1957 FA Cup final

The 1957 FA Cup final was a football match played on 4 May 1957 at Wembley Stadium between Aston Villa and Manchester United. Villa won 2–1, with both of their goals scored by Peter McParland. Tommy Taylor scored United's goal. It was Villa's first major trophy for 37 years.[1]

1957 FA Cup final
Event1956–57 FA Cup
Date4 May 1957
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeFrank Coultas (Hull)
Attendance99,225

The final was marred by a collision after only six minutes between Villa forward Peter McParland and United goalkeeper Ray Wood, which left Wood unconscious with a broken cheekbone. Wood left the pitch and Jackie Blanchflower took over in goal for United. Wood eventually rejoined the game in an outfield position as a virtual passenger (slang for a player that is on the field but not proactively participating) before returning to goal for the last seven minutes of the game.

Villa's victory gave them their seventh FA Cup title, a record at the time, but since passed by three clubs including Manchester United, who have twelve wins. They reached the final in 2000, when they lost to Chelsea, and in 2015, when they lost to Arsenal.

Six of the 11 players who took to the field for United in this game died in the Munich air disaster nine months later; as did a further two players who did not appear in the game, while two others (who both appeared in the game) were injured in the crash to such an extent that they never played again. The only United players who appeared in the final a year later were full-back Bill Foulkes and forward Bobby Charlton. The death of Foulkes in November 2013 and of Charlton in October 2023 leaves no surviving players from the United team, while the death of Nigel Sims in January 2018 left Peter McParland as the only remaining survivor from the winning team.

In December 2007, BBC Four's Timeshift series screened a documentary, A Game of Two Eras, which compared the 1957 final with its 2007 counterpart.[2]

Road to Wembley

Aston Villa

Round 3Luton Town2–2Aston Villa
Round 3 replayAston Villa2–0Luton Town
Round 4Middlesbrough2–3Aston Villa
Round 5Aston Villa2–1Bristol City
Round 6Burnley1–1Aston Villa
Round 6 replayAston Villa2–0Burnley
Semi-finalAston Villa2–2West Bromwich Albion
(at Molineux)
Semi-final ReplayWest Bromwich Albion0–1Aston Villa
(at St Andrew's)

Manchester United

Round 3Hartlepools United3–4Manchester United
Round 4Wrexham0–5Manchester United
Round 5Manchester United2–1Everton
Round 6Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic1–2Manchester United
Semi-finalManchester United2–0Birmingham City
(at Hillsborough)

Match details

Aston Villa2–1Manchester United
McParland 68', 73' Report Taylor 83'
Attendance: 99,225
Referee: F. Coultas
Aston Villa
Manchester United
GK1England Nigel Sims
RB2England Stan Lynn
LB3England Peter Aldis
RH4England Stan Crowther
CH5England Jimmy Dugdale
LH6Republic of Ireland Pat Saward
OR7England Les Smith
IR8England Jackie Sewell
CF9England Bill Myerscough
IL10England Johnny Dixon (c)
OL11Northern Ireland Peter McParland
Manager:
England Eric Houghton
GK1England Ray Wood
RB2England Bill Foulkes
LB3England Roger Byrne (c)
RH4England Eddie Colman
CH5Northern Ireland Jackie Blanchflower
LH6England Duncan Edwards
OR7England Johnny Berry
IR8Republic of Ireland Billy Whelan
CF9England Tommy Taylor
IL10England Bobby Charlton
OL11England David Pegg
Manager:
Scotland Matt Busby
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