| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | Manchester United |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Wolverhampton Wanderers(3rd title) |
| Runners-up | Leicester City |
The1948–49 FA Cup was the 68th staging of the world's oldestfootballcup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as theFA Cup.Wolverhampton Wanderers won the competition for the third time, beatingLeicester City 3–1 inthe final atWembley.
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 ofextra time would be played.
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | Saturday 4 September 1948 |
| Preliminary round | Saturday 18 September 1948 |
| First qualifying round | Saturday 2 October 1948 |
| Second qualifying round | Saturday 16 October 1948 |
| Third qualifying round | Saturday 30 October 1948 |
| Fourth qualifying round | Saturday 13 November 1948 |
| First round proper | Saturday 27 November 1948 |
| Second round | Saturday 11 December 1948 |
| Third round | Saturday 8 January 1949 |
| Fourth round | Saturday 29 January 1949 |
| Fifth round | Saturday 13 February 1949 |
| Sixth round | Saturday 26 February 1949 |
| Semifinals | Saturday 26 March 1949 |
| Final | Saturday 30 April 1949 |
Most participating clubs that were not members of theFootball League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 25 places available in the first round.
The 25 winners from the fourth qualifying round wereBillingham Synthonia,Scarborough,Horden Colliery Welfare,Workington,Netherfield,Rhyl,Witton Albion,Runcorn,Hereford United,Wellington Town,Scunthorpe & Lindsey United,Gainsborough Trinity,Peterborough United,Kidderminster Harriers,Cambridge Town,Walthamstow Avenue,Romford,Barnet,Tooting & Mitcham United,Dartford,Chelmsford City,Dulwich Hamlet,Weymouth,Gloucester City andYeovil Town.
Those appearing in the competition proper for the first time were Billingham Synthonia, Witton Albion, Tooting & Mitcham United and Gloucester City, while Hereford United had not reached this stage since1932–33 and Weymouth had not done so since1926-27.
Weymouth was the most successful club from this season's extra preliminary round, progressing to the second round proper after defeatingBournemouth,Andover,Newport (IOW), Longfleet St Mary's,Poole Town,Trowbridge Town and Chelmsford City. Horden Colliery Welfare, Romford and Gloucester City also progressed from the extra preliminary round to the first round proper.
At this stage 41 clubs from theFootball League Third Division North andSouth joined the 25non-league clubs that came through the qualifying rounds.Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic,Rotherham United andSwindon Town were givenbyes to the third round. To make the number of matches up, non-league sidesLeytonstone andColchester United were given byes to this round, with Leytonstone being the champions from the previous season'sFA Amateur Cup and Colchester being the best-performed non-league club fromthe previous season's FA Cup.
34 matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 27 November 1948, with eight of these postponed until the following Saturday. Two were drawn and went to replays.
The matches were played on Saturday, 11 December 1948. Four matches were drawn, with replays taking place the following Saturday.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darlington | 1–0 | Leyton Orient | 11 December 1948 |
| 2 | Bristol City | 3–1 | Swansea Town | 11 December 1948 |
| 3 | Weymouth | 0–4 | Yeovil Town | 11 December 1948 |
| 4 | Walsall | 4–3 | Gainsborough Trinity | 11 December 1948 |
| 5 | Notts County | 3–2 | Barrow | 11 December 1948 |
| 6 | Crewe Alexandra | 3–2 | Millwall | 11 December 1948 |
| 7 | Leytonstone | 3–4 | Newport County | 11 December 1948 |
| 8 | Bradford City | 0–0 | New Brighton | 11 December 1948 |
| Replay | New Brighton | 1–0 | Bradford City | 18 December 1948 |
| 9 | Hull City | 0–0 | Reading | 11 December 1948 |
| Replay | Reading | 1–2 | Hull City | 18 December 1948 |
| 10 | Exeter City | 2–1 | Hereford United | 11 December 1948 |
| 11 | Scunthorpe United | 0–1 | Stockport County | 11 December 1948 |
| 12 | Mansfield Town | 2–1 | Northampton Town | 11 December 1948 |
| 13 | Southport | 2–2 | York City | 11 December 1948 |
| Replay | York City | 0–2 | Southport | 18 December 1948 |
| 14 | Torquay United | 3–1 | Norwich City | 11 December 1948 |
| 15 | Walthamstow Avenue | 2–2 | Oldham Athletic | 11 December 1948 |
| Replay | Oldham Athletic | 3–1 | Walthamstow Avenue | 18 December 1948 |
| 16 | Aldershot | 1–0 | Chester | 11 December 1948 |
| 17 | Gateshead | 3–0 | Scarborough | 11 December 1948 |
The 44First andSecond Division clubs entered the competition at this stage along withBournemouth & Boscombe Athletic,Rotherham United andSwindon Town.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 8 January 1949. Four matches were drawn and went to replays on the following Saturday, with two of these going to a second replay.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 29 January 1949. Three games were drawn and went to replays, which were all played on the following Saturday. Manchester United and Bradford Park Avenue went to a second replay on the following Monday, with Manchester United easily winning the tie to go through.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 1–0 | Notts County | 29 January 1949 |
| 2 | Yeovil Town | 2–1 | Sunderland | 29 January 1949 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 2–0 | Preston North End | 29 January 1949 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 1–2 | Cardiff City | 29 January 1949 |
| 5 | Grimsby Town | 2–3 | Hull City | 29 January 1949 |
| 6 | Derby County | 1–0 | Arsenal | 29 January 1949 |
| 7 | Luton Town | 4–0 | Walsall | 29 January 1949 |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 0–3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 29 January 1949 |
| 9 | Brentford | 1–0 | Torquay United | 29 January 1949 |
| 10 | Portsmouth | 2–1 | Sheffield Wednesday | 29 January 1949 |
| 11 | Manchester United | 1–1 | Bradford Park Avenue | 29 January 1949 |
| Replay | Bradford Park Avenue | 1–1 | Manchester United | 5 February 1949 |
| Replay | Manchester United | 5–0 | Bradford Park Avenue | 7 February 1949 |
| 12 | Chelsea | 2–0 | Everton | 29 January 1949 |
| 13 | Newport County | 3–3 | Huddersfield Town | 29 January 1949 |
| Replay | Huddersfield Town | 1–3 | Newport County | 5 February 1949 |
| 14 | Stoke City | 1–1 | Blackpool | 29 January 1949 |
| Replay | Blackpool | 0–1 | Stoke City | 5 February 1949 |
| 15 | Rotherham United | 0–1 | Burnley | 29 January 1949 |
| 16 | Gateshead | 1–3 | West Bromwich Albion | 29 January 1949 |
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 12 February 1949. There was one replay, taking place the following Saturday.Yeovil Town was the last non-league club left in the competition, emulating the achievement ofColchester United from the previous season in reaching this stage.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3–1 | Liverpool | 12 February 1949 |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion | 3–0 | Chelsea | 12 February 1949 |
| 3 | Derby County | 2–1 | Cardiff City | 12 February 1949 |
| 4 | Luton Town | 5–5 | Leicester City | 12 February 1949 |
| Replay | Leicester City | 5–3 | Luton Town | 19 February 1949 |
| 5 | Brentford | 4–2 | Burnley | 12 February 1949 |
| 6 | Portsmouth | 3–2 | Newport County | 12 February 1949 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 8–0 | Yeovil Town | 12 February 1949 |
| 8 | Stoke City | 0–2 | Hull City | 12 February 1949 |
The draw for the sixth round was made on Monday, 14 February 1949. All matches were played on Saturday, 26 February 1949.
| Brentford | 0–2 | Leicester City |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Griffiths |
| Portsmouth | 2–1 | Derby County |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke | Stamps |
| Hull City | 0–1 | Manchester United |
|---|---|---|
| Pearson |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–0 | West Bromwich Albion |
|---|---|---|
| Mullen |
The draw for the semi-finals was made on Monday, 28 February 1949. Both original matches were played on Saturday, 26 March 1949.
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Manchester United |
|---|---|---|
| Smyth | Mitten |
| Manchester United | 0–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Smyth |
| Portsmouth | 1–3 | Leicester City |
|---|---|---|
| Scott | Revie Chisholm |
| Leicester City | 1–3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Griffiths | Report | Pye Smyth |