscribe

FA Cup Progression

On this day (9 March) in 1904 Manchester City took a major step forward in their quest for their first major trophy when they won 3-1 at Middlesbrough in the FAC quarter-final replay. The goalscorers were Billy Gillespie, George Livingstone and Sandy Turnbull.

Subscribers can read all about Tom Maley, City’s manager at the time, here:

True Blues – Tom Maley

A National Crowd Record Set in 1924

A record Manchester City have held for 99 years was set on this day (8 March) in 1924 – the record is the highest attendance on a club ground! Happy anniversary! The record set in 1924 saw 76,166 attend City v Cardiff. City had moved to their new Maine Road stadium in August 1923. The capacity of the venue was estimated at around 90,000 but was actually approximately 83,000 when the stadium opened (it was enlarged in 1931 and 1935).

In its first season the capacity was tested and, on this day (8 March) in 1924 the largest attendance for any footballing fixture (including three FA Cup Finals) in Manchester gathered to watch the Blues. This was also, at the time, the record crowd for any game played on an English club ground. It was beaten ten years later when 84,569 watched City v Stoke. You can read about the remarkable day in 1924 below:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year (access to everything) or £3 per month (see below).

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £20 a year (see above) or £3 per month (cancel anytime; access to everything posted since 1 October 2022).

Subscribe

You can read about the attendance that brought this record (again by City at Maine Road) here:

A National Record – 84,569

Other record crowd articles can be seen here:

Welcome to Gary James’ Football Archive

Subscribe to get access

This has been a sample of the material on http://www.GJFootballArchive.com If you would like to read all the in-depth articles (including the entire Manchester A Football History book and the audio interview with John Bond) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Each subscriber gets full access to the 260+ articles posted so far and the hundreds scheduled to be posted in the coming weeks.

Subscribe

True Blues – Tom Maley

Continuing the weekly series of ‘True Blue’ figures associated with the early years of Manchester City, here’s an article on the first manager to bring major trophy success to Manchester – Tom Maley. You can find out why this man was such an important figure in Manchester City history below:

Subscribe to get access – Annual

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Annual subscribers can access all the articles, talks, books and interviews posted since December 2020 for an annual subscription of £20 (works out about £1.67 per month). There’s also a monthly subscription (see below).

Subscribe

Subscribe to get access – Monthly

Monthly subscribers can access all the articles, talks, books and interviews posted since 1 October 2022 for a monthly subscription of £3 (cancel any time).

Subscribe

There will be another ‘True Blue’ featured next Monday. Use the tag ‘True Blues’ to find other profiles in this series.

The full series of True Blue profiles will feature:

Lawrence Furniss, John Allison, Joshua Parlby, Walter Chew, William Sumner, Tom Maley, St Mark’s community leaders, Billy Meredith, John Chapman, William Beastow and James Moores.