The 1952 FA Cup final was the final match of the 1951–52 staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup), English football's main cup competition. The match was contested by Newcastle United and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in London on 3 May 1952. It was hitherto only the second time that an FA Cup Final was played in May; 1937 being the first. Newcastle appeared in their 11th final in total and their second successive final, while it was Arsenal's sixth final and their second in three years.

1952 FA Cup final
Event1951–52 FA Cup
Date3 May 1952
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeArthur Ellis (Halifax)
Attendance100,000
1951
1953

Match facts

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Newcastle United1–0Arsenal
G. Robledo   84' (Report)
Attendance: 100,000
Referee: Arthur Ellis
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Newcastle
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Arsenal
GK 1   Ronnie Simpson
RB 2   Bobby Cowell
LB 3   Alf McMichael
RH 4   Joe Harvey (c)
CH 5   Frank Brennan
LH 6   Ted Robledo
OR 7   Tommy Walker
IR 8   Billy Foulkes
CF 9   Jackie Milburn
IL 10   George Robledo
OL 11   Bobby Mitchell
Manager:
  Stan Seymour
GK 1   George Swindin
RB 2   Walley Barnes
LB 3   Lionel Smith
RH 4   Alex Forbes
CH 5   Ray Daniel
LH 6   Joe Mercer (c)
OR 7   Freddie Cox
IR 8   Jimmy Logie
CF 9   Cliff Holton
IL 10   Doug Lishman
OL 11   Don Roper
Manager:
  Tom Whittaker

Match summary

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Arsenal played Newcastle United with several recovering players rushed back into the first team; Walley Barnes was taken off injured with a twisted knee after 35 minutes (no substitutes were allowed then), and ten-man Arsenal suffered further injuries to Holton, Roper and Daniel, so that by the end of the match they had only seven fit players on the pitch;[1] with the numerical advantage in their favour, Newcastle won 1–0 with a goal from George Robledo. The goal scored by Robledo was drawn by a young John Lennon, who included it in the artwork of his album Walls and Bridges in 1974.[2]

Broadcasting

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Despite late efforts to overturn the decision by a minority of its members, The FA Council banned the BBC from televising the game,[3] leaving those who could not attend, with only updates on the first half on BBC radio before the second half was described live to listeners. To date this remains the last cup final not to be broadcast live on television, although the game was filmed by newsreel for showing that evening in cinemas. The BBC instead broadcast a cricket match between Worcestershire and the touring Indians.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Soar & Tyler (2005). The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal. p. 99.
  2. ^ Molina, Paula (4 April 2016). "Jorge Robledo, el futbolista chileno inmortalizado en un disco de John Lennon" (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  3. ^ Phillips, Tom (3 May 1952). "Sorry, the answer is no". Daily Mirror. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Programme Index". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
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