The 1958 FA Cup final was contested on 3 May 1958 by Bolton Wanderers and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium, London, in front of a crowd of almost 100,000. The referee was J. Sherlock. Bolton won 2–0, with a double by Nat Lofthouse, who scored the goals in the 3rd and 55th minutes. United, who had lost the previous final to Aston Villa, had been devastated three months earlier by the Munich air disaster, and fielded only four crash survivors, along with several newcomers. Just two players featured in the United side from the previous year's final; six of them were among the dead (along with two others who had not played), two were injured to such an extent that they never played again, while another had not yet fully recovered from his injuries.
The second Bolton goal was a source of considerable controversy as it resulted from the Manchester United goalkeeper Harry Gregg being bundled over the goal line by Lofthouse. Goalkeepers were, at that time, much less protected from physical contact with opponents. The resulting debate was one of the high-profile incidents that led eventually to increased protections for goalkeepers.
Not one of Bolton's eleven players in the cup-winning team had cost the club a transfer fee. Five of them were full internationals. Only Nat Lofthouse and Doug Holden remained from the Bolton team that had lost to Blackpool in the Matthews Final five years earlier.
Road to Wembley As First Division clubs, both teams entered the competition at the third round stage.
Bolton Wanderers Manchester UnitedOppositionGoalscorer(s)RoundOppositionGoalscorer(s)4 January 1958Preston North End [D1]A3–0StevensParry (2)Round Three4 January 1958Workington [D3N]A3–1Viollet (3)25 January 1958York City [D3N]A0–0 Round Four25 January 1958Ipswich Town [D2]H2–0Charlton (2)29 January 1958York City [D3N]H3–0BirchAllcock (2)Replay15 February 1958Stoke City [D2]H3–1LofthouseStevensParryRound Five19 February 1958Sheffield Wednesday [D1]H3–0Brennan (2)Dawson1 March 1958Wolverhampton Wanderers [D1]H2–1StevensParryQuarter finals1 March 1958West Bromwich Albion [D1]A2–2DawsonTaylorReplay5 March 1958West Bromwich Albion [D1]H1–0Webster22 March 1958Blackburn Rovers [D2]Maine Road, Manchester2–1Gubbins (2)Semi finals22 March 1958Fulham [D2]Villa Park, Birmingham2–2Charlton (2)Replay26 March 1958Fulham [D2]Highbury, North London5–3Dawson (3)BrennanCharlton Square brackets [ ] represent the opposition's division
Match details
GK 1 Eddie HopkinsonRB 2 Roy HartleLB 3 Tommy BanksRH 4 Derek HenninCH 5 John HigginsLH 6 Bryan EdwardsOR 7 Brian BirchIR 8 Dennis StevensCF 9 Nat Lofthouse (c)IL 10 Ray ParryOL 11 Doug HoldenManager: Bill Ridding GK 1 Harry GreggRB 2 Bill Foulkes (c)LB 3 Ian GreavesRH 4 Freddie GoodwinCH 5 Ronnie CopeLH 6 Stan CrowtherOR 7 Alex DawsonIR 8 Ernie TaylorCF 9 Bobby CharltonIL 10 Dennis ViolletOL 11 Colin WebsterManager: Jimmy Murphy
References