A Trivial Matter

As this season's FA Cup sees the big teams enter the competition we look at a few stats and some oddities from Tottenhams long affair with the trophy which started in 1894. We have reached the final on nine occasions, winning eight, three of those coming in replays. Only two teams have won the trophy more often than Spurs.

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The last Spurs player to score a hat trick in the Cup was Heung-Min Son, this was only last season V Millwall, (top image - his second goal) which makes him the top, current player, with 7 goals. The top all-time leading scorer is, little surprise, Jimmy Greaves on 32 that’s ten ahead of Bobby Smith. The first Spurs hat trick arrived in 1896, Clements in a 4-0 win (Ernie Payne scored the other goal) as we beat St Stephens.
To date we have met 98 different sides (including the Coldstream Guards) in the competition (AFC Wimbledon will be 99) and scored 852 times in 428 games, (winning 221). 39 of those games have been on neutral grounds where Wembley leads the way on 13. Ahead of, curse and all (1) Villa Park on 9 occasions.

1981 and in the first match in the final Ricki Villa wore the number 6 for the replay he swopped with Steve Perryman and wore his lucky number 5 and scored twice including the goal that was voted the best at Wembley in the twentieth century.

Left - Ricki in replay.

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When we retained the trophy in 1962 we became only the second team to do so since the 1890’s. Then in 1982 we became the third and the first side to do it twice.
In both the 1981 and 82 finals the man of the match was the opposition goalkeeper.
The first ‘extra time’ we featured in was V Southampton as we drew 2-2 in a replay in 1902.
Our first goal from a penalty was Tom Morris V Manchester City 1909 (4-3) and our first four goal haul was Sandy Brown in the semi final at Villa Park V West Brom in 1901.

The first ‘penalty shootout’ was V Peterborough in 1994 we won 5-4.

Our record score is 13-2 V Crewe in 1960, (2). That night Les Allen scored our first five goal spree, (right in Crewe match) Bobby Smith 4 and Cliff Jones 3. The only time we have scored three hat tricks in one game.

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Only three men have scored two hat tricks for Spurs in the competition, Jimmy Greaves, Johnny Morrison and Sandy Brown. Kane and Son currently have one each.  We had six different scorers in our 6-2 win over Bristol Rovers in 1921. Sandy Brown still holds the competition record’s for scoring in every round during that 1901 triumph. As well as the top individual return in one season with 15.

These figs don’t include the game that was annulled V Vampires in when the pitch was incorrectly marked and we won the rematch 2-1,  having lost the first game.
We have also had three games abandoned, Villa 1904, Hull 1907, Forest 1996 and Bolton 2012.

Left - Harry Clarke V Newcastle FA Cup 1952

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The first time we reached the Proper competition from the qualifying rounds was in Feb 1896.
Our first great Cup run was in 1899 (3). 
We played 14 home games at the old Northumberland Park ground.

The first time we wore numbered shirts was in a FA Cup game V Watford in 1939...(Strangely the first time our reserves wore numbers was five years earlier in a game V Watford)…

It was against West Herts in 1894 that we played our first ever game in the competition, they later evolved into Watford.

Right - Danny Blanchflower 1961.

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COYS
Keith Harrison.
t- Keith 16024542
f - https://www.facebook.com/keith.harrison.9659
My profile / archive is @ http://www.indiaspurs.com/keith_harrison.html

Notes -1- Villa Park. - http://www.indiaspurs.com/blog/hotspur-towers-the-curse-of-villa-park
2 - Crewe- http://www.indiaspurs.com/blog/platform-13
3 - The first great Cup run - http://www.indiaspurs.com/blog/hotspur-towers-the-first-great-cup-run

Further reading - The Cup miniseries
1 http://www.indiaspurs.com/blog/the-cup-part-1
2 http://www.indiaspurs.com/blog/the-cup-part-2
3 http://www.indiaspurs.com/blog/the-cup-part-3