1900 FA Cup final
The 1900 FA Cup final was an association football match between Bury and Southampton on Saturday, 21 April 1900 at the Crystal Palace stadium in south London.
Bury, leading 3–0 at half-time, dominated the match to win 4–0 with goals by Jasper McLuckie (2), Willie Wood and Jack Plant.
When the game ended, the FA Cup trophy was presented to Bury's captain Jack Pray by Lord James of Hereford.
[6] Bury entered the competition in the first round proper and played seven matches, including three replays, en route to the final.
On Saturday, 24 February, Bury held United to a 2–2 draw[12] in front of 22,766 people, their goals scored by Jasper McLuckie and Wood.
[9][7] The semi-finals were staged at neutral venues on Saturday, 24 March, and Bury were drawn to play Nottingham Forest, the only other First Division team left in the competition, at the Victoria Ground in Stoke-on-Trent.
[7] The Times report criticised both teams for a poor match in which "hard kicking and rushing marked the play throughout" and said that the 20,000 spectators gained no satisfaction from a game in which there was "no short passing".
[9] The Times reported that conditions were poor because of "bad light and slippery turf" but the match was nevertheless "a singularly interesting contest".
[9] With less than ten minutes of extra time remaining, Sagar scored his second goal to secure a 3–2 win and take Bury to their first FA Cup final.
[18] Southampton entered the competition in the first round proper and played six matches, including two replays, en route to the final.
Southampton played on with ten men until the 50th minute when referee Arthur Kingscott abandoned the match because of a heavy snowstorm.
[24] Southampton's opponents were Millwall Athletic, who had just defeated Football League champions Aston Villa in the second replay of their third round tie which Dave Juson and David Bull have described as "three epic confrontations".
[25] To prepare for the semi-final, the Southampton players were sent to Buxton, a spa town, for a week's special training which began with a morning walk followed by a bath.
[25] The club secretary, Ernest Arnfield, explained the training routine to Chums magazine:[25] ... in the afternoon, sprinting and ball-kicking are the order.
As regards smoking, we only prohibit it on the morning preceding a big match.The semi-final was played on Saturday, 24 March at the Crystal Palace stadium, which was also the venue for the final, and a crowd of 34,760 watched a goalless draw.
[17] The Times noted that the success thus far of two southern teams had aroused additional interest as the crowd was much larger than expected, but they were disappointed by seeing "cup-tie football of the worst description".
[15] The replay was the following Wednesday, 28 March, at Reading's Elm Park when a crowd of only 10,000 saw Alf Milward score two goals and Jimmy Yates one in a 3–0 victory which put Southampton through to their first appearance in the final.
[28] There had been unusually sunny weather that April and The Manchester Guardian predicted that it would continue through Saturday with the high temperature "sure to have a prejudicial effect on the game".
[9] The Manchester Guardian had predicted a large crowd in view of the "keen interest" taken in a match between teams representing northern and southern football.
[28] In its match report next day, The Observer says Bury began attacking immediately[31] and The Times ascribes their eventual success to the method of the half-backs (Pray, Joe Leeming and George Ross) in feeding their own forwards and killing the Southampton game.
[33] From the start, the Bury forwards directed high crosses into the goalmouth to test the Southampton goalkeeper, Jack Robinson.
[31] Receiving a pass from Ross, McLuckie steadied himself and aimed a long, low shot into the corner of the net which beat Robinson and his two full backs.
[31] The Observer praised Robinson's performance as he displayed coolness and resource to prevent any more goals until ten minutes from full-time.
[28] On the Bury side, the Manchester Guardian reporter praised McLuckie for putting in "some fine play", especially when he scored his second goal.
[28] Match rules Notes Key to positions Bury's former club president, Lord James of Hereford, presented the trophy to captain Jack Pray at the end of the game.
[9] James made a speech recorded in both The Observer and The Times and began by saying it was a great honour to present the cup to the Bury team.
[41] Also present as a guest of honour was Lord Rosebery, the former prime minister, who made a speech in which he commiserated with Southampton goalkeeper Jack Robinson for "a gallant uphill fight against overwhelming odds".
[29] In its report, The Times praised Bury for playing "splendid football" but expressed disappointment with Southampton who were "outclassed".
[43] The Times said that Bury played splendid football to outclass their opponents, but Southampton's "show was the worst seen for many years".
