1962 FA Cup Final

Lore & Background

Tottenham Hotspur took an early lead when Jimmy Greaves scored past Burnley goalkeeper Adam Blacklaw with a low left foot shot to the right corner of the net. The score remained 1–0 until half time. Burnley equalised shortly after the interval through Jimmy Robson, who in doing so had scored the 100th FA Cup Final goal at Wembley. However, Bobby Smith quickly countered for Tottenham Hotspur to restore their one-goal lead. Smith had scored in the 1961 final and remained the only player to score in successive finals for the next forty years, until Freddie Ljungberg of Arsenal repeated the feat with goals in the 2001 and 2002 finals. With ten minutes remaining, Burnley defender Tommy Cummings handled the ball on the goal-line and a penalty was awarded to Tottenham. Danny Blanchflower sealed victory for Tottenham with a penalty that sent Blacklaw the wrong way, securing Tottenham Hotspur's fourth FA Cup title.

Reader's Guide

The game was the nineteenth cup final to be broadcast in its entirety by the BBC, for the fourth time as a Grandstand special. The commentator was Kenneth Wolstenholme. BBC Radio commentary was provided by Raymond Glendenning and Alan Clarke. Both major cinema newsreels, Pathé and Movietone, covered the game in colour. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were the official guests of honour. This final also marked the end of the tradition of the winning captain leading the stadium in three cheers for Her Majesty and the playing of the national anthem after the presentation. This was the last final with exposed terraces at Wembley. Edwin Mosscrop, who featured in the winning Burnley team in the 1914 final, was an invited guest of Burnley and went onto the pitch before this final. Tottenham's victory paved the way for them to compete in the European Cup Winners' Cup for the 1962–63 campaign.

Did You Know?

• The game produced more action in the penalty area than any previous post-war final, with the two keepers being forced into more saves from shots on target than any two keepers in any previous post-war final.
• The game pivoted on two moments of controversy: a disallowed goal for Burnley's Jimmy Robson and the penalty awarded for a handball by Tommy Cummings.
• A few seconds of newsreel footage of the crowd at the final was used in the 'ode to joy' scene of the 1965 Beatles feature film Help!