Bedford Town 1-2 Arsenal (partially found footage of FA Cup match; 1956): Difference between revisions

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(Interesting that Bedford Town has now been featured in three Lost Media Wiki articles, first in discussing the times it hosted WFA Cup Finals, and now an FA Cup replay where it came damn close to pulling off a major upset! ITV provided live coverage, but it didn't particularly go very well...)
 
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Bedford Town, as a Southern Football League club, successfully qualified for the First Round Proper.<ref>[http://www.englishfootballstats.co.uk/Non-League%20Tables/Southern%20Football%20League/Combined%20Tables/1955-56.htm ''English Football Stats'' detailing the 1955/56 Southern Football League table.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref><ref name="road">[https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engcup1956.html ''RSSSF'' detailing both clubs' FA Cup campaign from the First Round Proper onwards.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref> It overcame Leyton and Watford to reach the Third Round.<ref name="road"/> Meanwhile, Arsenal was a Football League First Division member, and so its campaign began in the Third Round.<ref>[http://www.englishfootballstats.co.uk/Level%201%20Tables/1955-56.htm ''English Football Stats'' detailing the 1955/56 Football League First Division table.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref><ref name="road"/> The teams were paired against each other, and initially clashed on 7th January 1956 at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium.<ref name="bedford">[https://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/BedfordshireSports/BedfordvArsenal1956.aspx ''Bedfordshire Archives Service'' detailing the original encounter between the clubs.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref><ref name="woolwich">[https://blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/archives/5141 ''A History of Arsenal'' summarising both FA Cup encounters.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref> It was here Bedford pulled a surprise by holding Arsenal to a 2-2 draw, thus earning a replay at its ground The Eyrie.<ref name="gooner">[https://www.onlinegooner.com/articles/view/3582 ''Online Gooner'' summarising the match and the ITV coverage.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref><ref name="bedford"/><ref name="woolwich"/> By this point, it was the last non-league team in the tournament.<ref name="bedford"/>
Bedford Town, as a Southern Football League club, successfully qualified for the First Round Proper.<ref>[http://www.englishfootballstats.co.uk/Non-League%20Tables/Southern%20Football%20League/Combined%20Tables/1955-56.htm ''English Football Stats'' detailing the 1955/56 Southern Football League table.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref><ref name="road">[https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engcup1956.html ''RSSSF'' detailing both clubs' FA Cup campaign from the First Round Proper onwards.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref> It overcame Leyton and Watford to reach the Third Round.<ref name="road"/> Meanwhile, Arsenal was a Football League First Division member, and so its campaign began in the Third Round.<ref>[http://www.englishfootballstats.co.uk/Level%201%20Tables/1955-56.htm ''English Football Stats'' detailing the 1955/56 Football League First Division table.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref><ref name="road"/> The teams were paired against each other, and initially clashed on 7th January 1956 at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium.<ref name="bedford">[https://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/BedfordshireSports/BedfordvArsenal1956.aspx ''Bedfordshire Archives Service'' detailing the original encounter between the clubs.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref><ref name="woolwich">[https://blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/archives/5141 ''A History of Arsenal'' summarising both FA Cup encounters.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref> It was here Bedford pulled a surprise by holding Arsenal to a 2-2 draw, thus earning a replay at its ground The Eyrie.<ref name="gooner">[https://www.onlinegooner.com/articles/view/3582 ''Online Gooner'' summarising the match and the ITV coverage.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref><ref name="bedford"/><ref name="woolwich"/> By this point, it was the last non-league team in the tournament.<ref name="bedford"/>


Meanwhile, ITV had broken new ground by televising its first live football match, the [[1956 Southern Junior Floodlight Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1956)|1956 Southern Junior Floodlight Cup Final]], on 3rd January that same year.<ref name="back">[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/From_the_Back_Page_to_the_Front_Room/q-PgDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT153&printsec=frontcover ''From the Back Page to the Front Room'' detailing ITV's broadcast of the match.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref> Thus, ITV aimed for a more ambitious broadcast, with franchise Associated Rediffusion deciding to televise the Bedford Town-Arsenal encounter nine days later.<ref name="back"/> Because The Eyrie lacked floodlights, kick-off was moved to a Thursday afternoon to ensure optimal visibility.<ref name="back"/><ref name="itv">[http://web.archive.org/web/20150609003039/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/carousel/ITV/cupfinals_bw.html Archived ''ITV Football'' summarising the coverage and claiming the second half was exclusively televised.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref> The game's broadcast certainly generated hype among fans of both sides, with thousands reported to have booked annual leave to watch the live coverage.<ref name="back"/><ref name="gooner"/> Particularly, a British Pathé newsreel humorously claims many officer workers were "burying their grandmothers" on the day of the match, forcing the town of Bedford to shut down.<ref name="pathe">[https://www.britishpathe.com/video/arsenal-win-bedford-replay#Bedford%20v%20Arsenal ''British Pathé'' summarising the match itself and providing footage of it.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref><ref name="gooner"/> Ultimately, the broadcast proved disastrous, as while the first half was known to have been televised, the cameras malfunctioned during half time.<ref name="back"/> In contrast, ''ITV Football'' and ''Online Gooner'' state that ITV exclusively televised the second half live.<ref name="itv"/><ref name="gooner"/> Regardless, only 45 minutes of the game was aired.
Meanwhile, ITV had broken new ground by televising its first live football match, the [[1956 Southern Junior Floodlight Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1956)|1956 Southern Junior Floodlight Cup Final]], on 3rd January that same year.<ref name="back">[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/From_the_Back_Page_to_the_Front_Room/q-PgDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT153&printsec=frontcover ''From the Back Page to the Front Room'' detailing ITV's broadcast of the match.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref> Thus, ITV aimed for a more ambitious broadcast, with franchise Associated Rediffusion deciding to televise the Bedford Town-Arsenal encounter nine days later.<ref name="back"/> Because The Eyrie lacked floodlights, kick-off was moved to a Thursday afternoon to ensure optimal visibility.<ref name="back"/><ref name="itv">[http://web.archive.org/web/20150609003039/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/carousel/ITV/cupfinals_bw.html Archived ''ITV Football'' summarising the coverage and claiming the second half was exclusively televised.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref> The game's broadcast certainly generated hype among fans of both sides, with thousands reported to have booked annual leave to watch the live coverage.<ref name="back"/><ref name="gooner"/> Particularly, a British Pathé newsreel humorously claims many officer workers were "burying their grandmothers" on the day of the match, forcing the town of Bedford to shut down.<ref name="pathe">[https://www.britishpathe.com/video/arsenal-win-bedford-replay#Bedford%20v%20Arsenal ''British Pathé'' summarising the match itself and providing footage of it.] Retrieved 23rd Aug '22</ref><ref name="gooner"/> Ultimately, the broadcast proved disastrous, as while the first half was known to have been televised, the cameras malfunctioned during halftime.<ref name="back"/> In contrast, ''ITV Football'' and ''Online Gooner'' state that ITV exclusively televised the second half live.<ref name="itv"/><ref name="gooner"/> Regardless, only 45 minutes of the game was aired.


==The Match==
==The Match==
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[[Category:Lost recordings of real incidents]]
[[Category:Lost recordings of sports events]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]
[[Category:Historic]]
[[Category:Historic]]

Latest revision as of 21:50, 24 January 2023

Bedfordtown1-2arsenal1.jpg

Programme for the match.

Status: Partially Found

On 12th January 1956, Southern Football League club Bedford Town hosted Football League First Division side Arsenal at The Eyrie for a replay of an FA Cup Third Round match. The match ultimately saw the visitors win 2-1, with the Gunners eventually being eliminated in the Quarter-Finals. The match is notable for being the first FA Cup match to be televised live by ITV.

Background

Bedford Town, as a Southern Football League club, successfully qualified for the First Round Proper.[1][2] It overcame Leyton and Watford to reach the Third Round.[2] Meanwhile, Arsenal was a Football League First Division member, and so its campaign began in the Third Round.[3][2] The teams were paired against each other, and initially clashed on 7th January 1956 at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium.[4][5] It was here Bedford pulled a surprise by holding Arsenal to a 2-2 draw, thus earning a replay at its ground The Eyrie.[6][4][5] By this point, it was the last non-league team in the tournament.[4]

Meanwhile, ITV had broken new ground by televising its first live football match, the 1956 Southern Junior Floodlight Cup Final, on 3rd January that same year.[7] Thus, ITV aimed for a more ambitious broadcast, with franchise Associated Rediffusion deciding to televise the Bedford Town-Arsenal encounter nine days later.[7] Because The Eyrie lacked floodlights, kick-off was moved to a Thursday afternoon to ensure optimal visibility.[7][8] The game's broadcast certainly generated hype among fans of both sides, with thousands reported to have booked annual leave to watch the live coverage.[7][6] Particularly, a British Pathé newsreel humorously claims many officer workers were "burying their grandmothers" on the day of the match, forcing the town of Bedford to shut down.[9][6] Ultimately, the broadcast proved disastrous, as while the first half was known to have been televised, the cameras malfunctioned during halftime.[7] In contrast, ITV Football and Online Gooner state that ITV exclusively televised the second half live.[8][6] Regardless, only 45 minutes of the game was aired.

The Match

The match itself occurred on 12th January, in front of 15,306 fans.[10] In another competitive match, Bedford again came close to pulling off an upset, when Harry Yates shot pass Arsenal goalkeeper Jack Kelsey to make it 1-0.[9][5][6] Bedford also had another two goals ruled offside.[5][9] With just four minutes remaining, the Gunners equalised courtesy of Vic Groves, who headed the ball in.[9][5][6][10] In extra time, Arsenal proved more aggressive, with the visitors hitting crossbar early on.[9] Eventually, Arsenal secured the winning goal after a Groves cross was converted into a header on-goal by Derek Tapscott.[9][5][10] Arsenal held on to win 2-1, progressing to the Fourth Round.[9][5][10][2][6] After defeating Aston Villa and Charlton Athletic, Arsenal would be eliminated in the Sixth Round by Birmingham City 3-1.[2]

Availability

Ultimately, the match was televised live in a period where telerecordings were rare until videotape was perfected in the late-1950s.[11] The broadcast has yet to resurface, but footage from various newsreels remains publicly available.

Gallery

Videos

BBC Sportsview Unit highlights of the match.

British Pathé newsreel of the match.

British Movietone News newsreel of the match.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ English Football Stats detailing the 1955/56 Southern Football League table. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 RSSSF detailing both clubs' FA Cup campaign from the First Round Proper onwards. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
  3. ↑ English Football Stats detailing the 1955/56 Football League First Division table. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Bedfordshire Archives Service detailing the original encounter between the clubs. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 A History of Arsenal summarising both FA Cup encounters. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Online Gooner summarising the match and the ITV coverage. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 From the Back Page to the Front Room detailing ITV's broadcast of the match. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Archived ITV Football summarising the coverage and claiming the second half was exclusively televised. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 British Pathé summarising the match itself and providing footage of it. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 11 vs 11 detailing the result of the match and other statistics. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
  11. ↑ Web Archive article discussing how most early television is missing due to a lack of directly recording television. Retrieved 23rd Aug '22
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