| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | West Ham United |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Liverpool(1st title) |
| Runners-up | Leeds United |
The1964–65 FA Cup was the 84th staging of the world's oldestfootballcup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as theFA Cup.Liverpool won the competition for the first time (despite having reached two finals previously), beatingLeeds United 2–1 afterextra time 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 |
|---|---|
| First qualifying round | Saturday 5 September 1964 |
| Second qualifying round | Saturday 19 September 1964 |
| Third qualifying round | Saturday 3 October 1964 |
| Fourth qualifying round | Saturday 17 October 1964 |
| First round proper | Saturday 14 November 1964 |
| Second round | Saturday 5 December 1964 |
| Third round | Saturday 9 January 1965 |
| Fourth round | Saturday 30 January 1965 |
| Fifth round | Saturday 20 February 1965 |
| Sixth round | Saturday 6 March 1965 |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 27 March 1965 |
| Final | Saturday 1 May 1965 |
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 wereSouth Shields,Annfield Plain,Kendal Town,Scarborough,Macclesfield Town,Wigan Athletic,Bangor City,South Liverpool,Hereford United,Kidderminster Harriers,Spalding United,Corby Town,Kettering Town,Wisbech Town,King's Lynn,Cambridge United,Dartford,Gravesend & Northfleet,Canterbury City,Romford,Chelmsford City,Hayes,Guildford City,Barnet,Hendon,Weymouth,Bideford,Salisbury,Bath City andWelton Rovers.
Those appearing in the competition proper for the first time were Canterbury City, Bideford and Welton Rovers. Of the others, Spalding United had last featured at this stage in1957-58, Kidderminster Harriers in1952-53, Hayes and South Liverpool in1946-47, and Annfield Plain in1928-29. Barnet participated in seven rounds of this season's competition, defeatingHarlow Town,Hertford Town,Stevenage Town,Walthamstow Avenue, Cambridge United and Enfield before going out to the previous season's runner-upPreston North End in the third round.
At this stage the 48 clubs from theFootball League Third andFourth Divisions joined the 30non-league clubs who came through the qualifying rounds. The final two non-league clubs in this round,Crook Town andEnfield were given byes as the champions and runners-up from the previous season'sFA Amateur Cup.
Matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 14 November 1964. Eight were drawn and went to replays three or four days later. Two of these replayed matches required a second replay to complete the fixture, with those games played the following week.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 5 December 1964. Five matches were drawn, with replays taking place later the same week. The Stockport County–Grimsby Town game was played midweek on 7 December, however.
The 44First andSecond Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 9 January 1965. Ten matches were drawn and went to replays, though none of these then resulted in a second replay.Barnet was the last non-league club left in the competition.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 30 January 1965. Six matches were drawn and went to replays. The replays were all played two, three or four days later.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 20 February 1965. Two games required replays during the midweek fixture, and the Aston Villa & Wolverhampton Wanderers match went to a third game the following week, with Wolves the victors.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 20 February 1965 |
| Replay | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0–0 | Aston Villa | 24 February 1965 |
| Replay | Aston Villa | 1–3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 March 1965 |
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers | 0–1 | Liverpool | 20 February 1965 |
| 3 | Middlesbrough | 0–3 | Leicester City | 20 February 1965 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 2–1 | Burnley | 20 February 1965 |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 3–1 | Nottingham Forest | 20 February 1965 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 1–0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 February 1965 |
| 7 | Leeds United | 2–0 | Shrewsbury Town | 20 February 1965 |
| 8 | Peterborough United | 0–0 | Swansea Town | 20 February 1965 |
| Replay | Swansea Town | 0–2 | Peterborough United | 23 February 1965 |
The four quarter-final ties were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 6 March 1965. Two of these matches, however, were not played until Wednesday, 10 March. In addition, the Leicester City–Liverpool match went to a replay on this date. Peterborough United reached this stage for the first time in only their fifth season as a Football League club.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester City | 0–0 | Liverpool | 6 March 1965 |
| Replay | Liverpool | 1–0 | Leicester City | 10 March 1965 |
| 2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3–5 | Manchester United | 10 March 1965 |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 0–3 | Leeds United | 10 March 1965 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 5–1 | Peterborough United | 6 March 1965 |
The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 27 March 1965. Leeds United and Liverpool came through the semi-final round to meet at Wembley.
| Manchester United | 0–1 | Leeds United |
|---|---|---|
| Report[dead link] | Bremner |
The 1965 FA Cup final was contested byLiverpool andLeeds United atWembley on Saturday 1 May 1965. The match finished 2–1 to Liverpool, with all three goals coming inextra time.
![]() ![]() ![]() Liverpool | Leeds United |
Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.