The 1957–58 FA Cup was the 77th staging of the world's oldest footballcup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Bolton Wanderers won the competition for the fourth time, beating Manchester United 2–0 in the final at Wembley. The competition is notable for the exploits of Manchester United following the loss of much of their team in the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958. They came through three rounds following the accident, before being beaten by Bolton in the final. 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.
At this stage clubs from the Football League Third Division North and South joined those non-league clubs having come through the qualifying rounds. Matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 16 November 1957. Five were drawn and went to replays, with one of these going to a second replay.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 7 December 1957. Seven matches were drawn, with replays taking place later the same week.
Tie no
Home team
Score
Away team
Date
1
Chester
3–3
Bradford City
7 December 1957
Replay
Bradford City
3–1
Chester
11 December 1957
2
Darlington
5–3
Boston United
7 December 1957
3
Yeovil Town
2–0
Bath City
7 December 1957
4
Reading
2–1
Wisbech Town
7 December 1957
5
Stockport County
2–1
Hartlepools United
7 December 1957
6
Northampton Town
4–1
Bournemouth
7 December 1957
7
Norwich City
1–1
Brighton & Hove Albion
7 December 1957
Replay
Brighton & Hove Albion
1–2
Norwich City
11 December 1957
8
Plymouth Argyle
5–2
Dorchester Town
7 December 1957
9
Millwall
1–1
Gillingham
7 December 1957
Replay
Gillingham
6–1
Millwall
11 December 1957
10
Carlisle United
1–1
Accrington Stanley
7 December 1957
Replay
Accrington Stanley
3–2
Carlisle United
11 December 1957
11
Oldham Athletic
1–5
Workington
7 December 1957
12
Crystal Palace
1–0
Southampton
7 December 1957
13
Scunthorpe United
2–0
Bury
7 December 1957
14
Port Vale
2–2
Hull City
7 December 1957
Replay
Hull City
4–3
Port Vale
9 December 1957
15
Durham City
0–3
Tranmere Rovers
7 December 1957
16
Torquay United
1–1
Southend United
7 December 1957
Replay
Southend United
2–1
Torquay United
11 December 1957
17
Hereford United
6–1
Queens Park Rangers
7 December 1957
18
Aldershot
4–1
Coventry City
7 December 1957
19
Wigan Athletic
1–1
Mansfield Town
7 December 1957
Replay
Mansfield Town
3–1
Wigan Athletic
11 December 1957
20
South Shields
1–3
York City
7 December 1957
Third round proper
The 44 First and Second Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 4 January 1958, although the York City–Birmingham City match was postponed until the following midweek fixture. Six matches were drawn and went to replays, with one of these requiring a second replay.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 25 January 1958, with two matches taking place on later dates. Five matches were drawn and went to replays, which were all played in the following midweek match.
Tie no
Home team
Score
Away team
Date
-
-
1
Liverpool
3–1
Northampton Town
25 January 1958
56,939
2
Notts County
1–2
Bristol City
25 January 1958
-
-
3
Sheffield Wednesday
4–3
Hull City
29 January 1958
-
-
4
Wolverhampton Wanderers
5–1
Portsmouth
25 January 1958
43,952
5
West Bromwich Albion
3–3
Nottingham Forest
25 January 1958
58,163
Replay
Nottingham Forest
1–5
West Bromwich Albion
29 January 1958
46,477
6
Everton
1–2
Blackburn Rovers
29 January 1958
-
-
7
Newcastle United
1–3
Scunthorpe United
25 January 1958
-
-
8
Tottenham Hotspur
0–3
Sheffield United
25 January 1958
-
-
9
Fulham
1–1
Charlton Athletic
25 January 1958
-
-
Replay
Charlton Athletic
0–2
Fulham
29 January 1958
-
-
10
Bristol Rovers
2–2
Burnley
25 January 1958
-
-
Replay
Burnley
2–3
Bristol Rovers
28 January 1958
-
-
11
West Ham United
3–2
Stockport County
25 January 1958
-
-
12
Manchester United
2–0
Ipswich Town
25 January 1958
53,550
13
Chelsea
3–3
Darlington
25 January 1958
-
-
Replay
Darlington
4–1
Chelsea
29 January 1958
-
-
14
Cardiff City
4–1
Leyton Orient
25 January 1958
-
-
15
York City
0–0
Bolton Wanderers
25 January 1958
23,460
Replay
Bolton Wanderers
3–0
York City
29 January 1958
35,194
16
Stoke City
3–1
Middlesbrough
25 January 1958
43,756
Fifth round proper
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 15 February 1958. Two matches went to replays in the following mid-week fixture. This round is notable as containing Manchester United's first game following the Munich Air Disaster, which was postponed by four days due to the incident, with United struggling to put a team together to play. In a highly emotional game for both the players and the fans, United beat Sheffield Wednesday 3–0 to go through to the next round.
The four quarter-final ties were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 1 March 1958. The West Bromwich Albion–Manchester United game went to a replay before United went through.
Tie no
Home team
Score
Away team
Date
-
-
1
Blackburn Rovers
2–1
Liverpool
1 March 1958
51,000
2
Bolton Wanderers
2–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers
1 March 1958
56,283
3
West Bromwich Albion
2–2
Manchester United
1 March 1958
58,574
Replay
Manchester United
1–0
West Bromwich Albion
5 March 1958
66,000
4
Fulham
3–1
Bristol Rovers
1 March 1958
-
-
Semi-finals
The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 22 March 1958, with the Manchester United–Fulham match replaying on the 26th. Bolton Wanderers and Manchester United won their ties to meet in the final at Wembley. ---- ;Replay
Final
The FA Cup final took place on 3 May 1958 at Wembley Stadium and was won by Bolton Wanderers, beating Manchester United 2–0. United had been decimated following the Munich Air Disaster, but still managed to come through three rounds of the cup following the incident before meeting Bolton in the final.