1923-1930
In this period, the FA Cup Final at last found itself a permanent home.
Wembley Stadium, or more correctly, The British Empire Exhibition Stadium was built specifically for the British Empire Exhibition of 1924. It had been intended to demolish the structure immediately after the Exhibition but of course, this act was postponed for 78 years until 2003.
Of course, every schoolboy knows that the first final of the FA Cup payed at Wembley was the 1923 match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. It is perhaps fitting that Bolton ran out winners as the original winners of the FA Cup fifty-one years earlier in 1872 had also played under the moniker Wanderers.
Spurs' two FA Cup wins in 1901 and 1921 aside, the FA Cup had been the exclusive plaything of teams from the North and Midlands since 1883. This period saw Arsenal's first win and of course 1927 is still the only time that the FA Cup has ever been won by a team from outside England.
