Dominic Bliss takes a look back at a win that shook up English football 100 years ago, as the Corinthians stunned top-flight Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup…
This Friday will mark the 100th anniversary of one of the most important victories in the history of our club. On 12 January 1924, the Corinthians took on Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup first round in front of 20,000 people at the Crystal Palace. Our opponents were not only professionals, but also a top-flight outfit who would go on to finish eighth in the First Division at the end of the season.
By contrast, the Corinthians had never played in competitive league football, opting only to play in exhibition matches or charity trophies until the previous season, when we had entered the FA Cup for the first time, losing to Brighton in the first round after two replays.
It was a strong Corinth side, however. Ben Howard Baker was one of the best goalkeepers in the country, earning two England caps, and turned out for Chelsea in league football when he wasn’t playing for Corinthian. He was a great all-round sportsman and held the British high jump record for years as well as competing in two Olympic Games. He even entered qualifying for the Wimbledon tennis championships a few years later.
In front of him was another Chelsea player, Alfred Bower, who holds the distinction of being the last amateur to have captained the England team, while at centre-half that day was Claude Ashton, who played first-class cricket and played almost every position for the Corinthians, including goalkeeper and centre-forward.
Unsurprisingly, there was great interest in this game, which must have been considered the tie of the round, especially when you consider that the very earliest of Corinthian golden teams had made their name with a momentous 8-1 win over then FA Cup-holders Blackburn Rovers back in December 1884.
Forty years on, it was universally accepted that the top amateurs were no longer a match for professional opponents, but the Corinthians were still able to give First Division sides a game on their day. The days of 8-1 wins over the cup winners were long gone, but if they put in their best performance, they could still give Blackburn a bloody nose. The amateurs looked determined to do just that as they came flying out of the blocks at the Crystal Palace.
“The ground was soft, and the Corinthians had the advantage of a fairly stiff breeze in the first half,” recalled Norman Creek, who played centre-forward that day.
Jackie Hegan, left-winger for the Corinthians, hit the upright with an early effort, then turned provider on 15 minutes when he found Doggart, who collected his pass 25 yards out then dribbled forward, appearing at one stage to have lost control of the ball, before he managed to get a shot off that flew into the bottom corner of the Blackburn net.
Corinthians had the lead, but now looked to press home the advantage, perhaps aware that professional outfits tended to display superior fitness as the game progressed. Chances came and went but the hosts went in 1-0 up at the break.
However, it was a different story following the restart as Blackburn went in search of a way back into the game. They were having little joy out wide, forcing them to focus their play down the middle in the second half, but although Rovers were dominating the ball, their approach played into the hands of a sturdy Corinthians defence. Morrison, Bower and Ashton handled the Rovers attacks, unafraid to get physical with their professional opponents. It is often assumed that gentleman amateurs, fixated on sportsmanship, would be gentle footballers. However, the Corinthians were renowned for their strong shoulder barging, to the point where it wound up the pros, who had left that kind of hard stuff in the past.
The Londoners saw the game out, thanks in no small part to a stunning late save from Baker, who got across to keep out a goal-bound free-kick in the dying moments.
“Chief honours undoubtedly went to the defence,” wrote Creek in his History of the Corinthians, “with the half-back line the strongest and best-balanced section of the team. John Morrison probably played the best game of his life, and the understanding between the full-backs and the wing-halves in front of them was as fine as in any game since the War.”
That was the official club version of events, but the Daily Mail ran a cartoon that shed a slightly different light on Morrison’s unflinching defensive style. “Leaping hither and thither like a fairy bison, Mr Morrison plunged into anything that was going on,” wrote the cartoonist in his caption, adding: “I understand that the Blackburn directors got all their players back. They were scraped off Mr Morrison’s heel afterwards. Truly a great exhibition of defence. Three rousing cheers were given for the winners and the crowd left hurriedly in case Mr Morrison rolled into the dressing room on his side.”
It was Corinthian Football Club’s first-ever FA Cup victory, and although we fell to a 5-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in the second round, it was enough to justify our place among the teams from the top division, who entered at the first-round stage, without having to qualify. But we’ll leave it to Creek, who led the line that day, to summarise its significance for the club.
“The victory was, in fact, a triumph of determination,” he wrote, “and a great re-assertion of amateur football after many years of obscurity.”
12.01.1924
FA Cup first round
Corinthian 1 - 0 Blackburn Rovers
Doggart 15
Corinthian: B. Howard-Baker; A.G. Bower, J.S.F. Morrison; J.R.B. Moulsdale, C.T. Ashton, L.B. Blaxland; F.W.H. Nicholas, A.H. Phillips, F.N.S. Creek, A.G. Doggart, K.E. Hegan
