| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | Bolton Wanderers |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Nottingham Forest(2nd title) |
| Runners-up | Luton Town |
The1958–59 FA Cup was the 78th staging of the world's oldestfootballcup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as theFA Cup.Nottingham Forest won the competition for their second time, as of 2025, beatingLuton Town 2–1 inthe final atWembley. This was Luton Town's only appearance in an FA Cup final as of 2025.
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.
The competition saw the remarkable progress ofNorwich City, then aDivision Three team, to the semi-finals, defeatingManchester United andTottenham Hotspur along the way, before losing in a replay to Luton Town. The "59 Cup Run" takes a notable place inNorwich's club history.
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Preliminary round | Saturday 6 September 1958 |
| First qualifying round | Saturday 20 September 1958 |
| Second qualifying round | Saturday 4 October 1958 |
| Third qualifying round | Saturday 18 October 1958 |
| Fourth qualifying round | Saturday 1 November 1958 |
| First round proper | Saturday 15 November 1958 |
| Second round | Saturday 6 December 1958 |
| Third round | Saturday 10 January 1959 |
| Fourth round | Saturday 24 January 1959 |
| Fifth round | Saturday 14 February 1959 |
| Sixth round | Saturday 28 February 1959 |
| Semi finals | Saturday 14 March 1959 |
| Final | Saturday 2 May 1959 |
Most participating clubs that were not members of theFootball League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 30 places available in the first round.
The winners from the fourth qualifying round wereBishop Auckland,Consett,South Shields,Blyth Spartans,Crook Town,Rhyl,Morecambe,Buxton,Worcester City,Boston United,Denaby United,Heanor Town,Kettering Town,Hereford United,Peterborough United,Wisbech Town,Chelmsford City,King's Lynn,Hitchin Town,Ashford Town (Kent),Margate,Guildford City,Wycombe Wanderers,Headington United,Tooting & Mitcham United,Newport (IOW),Bath City,Weymouth,Yeovil Town andMerthyr Tydfil.
Consett was the only qualifying club appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Of the others, Ashford Town had not featured at this stage since1934–35, Denaby United since1932-33 and Heanor Town since1898-99. Tooting & Mitcham featured in seven rounds of the tournament, defeatingBromley,Redhill,Sutton United,Horsham,Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic andNorthampton Town before losing to eventual championsNottingham Forest in a third round replay, but the achievements of the non-league clubs were all ultimately overshadowed by the heroics of Norwich City.
At this stage the 48 clubs from the newly institutedThird andFourth divisions joined the 30non-league clubs who came through the qualifying rounds. To complete this round, non-league sidesWoking andIlford were given byes as the champions and runners-up from the previous season'sFA Amateur Cup.
Matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 15 November 1958, although the Bury–York City match was postponed. Ten were drawn and went to replays, with one of those going to a second replay.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 6 December 1958. Six matches were drawn, with replays taking place later the same week. One match went to a second replay.
The 44First andSecond Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 10 January 1959, although six matches were postponed until later dates. Six matches were drawn and went to replays.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 24 January 1959, with three matches taking place on later dates. Six matches were drawn and went to replays, which were all played in the following midweek match.Worcester City was the last non-league club left in the competition.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 14 February 1959. Four matches went to replays in the following midweek fixture, with two of these requiring a second replay to settle the tie.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 3–1 | West Bromwich Albion | 14 February 1959 |
| 2 | Burnley | 1–0 | Portsmouth | 14 February 1959 |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers | 2–2 | Preston North End | 14 February 1959 |
| Replay | Preston North End | 1–1 | Bolton Wanderers | 18 February 1959 |
| Replay | Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | Preston North End | 23 February 1959 |
| 4 | Everton | 1–4 | Aston Villa | 14 February 1959 |
| 5 | Ipswich Town | 2–5 | Luton Town | 14 February 1959 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | Norwich City | 14 February 1959 |
| Replay | Norwich City | 1–0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 February 1959 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 2–2 | Sheffield United | 14 February 1959 |
| Replay | Sheffield United | 3–0 | Arsenal | 18 February 1959 |
| 8 | Birmingham City | 1–1 | Nottingham Forest | 14 February 1959 |
| Replay | Nottingham Forest | 1–1 | Birmingham City | 18 February 1959 |
| Replay | Birmingham City | 0–5 | Nottingham Forest | 23 February 1959 |
The four quarter-final ties were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 28 February 1959. Three of the four games went to replays.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 1–1 | Luton Town | 28 February 1959 |
| Replay | Luton Town | 1–0 | Blackpool | 4 March 1959 |
| 2 | Nottingham Forest | 2–1 | Bolton Wanderers | 28 February 1959 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 0–0 | Burnley | 28 February 1959 |
| Replay | Burnley | 0–2 | Aston Villa | 3 March 1959 |
| 4 | Sheffield United | 1–1 | Norwich City | 28 February 1959 |
| Replay | Norwich City | 3–2 | Sheffield United | 4 March 1959 |
The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 14 March 1959. Nottingham Forest and Luton Town won their matches to meet in the final at Wembley.
| Norwich City | 0–1 | Luton Town |
|---|---|---|
The FA Cup final took place on 2 May 1959, atWembley Stadium and was won byNottingham Forest, beating Luton Town 2–1.
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Nottingham Forest | ![]() ![]() ![]() Luton Town |