1947 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1947)

Charlton players celebrating their FA Cup win.

Status: Partially Found

The 1947 FA Cup Final culminated the end of the 66th FA Cup season, occurring on 26th April 1947. Featuring Charlton facing and winning against Burnley at Wembley Stadium to earn its first FA Cup in front of an audience of 99,370, this marked the fourth instance the FA Cup was televised, and the first since the end of the Second World War.

Background

Charlton Athletic as a First Division member, entered the tournament in the Third Round proper. It defeated Rochdale, West Brom, Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, and Newcastle United to reach the Final. Notably, Charlton became the first London club to appear in consecutive FA Cup Finals. Meanwhile, Burnley was a Second Division member, and also therefore entered the Third Round. The team overcame Aston Villa, Coventry City, Luton Town, Middleborough, and Liverpool to qualify for the Final. Prior to the Final, Charlton had never won the FA Cup, while Burnley won the 1913/14 edition. Charlton were looking to redeem themselves after losing the 1946 FA Cup Final to Derby County and following an unsuccessful First Division campaign.

Meanwhile, the BBC had resumed its Television Service on 7th June 1946. With the 1946 FA Cup Final having already occurred on 27th April 1946, the 1947 FA Cup Final would be the first since the 1939 edition to be televised. Prior to this, the BBC had broadcast other football matches, including Charlton's win over Blackburn in the fifth round.

Nevertheless, the BBC experienced resistance to televising the Final, because of the UK's post-war rationing that restricted domestic electricity usage. However, the corporation was given permission by the Labour Government to broadcast the event, albeit only 40 minutes of it according to issue 1227 of Radio Times. Nevertheless, some complained to Radio Times, criticising the televising of sport and the double standard Labour's decision appeared to be upholding. The BBC responded that televising sporting events was not only for entertainment purposes, but were of national significance too. Since then, the FA Cup Final has been routinely broadcast, and is one of the events that must be televised on free-to-air channels.

The Match

The match itself occurred in front of 98,215 fans at Wembley Stadium. Burnley were the stronger side initially, with Billy Morris just missing the target, but Charlton striker Chris Duffy almost got his side in front, were it not for a Harold Mather clearance just before the goal line. Peter Kippax, Burney's top player, missed several crucial shots for his side. A notable incident also occurred where the ball burst, which also happened in the previous year's Final. At 0-0 after 90 minutes, extra time was required. Eventually, a cross into the Burnley box allowed for Duffy to score the winning goal. Burnley appealed for a penalty later on after Harold Phipps tackled Ray Harrison to the ground, after Harrison was dribbling towards the Charlton goal. However, this appeal was rejected by the referee, allowing Charlton to win its first, and to date, only, FA Cup.

Availability

Like all early television programs, the 1947 FA Cup Final was televised live and was unlikely to have been directly recorded. Although there were means of achieving this following the Second World War, recording seldom occurred until video tape was perfected in the late-1950s. Thus, televised footage of the match is most likely permanently missing. Nevertheless, some newsreel footage of the match itself remains publicly accessible.

Gallery

Videos

British Pathé newsreel of the match.

Another British Pathé newsreel of the match.

Movietone News newsreel of the match.

Images

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  Issue 1,227 of Radio Times listing the match.

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  Surviving photo of the game.

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  Surviving photo of the game.

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  Surviving photo of the game.

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  Surviving photo of the game.

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  Surviving photo of the game.

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  Surviving photo of the game.

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  Surviving photo of the game.

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  Surviving photo of the game.

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  Surviving photo of the game.

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  Surviving photo of the game.

See Also

Association Football/Soccer Media

• 1937 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1937)
• 1938 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1938)
• 1939 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1939)
• 1955 Scottish Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1955)
• 1966 FIFA World Cup Final (partially found original colour film of international football match; 1966)
• Arsenal 7-1 Hibernian (lost footage of charity football match; 1952)
• Arsenal vs Arsenal Reserves (lost footage of early BBC televised football match; 1937)
• Barbados 4–2 Grenada (partially found soccer match footage; 1994)
• Barnet 3-2 Wealdstone (lost footage of Athenian League football match; 1946)
• Brian Clough's Football Fortunes (lost DOS port of football management game; 1987)
• Charlton Athletic 1-0 Blackburn Rovers (lost footage of FA Cup match; 1947)
• England 0-1 Scotland (partially found footage of international football match; 1938)
• England 1-1 Scotland (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)
• England 3-0 France (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)
• England 3-0 Rest of Europe (partially found footage of international football match; 1938)
• Falkirk 3-2 Newcastle United (lost footage of football match; 1953)
• Hallo! Bundesliga (lost GolTV series; mid 2000s-mid 2010s)
• Juventus 1-7 A.C. Milan (partially found footage of Serie A football match; 1950)
• Scottish Universities 1-1 English Universities (lost footage of international football match; 1952)
• Serbia vs Albania (partially found footage of abandoned UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match; 2014)
• United! (lost British soap opera; 1965-1967)

Early BBC Sports Television

• 1931 Epsom Derby (lost televised footage of horse racing event; 1931)
• 1937 International Imperial Trophy Race (lost footage of motor race; 1937)
• 1937 Wimbledon Championships (partially found footage of tennis tournament; 1937)
• 1938 Ashes Series (partially found footage of international test cricket match; 1938)
• 1953 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One race; 1953)
• Archery (lost early televised toxophily; 1937-1938)
• The Boat Race 1938 (partially found footage of rowing race; 1938)
• Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling (lost early BBC televised professional wrestling matches; 1938-1939; 1946-1947)
• Darts and Shove Ha'penny (lost early BBC televised darts matches; 1936-1939)
• England 16-21 Scotland (partially found footage of rugby match; 1938)
• Horace Lindrum vs Willie Smith (lost footage of televised snooker; 1937)
• Woods and Jack (lost early televised lawn bowls; 1937; 1946)

Early BBC Television

• Alexandra Palace's wartime television demonstrations (lost footage of private television transmissions; 1943, 1945)
• An Inspector Calls (lost television adaptation of play; 1948)
• Ann and Harold (lost early BBC drama television series; 1938)
• BBC Election Night (lost coverage of British general elections; 1950-1951)
• The Care of Your Car (lost early BBC motoring show; 1947)
• Cook's Night Out (lost early BBC cooking show; 1937)
• Craftsmen at Work (lost early BBC documentary show; 1938, 1946)
• Dish of the Month (lost early BBC cooking show; 1937)
• First Aid (lost early BBC medical show; 1937)
• Foundations of Cookery (lost early BBC cooking show; 1939)
• Marcel Boulestin television shorts (lost early BBC programs; 1937-1939)
• Masks through the Ages (lost early BBC history talk show; 1937)
• Opening of the BBC Television Service (partially found coverage of inaugural day of high-definition television service; 1936)
• The Orchestra and its Instruments (lost early BBC music talk show; 1937)
• RCA recording of BBC Television Service (found footage of pre-Second World War BBC television broadcast; 1938)
• Sea Stories (lost early BBC talk show; 1936-1937)
• Spelling Bee (lost early BBC game show; 1938)
• Telecrime (lost early BBC crime drama; 1938-1939; 1946)
• The Wasp's Nest (lost early BBC television adaptation of Agatha Christie short story; 1937)
• Weaponless Self-Defence (lost early ju-jitsu television program; 1936-1937)
• The World of Women (lost early BBC talk show; 1937)

Early Sports Television Media

• 1934 Philo T. Farnsworth broadcasts (lost early television demonstrations; 1934)
• 1936 Summer Olympics (lost television coverage of Berlin Games; 1936)
• 1938 Pennsylvania Quakers football season (lost early televised college football games; 1938)
• 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
• Bill Longson vs Whipper Billy Watson (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 1947)
• Brooklyn Dodgers 2-5 6-1 Cincinnati Reds (lost footage of MLB doubleheader; 1939)
• Brooklyn Dodgers 23-14 Philadelphia Eagles (lost footage of NFL game; 1939)
• Columbia Lions 1-2 Princeton Tigers (partially found footage of college baseball game; 1939)
• Fordham Rams 34-7 Waynesburg Yellow Jackets (lost footage of college football game; 1939)
• Indianapolis 500 WFBM-TV Broadcasts (lost racing footage; 1949-1950)