ARTICLE: Our first Wembley Final

[ClaretTony]

73 years ago today

See link
https://www.uptheclarets.com/our-first-wembley-final

[JohnDearyMe]

Wonder how many Burnley fans who saw the game are still with us?

[ClaretTony]

Wonder how many Burnley fans who saw the game are still with us?

I'd a good number of relatives there including my dad, granddad, an uncle and an auntie but none of them are with us now. My dad was very lucky to get a ticket from what I recall having only been demobbed earlier that season and not having a season ticket. He had a season ticket after that for every season until he passed away.

I'm sure there will be some still alive but 73 years is a long time.

[Vino blanco]

I am 73 years old tomorrow, which means I came into the world the day after this final. My dad had a ticket to go, having been to all the other cup matches during the run to Wembley, but unfortunately he couldn't go because my mum decided to have me a week earlier than expected. Mum and dad were both massive Claret fans and had season tickets for many years in the old Brunshaw Rd stand then in the Bob Lord. They would be proud to see the Clarets performing so well in the PL at the moment, as I am, and as are my children and grandchildren.

[ClaretLoup]

It was quite a remarkable achievement for Burnley to even reach the final let alone take Charlton to extra time. They had to play 8 games to be able to appear at Wembley so three of the five rounds were replayed and two of those went to extra time both the quarter and semi final replays.

In those eight games they conceded only two goals, so Duffy's extra time winner was only the third goal they had let in.

The standard of opposition they beat was very high, Burnley played either teams in the second or first division and their semi final opponents Liverpool were the 1947 First Division Champions. This was the fifth time the Scousers had won it, so historically and presently they were very powerful opponents and the Clarets kept two clean sheets.

The first goal they let in was during the five goal Round 3 thrashing of First Division Aston Villa. The next one was away at Ayresome Park in the Q/F which remarkably is recorded in this newsreel. 1947 was a very severe winter and there is evidence of this in the footage, the pitch looks diabolical
There is hardly any views on this footage so it looks like nobody has picked it up previously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owqykmjHzc0

Billy Morris scored the Burnley goal and Geoff Walker scored for Boro. with what looks like a free kick, which meant the Clarets bottled up the great Wilf Mannion twice having scored five of Boro's 14 goals in the previous four rounds. There is a statue of Mannion outside the Riverside ground.

It is interesting (well, I think so ) that the previous season 1945-46 there was no national league even though the war in Europe had ended however the competition was not played at a national level as the Japanese did not surrender until the atomic bomb was dropped in September 1945. Nonetheless there was a league competition, with two regionalised top division and four smaller lower divisions.

However there was an FA Cup played in 1946 and as remarked on the commentary of the Pathe News coverage of the Burnley vs Charlton final, the opposition had the advantage of previous experience of playing at Wembley as they were the runners up to Derby County.

[dsr]

Good spot. I presume we're in white?

Did you see where the linesman was when they scored? Standing right by the goalposts. It was a free klck, by the look of it, so I would presume that the linesman was watching for the ball crossing the line while the ref judged offsides. But it's not something I've ever seen before.

[Royboyclaret]

Good spot. I presume we're in white?

Did you see where the linesman was when they scored? Standing right by the goalposts. It was a free klck, by the look of it, so I would presume that the linesman was watching for the ball crossing the line while the ref judged offsides. But it's not something I've ever seen before.

We are in white. Captain Alan Brown is there for the toss-up and Harry Potts (No.10) can be spotted in the first few seconds of the film. Billy Morris, our scorer, also scored the winner in the replay on the Turf on the following Tuesday in front of 49,244 Burnley fans.

[ClaretLoup]

It looks as if there was film coverage of all FA Cup Quarter Finals so here is another one I have unearthed, our sixth round tie vs Blackburn Rovers played on March 8 1952 although a few more views on this one so maybe this has been posted before. Much better film quality though, that's the good news, the bad news is that Burnley lost 3 - 1 . A bit of an upset this one as our great rivals were wallowing half way down Division 2 at the time. They lost in the semi final after a replay vs Newcastle, the eventual winners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czZFnRuEUUw

No goals conceded by Burnley until this tie and oddly Jimmy Mac didn't feature in any FA Cup tie in 1952, and was also missing from the league team for a while from the Christmas Day defeat at home to Preston, which ended a run of 8 games without defeat, happen Mac was injured in this game? Anyone know the answer to this?

[Royboyclaret]

It looks as if there was film coverage of all FA Cup Quarter Finals so here is another one I have unearthed, our sixth round tie vs Blackburn Rovers played on March 8 1952 although a few more views on this one so maybe this has been posted before. Much better film quality though, that's the good news, the bad news is that Burnley lost 3 - 1 . A bit of an upset this one as our great rivals were wallowing half way down Division 2 at the time. They lost in the semi final after a replay vs Newcastle, the eventual winners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czZFnRuEUUw

No goals conceded by Burnley until this tie and oddly Jimmy Mac didn't feature in any FA Cup tie in 1952, and was also missing from the league team for a while from the Christmas Day defeat at home to Preston, which ended a run of 8 games without defeat, happen Mac was injured in this game? Anyone know the answer to this?

Remember that Mac was still only 20 years old at that time and not yet fully established in the first team. Les Shannon had the No.10 shirt at the time and in fact played more games than Mac during that '51/'52 season. Billy Morris was still entrusted with the No.8 shirt. Even the following season '52/'53 Shannon played in all 42 league games and by this time Mac had taken the No.8............and the rest, of course, as they say is history.

[mdd2]

I was three at the time but my Dad managed to get a ticket. He always said we should have won it the number of chances we had but also said their goal was a centre come shot, but seeing it just now it was a clear shot into the top corner from a cross