FA Cup Final 1949: Wolves 3 Leicester 1

Here is Pathe’s unusually well-filmed coverage of the 1949 FA Cup Final, which Wolves carried 3-1 over Second Division opposition. Leicester have a goal controversially disallowed in the second half.

This film is unusual for the time in that it’s possible to see enough of the players’ skills to relate them to what you’ll see today. They come over well. Sadly, the commentator’s assertion that the youth of the Wolves team (average age 24, he says) boded well for the future of the national side proved comically incorrect. The great days of Mannion and co. were already over by this stage, and England would have to wait for the Busby Babes before once again having a side describable as world class.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjsJBmVyRMM]