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1957 FA Cup final

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1957 FA Cup final
Event1956–57 FA Cup
Date4 May 1957
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeFrank Coultas (Hull)
Attendance99,225
1956
1958

The 1957 FA Cup final was a football match played on 4 May 1957 at Wembley Stadium between Aston Villa and Manchester United. Villa won 2–1, with both of their goals scored by Peter McParland. Tommy Taylor scored United's goal. It was Villa's first major trophy for 37 years and prevented United from doing The Double, Matt Busbys' side having been crowned Football League champions having won the First Division.[1]

The final was marred by a collision after only six minutes between Villa forward Peter McParland and United goalkeeper Ray Wood, which left Wood unconscious with a broken cheekbone. Wood left the pitch and Jackie Blanchflower took over in goal for United. Wood eventually rejoined the game in an outfield position as a virtual passenger (slang for a player that is on the field but not proactively participating) before returning to goal for the last seven minutes of the game.

Villa's victory gave them their seventh FA Cup title, a record at the time, but since passed by three clubs including Manchester United, who have thirteen wins. They reached the final in 2000, when they lost to Chelsea, and in 2015, when they lost to Arsenal.

Six of the 11 players who took to the field for United in this game died in the Munich air disaster nine months later; as did a further two players who did not appear in the game, while two others (who both appeared in the game) were injured in the crash to such an extent that they never played again. The only United players who appeared in the final a year later were full-back Bill Foulkes and forward Bobby Charlton. The death of Foulkes in November 2013 and of Charlton in October 2023 leaves no surviving players from the United team, while the death of Nigel Sims in January 2018 left Peter McParland as the only remaining survivor from the winning team.

In December 2007, BBC Four's Timeshift series screened a documentary, A Game of Two Eras, which compared the 1957 final with its 2007 counterpart.[2]

Road to Wembley

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Aston Villa

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Round 3 Luton Town 2–2 Aston Villa
Round 3 replay Aston Villa 2–0 Luton Town
Round 4 Middlesbrough 2–3 Aston Villa
Round 5 Aston Villa 2–1 Bristol City
Round 6 Burnley 1–1 Aston Villa
Round 6 replay Aston Villa 2–0 Burnley
Semi-final Aston Villa 2–2 West Bromwich Albion
(at Molineux)
Semi-final Replay West Bromwich Albion 0–1 Aston Villa
(at St Andrew's)

Manchester United

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Round 3 Hartlepools United 3–4 Manchester United
Round 4 Wrexham 0–5 Manchester United
Round 5 Manchester United 2–1 Everton
Round 6 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 1–2 Manchester United
Semi-final Manchester United 2–0 Birmingham City
(at Hillsborough)

Match details

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Aston Villa2–1Manchester United
McParland 68', 73' Report Taylor 83'
Attendance: 99,225
Referee: F. Coultas
Aston Villa
Manchester United
GK 1 England Nigel Sims
RB 2 England Stan Lynn
LB 3 England Peter Aldis
RH 4 England Stan Crowther
CH 5 England Jimmy Dugdale
LH 6 Republic of Ireland Pat Saward
OR 7 England Les Smith
IR 8 England Jackie Sewell
CF 9 England Bill Myerscough
IL 10 England Johnny Dixon (c)
OL 11 Northern Ireland Peter McParland
Manager:
England Eric Houghton
GK 1 England Ray Wood
RB 2 England Bill Foulkes
LB 3 England Roger Byrne (c)
RH 4 England Eddie Colman
CH 5 Northern Ireland Jackie Blanchflower
LH 6 England Duncan Edwards
OR 7 England Johnny Berry
IR 8 Republic of Ireland Billy Whelan
CF 9 England Tommy Taylor
IL 10 England Bobby Charlton
OL 11 England David Pegg
Manager:
Scotland Matt Busby
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  1. ^ "Aston Villa Football Club | the official club website".
  2. ^ BBC Four - Timeshift, Series 7, A Game of Two Eras: 1957 v 2007
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