1900 FA Cup final

Bury entered the competition in the first round proper and played seven matches, including three replays, en route to the final. All four of their opponents were other teams in the First Division.[7]

In the first round on Saturday, 27 January, Bury were drawn away to Burnley, who were relegated at the end of the 1899–1900 league season.[3] Bury won the tie 1–0 with a goal by Charlie Sagar before a crowd of 6,020 at Turf Moor.[8][7][9]

In the second round on Saturday, 10 February, Bury drew 0–0 away to Notts County at Trent Bridge.[10][7] Four days later, on the 14th, the replay at Gigg Lane was watched by a crowd estimated as over 4,400. Goals by Sagar and Willie Wood ensured a 2–0 victory.[9][11]

Bury were drawn away again in the third round to the FA Cup holders Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. On Saturday, 24 February, Bury held United to a 2–2 draw[12] in front of 22,766 people, their goals scored by Jasper McLuckie and Wood.[9][7] Sheffield's goalscorers were Fred Priest and Ernest Needham with a penalty.[13]

Bury fullback Tommy Davidson, pictured in 1903

The replay took place the following Thursday, 1 March, and local interest soared. A new attendance record was set at Gigg Lane with 20,139 cramming into the ground. It is believed that many more people broke in without paying or managed to watch by climbing the overlooking trees outside.[9] Bury won the match 2–0[14] with goals by Jack Plant and Billy Richards.[9][7]

The semi-finals were staged at neutral venues on Saturday, 24 March, and Bury were drawn to play Nottingham Forest, the only other First Division team left in the competition, at the Victoria Ground in Stoke-on-Trent.[7] The Times report criticised both teams for a poor match in which "hard kicking and rushing marked the play throughout" and said that the 20,000 spectators gained no satisfaction from a game in which there was "no short passing".[15] Team captain Jack Pray scored a fifteenth-minute penalty but the match ended in a 1–1 draw after a second penalty was missed and Arthur Capes scored for Forest.[16] For the third time in this cup run, a replay was required, this time at Bramall Lane.[7][9]

The crowd in Sheffield on 29 March was 11,200[17] but it was estimated that only 400 or so Bury supporters were able to make the trip as it was a Thursday evening.[9] They were rewarded by seeing their team recover from a 2–0 deficit to win the match 3–2 after extra time.[9] The Times reported that conditions were poor because of "bad light and slippery turf" but the match was nevertheless "a singularly interesting contest".[18] Bury arrived late and had to rush onto the field. This had an unsettling effect and Forest scored twice through Capes and John Calvey in the first two minutes.[19] It seemed as if Forest's success was assured but Bury worked hard to prevent any more Forest goals before half-time.[18] Forest continued to be the better team in the early part of the second half but the Bury forwards, led by Sagar, began to cause problems and Sagar himself pulled a goal back midway through the half. With less than five minutes remaining, McLuckie scored the equaliser and it was 2–2 at the end of normal time.[18] The rule in this match, being a replay, was that extra time must be played but the Forest players, perhaps not knowing this, made a protest.[9] With less than ten minutes of extra time remaining, Sagar scored his second goal to secure a 3–2 win and take Bury to their first FA Cup final. The Times praised Bury for "their pluck in an uphill game".[18]

Southampton entered the competition in the first round proper and played six matches, including two replays, en route to the final. Three of their opponents were in the First Division and one was in the Southern League. Whereas Bury were drawn away in each of the first three rounds, Southampton were always drawn at home.[20]

In their first-round match at The Dell on 27 January, they faced First Division Everton and won 3–0[20] before a 10,000 crowd.[4] Two of their goals were scored by former Everton player Alf Milward, the other by Archie Turner.[20][4][8]

In the second round, Southampton hosted First Division Newcastle United whom they had defeated at the same stage two years earlier.[20] This match was played on Saturday, 10 February, in wintry conditions. With the match goalless, Jack Farrell was forced to leave the pitch with a dislocated left collar-bone. Southampton played on with ten men until the 50th minute when referee Arthur Kingscott abandoned the match because of a heavy snowstorm.[10][20] The sides met again the following Saturday before an 8,000 crowd. Roddy McLeod replaced the injured Farrell and scored twice in a convincing 4–1 victory.[21][4] The other two goals were scored by Jimmy Yates and Archie Turner.[4][20] The Newcastle goal was scored by Jack Peddie.[22]

The third-round match was played only a week later, 24 February, against West Bromwich Albion, another First Division side. Turner and McLeod scored in a 2–1 victory.[20] The Albion goalscorer was Chippy Simmons.[23] The crowd was 9,000.[4] The Times briefly reported that Southampton played "very good football" and the result was not unexpected.[12]

The semi-finals involved two teams in the First Division and two in the Southern League. The draw kept the leagues apart and guaranteed that a side from the Southern League would reach an FA Cup final for the first time.[24] Southampton's opponents were Millwall Athletic, who had just defeated Football League champions Aston Villa in the second replay of their third round tie which Dave Juson and David Bull have described as "three epic confrontations".[25]

To prepare for the semi-final, the Southampton players were sent to Buxton, a spa town, for a week's special training which began with a morning walk followed by a bath.[25] The club secretary, Ernest Arnfield, explained the training routine to Chums magazine:[25]

... in the afternoon, sprinting and ball-kicking are the order. Baths are capital for removing stiffness from the joints. And ... everyone in training should go to bed early. Our fellows usually retire at ten, but the night before a big match they are all in bed by nine. They enjoy a long sleep, and don't appear for breakfast before nine. Our diet is an extremely plain one. The customary fare consists of fish, chops and steaks. Vegetables and sweets are banned when a match is about to be played and so are spirits. Half a pint of beer per meal, however, is allowed, and directly the match is over, the players can eat whatever they please. As regards smoking, we only prohibit it on the morning preceding a big match.

The semi-final was played on Saturday, 24 March at the Crystal Palace stadium, which was also the venue for the final, and a crowd of 34,760 watched a goalless draw.[17] The Times noted that the success thus far of two southern teams had aroused additional interest as the crowd was much larger than expected, but they were disappointed by seeing "cup-tie football of the worst description".[15] There were few scoring chances and too many fouls. The newspaper hoped to see much better football in the replay.[15]

The replay was the following Wednesday, 28 March, at Reading's Elm Park when a crowd of only 10,000 saw Alf Milward score two goals and Jimmy Yates one in a 3–0 victory which put Southampton through to their first appearance in the final.[26][4] The Times reporter had his wish granted because it was a much better and more sporting game than the first match and Southampton won on "absolute merit".[27]

Jack Robinson, Southampton's international goalkeeper

The Bury team and officials travelled to London on Thursday, 19 April, two days before the match.[28] They stayed at the Tavistock Hotel in Covent Garden until the Monday following.[9] Southampton, however, did not travel until the Saturday morning.[28] There had been unusually sunny weather that April and The Manchester Guardian predicted that it would continue through Saturday with the high temperature "sure to have a prejudicial effect on the game".[28] Their forecast was correct as there was a heatwave in London on matchday and conditions were uncomfortable for both the players and the crowd of 68,945.[9]

The Manchester Guardian had predicted a large crowd in view of the "keen interest" taken in a match between teams representing northern and southern football.[28] According to one report, most of the crowd were "rooting" for Southampton, who were the first southern team to reach the final since the Old Etonians in 1883.[29][30] The referee, Arthur Kingscott from Derbyshire, had officiated Southampton's game against Newcastle in the second round. Bury won the toss and decided to kick off with the sun behind them.[31][32] The two teams were unchanged from those listed in The Manchester Guardian's pre-match report.[28]

In its match report next day, The Observer says Bury began attacking immediately[31] and The Times ascribes their eventual success to the method of the half-backs (Pray, Joe Leeming and George Ross) in feeding their own forwards and killing the Southampton game.[33] From the start, the Bury forwards directed high crosses into the goalmouth to test the Southampton goalkeeper, Jack Robinson.[32] Although Southampton kept things even at first, their first mistake was by Peter Durber who allowed Richards to force a corner. This was taken by Plant whose cross was converted by McLuckie into the first goal, scored after nine minutes of play.[31][9] The Observer says that, although Southampton tried hard to make amends, they failed against "a clever and determined defence".[31]

Bury had most of the play and Robinson was kept busy in the Southampton goal. After 16 minutes, he saved a shot from Plant but deflected the ball to Willie Wood who scored the second goal.[31][32] The Observer says that Southampton were then a beaten team whose players were holding the ball too long with no certainty in their movement. The Bury backs and halves always broke up the Southampton attacks and the Bury forwards were always dangerous.[31] Robinson made two saves but the match was over as a contest when McLuckie scored his second goal after 23 minutes.[32] This goal was described by The Observer as "a piece of brilliant play".[31] Receiving a pass from Ross, McLuckie steadied himself and aimed a long, low shot into the corner of the net which beat Robinson and his two full backs.[31][9][32] Southampton had a fair amount of possession to half-time but The Observer says they never looked like scoring.[31]

In the second half, Southampton tried to recover and played better with the sun and breeze behind them but Bury had eased off and the pace of the game slackened.[31][32] The Times report says there was, at times, some evenness in the play though Bury with a clear lead "played with a certain amount of leisure".[33] Milward and Harry Wood both had attempts on goal for Southampton, but to no avail.[32] Even so, Bury's forwards still seemed the more likely to score and McLuckie was especially prominent.[31] The Observer praised Robinson's performance as he displayed coolness and resource to prevent any more goals until ten minutes from full-time.[31] Bury then scored the fourth and final goal after Robinson had parried a shot from Pray over the crossbar for another corner. This was taken quickly by Richards to Plant, who hit a hard shot along the ground which Robinson could not stop.[9][32][31]

There was a misunderstanding near the end when many in the crowd thought the referee had blown his whistle for full-time. They ran onto the pitch and play was delayed for a few minutes while order was restored.[31] According to Philip Gibbons, Bury's 4–0 win was a "football lesson" for the Southampton players.[32] Even so, The Manchester Guardian said in its report on Monday morning that Robinson was "undoubtedly the hero of the match".[28] The report says he made several outstanding saves and, without him, Southampton would have suffered a massive defeat.[28] On the Bury side, the Manchester Guardian reporter praised McLuckie for putting in "some fine play", especially when he scored his second goal. The report says that Sagar and Plant were always dangerous in attack and Tommy Davidson was the best of the Bury defenders.[28]