The 1914 FA Cup final was an association football match between Burnley and Liverpool on 25 April 1914 at Crystal Palace, London.

Harry Lowe, Liverpool's captain, was ruled out for the final, while Burnley goalkeeper Jerry Dawson decided not to play due to injury.

Burnley began their campaign for the 1913–14 FA Cup in January 1914 in the first round with a home game at Turf Moor against South Shields, leaders of the North Eastern League.

Bert Freeman added a third goal in the second half before South Shields found the back of the Burnley net, with the match ending in a 3–1 victory for the home side.

[3] Burnley were drawn against a Football League First Division—the first tier of English football—opponent in the second round, meeting Derby County at Turf Moor.

[8] The fourth round game took place at Sunderland's Roker Park, ending in a goalless draw, necessitating a replay at Turf Moor four days later.

[1][9] Liverpool entered the 1913–14 FA Cup in the first round where they faced Football League Second Division side Barnsley at home ground Anfield.

[13] Boasting a strong cup record at home and in replays, Barnsley dominated most of the game, with Liverpool goalkeeper Kenny Campbell making a string of saves.

Two minutes from time, however, Lacey found the back of the Barnsley net with a "fast low shot", which proved to be the only goal of the game.

[17] Tom Miller put Liverpool ahead early in the second half before West Ham secured an equaliser to send the game to a replay at Anfield.

[16] QPR, playing in the Southern Football League,[19] would be the last non-League side reaching the last eight of the FA Cup until Lincoln City managed to do so in 2016–17.

[20] At Anfield in front of around 45,000 spectators, Liverpool were 2–0 up by half-time with goals from Jackie Sheldon and Miller, although QPR were the more dangerous side.

[21] The semi-final, played at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane as a neutral venue, was against Aston Villa, defending champions of the FA Cup and five-time winners of the competition.

[25] Burnley, in their first top-flight campaign in 13 years,[9] were ensconced in lower mid-table, while Liverpool were one place above the relegation zone; the teams were separated by only two points.

[25] It was the first time in ten years—when Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers played the 1904 FA Cup final—that two teams from the county of Lancashire met in the final.

[25] The Birmingham Daily Post stated that the majority expected Burnley to win, however, as they had a more difficult route to the final, having eliminated the champions of the North Eastern League (South Shields) and four First Division sides.

[31] On the morning of the final, around 170 special trains were put on to commute fans from Burnley and Liverpool Lime Street to London.

[25] During the previous year's cup final, between Aston Villa and Sunderland, around 20,000 spectators (of a then-record crowd of 121,919) had no view of the game.

[35] Although improvements had since been made to the ground, the Sports Argus concluded it fell "a long way short of being an ideal venue" for large crowds.

In October 1886, Prince Albert Victor had watched Burnley play against Bolton Wanderers at Turf Moor—the first visit to a professional football ground by a member of the royal family.

[39] Burnley captain Boyle won the coin toss and Liverpool's Miller kicked off the game,[43][44] refereed by the 32-year-old Herbert Bamlett of Gateshead.

Shortly afterwards Sewell, the Burnley goalkeeper, failed to clear the ball but Liverpool's Nicholl missed an almost open goal.

[4][39] Freeman struck the ball at chest level;[39] the Burnley News labelled the goal as "one of the very finest ever scored in a Cup Final".

With their one-man advantage, Liverpool almost equalised, but Burnley's Tom Bamford cleared the ball off the line after Sewell was beaten.

[25] By defeating Derby County, Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland, Sheffield United and Liverpool, Burnley became the first side to beat five First Division clubs in one cup season.

The FA gave medals to Burnley's Dawson and Liverpool's Lowe, regular starters for their clubs who made no appearance in the final.

Ferguson, Liverpool's captain, stated his side were "as good as" Burnley, but the latter had "the bit of luck necessary to win the Cup".

[34] The Manchester Guardian labelled it a "clean" but "poor game" with many blunders, citing "Cup final nerves" and a dry and hard pitch as reasons.

[4] The People declared it an "average Cup Final", played with "an exceedingly lively ball" that made "ground passing a very difficult matter".

[51] On 26 April 2014, during their last home match of the season against Ipswich Town, Burnley wore a 1914 replica shirt bearing the royal coat of arms, after being granted permission from Buckingham Palace.