| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | Manchester City |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Aston Villa(7th title) |
| Runners-up | Manchester United |
The1956–57 FA Cup was the 76th staging of the world's oldestfootballcup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as theFA Cup.Aston Villa won the competition, beatingManchester United 2–1 in thefinal atWembley,London.
Matches were played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. 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 at neutral venues 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 |
|---|---|
| Preliminary round | Saturday 8 September 1956 |
| First qualifying round | Saturday 22 September 1956 |
| Second qualifying round | Saturday 6 October 1956 |
| Third qualifying round | Saturday 20 October 1956 |
| Fourth qualifying round | Saturday 3 November 1956 |
| First round proper | Saturday 17 November 1956 |
| Second round | Saturday 8 December 1956 |
| Third round | Saturday 5 January 1957 |
| Fourth round | Saturday 26 January 1957 |
| Fifth round | Saturday 16 February 1957 |
| Sixth round | Saturday 2 March 1957 |
| Semifinals | Saturday 23 March 1957 |
| Final | Saturday 4 May 1957 |
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 wereBillingham Synthonia,South Shields,Evenwood Town,Blyth Spartans,Scarborough,Morecambe,Wigan Athletic,New Brighton,Rhyl,Bromsgrove Rovers,Hereford United,Boston United,Selby Town,Goole Town,Ilkeston Town,Burton Albion,Peterborough United,Dunstable Town,Ely City,Walthamstow Avenue,Margate,Guildford City,Yiewsley,Tooting & Mitcham United,Hastings United,Newport (IOW),Dorchester Town,Weymouth,Yeovil Town andCheltenham Town.
Those appearing in the competition proper for the first time were Evenwood Town, Dunstable Town, Ely City and Yiewsley. Of the others, South Shields had last featured at this stage in1947-48 and Morecambe had last done so in1936-37.
New Brighton, who had been in the Football League from 1923 until 1951, became the first club sinceChelmsford City in1938-39 to feature in nine rounds of an FA Cup tournament. They progressed from the preliminary round to the fourth round proper, defeatingPrescot Cables,Marine,Earlestown,South Liverpool,Hyde United,Stockport County,Derby County andTorquay United before going out toBurnley atTurf Moor.
At this stage the 48 clubs from theFootball League Third Division North andSouth joined the 30non-league clubs that came through the qualifying rounds. To complete this roundBishop Auckland andBedford Town were given byes to this round, with Bishop Auckland being the champions from the previous season'sFA Amateur Cup and Bedford Town having takenArsenal to a third-round replay in the previous season's FA Cup.
Matches were played on Saturday, 17 November 1956. Eight matches were drawn, with replays taking place later the same week.
The matches were played on Saturday, 8 December 1956. Three matches were drawn, with replays taking place on the following Wednesday. Derby County went out at this stage to non-league opposition for the second consecutive season.
The 44First andSecond Division clubs entered the competition at this stage and the matches were played on Saturday, 5 January 1957. Eleven matches were drawn, with replays taking place later the same week, and two ties required second replays, which were both played on Monday, 14 January 1957.
The matches were played on Saturday, 26 January 1957. No replays were necessary.Rhyl,New Brighton andPeterborough United were the last non-league clubs left in the competition.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 6–2 | Fulham | 26 January 1957 | ||
| 2 | Bristol City | 3–0 | Rhyl | 26 January 1957 | 29,438 | |
| 3 | Burnley | 9–0 | New Brighton | 26 January 1957 | ||
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0–1 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 26 January 1957 | 41,752 | |
| 5 | Middlesbrough | 2–3 | Aston Villa | 26 January 1957 | 42,396 | |
| 6 | West Bromwich Albion | 4–2 | Sunderland | 26 January 1957 | 48,010 | |
| 7 | Everton | 2–1 | West Ham United | 26 January 1957 | 55,245 | |
| 8 | Wrexham | 0–5 | Manchester United | 26 January 1957 | 34,445 | |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4–0 | Chelsea | 26 January 1957 | 66,398 | |
| 10 | Bristol Rovers | 1–4 | Preston North End | 26 January 1957 | ||
| 11 | Portsmouth | 1–3 | Nottingham Forest | 26 January 1957 | ||
| 12 | Millwall | 2–1 | Newcastle United | 26 January 1957 | 45,646 | |
| 13 | Southend United | 1–6 | Birmingham City | 26 January 1957 | 30,000 | [1] |
| 14 | Huddersfield Town | 3–1 | Peterborough United | 26 January 1957 | ||
| 15 | Cardiff City | 0–1 | Barnsley | 26 January 1957 | ||
| 16 | Newport County | 0–2 | Arsenal | 26 January 1957 | 22,450 |
The matches were played on Saturday, 16 February 1957. Two matches were drawn and replayed later the same week.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 0–0 | West Bromwich Albion | 16 February 1957 | 32,707 | |
| Replay | West Bromwich Albion | 2–1 | Blackpool | 20 February 1957 | 58,054 | |
| 2 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 3–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 16 February 1957 | 25,892 | |
| 3 | Preston North End | 3–3 | Arsenal | 16 February 1957 | ||
| Replay | Arsenal | 2–1 | Preston North End | 19 February 1957 | ||
| 4 | Aston Villa | 2-1 | Bristol City | 16 February 1957 | 63,099 | |
| 5 | Barnsley | 1–2 | Nottingham Forest | 16 February 1957 | ||
| 6 | Manchester United | 1–0 | Everton | 16 February 1957 | 61,803 | |
| 7 | Millwall | 1–4 | Birmingham City | 16 February 1957 | 41,000 | [1] |
| 8 | Huddersfield Town | 1–2 | Burnley | 16 February 1957 | 55,168 |
| Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 1 – 2 | Manchester United |
|---|---|---|
| Burnley | 1 – 1 | Aston Villa |
|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 2 – 0 | Burnley |
|---|---|---|
| West Bromwich Albion | 2 – 2 | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham City | 0 – 0 | Nottingham Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Nottingham Forest | 0 – 1 | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
| Murphy |
| Aston Villa | 2 – 2 | West Bromwich Albion |
|---|---|---|
| West Bromwich Albion | 0 – 1 | Aston Villa |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | 2 – 0 | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
The final took place on Saturday, 4 May 1957 atWembley and ended in a victory forAston Villa overManchester United by 2–1. The attendance was 100,000.
| Aston Villa | 2–1 | Manchester United |
|---|---|---|
| McParland | [2] | Taylor |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Aston Villa | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Manchester United |