View source for 1927 FA Cup Final (lost radio coverage of football match; 1927)

{{InfoboxLost 
|title=<center>1927 FA Cup Final (radio coverage)</center> 
|image=1927facupfinal1.jpg
|imagecaption=Fred Keenor and his teammates celebrating with the trophy.
|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span> 
}}
The '''''1927 FA Cup Final''''' culminated the 1926-1927 FA Cup season. Occurring on 23rd April 1927 in front of 91,206 at the Empire Stadium, the Final saw Cardiff City defeat Arsenal 1-0 to become to date the only non-English club to win the trophy. It is also significant for being the '''first FA Cup Final to receive live radio coverage'''.

==Background==
Cardiff City and Arsenal, as Football League First Division members, entered the tournament in the Third Round Proper.<ref name="road">[https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engcup1927.html ''RSSSF'' detailing the road to the Final.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref> Cardiff's road to the Final saw it defeat Aston Villa, Darlington, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, and Reading.<ref name="road"/> Meanwhile, Arsenal's campaign consisted of it overcoming Sheffield United, Port Vale, Liverpool, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Southampton.<ref name="road"/> Heading into the Final, Cardiff had never won the trophy, losing its only previous Final appearance to Sheffield United 2-1 in 1925.<ref name="cardiffcabinet">[https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/cardiff-city/erfolge/verein/603 ''Transfer Markt'' detailing Cardiff's trophy cabinet.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref>[https://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1925.htm ''FA Cup Finals'' detailing the 1925 FA Cup Final.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref> Arsenal too had never won the Cup, and was in fact making its debut Final appearance.<ref name="arsenalcabinet">[https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/fc-arsenal/erfolge/verein/11 ''Transfer Markt'' detailing Arsenal's trophy cabinet.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref> Every club that had won the trophy beforehand was from England.<ref name="final">[http://web.archive.org/web/20110711071329/http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1927.htm Archived ''FA Cup Finals'' summarising the match.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref name="history">[https://historyofsoccer.info/1927-fa-cup-final ''History of Soccer'' detailing the match and other historic elements from the game.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref name="wales">[https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/90-years-cardiff-city-beat-12926869 ''Wales Online'' reflecting on Cardiff's victory 90 years on.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref> Cardiff therefore were aiming to becoming the first non-English club and naturally the first Welsh team to achieve this accolade.<ref name="wales"/><ref name="final"/><ref name="history"/> The Bluebirds held a critical advantage ahead of the game, as all of its first team bar Harry Wake were fit enough to compete.<ref name="wake">[https://archive.org/details/fredkeenormanwho0000leig/page/n1/mode/2up ''Fred Keenor: The Man Who Never Gave Up'' noting Cardiff's line-up heading in.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref> Ernie Curtis was the only change made to the line-up, becoming the then-youngest player to feature at an FA Cup Final at 19.<ref name="wake"/> Compared to its 1925 Final appearance, Cardiff were boosted with a new forward line-up while maintaining a similar defence.<ref name="final"/> In contrast, the Gunners faced a few injury concerns themselves, with Horace Cope ultimately being unable to play.<ref name="cope">[https://www.arsenal.com/historic/players/horace-cope ''Arsenal'' noting Horace Cope could not compete due to injury.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref>

Meanwhile, the BBC had made substantial progress in providing live radio coverage of football matches.<ref name="encyclopedia">[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_British_Football/1WDwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT462&printsec=frontcover ''Encyclopedia of British Football'' detailing the BBC's early radio coverage of football matches, noting Allison was its lead commentator back then.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref name="bbcorigins">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1760579.stm ''BBC'' detailing its early football radio coverage, including the Arsenal-Sheffield United match.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref name="arsenalradio">[https://www.arsenal.com/history/ggm-40-highbury-stages-first-live-broadcast ''Arsenal'' detailing its influence in radio football history.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref name="britishfilm">[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_British_Football_Film/FLNZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA47&printsec=frontcover ''The British Football Film'' noting this was the first radio broadcast of the FA Cup Final and the first to have "Abide With Me" be sung.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref> Earlier in 1927, it broke new ground by covering [[Arsenal 1-1 Sheffield United (lost radio commentary of football match; 1927)|Arsenal's First Division match with Sheffield United on 22nd January]].<ref name="encyclopedia"/><ref name="bbcorigins"/><ref name="arsenalradio"/> The first FA Cup match to receive radio coverage came a week later, [[Corinthians 1-3 Newcastle United (lost radio coverage of FA Cup match; 1927)|between Corinthians and Newcastle United]].<ref>[https://bodleianlibs.tumblr.com/post/170000798995/the-strange-origins-of-bbc-football-commentary ''Bodleian Libraries'' detailing the BBC's coverage of the Corinthians-Newcastle United FA Cup match.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref> A few weeks before the Final, on 2nd April, the first radio coverage of an international match occurred, [[Scotland 1-2 England (lost radio coverage of international football match; 1927)|featuring Scotland hosting England]].<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_rt_5sc/1927-04-02#at-15.00 BBC Genome archive of ''Radio Times'' issues detailing the 1927 Scotland-England international football match coverage.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref> Providing the inaugural live coverage of the FA Cup Final was the BBC's next step, with leading commentator George F Allison selected to provide running commentary, his assistant being Derek McCullouch.<ref name="genome">[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_rt_2lo/1927-04-23#at-14.15 BBC Genome archive of ''Radio Times'' issues detailing the radio coverage of the match.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref name="radio">[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/c76e40a0c81946c6820651304cd7e992?page=29 Issue 185 of ''Radio Times'' listing the radio coverage of the Final.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref name="encyclopedia"/><ref name="arsenalradio"/><ref name="britishfilm"/><ref name="history"/> Notably, Allison would later become Arsenal's manager from 1934 to 1947, having been Chapman's assistant and later successor.<ref name="arsenalradio"/><ref name="encyclopedia"/> As with previous match broadcasts, a square system was devised by ''Radio Times''; listeners could keep up with the action whenever McCullouch listed out which area play was occurring.<ref name="encyclopedia"/><ref name="arsenalradio"/> Around 15,000 alone attended Cardiff's Cathays Park to listen to the broadcast.<ref name="wales"/> With so many inaugural British radio sports broadcasts being made in 1927, it led ''Radio Times'' to ponder whether radio was becoming just as important for sports fans as music lovers found it.<ref name="radio"/> Additionally, this Final was the first to have the Christian hymn "Abide with Me" be sung prior to the match, being conducted as the climax of the concert that occurred before kick-off.<ref>[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/In_Tuneful_Accord/N2SmDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA37&printsec=frontcover ''In Tuneful Accord'' noting this was the first FA Cup Final with "Abide With Me" being sung.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref name="britishfilm"/><ref name="history"/>

==The Match==
The Final itself occurred on 23rd April; of over 300,000 applications to receive tickets for the Final, 91,206 would attend the encounter at the Empire Stadium.<ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/> Arsenal were the stronger side in the first-half, providing several challenges for the Cardiff defence.<ref name="espn">[https://www.espn.co.uk/football/columns/story/_/id/1024815/rewind-to-1927:-cardiff-claim-cup-glory ''ESPN'' providing a report of the match and providing accounts from various reporters and players.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/> ''The Daily Mirror'' sports reporter P.J. Moss noted Arsenal earned five corners within five minutes, but despite this Cardiff's defence remained resilient.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/> Arsenal captain Charles Buchan also set up three further chances, but his team did not capitalise on them.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/> The game was most certainly defensive-minded, with play receiving criticism from reporters for generally being inconsistent and boring.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/> Nevertheless, as Cardiff managed to ensure a goalless first-half, the club crucially gained confidence and began to slowly turn the tide of the game.<ref name="espn"/>

While Arsenal's defence generally cancelled out most attacks, reporters noted Cardiff were a different team in the second-half.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/> ''The Daily Express''' reporter claimed that as the game became more "like a football match after the interval", Cardiff were displaying signs that they were going to be victorious.<ref name="espn"/> Still, as the game reached the 74th minute, it seemed extra-time was becoming an inevitable occurrence.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/> During that time period, Curtis made a pass to Hughie Ferguson on the edge of the penalty box, who made a low-powered shot that was seemingly easily saved by Arsenal's Dan Lewis.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/><ref name="wales"/> As Lewis got up to throw the ball away, he suddenly slipped and lost possession of the ball.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/><ref name="wales"/> In a desperate bid to reclaim it he only further accelerated the ball's momentum towards the Arsenal net.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/><ref name="wales"/> It crossed the white line, giving Cardiff the lead.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/><ref name="wales"/> Ultimately, Cardiff held on to claim its first and to date, only, FA Cup.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/><ref name="wales"/> 

Consequently, it has since become the only non-English team to earn the trophy, in a match deemed somewhat below expectations in quality.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="final"/><ref name="wales"/><ref name="cardiffcabinet"/> It is said Lewis never really got over the loss, tossing his silver medal away upon believing he did not deserve it, and later claiming his new jersey had a sheen that caused the ball to slip from his hands.<ref name="espn"/> Cardiff's win has been described as the Welsh club's peak accolade; since then, it has only reached one other FA Cup Final, losing the 2008 edition to Portsmouth 1-0.<ref name="espn"/><ref name="history"/><ref name="cardiffcabinet"/> Arsenal meanwhile won its first FA Cup in 1930 by beating Huddersfield Town 3-0.<ref name="history"/><ref name="espn"/><ref name="arsenalcabinet"/> It has since won a record 14 FA Cups.<ref name="arsenalcabinet"/> 

==Availability==
Ultimately, the radio broadcast occurred during a time period where the BBC lacked viable means of recording sound until it utilised the Blattnerphone and other devices to do so.<ref name="viable">[https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/collections/technology ''BBC'' noting it had no viable means of recording sound until the introduction of the Blatterphone in 1930.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref><ref name="bbcarchive">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/radio/z6cqgwx ''BBC'' noting it did not start recording radio coverage until the early-1930s.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref> No audio from the broadcast is known to have survived. Nevertheless, substantial footage of the match was recorded by ''British Pathé'' and remains publicly viewable. Further, Columbia were responsible for producing a record that contained the entirety of the crowd singing "Abide With Me" and "Land of My Fathers".<ref>[https://www.45worlds.com/78rpm/record/9201uk Listing of the Columbia record of the crowd singing prior to the match.] Retrieved 4th Feb '23</ref> These too have survived the years and can be listened to online.

==Gallery==
===Videos===
{{Video|perrow  =3
  |service1     =youtube  
  |id1          =4mCnEL8hlCI
  |description1 =''British Pathé'' footage of the match.
  |service2     =youtube  
  |id2          =e0KK7FxpFUk
  |description2 =Highlights of the match.
  |service3     =youtube  
  |id3          =6EkJGUZ1aX8
  |description3 =Columbia record playing "Abide With Me" sung prior to the match.
}}

===Images===
<gallery mode=packed heights=300px>
1927facupfinal2.jpg|Programme for the match.
1927facupfinal3.jpg|Issue 185 of ''Radio Times'' listing the match coverage.
1927facupfinal4.jpg|Issue 185 of ''Radio Times'' previewing the match coverage.
</gallery>

==See Also== 
*[[1899 FA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1899)]]
*[[1903 FA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1903)]]
*[[1907 Sheriff of London Charity Shield (lost footage of football match; 1907)]]
*[[1937 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1937)]] 
*[[1938 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1938)]] 
*[[1939 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1939)]] 
*[[1947 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1947)]]
*[[1948 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1948)]]
*[[1948 Summer Olympics (partially found television coverage of London Games; 1948)]]
*[[1949 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1949)]]
*[[1950 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1950)]]
*[[1951 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1951)]]
*[[1952 Coupe de France Final (partially found footage of football match; 1952)]]
*[[1952 FA Charity Shield (lost footage of football match; 1952)]] 
*[[1955 Scottish Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1955)]]
*[[1956 Southern Junior Floodlight Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1956)]] 
*[[1966 FIFA World Cup Final (partially found original colour film of international football match; 1966)]]
*[[1967 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1967)]]
*[[1968 Football League Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1968)]]
*[[1970 FA Cup Final Replay (partially found original ITV coverage of football match; 1970)]]
*[[1971 WFA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1971)]]
*[[1971 Women's World Cup (partially found footage of international football matches; 1971)]]
*[[1973 WFA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1973)]]
*[[1974 WFA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1974)]]
*[[1976 WFA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1976)]]
*[[1977 WFA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1977)]]
*[[1978 WFA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1978)]]
*[[1979 WFA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1979)]]
*[[1980 WFA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1980)]]
*[[1981 WFA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1981)]]
*[[1982 WFA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1982)]]
*[[1985-1986 WFA Cup (lost list of entries for football tournament; 1985)]]
*[[A Football Match at Newcastle-on-Tyne (lost footage of football match; 1896)]]
*[[Arsenal 1-1 Sheffield United (lost radio commentary of football match; 1927)]]
*[[Arsenal 3-2 Everton (partially found footage of Football League First Division match; 1936)]] 
*[[Arsenal 7-1 Hibernian (lost footage of charity football match; 1952)]] 
*[[Arsenal vs Arsenal Reserves (lost footage of early BBC televised football match; 1937)]]
*[[Atlético Madrid 1-1 Real Madrid (lost footage of El Derbi Madrileño La Liga football match; 1958)]] 
*[[Barbados 4–2 Grenada (partially found soccer match footage; 1994)]] 
*[[Barnet 3-2 Wealdstone (lost footage of Athenian League football match; 1946)]]
*[[Bedford Town 1-2 Arsenal (partially found footage of FA Cup match; 1956)]]
*[[Blackpool 0-1 Bolton Wanderers (lost footage of Football League First Division match; 1960)]]
*[[Brazil 2-0 Italy (lost footage of international football match; 1956)]] 
*[[Brian Clough's Football Fortunes (lost DOS port of football management game; 1987)]]
*[[Carlisle United 2-1 Plymouth Argyle (partially found footage of Football League Third Division match; 1999)]] 
*[[Charlton Athletic 1-0 Blackburn Rovers (lost footage of FA Cup match; 1947)]]
*[[Chelsea 1-1 Burnley (partially found footage of FA Cup match; 1956)]]
*[[Chelsea 2-0 Sparta Prague (lost footage of international football match; 1957)]]
*[[Club América 0-4 Italy (lost footage of international football match; 1970)]]
*[[Corinthians 1-3 Newcastle United (lost radio coverage of FA Cup match; 1927)]] 
*[[England 0-1 Scotland (partially found footage of international football match; 1938)]]
*[[England 1-0 Scotland (lost footage of Schools' International football match; 1952)]] 
*[[England 1-1 Scotland (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)]]
*[[England 1-2 Scotland (lost footage of international football match; 1903)]]
*[[England 1-3 Scotland (partially found footage of international football match; 1949)]] 
*[[England 2-0 Italy (partially found footage of international football match; 1949)]]
*[[England 2-1 Argentina (partially found footage of international football match; 1951)]]
*[[England 2-2 Austria (partially found footage of international football match; 1951)]]
*[[England 2-2 France (partially found footage of international football match; 1951)]]
*[[England 2-2 Yugoslavia (partially found footage of international football match; 1950)]] 
*[[England 3-0 France (partially found footage of international football match; 1947)]] 
*[[England 3-0 Rest of Europe (partially found footage of international football match; 1938)]]
*[[England 6-0 Switzerland (partially found footage of international football match; 1948)]] 
*[[Falkirk 3-2 Newcastle United (lost footage of football match; 1953)]]
*[[FC St. Pauli 3-4 Hamborn 07 (lost footage of DFB-Pokal football match; 1952)]] 
*[[FIFA Soccer 2002 (lost build of cancelled Game Boy Advance port of football game; existence unconfirmed; 2001-2002)]]
*[[France 3-1 West Germany (partially found footage of international football match; 1952)]]
*[[France 6-3 Belgium (partially found footage of FIFA World Cup qualifying match; 1956)]] 
*[[Hallo! Bundesliga (lost GolTV series; mid 2000s-mid 2010s)]]
*[[Hamburger SV 4-3 Altona 93 (lost footage of Oberliga Nord football match; 1952)]]
*[[Hero to Zero (partially found BBC One children's football drama show; 2000)]] 
*[[Juventus 1-7 A.C. Milan (partially found footage of Serie A football match; 1950)]]
*[[The Kaiser Conspiracy (lost unfinished Dermot Morgan novel; 1990s)]]
*[[Liverpool vs Sheffield United (lost footage of FA Cup Semi-Final matches; 1899)]]
*[[Lowestoft Town 3-0 AFC Hornchurch (partially found footage of Isthmian League Premier Division play-off final; 2014)]]
*[[Manchester United Championship Soccer (lost build of cancelled Sega Mega Drive port of football game; 1995)]]
*[[Mexico 2-0 Italy (lost footage of international football match; 1970)]]
*[[Miracle of the Magyars (lost Dermot Morgan screenplay of unmade football drama film; 1990s)]]
*[[National Professional Soccer League (partially found footage of soccer matches; 1967)]]
*[[Netherlands 0-0 Sweden (lost footage of international football match; 1952)]]
*[[Premier League All Stars (partially found Sky One charity football tournament; 2007)]]
*[[PSV Eindhoven 2-1 E.V.V. Eindhoven (lost footage of Netherlands Football League Championship match; 1950)]]
*[[Quiz Ball (partially found BBC One football-based quiz show; 1966-1972)]]
*[[Re-united (lost Dermot Morgan script of unmade football sitcom; 1990s)]]
*[[Real Madrid 1-0 Barcelona (partially found footage of El Clásico La Liga football match; 1959)]]
*[[Real Madrid 3-0 Racing Santander (lost footage of La Liga football match; 1954)]]
*[[San Lorenzo de Almagro 1-1 River Plate (lost footage of Argentine Primera División football match; 1951)]]
*[[Scotland 1-2 England (lost radio coverage of international football match; 1927)]] 
*[[Scottish Universities 1-1 English Universities (lost footage of international football match; 1952)]] 
*[[Serbia vs Albania (found footage of abandoned UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match; 2014)]]
*[[Stade de Reims 2-1 FC Metz (partially found footage of French Division 1 football match; 1956)]]
*[[Turkey 1-2 Soviet Union (lost footage of 1962 FIFA World Cup qualifying match; 1961)]] 
*[[United! (lost British soap opera; 1965-1967)]]
*[[Wales 1-1 England (partially found footage of international football match; 1951)]]
*[[Walthamstow Avenue 0-2 Queen's Park (lost footage of friendly football match; 1951)]]
*[[West Ham United 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur (partially found footage of FA Cup match; 1956)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Lost audio]]
[[Category:Lost recordings of sports events]]
[[Category:Completely lost media]]
[[Category:Historic]]