We’re only into mid-October and by five o’clock today we will have already played five of the six sides in League One who have done something the other 18 of us in the division haven’t. That missing team who we haven’t faced yet this season being Sheffield United, while the clubs we have played are Bury, Coventry City, Notts County, Portsmouth and Preston North End. Worked out what it is then? Well, win the FA Cup is the answer.
Preston were the first team up in 1888-89 with their first win of two overall in the competition. North End doing the double as the unbeaten ‘Invincibles’ in that season with a 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Kennington Oval. The Lilywhites then having to wait almost 50 years for their other success as it came in 1937-38 at Wembley with a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town, the goal coming through a penalty in the final minute of extra time, moments after BBC commentator Thomas Woodrooffe had said "if there's a goal scored now, I'll eat my hat". Which he apparently he did, although his one was made out of cake.
North End’s Lancastrian neighbours Bury meanwhile took home the trophy twice in four seasons, firstly in 1899-1900 and then again in 1902-03. Both victories were big ones for the Shakers too as they thrashed Southampton 4-0 at Crystal Palace at the turn of the century, while at the same venue in April 1903 they went even better as they hammered Derby County 6-0, that being the biggest ever margin of victory in an English FA Cup final, with Bury also keeping five clean sheets in their five games in the competition that season.
As for today’s opponents, Notts County were winners in 1893-94 as the Second Division Magpies became the first team from outside of the top flight to win the cup, County beating Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at Goodison Park, that one of two FA Cup finals won at Everton’s ground with Newcastle also beating Barnsley in a replay there in 1909-10. Another one-time winner from our division meanwhile being Coventry City who grabbed a memorable 3-2 victory over Tottenham, another recent FA Cup winning opponent of ours of course, in more recent times at Wembley in 1986-87, the Sky Blues beating the Lilywhites 3-2 after extra-time.
Our missing link comes with Sheffield United, who we don’t play until the 8th of December, and they are the big boys in the equation too having won the FA Cup four times. The Blades first defeating Derby 4-1 in 1898-99 at Crystal Palace, while three seasons later, following a 1-1 draw with Southampton at the same venue, the replay, again at Crystal Palace, saw United beat the Saints 2-1. That final significant for a crowd of 76,914 for the initial match, while a bitterly cold day saw the replay only bring in 33,068 spectators.
The third FA Cup win for the Blades came with a 3-0 victory over Chelsea in the last final before World War One, in 1914-15, with the match switched to Old Trafford from Crystal Palace to apparently avoid travel disruption in London, apart from for Chelsea of course who now had to make the journey to Manchester. The Red and Whites of Sheffield last taking home the trophy in 1924-25 after defeating Cardiff City 1-0 at the recently opened Wembley Stadium. Finally then come Portsmouth and their opening win of two came in 1938-39 in the last final before World War Two, Pompey defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 at Wembley.
The Fratton Park outfit then nearly 70 years later in 2007-08 picking up their second FA Cup trophy with a 1-0 victory over Cardiff City. Pompey were of course runners-up too in 2009-10 to Chelsea, one of three finals they have lost, while no-one else in League One at the moment outside of three others from our six winners have taken home a runners-up medal. Notts County losing in one final, Sheffield United being defeated in two, while poor old Preston have come second in five finals. Bury and Coventry though having a 100% record in their three finals between them, with neither club having lost at the semi-final stage either.