1962 FA Cup Final

The 1962 FA Cup Final took place on 5 May 1962 at Wembley Stadium and was won by Tottenham Hotspur over Burnley, by a 3–1 scoreline. Due to the lack of passion and excitement, replaced by patience and cautious play, the final was dubbed "The Chessboard Final". Tottenham took to the field as holders, having won the League and FA Cup Double in 1961. They had finished the 1962 league campaign in third position. Burnley finished runners-up in the league that season, behind Ipswich Town.

Match review

Tottenham Hotspur took an early lead when Jimmy Greaves scored past the Burnley goalkeeper Adam Blacklaw. The score remained 1–0 until half time. Burnley equalised shortly after the interval through Jimmy Robson, who in doing so had scored the 100th FA Cup Final goal at Wembley. However, Bobby Smith quickly countered for Tottenham Hotspur to restore their one-goal lead. Smith had scored in the 1961 final, and remained the only player to score in successive finals for the next forty years, until Freddie Ljungberg of Arsenal repeated the feat with goals in the 2001 and 2002 finals.

With 10 minutes remaining, Burnley defender Tommy Cummings handled the ball on the goal-line and a penalty was awarded to Tottenham. Danny Blanchflower sealed victory for Tottenham with a penalty that sent Adam Blacklaw the wrong way, securing Tottenham Hotspur's fourth FA Cup win.

Despite the opinion of the final by the press the game itself actually produced more action in the penalty area then any previous post war final with the two keepers being forced into more saves from shots on target than any two keepers in any previous post war final.

The game also pivoted on two moments of controversey. The first, midway through the second half when Jimmy Robson was put through to score what looked like a second equaliser for Burnley. The linesman's flag ruled the goal out and while BBC television pictures are not conclusive the call was an extremely close one. The second centred around Tottenham's decisive penalty when the opposite linesman flagged for a foul, presumably on goalkeeper Adam Blacklaw seconds before the handball incident for which the penalty was awarded. The referee did not seem to see the linesman's flag and pointed to the spot while, to their credit, none of the Burnley players protested.

Media Coverage

The game was the nineteenth cup final to be broadcast in its entirity by the BBC, for the fourth time as a Grandstand special. The commentator was Kenneth Wolstenholme whose post match comments again went against the greater media when he stated that it was his belief that the final would rank among the great post war finals having been keenly contested by two great teams,a statement supported by the match statistics.

As in all broadcasts of previous finals the game was televised in black and white with score updates being provided by cmera shots of Wembley's large scoreboard however in a new inovation the BBC introduced zoomed in shots of the match which gave television spectators the feeling that they were just yards away from the action, all previous finals had been filmed almost entirely from one or two cameras giving long range images of the game. Radio cameras, situated behind each goal were brought more into use in this final having previously been in position but virtually ignored by the director in the previous six finals.

Both major cinema newsreels, Pathe and Movietone covered the game for broadast in their newsreels that evening throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Both companies filmed the game in colour with both commentaries echoing the belief that it had been a classic final. Both companies also gained access to the post match celebrations in the Tottenham dressing room.

Guest of honour

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were the official guests of honour. The former presented the trophy while the latter had been introduced to the two teams prior to the game. This final also marked the end of the tradition of the winning captain leading the stadium in three cheers for Her Majesty and the playing of the national anthem after the presentation.

Match details

footballbox
date=1962-05-05
team1=Tottenham Hotspur
score=3 – 1
team2=Burnley
report= [http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1962.htm (Report)]
goals1=Greaves goal|3
Smith goal|51
Blanchflower goal|80|pen.
goals2=Robson goal|50
stadium=Wembley, London
attendance=100,000
referee=J. Finney

Road to Wembley

External links

* [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=258923 Game facts] at soccerbase.com
* [http://www.mehstg.com/1962.htm “The Chess Board” final]