The 1926 FA Cup final was a football match between Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City on 24 April 1926 at Wembley Stadium in London.

Both teams were members of the Football League First Division, Bolton Wanderers occupying a position in upper-mid-table and Manchester City next to bottom.

Consequently, Bolton entered the match as favourites and, as expected, went on to win, their single goal being scored by David Jack.

To the resentment of the Bolton crowd, Ted Vizard was sent off for the first time in his career, leading the referee to require a police escort to the railway station.

[2] In the fourth round Bolton were held to a surprise draw at Third Division team Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.

A 1–0 half-time lead quickly turned into a 2–1 deficit early in the second half but, with five minutes remaining, Jack scored an equaliser.

From the resulting free kick, Frank Roberts scored in a goalmouth melee to take the tie to a replay, held the following Wednesday.

A final score of 11–4 set a club record for the number of goals in a game and was City's biggest margin of victory since 1903.

Browell scored the opener from a Hicks corner amid vehement protests for handball from the United players.

[7][12] Later in the half, United's Frank Barson flattened Sam Cowan with an "ugly challenge" for which he later received a suspension.

[13] It now required two defenders behind an attacker receiving the ball instead of three, a change which increased the average number of goals per match.

[15] Manchester City remained in the lower reaches of the league table throughout the season and were relegated after finishing 21st with 35 points.

The two league matches between the teams in the 1925–26 season ended in a 5–1 home win for Bolton in November and a 1–1 draw at Maine Road in March.

As a result, few supporters of the participating teams attended; most were unable to afford the remaining tickets available to the general public, which were typically in the more expensive areas of the stadium.

In one such instance, a man selling twenty 2s tic|kets at 10s each required the assistance of five police officers to escape the wrath of the crowd.

[20] Jack Smith had been injured for several weeks in the run-up to the final, but recovered in time and participated in Bolton's last league match before the tie.

[22] Following the National Anthem, the players, match officials and club chairmen were introduced to King George V.[22] The toss was then won by the Bolton captain Joe Smith.

[22] In contrast to the lengthy delays which marred Bolton's previous visit to Wembley, the match kicked off three minutes earlier than scheduled.

Frank Roberts took a right-footed shot, but hit the ball straight at Bolton goalkeeper Dick Pym.

[22] In a rare spell of sustained Manchester City pressure, a free kick by captain Jimmy McMullan forced a save from Pym, and the resulting near-post corner prompted a goalmouth scramble which ended with a foul on Bolton's Greenhalgh.