Final Score: Tottenham Hotspur 3 Burnley 1
FA Cup Venue: Wembley Stadium, London
Date: Saturday 5th May 1962
Attendance: 100,000
Teams
Tottenham – Bill Brown, Peter Baker, Ron Henry, Danny Blanchflower (capt), Maurice Norman, Dave Mackay, Terry Medwin, John White, Bobby Smith, Jimmy Greaves, Cliff Jones
Manager – Bill Nicholson
Scorers – Greaves 3, Smith 51, Blanchflower (pen) 80
Burnley – Adam Blacklaw, John Angus, Alex Elder, Jimmy Adamson (capt), Tommy Cummings, Brian Miller, John Connelly, Jimmy McIlroy, Ray Pointer, Jimmy Robson, Gordon Harris
Manager – Harry Potts
Scorer – Robson 50
Referee: Jim Finney
Match Report
Spurs had won the cup the previous season when they also did the league and cup double and fielded nine of the same team, the two changes being Medwin for Terry Dyson and Greaves for Les Allen.
Jimmy Greaves marked his FA Cup final debut by scoring a left footed shot in just the third minute. Burnley equalised five minutes into the second half when Jimmy Robson netted what was the 100th FA Cup Final goal at Wembley Stadium from a Gordon Harris cross. Bobby Smith restored Spurs’ lead 60 seconds later though.
Robson was denied a second equaliser by a very tight offside decision before Tommy Cummings handled the ball on the goal line ten minutes from time despite the linesman flagging for a foul on ‘keeper Adam Blacklaw. In those days the handling offence wasn’t classed as a sending off offence like it is today. Skipper Danny Blanchflower duly scored the spot kick, and the cup was back at White Hart Lane.
Cummings handles on the line to concede a penalty
The three Spurs scorers, Bobby Smith, Danny Blanchflower and Jimmy Greaves
Facts
- Spurs had finished third in the league, whereas Burnley were runners up
- Both managers had taken their teams to the League Championship and had also both played for their respective sides.
- It was the last cup final to be staged with open terraces, the Wembley roof was extended all around before the 1963 final.
- It was the first cup final to be televised with cameras behind the goal as well as on the side.
- The game was dubbed ‘the Chessboard final’ by the media as both sides were careful in their build up, but the number of shots on target were the highest since World War Two.
Jimmy Greaves
Jimmy was signed from AC Milan in December 1961 for a fee of £99,999, deliberately to prevent him being the first £100,000 player in Britain. He went on to become the club’s record scorer with 268 goals, a record that was broken by Harry Kane in 2023.
Bobby Smith
Seen here scoring the second Spurs goal. Bobby was a busting striker who scored twice in the previous 1961 final when Spurs did the double. He went on to score 208 goals for Spurs, third in their all-time list behind Kane and Greaves.
1962 FA Cup Results
Third Round
BURNLEY v QPR 6‑1; Brentford v Leyton Orient 1‑1, 1‑2; Everton v King’s Lynn 4‑0; Notts Co v Man City 0‑1; Newcastle Utd v Peterborough Utd 0‑1 ; Bury v Sheff Utd 0‑0, 2‑2,0‑2; Norwich C v Wrexham 3‑1; Ipswich T v Luton T 1‑1, 1‑1, 5‑1; Fulham v Hartlepools Utd 3‑1; Bristol C v Walsall 0‑0, 1‑4; Southampton v Sunderland 2‑2, 0‑2; Port Vale v Northampton T 3‑1; Leicester C v Stoke C 1‑1, 2‑5; Brighton & H Alb v Blackburn R 0‑2; Southport v Shrewsbury T 1‑2; Middlesbrough v Cardiff C 1 ‑0; Bristol R v Oldham Ath 1‑1, 0‑2; Liverpool v Chelsea 4‑3; PNE v Watford 3‑2; Morecambe v Weymouth 0‑1; Man Utd v Bolton Wand 2‑1; Arsenal v Bradford C 3‑0; Workington v Nottm Forest 1‑2; Sheff Wed v Swansea T 1 ‑0; Aston Villa v Crystal Palace 4‑2; Huddersfield T v Rotherham Utd 4‑3; Chariton Ath v Scunthorpe Utd 1 ‑0; Leeds Utd v Derby Co 2‑2, 1‑5; Wolves v Carlisle Utd 3‑ 1; Blackpool v WBA 0‑0, 1‑2; Plymouth Arg v W. Ham 3‑0; Birmingham C v SPURS 3‑3,2‑4
Fourth Round
BURNLEY v Leyton Orient 1 ‑1, 1 ‑0; Everton v Man C 2‑0; Peterborough Utd v Sheff Utd 1‑3; Norwich C v Ipswich T 1‑ 1, 2‑1; Fulham v Walsall 2‑2, 2‑0; Sunderland v Port Vale 0‑0, 1‑3; Stoke C v Blackburn R 0‑1; Shrewsbury T v Middlesbrough 2‑2, 1‑5; Oldham Ath v Liverpool 1‑2; PNE v Weymouth 2‑0; Man Utd v Arsenal 1 ‑0; Nottm Forest v Sheff Wed 0‑2; Aston Villa v Huddersfield T 2‑1; Charlton Ath v Derby Co 2‑1; Wolves v WBA 1‑2; Plymouth v SPURS 1‑5
Fifth Round
BURNLEY v Everton 3‑1; Sheff Utd v Norwich C 3‑1; Fulham v Port Vale 1 ‑0; Blackburn R v Middlesbrough 2‑1; Liverpool v PNE 0‑0, 0‑0, 0‑1; Man Utd v Sheff Wed 0‑0, 2‑0; Aston Villa v Charlton Ath 2‑1; WBA v SPURS 2‑4
Sixth Round
Sheff Utd v BURNLEY 0‑ 1; Fulham v Blackburn R 2‑2, 1-0; PNE v Man Utd 0‑0, 1‑2; SPURS v Aston Villa 2‑0
Semi‑Final
BURNLEY v Fulham 1‑1, 2‑1; Man Utd v SPURS 1‑3
