| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Manchester United(2nd title) |
| Runners-up | Blackpool |
The1947–48 FA Cup was the 67th staging of the world's oldestfootballcup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as theFA Cup.Manchester United won the competition for only the second time, beatingBlackpool 4–2 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 6 September 1947 |
| Preliminary round | Saturday 20 September 1947 |
| First qualifying round | Saturday 4 October 1947 |
| Second qualifying round | Saturday 18 October 1947 |
| Third qualifying round | Saturday 1 November 1947 |
| Fourth qualifying round | Saturday 15 November 1947 |
| First round proper | Saturday 29 November 1947 |
| Second round | Saturday 13 December 1947 |
| Third round | Saturday 10 January 1948 |
| Fourth round | Saturday 24 January 1948 |
| Fifth round | Saturday 7 February 1948 |
| Sixth round | Saturday 28 February 1948 |
| Semifinals | Saturday 13 March 1948 |
| Final | Saturday 24 April 1948 |
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 wereBishop Auckland,Stockton,South Shields,Workington,Lancaster City,Marine,Runcorn,Stalybridge Celtic,Bromsgrove Rovers,Shrewsbury Town,Scunthorpe & Lindsey United,Grantham,Vauxhall Motors (Luton),Colchester United,Great Yarmouth Town,Banbury Spencer,Gillingham,Bromley,Horsham,Dartford,Guildford City,Trowbridge Town,Cheltenham Town,Merthyr Tydfil andStreet.
Those appearing in the competition proper for the first time were Bromsgrove Rovers, Vauxhall Motors (Luton), Great Yarmouth Town, Banbury Spencer, Horsham and the re-formed South Shields. Bromsgrove's surprise qualification marked the first time the club had progressed past the preliminary round since1921–22.
Banbury Spencer was the only club to progress from the extra preliminary round to the competition proper, defeatingOxford City, Osberton Radiator, the team from the Cowley-based Metal & Produce Recovery Depot,Maidenhead United,Southall andGrays Athletic before losing to Colchester United in that club's historic run to the fifth round.
At this stage 41 clubs from theFootball League Third Division North andSouth joined the 25non-league clubs that came through the qualifying rounds.Rotherham United,Queens Park Rangers andSwansea Town were givenbyes to the third round. To make the number of matches up, non-leagueLeytonstone andWimbledon, the previous season's F. A. Amateur Cup winners and runners-up, were given byes to this round.
34 matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 29 November 1947. Six were drawn and went to replays.
The matches were played on Saturday, 13 December 1947. Seven matches were drawn, with replays taking place the following Saturday. One of these then went to a second replay.
The 44First andSecond Division clubs entered the competition at this stage, along withRotherham United,Queens Park Rangers andSwansea Town.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 10 January 1948. Two matches were drawn and went to replays on the following Saturday.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 24 January 1948. One game was drawn and went to a replay, which was played on the following Saturday.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 4–0 | Chester | 24 January 1948 |
| 2 | Southampton | 3–2 | Blackburn Rovers | 24 January 1948 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 2–1 | Sheffield Wednesday | 24 January 1948 |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–1 | Everton | 24 January 1948 |
| Replay | Everton | 3–2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 31 January 1948 |
| 5 | Crewe Alexandra | 0–3 | Derby County | 24 January 1948 |
| 6 | Luton Town | 3–2 | Coventry City | 24 January 1948 |
| 7 | Swindon Town | 1–0 | Notts County | 24 January 1948 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–1 | West Bromwich Albion | 24 January 1948 |
| 9 | Manchester City | 2–0 | Chelsea | 24 January 1948 |
| 10 | Queens Park Rangers | 3–0 | Stoke City | 24 January 1948 |
| 11 | Fulham | 5–2 | Bristol Rovers | 24 January 1948 |
| 12 | Brentford | 1–2 | Middlesbrough | 24 January 1948 |
| 13 | Portsmouth | 1–3 | Preston North End | 24 January 1948 |
| 14 | Manchester United | 3–0 | Liverpool | 24 January 1948 |
| 15 | Charlton Athletic | 3–0 | Stockport County | 24 January 1948 |
| 16 | Colchester United | 3–2 | Bradford Park Avenue | 24 January 1948 |
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 7 February 1948. There was one replay, taking place the following Saturday.Colchester United, the first non-league club to reach this stage (or its pre-1925 equivalent) sinceCardiff City in1919-20, was the last club from the qualifying rounds left in the competition.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 5–0 | Colchester United | 7 February 1948 |
| 2 | Southampton | 3–0 | Swindon Town | 7 February 1948 |
| 3 | Middlesbrough | 1–2 | Derby County | 7 February 1948 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5–2 | Leicester City | 7 February 1948 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 0–1 | Preston North End | 7 February 1948 |
| 6 | Queens Park Rangers | 3–1 | Luton Town | 7 February 1948 |
| 7 | Fulham | 1–1 | Everton | 7 February 1948 |
| Replay | Everton | 0–1 | Fulham | 14 February 1948 |
| 8 | Manchester United | 2–0 | Charlton Athletic | 7 February 1948 |
The four quarter-final ties were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 28 February 1948. There was one replay, in the QPR–Derby County match.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton | 0–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 28 February 1948 |
| 2 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–1 | Derby County | 28 February 1948 |
| Replay | Derby County | 5–0 | Queens Park Rangers | 6 March 1948 |
| 3 | Fulham | 0–2 | Blackpool | 28 February 1948 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 4–1 | Preston North End | 28 February 1948 |
The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 13 March 1948. Manchester United and Blackpool won their ties to meet in the final at Wembley. The gate receipts for the tie at Villa Park were £18,817 a record at the time for that ground.
| Blackpool | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|---|
Stan Mortensen 86',93',?' | Duquemin 64' |
The 1948 FA Cup final was contested byManchester United andBlackpool atWembley Stadium on 24 April 1948. Both teams played in a changed strip, Blackpool in white shirts and blue shorts and Manchester United in unfamiliar blue shirts and white shorts.Stanley Matthews was playing his first season for Blackpool and they led the favourites 2-1 only to lose to United, who hadn't appeared in anFA Cup final for 39 years, won 4–2, with two goals fromJack Rowley and one apiece fromStan Pearson andJohn Anderson.Eddie Shimwell andStan Mortensen scored Blackpool's goals. With his goal, Shimwell became the first full-back to score at Wembley whilstStan Mortensen maintained his record of scoring in every round. The cup had gone to United in a game that many critics still rate as the best footballing final ever seen at Wembley Stadium. One reporter David Pole, commented; "If United's display was as close to perfection as any team could hope to go, Blackpool's was not far behind."
| Manchester United | 4–2 | Blackpool |
|---|---|---|
| Rowley 28' 70' Pearson 80'Anderson 82' | (Report) | Shimwell 12' (pen.) Mortensen 35' |
       Manchester United |  Blackpool |