1937 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1937)

Raich Carter scoring for Sunderland

Status: Partially Found

The 1937 FA Cup Final cumulated the end of the 62nd FA Cup season. Featuring Sunderland facing and ultimately winning its first FA Cup against Preston North End at Wembley Stadium in front of an audience of 93,495, it provided television history by being the first competitive football match to be broadcast, as well as the first FA Cup Final shown on television too.

Background

Both Sunderland and Preston North End, as First Division members, entered the tournament in the Third Round proper. Sunderland defeated Southampton, Luton Town, Swansea Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Millwall en route to the Final. Meanwhile, Preston North End's journey to the Final consisted of beating Newcastle United, Stoke City, Exeter City, Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion. Prior to the Final commencing, Sunderland had never won the competition, whereas Preston North End were looking to add to their 1889 win.

Earlier in the year, the BBC had successfully partially broadcast a match between Arsenal and Arsenal Reserves for its new Television Service. The 1937 FA Cup Final would be the second match to be televised, albeit only partially. Nevertheless, the broadcast on 1st May 1937 meant it became the first competitive football match to be broadcast. It would also begin the trend of the FA Cup Final being annually broadcast, a staple of free-to-air television.

Ultimately, Sunderland would go on to win its first FA Cup. Preston North End had taken the lead on the forty fourth minute thanks to a Frank O'Donnell, but a strong second half for The Black Cats resulted in three goals, coming from Bobby Gurney, Raich Carter and Eddie Burbanks. The club would later win its second, and to date last, FA Cup, in 1973. Meanwhile, Preston North End would redeem itself by winning the 1938 Final, which following the success of the prior FA Cup Final broadcast, would become the first to be fully televised.

Availability

Like other early BBC television broadcasts, the 1937 FA Cup was broadcast live and was not recorded. Therefore, any televised footage of the event is now permanently missing. However, a fragment of the match itself was recorded for film reels, and is still publicly accessible.

Gallery

Videos

Footage of the match.

Images

• 

  Radio Times issue listing the match.

See Also (Early BBC Television Media)

• Ann and Harold (lost early BBC drama television series; 1938)
• Cook's Night Out (lost early BBC cooking show; 1937)
• Dish of the Month (lost early BBC cooking show; 1937)
• First Aid (lost early BBC medical show; 1937)
• Foundations of Cookery (lost early BBC cooking show; 1939)
• Marcel Boulestin television shorts (lost early BBC programs; 1937-1939)
• RCA recording of BBC Television Service (found footage of pre-Second World War BBC television broadcast; 1938)
• Sea Stories (lost early BBC talk show; 1936-1937)
• Spelling Bee (lost early BBC game show; 1938)
• Telecrime (lost early BBC crime drama; 1938-1939; 1946)
• The Care of Your Car (lost early BBC motoring show; 1947)
• The Wasp's Nest (lost early BBC television adaptation of Agatha Christie short story; 1937)

See Also (Early Sports Television Media)

• 1931 Epsom Derby (lost televised footage of horse racing event; 1931)
• 1934 Philo T. Farnsworth broadcasts (lost early television demonstrations; 1934)
• 1936 Summer Olympics (lost television coverage of Berlin Games; 1936)
• 1937 International Imperial Trophy Race (lost footage of motor race; 1937)
• 1937 Wimbledon Championships (partially found footage of tennis tournament; 1937)
• 1938 Ashes Series (partially found footage of international test cricket match; 1938)
• 1938 Pennsylvania Quakers football season (lost early televised college football games; 1938)
• 1953 British Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One race; 1953)
• 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
• Brooklyn Dodgers 2-5 6-1 Cincinnati Reds (lost footage of MLB doubleheader; 1939)
• Brooklyn Dodgers 23-14 Philadelphia Eagles (lost footage of NFL game; 1939)
• Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling (lost early BBC televised professional wrestling matches; 1938-1939; 1946-1947)
• Columbia Lions 1-2 Princeton Tigers (partially found footage of college baseball game; 1939)
• Darts and Shove Ha'penny (lost early BBC televised darts matches; 1936-1939)
• England 16-21 Scotland (partially found footage of rugby match; 1938)
• Fordham Rams 34-7 Waynesburg Yellow Jackets (lost footage of college football game; 1939)
• Indianapolis 500 WFBM-TV Broadcasts (lost racing footage; 1949-1950)
• The Boat Race 1938 (partially found footage of rowing race; 1938)

See Also (Association Football/Soccer Media)

• 1938 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1938)
• 1939 FA Cup Final (partially found footage of football match; 1939)
• 1966 FIFA World Cup Final (partially found original colour film of international football match; 1966)
• Arsenal vs Arsenal Reserves (lost footage of early BBC televised football match; 1937)
• Barbados 4–2 Grenada (partially found soccer match footage; 1994)
• Brian Clough's Football Fortunes (lost DOS port of football management game; 1987)
• England 0-1 Scotland (partially found international football match; 1938)
• Hallo! Bundesliga (lost GolTV series; mid 2000s-mid 2010s)
• United! (lost British soap opera; 1965-1967)