The Football Association Amateur Cup, commonly known as the FA Amateur Cup, was a national knockout cup competition for English amateur football clubs, which was organised by, and named after, the FA (The Football Association). It was staged for the first time in the 1893–94 season, in response to the increasing domination of the sport by professional teams.Samuel, p. 3 It was discontinued after the 1973–74 season, when the FA abolished their policy whereby all clubs were officially considered to be either professional or amateur in status. Thereafter, teams which had competed in the Amateur Cup instead either joined the existing FA Trophy or entered the newly created FA Vase.

The competition was staged 71 times and 36 different clubs won the Cup. The first tournament was won by Old Carthusians, who beat Casuals in a match held at the Richmond Athletic Ground. The record for the most wins is held by Bishop Auckland, with ten victories, followed by Clapton and Crook Town with five wins each. The final club to win the tournament was Bishop's Stortford, who defeated Ilford in the 1974 final.

History The first tournament featured amateur teams from throughout England and was won by Old Carthusians, the team representing former pupils of Charterhouse School, who defeated Casuals. The Carthusians had won England's premier national competition, the FA Cup, in 1881, and thus became the first team to win both cups. The only other club to achieve this feat was Wimbledon, who won the Amateur Cup in 1963 and the FA Cup in 1988. With the exception of a second win for Carthusians and a victory for Old Malvernians, the competition's first decade was dominated by teams from the north-east of the country, including Middlesbrough, Bishop Auckland and Stockton, who each won the competition twice. Southern clubs were the most successful during the inter-war period, winning the tournament 15 times in 19 seasons.Samuel, p. 4

By the start of the Second World War, Bishop Auckland had won the Amateur Cup seven times, and Clapton five times. Interest in the competition peaked soon after the war, and the final was moved to Wembley Stadium, which attracted crowds of up to 100,000. In 1954, Crook Town defeated Bishop Auckland to win the Amateur Cup for the second time, over fifty years after the club's previous victory. The "Bishops" won the final for the next three seasons, the only hat-trick of wins in the competition's history. This took the club's number of wins to 10, a figure that was never surpassed. Crook Town themselves also went on to win the tournament three more times.

In the 1960s, interest in the Amateur Cup declined and crowds for the final dropped to less than half the level of the early Wembley finals.Samuel, pp. 65–80 During the last decade of the tournament's existence, Enfield claimed two wins. The last Amateur Cup final was held on 20 April 1974, and Bishop's Stortford became the last tournament winners, defeating Ilford 4–1. In the same year, the FA abandoned its policy of classifying all clubs as either fully professional or fully amateur, and accordingly the Amateur Cup was abolished.

Finals

If the final finished with the scores level after extra time, the teams would play again in a replay at a later date. Penalty shoot-outs were never used. The competition was not staged during the First or Second World Wars, other than in the 1914–15 season. Where the venue is shown in italics, only the town where the final took place is recorded, rather than the name of the specific stadium.

+Key(R)Replay(2R)Second replay*Match went to extra time

+Results Season Winner Score Runners–up VenueNotes Old Carthusians 2–1 Casuals Athletic Ground, Richmond Samuel, p. 6 Middlesbrough 2–1 Old Carthusians Headingley Stadium Bishop Auckland 1–0 Royal Artillery Portsmouth Walnut Street, Leicester Samuel, p. 7 Old Carthusians1–1 * Stockton Tufnell Park Samuel, p. 8 Old Carthusians 4–1 Stockton Feethams Middlesbrough 2–1 Uxbridge Crystal Palace Stockton 1–0 Harwich & Parkeston Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough Samuel, p. 9 Bishop Auckland 5–1 Lowestoft Town Filbert Street Samuel, p. 10 Crook Town1–1 * King's Lynn Dovercourt Crook Town 3–0 King's Lynn Ipswich Old Malvernians 5–1 Bishop Auckland Headingley Stadium Samuel, p. 12 Stockton 0–0 * Oxford City Reading Stockton 1–0 Oxford City Feethams Sheffield 3–1 Ealing Association Valley Parade Samuel, p. 13 West Hartlepool 3–2 Clapton Shepherd's Bush Samuel, p. 14 Oxford City 3–0 Bishop Auckland Stockton-on-Tees Samuel, p. 15 Clapton 2–1 Stockton Stamford Bridge Depot Bn., Royal Engineers 2–1 Stockton Bishop Auckland Samuel, p. 16 Clapton 6–0 Eston United Ilford Samuel, p. 18 RMLI Gosport 2–1 South Bank Bishop Auckland Samuel, p. 19 Bromley 1–0 Bishop Auckland ground of West Norwood F.C., Herne Hill Samuel, p. 20 Stockton 0–0 * Eston United Ayresome Park Samuel, p. 21 Stockton 1–0 Eston United Ayresome Park South Bank 1–1 * Oxford City Elm Park Samuel, p. 22 South Bank 1–0 Oxford City Kingsway, Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland 1–0 Northern Nomads Elland Road Samuel, p. 23 Clapton 1–0 Bishop Auckland The Den Samuel, p. 24 Dulwich Hamlet 1–0 Tufnell Park The Den Samuel, p. 25 Bishop Auckland 4–2 Swindon Victoria Ayresome Park Samuel, p. 26 Bishop Auckland 5–2 * South Bank Ayresome Park Samuel, p. 27 London Caledonians 2–1 Evesham Town Crystal Palace Samuel, p. 28 Clapton 3–0 Erith & Belvedere The Den Samuel, p. 30 Clapton 2–1 Southall The Den Samuel, p. 31 Northern Nomads 7–1 Stockton Roker Park Samuel, p. 32 Leyton 3–1 Barking Town The Den Samuel, p. 33 Leyton 3–2 Cockfield Ayresome Park Samuel, p. 34 Ilford 3–1 Leyton Arsenal Stadium Samuel, p. 35 Ilford 5–1 Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic Boleyn Ground Samuel, p. 36 Wycombe Wanderers 1–0 Hayes Arsenal Stadium Samuel, p. 37 Dulwich Hamlet 7–1 Marine Boleyn Ground Samuel, p. 38 Kingstonian 1–1 * Stockton Champion Hill Samuel, p. 39 Kingstonian 4–1 Stockton Feethams Dulwich Hamlet 2–1 Leyton Boleyn Ground Samuel, p. 40 Bishop Auckland 0–0 * Wimbledon Ayresome Park Samuel, p. 42 Bishop Auckland 2–1 Wimbledon Stamford Bridge Casuals 1–1 * Ilford Selhurst Park Samuel, p. 43 Casuals 2–0 Ilford Boleyn Ground Dulwich Hamlet 2–0 Leyton Boleyn Ground Samuel, p. 44 Bromley 1–0 Erith & Belvedere The Den Samuel, p. 45 Bishop Auckland 3–0 Willington Roker Park Samuel, p. 46 Barnet 3–2 Bishop Auckland Stamford Bridge Samuel, p. 47 Leytonstone 2–1 Wimbledon Arsenal Stadium Samuel, p. 48 Leytonstone 1–0 Barnet Stamford Bridge Samuel, p. 49 Bromley 1–0 Romford Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 50 Willington 4–0 Bishop Auckland Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 51 Pegasus 2–1 Bishop Auckland Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 52 Walthamstow Avenue 2–1 Leyton Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 53 Pegasus 6–0 Harwich & Parkeston Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 55 Crook Town 2–2 * Bishop Auckland Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 56 Crook Town 2–2 * Bishop Auckland St James' Park Crook Town 1–0 Bishop Auckland Ayresome Park Bishop Auckland 2–0 Hendon Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 58 Bishop Auckland1–1 * Corinthian-Casuals Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 59 Bishop Auckland 4–1 Corinthian-Casuals Ayresome Park Bishop Auckland 3–1 Wycombe Wanderers Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 61 Woking 3–0 Ilford Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 62 Crook Town 3–2 Barnet Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 63 Hendon 2–1 Kingstonian Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 64 Walthamstow Avenue 2–1 West Auckland Town Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 65 Crook Town 1–1 * Hounslow Town Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 66 Crook Town 4–0 Hounslow Town Ayresome Park Wimbledon 4–2 Sutton United Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 68 Crook Town 2–1 Enfield Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 69 Hendon 3–1 Whitby Town Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 70 Wealdstone 3–1 Hendon Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 71 Enfield 0–0 * Skelmersdale United Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 72 Enfield 3–0 Skelmersdale United Maine Road Leytonstone 1–0 Chesham United Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 74 North Shields 2–1 Sutton United Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 75 Enfield 5–1 Dagenham Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 76 Skelmersdale United 4–1 Dagenham Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 77 Hendon 2–0 Enfield Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 78 Walton & Hersham 1–0 Slough Town Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 80 Bishop's Stortford 4–1 Ilford Wembley Stadium Samuel, p. 81

Wins by team + Wins Club Years 10 Bishop Auckland 1896, 1900, 1914, 1921, 1922, 1935, 1939, 1955, 1956, 1957 5 Clapton 1907, 1909, 1915, 1924, 1925 Crook Town 1901, 1954, 1959, 1962, 1964 4 Dulwich Hamlet 1920, 1932, 1934, 1937 3 Bromley 1911, 1938, 1949 Hendon 1960, 1965, 1972 Leytonstone 1947, 1948, 1968 Stockton 1899, 1903, 1912 2 Enfield 1967, 1970 Ilford 1929, 1930 Leyton 1927, 1928 Middlesbrough 1895, 1898 Old Carthusians 1894, 1897 Pegasus 1951, 1953 Walthamstow Avenue 1952, 1961 1 Barnet 1946 Bishop's Stortford 1974 Casuals 1936 Depot Bn., Royal Engineers 1908 Kingstonian 1933 London Caledonians 1923 North Shields 1969 Northern Nomads 1926 Old Malvernians 1902 Oxford City 1906 RMLI Gosport 1910 Sheffield 1904 Skelmersdale United 1971 South Bank 1913 Walton & Hersham 1973 Wealdstone 1966 West Hartlepool 1905 Willington 1950 Wimbledon 1963 Woking 1958 Wycombe Wanderers 1931

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