The FA Cup is the oldest association football competition in the world. In 1872, Wanderers Football Club won the first title in the history of FA Cup football. The record for the most wins is held by Manchester United with 11 triumphs, followed by Arsenal with 10 and Tottenham Hotspur with 8. The trophy is held by Wigan Athletic, who defeated Manchester City 1-0 in the 2013 final.

FA Cup Football in the 1960s

The crowd continued to fill Wembley Stadium when FA Cup Finals were played in the 60’s. It was a six-digit number of spectators at almost every final. Only one club won the title more than once during the 1960s. Spurs won the title three times in the decade. Leicester City played three finals but lost all. The big clubs from Merseyside and Manchester won the cup one time each.

Second Division team Preston North End came close to upsetting their First Division opponents in 1964 Final. West Ham trailed with both 0-1 and 1-2 but came back and avoided the upset. Ronnie Boyce scored 3-2 to the Hammers on injury time giving West Ham the club’s first FA Cup title.

Club of the decade: Tottenham Hotspur Football Club was founded in 1882. Spurs won the title three times in the 1960s (1961, 1962 and 1967). Thanks to the 2-0 win over Leicester City in the 1961 final, Spurs became the first club to win the double (League + FA Cup) in the twentieth century.

Player of the decade: Spurs striker Bobby Smith scored important goals in both the 1961 and 1962 Final. He scored 1-0 in the 1961 final against Leicester City and he scored important 2-1 in the 1962 final against Burnley. Bobby Smith scored 208 goals with the Spurs jersey in 317 games. Only Jimmy Greaves has scored more goals for Tottenham. Smith gained 15 caps for England and scored 13 goals.

Results and Scorers FA Cup Finals 1960-69

All Finals were played at Wembley Stadium

1960

Wolverhampton Wanderers – Blackburn Rovers 3-0

1-0 McGrath 41′(o.g.), 2-0 Deeley 67′, 3-0 Deeley 88′

1961

Tottenham Hotspur – Leicester City 2-0

1-0 Smith 66′, 2-0 Dyson 75′

1962

Tottenham Hotspur – Burnley 3-1

1-0 Greaves 3′, 1-1 Robson 50, 2-1 Smith 51′, 3-1 Blanchflower 80′(pen.)

1963

Manchester United – Leicester City 3-1

1-0 Law 30′, 2-0 Herd 57′, 2-1 Keyworth 80′, 3-1 Herd 85′

1964

West Ham United – Preston North End 3-2

0-1 Holden 10′, 1-1 Sissons 12′, 1-2 Dawson 40′, 2-2 Hurst 52′, 3-2 Boyce 90′

1965

Liverpool – Leeds United 2-1 aet

1-0 Hunt 93′, 1-1 Bremner 100′, 2-1 St. John 113′

1966

Everton – Sheffield Wednesday 3-2

0-1 McCalliog 4′, 0-2 Ford 57′, 1-2 Trebilcock 59′, 2-2 Trebilcock 64′, 3-2 Temple 74′

1967

Tottenham Hotspur – Chelsea 2-1

1-0 Robertson 40′, 2-0 Saul 67′, Tambling 85′

1968

West Bromwich Albion – Everton 1-0 aet

1-0 Astle 93′

1969

Manchester City – Leicester City 1-0

1-0 Young 24′