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1949 FA Cup Final
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Event1948–49 FA Cup
Date30 April 1949
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeR. A. Mortimer
Attendance98,920
1948
1950

The 1949 FA Cup Final was contested by Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium. Wolves finished 6th in the First Division during that season, and boasted several England internationals among their ranks, while Leicester City had struggled to avoid relegation in the Second Division and were making their first Wembley appearance.

Wolves won the match 3–1, with goals by Jesse Pye (2) and Sammy Smyth. Mal Griffiths scored the Foxes' reply. Captain Billy Wright was presented with the cup by HRH The Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II).

Road to Wembley[]

Leicester City[]

3rd Round Leicester City 1–1 Birmingham City
3rd Round (Replay) Birmingham City 1–1 Leicester City
3rd Round (2nd Replay) Leicester City 2–1 Birmingham City
4th Round Leicester City 2–0 Preston North End
5th Round Luton Town 5–5 Leicester City
5th Round (Replay) Leicester City 5–3 Luton Town
6th Round Brentford 0–2 Leicester City
Semi-final Portsmouth 1–3 Leicester City
(at Highbury)

Wolverhampton Wanderers[]

3rd Round Wolverhampton Wanderers 6–0 Chesterfield
4th Round Sheffield United 0–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers
5th Round Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–1 Liverpool
6th Round Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 West Bromwich Albion
Semi-final Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–1 Manchester United
(at Hillsborough)
Semi-final (Replay) Manchester United 0–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
(at Goodison Park)

Match summary[]

Wolves started determinedly and took a 13th minute lead when Jesse Pye, who had been preferred to Dennis Wilshaw, stooped to head in an inch-perfect Hancocks cross. Leicester kept Wolves at bay until almost half-time, when Pye collected the ball in the penalty area with his back to goal, after the Foxes had struggled to clear a corner, and turned to slam it home for his second.

Leicester brought the game to life immediately after the interval courtesy of Mal Griffiths, who flicked the ball home after Williams parried Chisholm's initial effort. Within minutes, they believed they were level only for a narrow offside decision to rule out Chisholm's finish. Sammy Smyth quickly calmed Wolves' nerves when picked up the ball in the centre circle and drove through the Leicester defence before hitting the ball low into the far corner to make it 3–1 and clinch the cup for Molineux men for a third time.

Leicester were without two of their key players for the game, both of them ruled out by injury. Goalkeeper Ian McGraw was unable to play due to a broken finger, while Don Revie had suffered a nose injury.

Match details[]

30 April 1949
15:00 BST
Leicester City 1–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 98,920
Referee: R. A. Mortimer (Huddersfield)
Griffiths Goal 47' Report Pye Goal 13'42'
Smyth Goal 64'
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Leicester City
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Wolverhampton Wanderers
1 Flag of England Gordon Bradley
2 Flag of England Ted Jelly
3 Flag of Scotland Sandy Scott
4 Flag of England Walter Harrison
5 Flag of England Norman Plummer (c)
6 Flag of England Johnny King
7 Flag of Wales Mal Griffiths
8 Flag of England Jack Lee
9 Flag of England Jimmy Harrison
10 Flag of Scotland Ken Chisholm
11 Flag of Scotland Charlie Adam
Manager:
Flag of Scotland Johnny Duncan
1 Flag of England Bert Williams
2 Flag of England Roy Pritchard
3 Flag of England Terry Springthorpe
4 Flag of England Billy Crook
5 Flag of England Bill Shorthouse
6 Flag of England Billy Wright (c)
7 Flag of England Johnny Hancocks
8 Flag of Northern Ireland Sammy Smyth
9 Flag of England Jesse Pye
10 Flag of Scotland Jimmy Dunn
11 Flag of England Jimmy Mullen
Manager:
Flag of England Stan Cullis

External links[]

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Template:1948–49 in English football

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