1924–25 FA Cup
The 1924–25 FA Cup was the 50th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Sheffield United won the competition for the fourth time, beating Cardiff City 1–0 in the final at Wembley.
Fans of Sheffield United sung the very popular song of the era "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More" during the match.
Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. Some matches, however, might be rescheduled for other days if there were clashes with games for other competitions or the weather was inclement. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.
Calendar
The format of the FA Cup for the season had two preliminary rounds, six qualifying rounds, four proper rounds, and the semi finals and final. This was the last season with the Cup in this format, as from the next season onwards, the fifth and sixth qualifying rounds would be renamed to the First and Second Rounds Proper.Round | Date |
Extra Preliminary Round | Saturday 6 September 1924 |
Preliminary Round | Saturday 20 September 1924 |
First Round Qualifying | Saturday 4 October 1924 |
Second Round Qualifying | Saturday 18 October 1924 |
Third Round Qualifying | Saturday 1 November 1924 |
Fourth Round Qualifying | Saturday 15 November 1924 |
Fifth Round Qualifying | Saturday 29 November 1924 |
Sixth Round Qualifying | Saturday 13 December 1924 |
First Round Proper | Saturday 10 January 1925 |
Second Round Proper | Saturday 31 January 1925 |
Third Round Proper | Saturday 21 February 1925 |
Fourth Round Proper | Saturday 7 March 1925 |
Semi-Finals | Saturday 28 March 1925 |
Final | Saturday 25 April 1925 |
First round proper
42 of the 44 clubs from the Football League First Division and Football League Second Division joined the 12 lower-league clubs who came through the qualifying rounds. Two Second Division sides, Port Vale and Coventry City, were entered at the fifth qualifying round, with the Third Division North and South teams, this was the last time Division 1 teams started at this stage of the competition. Amateur side Corinthian were given a free entry to the first round. To make the number of teams up to 64, nine Third Division South sides were given byes to this round. These were:- Watford
- Brighton & Hove Albion
- Luton Town
- Swindon Town
- Northampton Town
- Bristol City
- Millwall
- Swansea Town
- Plymouth Argyle
Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
1 | Birmingham | 2–0 | Chelsea | 10 January 1925 |
2 | Blackpool | 0–0 | Barrow | 10 January 1925 |
Replay | Barrow | 0–2 | Blackpool | 14 January 1925 |
3 | Bury | 0–3 | Sunderland | 10 January 1925 |
4 | Liverpool | 3–0 | Leeds United | 10 January 1925 |
5 | Preston North End | 4–1 | Manchester City | 10 January 1925 |
6 | Southampton | 3–1 | Exeter City | 14 January 1925 |
7 | Watford | 1–1 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 10 January 1925 |
Replay | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4–3 | Watford | 14 January 1925 |
8 | Leicester City | 3–0 | Stoke | 10 January 1925 |
9 | Nottingham Forest | 1–0 | Clapton Orient | 10 January 1925 |
10 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | Oldham Athletic | 10 January 1925 |
11 | Aston Villa | 7–2 | Port Vale | 10 January 1925 |
12 | The Wednesday | 2–0 | Manchester United | 10 January 1925 |
13 | Bolton Wanderers | 3–0 | Huddersfield Town | 10 January 1925 |
14 | West Bromwich Albion | 4–0 | Luton Town | 10 January 1925 |
15 | Derby County | 0–1 | Bradford City | 10 January 1925 |
16 | Everton | 2–1 | Burnley | 10 January 1925 |
17 | Swindon Town | 1–2 | Fulham | 10 January 1925 |
18 | Doncaster Rovers | 1–2 | Norwich City | 10 January 1925 |
19 | Sheffield United | 5–0 | Corinthian | 10 January 1925 |
20 | Newcastle United | 4–1 | Hartlepools United | 10 January 1925 |
21 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–0 | Northampton Town | 10 January 1925 |
22 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–3 | Stockport County | 10 January 1925 |
23 | Accrington Stanley | 2–5 | Portsmouth | 10 January 1925 |
24 | Bristol Rovers | 0–1 | Bristol City | 10 January 1925 |
25 | Coventry City | 0–2 | Notts County | 10 January 1925 |
26 | West Ham United | 0–0 | Arsenal | 14 January 1925 |
Replay | Arsenal | 2–2 | West Ham United | 21 January 1925 |
Replay | West Ham United | 1–0 | Arsenal | 26 January 1925 |
27 | Millwall | 0–0 | Barnsley | 10 January 1925 |
Replay | Barnsley | 2–1 | Millwall | 15 January 1925 |
28 | Hull City | 1–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 10 January 1925 |
Replay | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0–1 | Hull City | 15 January 1925 |
29 | Crystal Palace | 2–1 | South Shields | 10 January 1925 |
30 | Bradford Park Avenue | 1–0 | Middlesbrough | 10 January 1925 |
31 | Cardiff City | 0–0 | Darlington | 10 January 1925 |
Replay | Darlington | 0–0 | Cardiff City | 14 January 1925 |
Replay | Cardiff City | 2–0 | Darlington | 19 January 1925 |
32 | Swansea Town | 3–0 | Plymouth Argyle | 10 January 1925 |
Second Round Proper
The 16 Second Round matches were played on Saturday, 31 January 1925. Five matches were drawn, with replays taking place in the following midweek fixture. One of these then went to a second replay played the following week.Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
1 | Birmingham | 1–0 | Stockport County | 31 January 1925 |
2 | Bristol City | 0–1 | Liverpool | 31 January 1925 |
3 | Southampton | 1–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 31 January 1925 |
4 | Notts County | 4–0 | Norwich City | 31 January 1925 |
5 | Nottingham Forest | 0–2 | West Ham United | 31 January 1925 |
6 | Blackburn Rovers | 0–0 | Portsmouth | 31 January 1925 |
Replay | Portsmouth | 0–0 | Blackburn Rovers | 4 February 1925 |
Replay | Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | Portsmouth | 9 February 1925 |
7 | West Bromwich Albion | 2–0 | Preston North End | 31 January 1925 |
8 | Sunderland | 0–0 | Everton | 31 January 1925 |
Replay | Everton | 2–1 | Sunderland | 4 February 1925 |
9 | Sheffield United | 3–2 | The Wednesday | 31 January 1925 |
10 | Newcastle United | 2–2 | Leicester City | 31 January 1925 |
Replay | Leicester City | 1–0 | Newcastle United | 4 February 1925 |
11 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | Bolton Wanderers | 31 January 1925 |
Replay | Bolton Wanderers | 0–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 February 1925 |
12 | Barnsley | 0–3 | Bradford City | 31 January 1925 |
13 | Hull City | 3–2 | Crystal Palace | 31 January 1925 |
14 | Bradford Park Avenue | 1–1 | Blackpool | 31 January 1925 |
Replay | Blackpool | 2–1 | Bradford Park Avenue | 4 February 1925 |
15 | Cardiff City | 1–0 | Fulham | 31 January 1925 |
16 | Swansea Town | 1–3 | Aston Villa | 31 January 1925 |
Third round proper
The eight Third Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 21 February 1925. Four matches were drawn and went to replays in the following midweek fixture.Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
1 | Liverpool | 2–1 | Birmingham | 21 February 1925 |
2 | Southampton | 2–0 | Bradford City | 21 February 1925 |
3 | Notts County | 0–2 | Cardiff City | 21 February 1925 |
4 | West Bromwich Albion | 1–1 | Aston Villa | 21 February 1925 |
Replay | Aston Villa | 1–2 | West Bromwich Albion | 25 February 1925 |
5 | Sheffield United | 1–0 | Everton | 21 February 1925 |
6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–2 | Blackburn Rovers | 21 February 1925 |
Replay | Blackburn Rovers | 3–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 25 February 1925 |
7 | West Ham United | 1–1 | Blackpool | 21 February 1925 |
Replay | Blackpool | 3–0 | West Ham United | 25 February 1925 |
8 | Hull City | 1–1 | Leicester City | 21 February 1925 |
Replay | Leicester City | 3–1 | Hull City | 25 February 1925 |
Fourth round proper
The four Fourth Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 7 March 1925. There were no replays.Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
1 | Southampton | 1–0 | Liverpool | 7 March 1925 |
2 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | Blackpool | 7 March 1925 |
3 | Sheffield United | 2–0 | West Bromwich Albion | 7 March 1925 |
4 | Cardiff City | 2–1 | Leicester City | 7 March 1925 |
Semi-Finals
The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 28 March 1925. The matches ended in victories for Sheffield United and Cardiff City, who went on to meet in the final at Wembley.----
Final
The 1925 FA Cup Final was contested by Sheffield United and Cardiff City at Wembley. Sheffield United won by a single goal, scored by Fred Tunstall.This was the first time a team outside England had played in an F.A. Cup Final since Queens Park of Glasgow in 1885.