Sunday, April 26, 2009

27 April 1901 - Tottenham Spurred to Victory

On 27 April 1901, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Sheffield United 3-1 to claim the FA Cup. At the time, Spurs were members of the Southern League and thus were the first non-Football League side to win the FA Cup.

The cup final was originally played on 20 April 1901 at Crystal Palace, London, before a crowd of almost 115,000. At the end of extra time, however, Spurs and the Blades were deadlocked at 2-2, forcing a replay. The replay was held one week later, with the venue changed to Burnden Park, Bolton. The crowd was substantially smaller for the second match, with attendance barely topping 20,000.

Sheffield United left winger Fred Priest gave the Blades a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute, but Spurs forward John Cameron equalized in the 52nd minute. Tottenham right winger Tom Smith then found the net in the 76th minute, putting them ahead 2-1. Finally, in the 87th minute, Spurs center forward Sandy Brown scored the final goal (pictured above) and Tottenham won 3-1. The wife of club director Morton Cadman tied colored ribbons on the FA Cup before it was presented to Spurs captain Jack Jones, starting an English tradition that endures to the present day.

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