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1909 FA Cup final
	Manchester United posing with the FA Cup and other trophies won
Event	1908–09 FA Cup
Date	24 April 1909
Venue	Crystal Palace, London
Man of the Match	Billy Meredith (Manchester United)
Referee	Jim Mason (Staffordshire)
Attendance	71,401
	← 1908 1910 →

The 1909 FA Cup final was the final match of the 1908–09 FA Cup, the 38th season of England's premier club football cup competition. The match was played on 24 April 1909 at Crystal Palace, and was contested by Manchester United and Bristol City, both of the First Division. Manchester United won by a single goal, scored by Sandy Turnbull midway through the first half. This was the first of Manchester United's thirteen FA Cup titles to date.

Match summary

It was the first time that either team had played in an FA Cup Final, but Manchester United went into the match as favourites, having been league champions the previous season. Despite having lost 1–0 to Bristol City at Bank Street just two weeks earlier, Manchester United held a one-point advantage over their opposition with two matches still to play.^[1]^[2]

Both teams usually wore red shirts, so, prior to the final, the FA issued them with orders to change their kit for the match.^[3] Manchester United's players sported white shirts with a red V-stripe and a red rose of Lancashire on the left breast, while Bristol City chose to wear blue shirts.^[4] Manchester United made an event of the presentation of their new kits, hiring contemporary music hall star George Robey to present the uniforms to the players.

Manchester United inside left Sandy Turnbull had been struggling with a knee injury in recent times, but, on the morning of the match, he convinced his manager, Ernest Mangnall, that he could play. Turnbull's claim was endorsed by club captain Charlie Roberts, who told Mangnall "[Turnbull] might get a goal and if he does we can afford to carry him."^[5]

The star of the Bristol City team was Billy Wedlock, an England international centre half, but he failed to take control of the game and was nullified by. Manchester United's half back trio of Dick Duckworth, Charlie Roberts and Alex Bell.^[6] Manchester United outside right Billy Meredith also played an important part in the match, his contribution to his team's attacking opportunities earning him the man of the match award.^[7]

The only goal of the game came midway through the first half, with Charlie Roberts' earlier comments to his manager proving prophetic. As a result of a Manchester United attack, a shot from Harold Halse hit the crossbar and the ball fell to Sandy Turnbull, who fired the ball past goalkeeper Harry Clay and into the back of the net.^[5] Bristol City's closest opportunity came after a fine passing move left inside right Bob Hardy unmarked in front of goal, only to have his shot turned round the post by a diving Harry Moger.^[8]

During the match, Manchester United left back Vince Hayes was injured and had to be removed from the field. As substitutes were not used in those days, it meant that Manchester United were down to 10 men. Mangnall reshuffled his team to retain their numbers in defence, and, after treatment, Hayes returned to the field as a forward.^[6] Despite his injury, Hayes lasted to the end of the game, and the match finished 1–0 to Manchester United. Charlie Roberts went up to receive the trophy, becoming the first Manchester United player to lift the FA Cup.^[3]

After the match, the Manchester United mascot, a goat named Billy, drank too much champagne and died of alcohol poisoning. His head was preserved and hangs on the wall of the Manchester United museum at Old Trafford.^[9]

Match details

24 April 1909

15:30 UTC+0

Bristol City	0–1	Manchester United
	Report	S. Turnbull 22'

Crystal Palace, London

Attendance: 71,401

Referee: Jim Mason (Staffordshire)^[10]

Bristol City

Manchester United ^[11]



GK		Harry Clay
RB		Archie Annan
LB		Joe Cottle
RH		Pat Hanlin
CH		Billy Wedlock
LH		Arthur Spear
OR		Fred Staniforth
IR		Bob Hardy
CF		Sam Gilligan
IL		Andy Burton
OL		Frank Hilton
Manager:
Harry Thickett



GK		Harry Moger
RB		George Stacey
LB		Vince Hayes
RH		Dick Duckworth
CH		Charlie Roberts (c)
LH		Alex Bell
OR		Billy Meredith
IR		Harold Halse
CF		Jimmy Turnbull
IL		Sandy Turnbull
OL		George Wall
Manager:
Ernest Mangnall

Match officials

Assistant referees:
- J. R. Schumacher (London)
- A. Green (Birmingham)

Match rules

90 minutes.
30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
Replay if scores still level.

Road to the final

Home teams listed first.

Bristol City

Round 1: Bristol City 1–1 Southampton

Replay: Southampton 0–2 Bristol City

Round 2: Bristol City 2–2 Bury

Replay: Bury 0–1 Bristol City

Round 3: Bristol City 2–0 Norwich City

Round 4: Glossop North End 0–0 Bristol City

Replay: Bristol City 1–0 Glossop North End

Semi-final: Bristol City 1–1 Derby County

Replay: Derby County 1–2 Bristol City

Manchester United

Round 1: Manchester United 1–0 Brighton & Hove Albion

Round 2: Manchester United 1–0 Everton

Round 3: Manchester United 6–1 Blackburn Rovers

Round 4: Burnley 2–3 Manchester United

Semi-final: Manchester United 1–0 Newcastle United

References

General

Barnes, Justyn; Bostock, Adam; Butler, Cliff; Ferguson, Jim; Meek, David; Mitten, Andy; Pilger, Sam; Taylor, Frank OBE & Tyrell, Tom (2001). The Official Manchester United Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Manchester United Books. ISBN 0-233-99964-7.
Murphy, Alex (2006). The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United. London: Orion Books. ISBN 0-7528-7603-1.
Tyrrell, Tom; Meek, David (1996) [1988]. The Hamlyn Illustrated History of Manchester United 1878–1996 (5th ed.). London: Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-59074-7.
White, John D. T. (2008). The Official Manchester United Almanac. London: Orion Books. ISBN 978-0-7528-9192-7.

Specific

^ "W. H. Smith & Son's Souvenir Card of the English Cup Final 1909". Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
^ In the end, Bristol City finished one point and five places above Manchester United in the First Division; they won one of their final two matches, while United took no points from their final two games.
^ ^a ^b White; p.118
^ "English FA Cup Finalists 1900 – 1909". Historical Football Kits. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
^ ^a ^b Murphy; p.23
^ ^a ^b Barnes, et al.; p.32
^ Tyrrell; p.107
^ "F A Cup Final 1909". fa-cupfinals.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
^ Hodgson, Guy (11 April 1998). "Football: Pele, Giggs and Billy the goat". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
^ There are conflicting reports regarding the referee for the final. Most sources claim that the referee was a Mr. J. Mason, while others say it was Mr. T. P. Campbell
^ FA Cup Final kits, 1900–1909