1952 FA Cup final

The 1952 FA Cup final was the final match of the 1951–52 staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup), English football's main cup competition. The match was contested by Newcastle United and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in London on 3 May 1952. It was hitherto only the second time that an FA Cup Final was played in May; 1937 being the first. Newcastle appeared in their 11th final in total and their second successive final, while it was Arsenal's sixth final and their second in three years.

1952 FA Cup final

Event	1951–52 FA Cup
Newcastle United Arsenal 1 0
Date	3 May 1952
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	Arthur Ellis (Halifax)
Attendance	100,000
← 1951 1953 →

Match facts

Newcastle United	1–0	Arsenal
G. Robledo 84'	(Report)

3 May 1952

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 100,000

Referee: Arthur Ellis

Newcastle

Arsenal

GK 1 Ronnie Simpson RB 2 Bobby Cowell LB 3 Alf McMichael RH 4 Joe Harvey (c) CH 5 Frank Brennan LH 6 Ted Robledo OR 7 Tommy Walker IR 8 Billy Foulkes CF 9 Jackie Milburn IL 10 George Robledo OL 11 Bobby Mitchell Manager: Stan Seymour

GK 1 George Swindin RB 2 Walley Barnes LB 3 Lionel Smith RH 4 Alex Forbes CH 5 Ray Daniel LH 6 Joe Mercer (c) OR 7 Freddie Cox IR 8 Jimmy Logie CF 9 Cliff Holton IL 10 Doug Lishman OL 11 Don Roper Manager: Tom Whittaker

Match summary

Arsenal played Newcastle United with several recovering players rushed back into the first team; Walley Barnes was taken off injured with a twisted knee after 35 minutes (no substitutes were allowed then), and ten-man Arsenal suffered further injuries to Holton, Roper and Daniel, so that by the end of the match they had only seven fit players on the pitch;^[1] with the numerical advantage in their favour, Newcastle won 1–0 with a goal from George Robledo. The goal scored by Robledo was drawn by a young John Lennon, who included it in the artwork of his album Walls and Bridges in 1974.^[2]

Broadcasting

Despite late efforts to overturn the decision by a minority of its members, The FA Council banned the BBC from televising the game,^[3] leaving those who could not attend, with only updates on the first half on BBC radio before the second half was described live to listeners. To date this remains the last cup final not to be broadcast live on television, although the game was filmed by newsreel for showing that evening in cinemas. The BBC instead broadcast a cricket match between Worcestershire and the touring Indians.^[4]

References

1. Soar & Tyler (2005). The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal. p. 99.
2. Molina, Paula (4 April 2016). "Jorge Robledo, el futbolista chileno inmortalizado en un disco de John Lennon" (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
3. Phillips, Tom (3 May 1952). "Sorry, the answer is no". Daily Mirror. p. 1.
4. "Programme Index". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2021.

External links

• Match Report
• FA Cup Final lineups
• FA Cup Final kits, 1950–59