1943 Football League War Cup final

July 2023 1943 Football League War Cup final Arsenal v Blackpool 1943 programme.jpg 1943 Football League War Cup Official programme Arsenal 2 Blackpool 4 15 May 1943 Stamford Bridge London F. S. Milner (Wolverhampton) 55,195 1942 1944 The 1943 Football League War Cup final was an association football match contested by Arsenal and Blackpool. The match was held at Chelsea's home stadium Stamford Bridge on 15 May 1943, with Blackpool winning 4–2. According to British sportswriter Jon Henderson, it was "widely regarded as the greatest club match" of World War II. Events Background Arsenal became the first and only team to participate in two Football League War Cup finals after playing in the 1941 Football League War Cup final, losing 2–1 in playoffs by Preston North End.Matt Becker Keep Calm, Carry on and Play Soccer: The Football League War Cup 15 January 2015 https://www.pastemagazine.com/soccer/football/football-league-war-cup Paste 21 July 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20220515114354/https://www.pastemagazine.com/soccer/football/football-league-war-cup/ 15 May 2022 live Blackpool were the favourites to win the 1942 Football League War Cup having defeated the eventual winners Wolverhampton Wanderers 6–1.Henderson 2013 They withdrew due to the news that military personnel had to stay on their bases during the Easter holidays as the team did not have time to find suitable replacements.Henderson 2013 On 1 May 1943, Arsenal defeated Charlton Athletic 7–1 in the South final and on 8 May 1943, Blackpool defeated Sheffield Wednesday 2–1 in the North final. Prior to the match, Burnley player Harry Hubbick replaced Sammy Jones as Blackpool's left back and Queen of the South player Willie Savage replaced Alec Roxburgh as their goalkeeper.Matthews 2016 Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Clement Attlee and First Lord of the Admiralty A.V. Alexander were in attendance at the match.Blackpool Downs Arsenal For Title; Wins by 4-2 Before 55,000 to Capture Unofficial Honors in English Soccer 16 May 1943 https://www.nytimes.com/1943/05/16/archives/blackpool-downs-arsenal-for-title-wins-by-42-before-55000-to.html The New York Times 20 July 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230720194906/https://www.nytimes.com/1943/05/16/archives/blackpool-downs-arsenal-for-title-wins-by-42-before-55000-to.html 20 July 2023 subscription live Match and post-match At five minutes played, Reg Lewis scored a 20 yard shot for Arsenal which, according to one report, "did everything but talk." Two minutes later, Arsenal player Denis Compton scored with an individual run.Vince Cooper The War Cups 10 May 2023 https://readtheleague.com/the-big-feature/the-war-cups Read The League 29 July 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230729173344/https://readtheleague.com/the-big-feature/the-war-cups 29 July 2023 live John Ross wrote in the Daily Mirror that "after seven minutes", he thought he "would need a cash register to tot up Arsenal's goals". However, Ronnie Dix scored for Blackpool with a rising shot from 20 yards which Ross said "might have brought a plane down if the net hadn't been in the way". At the 75th minute, Blackpool equalised when Eddie Burbanks scored a low shot against George Marks. With Arsenal focusing their attention on right-winger Stanley Matthews, Burbanks on the other side set up goals in the closing minutes for Jock Dodds and Bobby Finan to see Blackpool defeat Arsenal 4-2. In his biography of Stanley Matthews, journalist Jon Henderson wrote that the 1943 Football League War Cup Final "was widely regarded as the greatest club match of the war".Henderson 2013 129 The Daily Mirror put the combined market price of the Blackpool team at £70,000 which is over £2.5 million in today's money.Henderson 2013Inflation calculator https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator Bank of England June 2023 6 August 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230731162659/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator 31 July 2023 live Football chairman Will Cuff said in April 1944 that Blackpool had been the team of the season and the "epitome of good football" having a side who maintained a "fine football standard".Henderson 2013 Blackpool contested the 1944 North final against Aston Villa in which they won 2–1 in the first leg but were defeated in the second leg 4–2.Henderson 2013 Aston Villa having the higher aggregate score progressed to the final.Henderson 2013 Match details 15 May 1943 14:45 BST Arsenal 2–4 Blackpool Lewis 5Compton 7 Dix Burbanks 75Dodds Finan Stamford Bridge, London 55,195 F. S. Milner (Wolverhampton) _collarwhite _hoops_white ffffff ff0000 ffffff ffffff 000066 Arsenal _whiteborder _whitecollarplain _whiteborder _orangetop ffa500 ffa500 ffa500 ffffff 000000 Blackpool GK 1 ENG George MarksRB 2 ENG Laurie ScottLB 3 ENG Leslie ComptonRH 4 ENG Jack CraystonCH 5 ENG Bernard JoyLH 6 ENG George Male (c)OR 7 ENG Alf KirchenIR 8 ENG Ted DrakeCF 9 ENG Reg LewisIL 10ENG Cliff BastinOL 11 ENG Denis ComptonManager:ENG George Allison GK 1 SCO Willie SavageRB 2 SCO Fred PopeLB 3 ENG Harry HubbickRH 4 ENG George FarrowCH 5 ENG Eric HaywardLH 6 ENG Harry JohnstonOR 7ENG Stanley MatthewsIR 8 ENG Ronnie DixCF 9 SCO Jock Dodds (c)IL 10 SCO Bobby FinanOL 11 ENG Eddie BurbanksManager:ENG Joe Smith Assistant referees: J. Weller T. G. Terrey References Sources Henderson Jon The Wizard: The Life of Stanley Matthews 2 May 2013 9781448114351 https://books.google.com/books?id=aeSxE-PY_u8C Random House 14 July 2023 Matthews Stanley Stanley Matthews The Way It Was: My Autobiography 12 December 2016 9781910859520 https://books.google.com/books?id=NZ2wDQAAQBAJ Canelo 20 July 2023 Category:1942–43 in English football Football League War Cup final War Cup final 1943 War Cup final 1943 Category:Football League War Cup finals Football League War Cup final