# 1880–81 FA Cup

The 1880–81 Football Association Challenge Cup was the tenth staging of the FA Cup, England's oldest football tournament. Sixty-two teams entered, eight more than the previous season, although four of the sixty-two never played a match.

## First round

| Home Club | Score | Away Club | Date |
| Darwen | 8–0 | Brigg | 13 November 1880 |
| Reading | 5–1 | Hotspur | 13 November 1880 |
| Sheffield | 5–4 | Blackburn Olympic | 30 October 1880 |
| Royal Engineers | 0–0 | Remnants | 13 November 1880 |
| Marlow | 6–0 | Clarence | 30 October 1880 |
| Maidenhead | 1–1 | Old Harrovians | 13 November 1880 |
| Clapham Rovers | 15–0 | Finchley | 13 November 1880 |
| Upton Park | 8–1 | Mosquitos | 13 November 1880 |
| Pilgrims | Walkover | Old Philberdians | |
| Swifts | 1–1 | Old Foresters | 6 November 1880 |
| Herts Rangers | 6–0 | Barnes | 6 November 1880 |
| Rochester | 1–2 | Dreadnought | 13 November 1880 |
| Notts County | 4–4 | Derbyshire | 4 November 1880 |
| Nottingham Forest | Walkover | Caius College | |
| Romford | 1–1 | Reading Minster | 13 November 1880 |
| Grey Friars | 0–0 | Windsor Home Park | 13 November 1880 |
| Brentwood | 0–10 | Old Etonians | 6 November 1880 |
| West End | 1–0 | Hanover United | 6 November 1880 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 6–2 | Providence | 30 October 1880 |
| St Peter's Institute | 1–8 | Hendon | 6 November 1880 |
| Aston Villa | 5–3 | Wednesbury Strollers | 30 October 1880 |
| Stafford Road | 7–0 | Spilsby | 6 November 1880 |
| Turton | 5–0 | Brigg Britannia | 16 October 1880 |
| Old Carthusians | 7–0 | Saffron Walden Town | 23 October 1880 |
| Acton | 1–1 | Kildare | 13 November 1880 |
| Calthorpe | 1–2 | Grantham | 11 November 1880 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Walkover | Queen's Park | |
| Astley Bridge | 4–0 | Eagley | 30 October 1880 |
| Weybridge Swallows | 3–1 | Henley | 13 November 1880 |
| Reading Abbey | 1–0 | St. Albans | 13 November 1880 |
| Rangers (London) | Walkover | Wanderers | |

### Replays

| Home Club | Score | Away Club | Date |
| Remnants | 0–1 | Royal Engineers | 20 November 1880 |
| Old Harrovians | 0–1 | Maidenhead | 20 November 1880 |
| Old Foresters | 1–2 | Swifts | 20 November 1880 |
| Derbyshire | 2–4 | Notts County | 27 November 1880 |
| Romford | Walkover | Reading Minster | |
| Windsor Home Park | 1–3 | Grey Friars | 20 November 1880 |
| Kildare | 0–5 | Acton | 20 November 1880 |

## Second round

| Home Club | Score | Away Club | Date |
| Grantham | 1–1 | Stafford Road | 11 December 1880 |
| Reading | 0–1 | Swifts | 18 December 1880 |
| Sheffield | 1–5 | Darwen | 18 December 1880 |
| Royal Engineers | 1–0 | Pilgrims | 9 December 1880 |
| Marlow | 4–0 | West End | 11 December 1880 |
| Clapham Rovers | Bye | | |
| Old Etonians | 2–0 | Hendon | 4 December 1880 |
| Herts Rangers | Bye | | |
| Notts County | Bye | | |
| Nottingham Forest | 1–2 | Aston Villa | 4 December 1880 |
| Romford | Bye | | |
| Grey Friars | 1–0 | Maidenhead | 11 December 1880 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 0–4 | Sheffield Wednesday | 18 December 1880 |
| Old Carthusians | 5–1 | Dreadnought | 11 December 1880 |
| Astley Bridge | 0–3 | Turton | 18 December 1880 |
| Weybridge Swallows | 0–3 | Upton Park | 18 December 1880 |
| Reading Abbey | 2–1 | Acton | 11 December 1880 |
| Rangers (London) | Bye | | |

### Replay

| Home Club | Score | Away Club | Date |
| Stafford Road | 7–1 | Grantham | 16 December 1880 |

## Third round

| Home Club | Score | Away Club | Date |
| Darwen | Bye | | |
| Royal Engineers | 6–0 | Rangers (London) | 9 February 1881 |
| Marlow | Bye | | |
| Clapham Rovers | 2–1 | Swifts | 8 January 1881 |
| Upton Park | Bye | | |
| Herts Rangers | 0–3 | Old Etonians | 5 February 1881 |
| Notts County | 1–3 | Aston Villa | 12 February 1881 |
| Romford | 2–0 | Reading Abbey | 12 February 1881 |
| Grey Friars | Bye | | |
| Stafford Road | Bye | | |
| Turton | 0–2 | Sheffield Wednesday | 8 January 1881 |

## Fourth round

| Home Club | Score | Away Club | Date |
| Darwen | 5–2 | Sheffield Wednesday | 5 February 1881 |
| Clapham Rovers | 5–4 | Upton Park | 12 February 1881 |
| Aston Villa | 2–3 | Stafford Road | 19 February 1881 |
| Old Etonians | 4–0 | Grey Friars | 19 February 1881 |
| Romford | 2–1 | Marlow | 19 February 1881 |
| Royal Engineers | 0–2 | Old Carthusians | 19 February 1881 |

## Fifth round

| Home Club | Score | Away Club | Date |
| Darwen | 15–0 | Romford | 5 March 1881 |
| Stafford Road | 1–2 | Old Etonians | 19 March 1881 |
| Old Carthusians | 3–1 | Clapham Rovers | 19 March 1881 |

## Semi-finals

| Home Club | Score | Away Club | Date |
| Old Etonians | Bye | | |
| Old Carthusians | 4–1 | Darwen | 26 March 1881 |

## Final

| | Score | | Date |
| Old Carthusians | 3–0 | Old Etonians | 9 April 1881 |