Nottingham Forest won the competition for their second time, as of 2025, beating Luton Town 2–1 in the final at Wembley.
If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week.
The competition saw the remarkable progress of Norwich City, then a Division Three team, to the semi-finals, defeating Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur along the way, before losing in a replay to Luton Town.
Tooting & Mitcham featured in seven rounds of the tournament, defeating Bromley, Redhill, Sutton United, Horsham, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic and Northampton Town before losing to eventual champions Nottingham Forest in a third round replay, but the achievements of the non-league clubs were all ultimately overshadowed by the heroics of Norwich City.
To complete this round, non-league sides Woking and Ilford were given byes as the champions and runners-up from the previous season's FA Amateur Cup.
Nottingham Forest and Luton Town won their matches to meet in the final at Wembley.
The FA Cup final took place on 2 May 1959, at Wembley Stadium and was won by Nottingham Forest, beating Luton Town 2–1.