The 1962–63 FA Cup was the 82nd staging of the world's oldest footballcup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Manchester United won the competition for only the third time, beating Leicester City 3–1 in the final at Wembley. 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 and Fourth Divisions joined those non-league clubs having come through the qualifying rounds. Matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 3 November 1962. Nine were drawn and went to replays.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 24 November 1962. Two matches were drawn, with replays taking place later the same week.
Tie no
Home team
Score
Away team
Date
1
Bristol City
2–1
Wimbledon
24 November 1962
2
Yeovil Town
0–2
Swindon Town
24 November 1962
3
Gillingham
3–0
Bedford Town
24 November 1962
4
Lincoln City
1–0
Halifax Town
24 November 1962
5
Shrewsbury Town
2–1
Torquay United
24 November 1962
6
Doncaster Rovers
1–4
Tranmere Rovers
24 November 1962
7
Wrexham
5–2
Barrow
24 November 1962
8
Queens Park Rangers
7–2
Hinckley Athletic
24 November 1962
9
Barnsley
2–1
Chesterfield
24 November 1962
10
King's Lynn
1–2
Oxford United
24 November 1962
11
Bradford City
3–2
Gateshead
24 November 1962
12
Millwall
0–0
Coventry City
24 November 1962
Replay
Coventry City
2–1
Millwall
27 November 1962
13
Hull City
2–0
Workington
24 November 1962
14
Crystal Palace
2–2
Mansfield Town
24 November 1962
Replay
Mansfield Town
7–2
Crystal Palace
26 November 1962
15
Southend United
0–2
Watford
24 November 1962
16
Blyth Spartans
0–2
Carlisle United
24 November 1962
17
Port Vale
2–0
Aldershot
24 November 1962
18
York City
2–1
Crewe Alexandra
24 November 1962
19
Peterborough United
1–0
Enfield
24 November 1962
20
Gravesend & Northfleet
3–1
Wycombe Wanderers
24 November 1962
Third Round
The 44 First and Second Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 5 January 1963, but due to the Big Freeze of 1963, only three games were completed at this date. The bulk of matches were not completable until February and March, with the final non-replay tie being played on the 7 March. There were nine replays in total, of which the earliest possible playing date was 30 January, and the latest the 11 March.
The matches were originally scheduled for Saturday, 26 January 1963, but due to the earlier, ongoing problems with the winter of 1963, most of the third-round games had still not been played and only one tie, the Burnley – Liverpool match, was able to be played on that day. This and three other games went to a replay, with the Portsmouth – Coventry City match requiring a second replay, which was the last match of the round.
Tie no
Home team
Score
Away team
Date
1
Burnley
1–1
Liverpool
26 January 1963
Replay
Liverpool
2–1
Burnley
20 February 1963
2
Southampton
3–1
Watford
27 February 1963
3
Leicester City
3–1
Ipswich Town
30 January 1963
4
Middlesbrough
0–2
Leeds United
16 March 1963
5
West Bromwich Albion
0–0
Nottingham Forest
6 March 1963
Replay
Nottingham Forest
2–1
West Bromwich Albion
11 March 1963
6
Swindon Town
1–5
Everton
29 January 1963
7
Manchester City
1–0
Bury
13 March 1963
8
Portsmouth
1–1
Coventry City
13 March 1963
Replay
Coventry City
2–2
Portsmouth
16 March 1963
Replay
Portsmouth
1–2
Coventry City
19 March 1963
9
West Ham United
1–0
Swansea Town
4 March 1963
10
Manchester United
1–0
Aston Villa
11 March 1963
11
Norwich City
5–0
Newcastle United
13 March 1963
12
Port Vale
1–2
Sheffield United
13 March 1963
13
Charlton Athletic
0–3
Chelsea
6 March 1963
14
Arsenal
2–0
Sheffield Wednesday
12 March 1963
15
Leyton Orient
3–0
Derby County
4 March 1963
16
Gravesend & Northfleet
1–1
Sunderland
12 February 1963
Replay
Sunderland
5–2
Gravesend & Northfleet
18 February 1963
Fifth Round
The matches were originally scheduled for Saturday, 16 February 1963, but the delays of the matches in the third and fourth rounds prevented the fifth round ties from being played until much later. On 28 January, the FA announced that the draw for the fifth round would be put back a week, and that the league season would be extended until 19 May. Faced with the problem of wishing all the ties to take place on the same date, the FA decided on 4 February 1963 that the fifth and sixth rounds would each be postponed by a week to 23 February and 16 March respectively The following week, on 12 February, the FA again decided, due to the lack of completion of many games, that the fifth and sixth rounds should be postponed The agreed dates, Saturday 16 March and Saturday 30 March respectively, were the final postponements of these two rounds. There were no replays, but the Nottingham Forest and Leeds United match did not take place until the following Tuesday, while the Coventry City – Sunderland game was played on the 25th.
The four quarter-final ties were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 9 March 1963, but as explained above, were postponed until the 30 March. The Nottingham Forest–Southampton match went to two replays before the tie was settled, in Southampton's favour.
The semi-final matches were originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, 30 March 1963. However, due to the problems of completing the earlier rounds due to the particularly inclement weather, on 18 February 1963 the FA Challenge Cup committee announced that the semi finals would be put back by four weeks to 27 April, and that the final would not be played until three weeks after its original date, on 25 May. Leicester City and Manchester United came through the semi final round to meet at Wembley.
Final
The 1963 FA Cup Final was a football match played on 25 May 1963 at Wembley. The final was contested by Manchester United and Leicester City. United won 3–1, with goals by Denis Law and David Herd. Ken Keyworth scored the Foxes' goal.