# 1922–23 FA Cup

The 1922–23 FA Cup was the 48th season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). Bolton Wanderers won the competition, beating West Ham United 2–0 in the first final to be held at Wembley Stadium, London.
Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held at neutral venues until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.

## Calendar

The format of the FA Cup for the season had two preliminary rounds, six qualifying rounds, four proper rounds, and the semi-finals and final.
| Round | Date |
| Extra preliminary round | Saturday 9 September 1922 |
| Preliminary round | Saturday 23 September 1922 |
| First round qualifying | Saturday 7 October 1922 |
| Second round qualifying | Saturday 21 October 1922 |
| Third round qualifying | Saturday 4 November 1922 |
| Fourth round qualifying | Saturday 18 November 1922 |
| Fifth round qualifying | Saturday 2 December 1922 |
| Sixth round qualifying | Saturday 16 December 1922 |
| First round proper | Saturday 13 January 1923 |
| Second round proper | Saturday 3 February 1923 |
| Third round proper | Saturday 24 February 1923 |
| Fourth round proper | Saturday 10 March 1923 |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 24 March 1923 |
| Final | Saturday 28 April 1923 |

## Qualifying rounds

Of the 35 Football League clubs required to enter this season's tournament in the qualifying rounds, only eight ended up progressing through to the competition proper. Three Second Division sides, Port Vale, Stockport County and Coventry City were entered in the fifth qualifying round, but all three lost at that stage (to Wrexham, Barrow and New Brighton respectively).
Twelve Third Division clubs (Durham City, Crewe Alexandra, Wigan Borough, Nelson, Rochdale, Halifax Town, Chesterfield, Lincoln City, Tranmere Rovers and Barrow from the North along with Southend United and Exeter City from the South) were entered in the fourth qualifying round, with Crewe and Tranmere going out to non-league opponents (New Brighton and Wellington St George's) and the rest either going on or losing amongst themselves.
A further 20 Third Division sides (Darlington, Ashington, Hartlepools United, Southport, Stalybridge Celtic, Accrington Stanley, Grimsby Town, Walsall and Wrexham from the North; and Norwich City, Charlton Athletic, Northampton Town, Gillingham, Brentford, Reading, Bristol Rovers, Aberdare Athletic, Newport County, Merthyr Town and Swansea Town from the South) were entered in the fifth qualifying round, of which 12 moved on to the next stage and eight went out.
The final 12 winners from the sixth qualifying round were Stalybridge Celtic, Aberdare Athletic, Wrexham, Merthyr Town, Charlton Athletic, Norwich City, Wigan Borough and Halifax Town from the Football League, and non-league sides Bath City, Worksop Town, Blyth Spartans and New Brighton. Those appearing in the competition proper for the first time were Aberdare Athletic, Charlton Athletic, Blyth Spartans, New Brighton, Stalybridge Celtic and Wigan Borough, although Celtic and Borough were emulating the achievements of defunct predecessor outfits Stalybridge Rovers in 1899-1900 and Wigan County in 1897-98.
Wellington St George's was the most successful team from this season's extra preliminary round. In addition to their victory against Tranmere, they secured wins over Shrewsbury Town, Bloxwich Strollers, Darlaston, Oswestry Town and Oakengates Town but went out to Walsall in the fifth qualifying round.

## First round proper

41 of 44 clubs from the Football League First and Second Divisions joined the 12 lower-league clubs who came through the qualifying rounds. To bring the number of teams up to 64, nine Third Division South sides and one Third Division North side were given byes to this round. These were:
* Watford
* Brighton & Hove Albion
* Luton Town
* Swindon Town
* Queens Park Rangers
* Millwall
* Plymouth Argyle
* Bristol City
* Portsmouth
* Bradford Park Avenue
The Football Association also began the custom of awarding leading London amateur club Corinthian a bye to the same stage of the tournament as the Football League First Division sides. Corinthian would receive these byes for a further ten seasons, but the club's members had to ratify a special constitutional amendment for it to do so as its founding document initially prevented it from competing for "any challenge cup or any prize of any description"!
32 matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 13 January 1923. Twelve matches were drawn and went to replays in the following midweek fixture, of which three went to another replay, and one match went to a third.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
| 1 | Bristol City | 5–1 | Wrexham | 13 January 1923 |
| 2 | Bury | 2–1 | Luton Town | 13 January 1923 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 0–0 | Arsenal | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Arsenal | 1–4 | Liverpool | 17 January 1923 |
| 4 | South Shields | 3–1 | Halifax Town | 13 January 1923 |
| 5 | Leicester City | 4–0 | Fulham | 13 January 1923 |
| 6 | Nottingham Forest | 0–0 | Sheffield United | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Sheffield United | 0–0 | Nottingham Forest | 17 January 1923 |
| Replay | Nottingham Forest | 1–1 | Sheffield United | 22 January 1923 |
| Replay | Sheffield United | 1–0 | Nottingham Forest | 23 January 1923 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 0–1 | Blackburn Rovers | 13 January 1923 |
| 8 | The Wednesday | 3–0 | New Brighton | 13 January 1923 |
| 9 | West Bromwich Albion | 0–0 | Stalybridge Celtic | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Stalybridge Celtic | 0–2 | West Bromwich Albion | 17 January 1923 |
| 10 | Sunderland | 3–1 | Burnley | 13 January 1923 |
| 11 | Derby County | 2–0 | Blackpool | 13 January 1923 |
| 12 | Everton | 1–1 | Bradford Park Avenue | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Bradford Park Avenue | 1–0 | Everton | 17 January 1923 |
| 13 | Swindon Town | 0–0 | Barnsley | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Barnsley | 2–0 | Swindon Town | 18 January 1923 |
| 14 | Newcastle United | 0–0 | Southampton | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Southampton | 3–1 | Newcastle United | 17 January 1923 |
| 15 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0–0 | Worksop Town | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Tottenham Hotspur | 9–0 | Worksop Town | 15 January 1923 |
| 16 | Manchester City | 1–2 | Charlton Athletic | 13 January 1923 |
| 17 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–0 | Crystal Palace | 13 January 1923 |
| 18 | Portsmouth | 0–0 | Leeds United | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Leeds United | 3–1 | Portsmouth | 17 January 1923 |
| 19 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–1 | Corinthian | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Corinthian | 1–1 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 17 January 1923 |
| Replay | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–0 | Corinthian | 22 January 1923 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 0–2 | Bolton Wanderers | 13 January 1923 |
| 21 | Plymouth Argyle | 0–0 | Notts County | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Notts County | 0–1 | Plymouth Argyle | 17 January 1923 |
| 22 | Bradford City | 1–1 | Manchester United | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Manchester United | 2–0 | Bradford City | 17 January 1923 |
| 23 | Hull City | 2–3 | West Ham United | 13 January 1923 |
| 24 | Clapton Orient | 0–2 | Millwall | 13 January 1923 |
| 25 | Oldham Athletic | 0–1 | Middlesbrough | 13 January 1923 |
| 26 | Chelsea | 1–0 | Rotherham County | 13 January 1923 |
| 27 | Huddersfield Town | 2–1 | Birmingham | 13 January 1923 |
| 28 | Blyth Spartans | 0–3 | Stoke | 13 January 1923 |
| 29 | Cardiff City | 1–1 | Watford | 13 January 1923 |
| Replay | Watford | 2–2 | Cardiff City | 17 January 1923 |
| Replay | Cardiff City | 2–1 | Watford | 22 January 1923 |
| 30 | Merthyr Town | 0–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 13 January 1923 |
| 31 | Aberdare Athletic | 1–3 | Preston North End | 13 January 1923 |
| 32 | Wigan Borough | 4–1 | Bath City | 13 January 1923 |

## Second round proper

The 16 Second Round matches were played on Saturday, 3 February 1923. Five matches were drawn, with replays taking place in the following midweek fixture.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
| 1 | Bristol City | 0–3 | Derby County | 3 February 1923 |
| 2 | Bury | 3–1 | Stoke | 3 February 1923 |
| 3 | South Shields | 0–0 | Blackburn Rovers | 3 February 1923 |
| Replay | Blackburn Rovers | 0–1 | South Shields | 7 February 1923 |
| 4 | Leicester City | 0–1 | Cardiff City | 3 February 1923 |
| 5 | The Wednesday | 2–1 | Barnsley | 3 February 1923 |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers | 3–1 | Leeds United | 3 February 1923 |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0–2 | Liverpool | 3 February 1923 |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 1–1 | Sheffield United | 3 February 1923 |
| Replay | Sheffield United | 3–0 | Middlesbrough | 8 February 1923 |
| 9 | West Bromwich Albion | 2–1 | Sunderland | 3 February 1923 |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4–0 | Manchester United | 3 February 1923 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–1 | West Ham United | 3 February 1923 |
| Replay | West Ham United | 1–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 February 1923 |
| 12 | Plymouth Argyle | 4–1 | Bradford Park Avenue | 3 February 1923 |
| 13 | Millwall | 0–0 | Huddersfield Town | 3 February 1923 |
| Replay | Huddersfield Town | 3–0 | Millwall | 7 February 1923 |
| 14 | Chelsea | 0–0 | Southampton | 3 February 1923 |
| Replay | Southampton | 1–0 | Chelsea | 7 February 1923 |
| 15 | Charlton Athletic | 2–0 | Preston North End | 3 February 1923 |
| 16 | Wigan Borough | 2–4 | Queens Park Rangers | 3 February 1923 |

## Third round proper

The eight Third Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 24 February 1923. Two matches were drawn and went to replays in the following midweek fixture.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
| 1 | Bury | 0–0 | Southampton | 24 February 1923 |
| Replay | Southampton | 1–0 | Bury | 28 February 1923 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 1–2 | Sheffield United | 24 February 1923 |
| 3 | Derby County | 1–0 | The Wednesday | 24 February 1923 |
| 4 | Queens Park Rangers | 3–0 | South Shields | 24 February 1923 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 2–0 | Plymouth Argyle | 24 February 1923 |
| 6 | Huddersfield Town | 1–1 | Bolton Wanderers | 24 February 1923 |
| Replay | Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | Huddersfield Town | 28 February 1923 |
| 7 | Cardiff City | 2–3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 24 February 1923 |
| 8 | Charlton Athletic | 1–0 | West Bromwich Albion | 24 February 1923 |

## Fourth round proper

The four Fourth round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 10 March 1923. There was one replay, between Southampton and West Ham United, played in the following midweek fixture. However, this went to a second replay, which West Ham won.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
| 1 | Southampton | 1–1 | West Ham United | 10 March 1923 |
| Replay | West Ham United | 1–1 | Southampton | 14 March 1923 |
| Replay | West Ham United | 1–0 | Southampton | 19 March 1923 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0–1 | Derby County | 10 March 1923 |
| 3 | Queens Park Rangers | 0–1 | Sheffield United | 10 March 1923 |
| 4 | Charlton Athletic | 0–1 | Bolton Wanderers | 10 March 1923 |

## Semi-finals

The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 24 March 1923. The matches ended in victories for Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United, who went on to meet in the final at Wembley.

## Final

The final was held on 28 April 1923 at the original Wembley Stadium in London. It was the first football match to be played at the newly built stadium. King George V was in attendance to present the trophy to the winning team. Bolton Wanderers won the match 2–0, through goals from David Jack and Jack Smith

### Match details

| Bolton Wanderers | West Ham United |