Charlton Athletic 1-0 Blackburn Rovers (lost footage of FA Cup match; 1947)

Charlton Athletic's programme for the match.

Status: Lost

On 8th February 1947, Charlton Athletic hosted Blackburn Rovers at The Valley in the fifth round of the 1946/47 FA Cup. The hosts overcame the opposition 1-0 thanks to a late goal, and would ultimately go on to win the FA Cup after beating Burnley in the Final. The match was the first televised instance of an FA Cup match other than the Final.

Background

Charlton Athletic and Blackburn Rovers, as First Division members, entered the tournament in the Third Round proper. Charlton defeated Rochdale and West Brom to reach this round, while Blackburn overcame Hull City and Port Vale. Prior to the match, Charlton had never won the FA Cup, whereas Blackburn had won the trophy six times. Both teams were enduring unsuccessful seasons in the First Division, and so a successful FA Cup campaign would boost morale. Charlton were also looking to redeem themselves after losing the 1946 FA Cup Final to Derby County.

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 BBC were seeking a means of televising football prior to the 1947 Final. After broadcasting an Athenian League football match between Barnet and Wealdstone, the BBC were seeking to broadcast more FA Cup matches, albeit only in the London region due to technical limitations. After some negotiating with the Football Association (FA), following concerns that televised matches may limit stadium attendance, the BBC gained permission to televise the Charlton-Blackburn encounter.

Oddly, issue 1,218 of Radio Times, which documented BBC television from 2nd-8th February, did not list the match as part of BBC's coverage. However, various sources do claim that the match was broadcast. Possibly because the match was deemed to be a poor affair, combined with technical limitations and resistance from clubs, the BBC largely abandoned broadcasting FA Cup matches aside from the Final during this time period. Nevertheless, coverage of the FA Cup would continue to increase over the years, with the BBC among other channels routinely airing matches starting from the First Round Proper as of the present day.

The Match

While the match is notable for its television significance, it was deemed to have been a poor game. According to Charlton Athletic: A History, The Valley's surface was covered in mud, frost and ice, which contributed towards both sides struggling to capitalise on chances. Three minutes before the end of the match, it was still 0-0, but Blackburn almost scored after Charlton goalkeeper Sam Bartram made a mistake after slipping over on an icy patch, leaving an open goal. However, Blackburn midfielder Baldwin missed the target. Not long afterwards, Charlton's Gordon Hurst forced a corner, before taking said corner that allowed Tommy Dawson to head the ball into the Blackburn net.

The goal came just 13 seconds before the final whistle was blown. Charlton capitalised on the win by defeating Preston North End 2-1 in the Quarter-Finals, Newcastle United 4-0 in the Semi-Finals, before beating Burnley 1-0 in the Final to win its first, and to date, only, FA Cup.

Availability

Like all early television programs, the Charlton-Blackburn match 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. Because the match occurred outside of the FA Cup Final, no newsreel footage was recorded for the match. Nevertheless, various sources helped to document the match's television significance.

Gallery

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  Issue 1,218 of Radio Times, oddly did not list the match as part of BBC's television coverage.

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