1936 FA Cup final

Arsenal Being from the First and Second Divisions respectively, both Arsenal and Sheffield United were seeded into the third round of the FA Cup. In the third round itself, Arsenal were drawn away against Third Division South team Bristol Rovers. Arsenal missed a penalty, and the Third Division team went a goal up in the first half; Arsenal were playing so poorly that it seemed they would struggle even for a draw. The turnaround in the match occurred when Cliff Bastin took over from Bobby Davidson at the inside left position. Arsenal equalised in the 65th minute, and scored further four times over the course of the following fourteen minutes to win the game by five goals to one, with a single goal from Bowden and two each from Drake and Bastin. They followed this in the fourth round with a 2–0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield. The match was played seven days after the death of King George V, with both teams wearing black armbands. The crowd of 60,000 stood to sing Abide with Me and God Save the King before the kickoff. In the fifth round they were drawn against Newcastle United, in a rematch of the 1932 final. Newcastle had already knocked out the current cup holders, Sheffield Wednesday, in an earlier round. On the day, the gates to St James' Park needed to be closed before the match started to keep additional spectators out, some 64,484 fans already being inside the ground. The match resulted in a 3–3 draw, Arsenal having gone a goal ahead each time, but Newcastle coming back and equalising. The reason being according to the report in The Times was because "Whenever the lead was gained, the side concentrated entirely on defence." In their quarter final, they defeated Second Division Barnsley 4–1, having outplayed them right from the start, the first goal coming in the fourth minute from Beasley in an attacking move. Bowden scored the second goal, and the third came from a penalty scored by Bastin. The fourth and final Arsenal goal was Beasley's second, with Barnsley's consolation goal coming a couple of minutes from the end of the match. In the semi-final, played at Huddersfield Town's ground, Arsenal beat Grimsby Town 1–0 in a match that was described by reporters as completely one-sided, with the goal coming from Bastin five minutes before half-time. Sheffield United Meanwhile, Sheffield United's third round match at Burnley ended in a 0–0 draw, before winning 2–1 in the replay at home on a snow-covered pitch in a game that was marred by heavy fog at the start. Harold Barton scored for United, before Ted Hancock equalized for Burnley. Bobby Barclay scored United's second goal before the break. An additional goal by Jock Dodds for United was disallowed in the second half due to the player being ruled offside. The fourth round saw them drawn away again, this time at Preston North End again drawing 0–0 in the initial match, the return match at home on 30 January this time resulting in a 2–0 victory after playing the entire second half with only ten men in front of a crowd of 34,259 supporters. In comparison, a record crowd of 68,287 at Bramall Lane saw Sheffield United defeat Leeds United 3–1, the first time in the tournament they won without going to a replay. They repeated that scoreline against Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-final on a marshy pitch in driving snow. United were up by half time thanks to a goal by Barclay. In the second half, Spurs came back strongly, but two goals from Dodds won the game for United, with Tottenham scoring a consolation goal late on. Sheffield United were drawn against Fulham in the semi-final, which guaranteed that a Second Division team would make it through to the final. The match was held at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux Stadium on 21 March, where United won 2–1. ==Pre-match==

Arsenal had most recently appeared in the final in 1932, being defeated by Newcastle United, while their most recent FA Cup victory came two seasons earlier in 1930 against Huddersfield Town. Meanwhile, Sheffield United had won the title in their previous appearance, beating Cardiff City in the 1925 final. Arsenal had been the more successful team in recent years, having won three First Division titles in succession in the past few seasons; while Sheffield United were keen to win the trophy after the success of rival team Sheffield Wednesday in the 1935 Final. Both teams had provided players to the England national football team earlier in the month for a match against Scotland, with Arsenal providing George Male, Jack Crayston and Cliff Bastin, while Sheffield United gave Bobby Barclay. Alex James, despite being Arsenal's captain and having previously played for the Scottish international team, was not chosen for that match, which resulted in a 1–1 draw, enabling Scotland to win the 1936 British Home Championship. Wembley bosses were in dispute with newsreel companies over the broadcast rights for the 1936 final. A solution could not be reached, and the media were banned from inside of the stadium. To get around the ban and be able to report on the match, a number of autogyros were hired to fly the reporters over the stadium giving them a birds–eye view of the match, with the only filming inside Wembley conducted by the official stadium cameraman. It was the first year that commentators were used in the broadcast of an FA Cup final, with the BBC describing it as an "experiment". Arsenal played in red and white shirts in an FA Cup final for the first time, as on previous occasions in 1930 and 1932 they had worn fully red shirts. Additionally, before the 1967–68 season, Arsenal only wore team badges on their shirts on special occasions, such as FA Cup finals. The 1936 Cup final was the fourth occasion such a badge was worn. Sheffield United also wore crested red and white shirts, with a vertical stripe design. ==Match==

More than 93,000 spectators attended the match, with fans from Sheffield travelling from the north on specially laid-on trains. Changes to the teams were made before the match, with Ted Drake available for Arsenal following an injury. Sheffield United replaced Don Bird with Bertie Williams on the outside left, While the weather was fine, the wind whipped up to such an extent at pitch level that the ball was taken out of its proper flight on occasion. During the first fifteen minutes, United were the superior team with the work of their forwards only failing against the work of Arsenal's full backs and goalkeeper with Wilson continuing to looking not entirely safe. Arsenal's defenders eventually settled with Crayston and Copping stepping up for their team. Arsenal won the game with a single goal, the match having been mostly full of positive play and relatively free of fouls, Match details Match rules • 90 minutes. • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. • Replay if scores still level. ==Post-match==

Arsenal returned to Brighton following the game to rest, where they had conducted their pre-match training. The victorious players' wives were each presented with a silver wristwatch. Neither club reported any injuries sustained during the match. Their final match of the season was against Brentford in the London Challenge Cup on 4 May, when they won 4–2. Arsenal finished the season in sixth position in the First Division, having drawn 2–2 with Leeds United in their final match. Sheffield United finished the Second Division in third position, Sheffield United are yet to return to an FA Cup Final. The shirt worn by Alex James during the 1936 final is displayed in the Arsenal Museum. Jock Dodds, who died on 23 February 2007 aged 91, was the last surviving player from the final. ==References==