Football League War Cup

English association football cup in World War II

Football tournament

Football League War CupOrganising body| FA

|

Founded| 1939
Abolished| 1945; 80 years ago (1945)
Region| United Kingdom
Related competitions| FA Cup
Last champions| Bolton Wanderers
(1st title)

The Football League War Cup was an association football tournament held between 1939 and 1945. It aimed to fill the gap left in English football by the suspension of the FA Cup during the Second World War. Though it was often referred to in contemporary coverage as the "League Cup" or "Football League Cup", it is not to be confused with the later English football competition with the same name, which was formed in 1960 and is currently known as the EFL Cup. As with all wartime football in England, records and statistics from the competition are not considered official.

## Overview

[edit]

The Football League (War) Cup was formed in 1940 to be a replacement for the FA Cup, which had been suspended for the duration of the conflict. Ties were played over two legs in order to boost revenue for clubs. In the 1941–42 season, 16 clubs from London and South East England did not participate owing to a dispute with the Football League over the formation of a separate London League.[1] Instead they competed in the London War Cup.[2] The winners of the London War Cup faced the winners of the Football League War Cup in a play-off.[3] The London clubs re-joined the Football League in the summer of 1942 and the separate London cup competition was discontinued.

To reduce traveling distances for clubs, after 1942 the competition was split into north and south sections, each with its own final. The South Cup had a round-robin group stage comprising four groups of four clubs who would play each other at home and away, with the group winners advancing to the semi-finals.[4] The North Cup had 48 entrants and used a more complicated format. The standings in the North Football League table after ten matches determined the 32 qualifiers for the competition proper. Teams would then progressively knock each other out in two-legged ties that also counted as league matches.[4] The north final was decided over two legs. The south final was a single match held at Wembley Stadium. The North and South champions would then meet in a play-off to decide the competition's overall winner; play-off matches were held at Stamford Bridge. Gate receipts from the play-off matches were donated to King George's Fund for Sailors.

## Results

[edit]

### Finals

[edit]

Keys

* playoff result after the final ended in a tie.

Ed.  | Year  | Winner  | Score  | Runner-up  | Venue  | City

|
|
|
|
|
|

| 1940 | West Ham United |

1–0

| Blackburn Rovers | Wembley | London

| 1941 | Preston North End |

1–1

| Arsenal | Wembley | London

2–1

| Ewood Park | Blackburn

| 1942 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |

2–2

| Sunderland | Roker Park | Sunderland

4–1

| Molineux | Wolverhampton

| 1943 | Blackpool |

4–2

| Arsenal | Stamford Bridge | London

| 1944 | Charlton Athletic [n 1] |

1–1

| (none) [n 1] | Stamford Bridge | London
Aston Villa [n 1]

| 1945 | Bolton Wanderers |

2–1

| Chelsea | Stamford Bridge | London

Notes

1. ^ a b c As no replay match was held, the title was awarded to both clubs.

### Northern Final

[edit]

Season  | Winner  | Runner-up

|
|

1943  | Blackpool | Sheffield Wednesday
1944  | Aston Villa | Blackpool
1945  | Bolton Wanderers | Manchester United

### Southern Final

[edit]

Season  | Winner  | Runner-up

|
|

1943  | Arsenal | Charlton Athletic
1944 | Charlton Athletic | Chelsea
1945 | Chelsea | Millwall

## Finals details

[edit]

### 1939–40

[edit]

Final

8 June 1940

West Ham United| 1–0| Blackburn Rovers

|
|

Small |  |

Wembley

Attendance: 42,399

137 games (including replays) were played to get to the final of the inaugural Football League War Cup. These matches were condensed into just 9 weeks. Despite the fears that London would be bombed by the Luftwaffe fans came in thousands to watch the game at Wembley, despite its obvious danger as a bombing target.

### 1940–41

[edit]

Final

10 May 1941

Preston North End| 1–1| Arsenal

|
|

McLaren |  | Compton

Wembley

Attendance: 60,000

31 May 1941

Replay

Preston North End| 2–1| Arsenal

|
|

Beattie |  | Gallimore  (o.g.)

Ewood Park

Attendance: 5,000

In the nine months leading up to the final, 127 large-scale night-raids had taken place, with London, the home of the final, being a regular target. This threat did not stop 60,000 people turning up to watch the game.

Preston North End beat Bury, Bolton, Tranmere Rovers (20-2 on aggregate), Manchester City and Newcastle (2–0 on aggregate) to reach the final. Andrew McLaren had scored nine goals during the tournament, including five goals in Preston's 12–1 home leg win over Tranmere. Thanks to a 40th minute equaliser from Arsenal's D. Compton in the game at Wembley, this was the first final of the tournament to go to a replay. L. Compton of Arsenal struck the Preston post with a missed penalty in the 3rd minute.[5]

The replay was moved away from London to Ewood Park. The win for Preston meant that they had completed the first wartime league and cup double, having also won the Northern Regional League.

### 1941–42

[edit]

Final

23 May 1942

First leg

Sunderland| 2–2| Wolverhampton Wanderers

|
|

Carter 54'
Stubbins 77' |  | Westcott 11', 85'

Roker Park, Sunderland

Attendance: 34,776

Referee: J. M. Wiltshire

30 May 1942

Second leg

Wolverhampton Wanderers| 4–1| Sunderland

|
|

Westcott 35'
Broome 51'
Rowley 59', 70' |  | Carter 58'

Molineux, Wolverhampton

Attendance: 43,038

Referee: J. M. Wiltshire

The third competition in 1942 saw the final switched to a two-legged format with each team playing one leg on their home ground. This was the only time in the tournament's history that the final was decided in such a way.

Eric Robinson of Wolves was to die soon after his team won the tournament, during a military exercise.

On 6 June 1942, Wolves faced Brentford, winners of the London War Cup (clubs from London did not participate in the FLWC that season), in a cup winners play-off held at Stamford Bridge. The match ended 1–1 and was not replayed, so the clubs shared the honour.[3]

### 1942–43

[edit]

North Final

1 May 1943

First leg

Blackpool| 2–2| Sheffield Wednesday

|
|

|  |

Bloomfield Road

Attendance: 28,000

8 May 1943

Second leg

Sheffield Wednesday| 1–2| Blackpool

|
|

|  |

Hillsborough Stadium

Attendance: 42,657.

South Final

1 May 1943

Arsenal| 7–1| Charlton Athletic

|
|

|  |

Wembley

Attendance: 75,000

Final

15 May 1943

Arsenal| 2–4| Blackpool

|
|

|  |

Stamford Bridge

Attendance: 55,195

In its final three years, the competition was split into north and south halves, with the winners of each section competing in a play-off, staged at Stamford Bridge, to decide the cup winner. The northern winners were decided over two legs, while the southern finalists met in a one-off Wembley final.

The overall final marked the second time Arsenal had got to the final. They would end up being the club who had reached the most Football League War Cup finals, yet did not win once. The final was also notable because both clubs had won their respective wartime divisions.

### 1943–44

[edit]

North final

First leg

Blackpool| 2–1| Aston Villa

|
|

|  |

Bloomfield Road

Attendance: 28,000

Second leg

Aston Villa| 4–2| Blackpool

|
|

|  |

Villa Park

Attendance: 54,824

South Final

Charlton Athletic| 3–1| Chelsea

|
|

|  |

Wembley

Attendance: 85,000

Final

20 May 1944

Charlton Athletic| 1–1| Aston Villa

|
|

| Shared |

Stamford Bridge

Attendance: 38,540

The score in the final was tied at 1–1 but due to transport restrictions and bombing threats, a replay was not held and the game ended a draw. Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa shared the 1944 trophy, an event that had not happened before and did not happen again.

### 1944–45

[edit]

North final

First leg

Bolton Wanderers| 1–0| Manchester United

|
|

|  |

Burnden Park

Attendance: 40,000

Second leg

Manchester United| 2–2| Bolton Wanderers

|
|

|  |

Maine Road

Attendance: 40,000

South Final

7 April 1945

Chelsea| 2–0| Millwall

|
|

|  |

Wembley

Attendance: 90,000

Final

2 June 1945

Chelsea| 1–2| Bolton Wanderers

|
|

|  |

Stamford Bridge

Attendance: 35,000

## See also

[edit]

* Association football during World War I
* Association football during World War II
* London War Cup

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "London clubs expelled from the League". The Times. 6 August 1941.
2. ^ Foster, Richard (24 April 2020). "How English football responded to the second world war". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
3. ^ a b "When Brentford won a Wembley cup final – with help from traffic police". The Guardian. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
4. ^ a b "The New Season". The Times. 26 August 1942.
5. ^ "1941 FA Cup Final at Wembley Arsenal v Preston.wmv".

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Football League War Cup

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