CITY’S FA CUP FINALS 1949
1949:
Leicester City 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 Attendance: 98,920.
Leicester City team: Bradley, Jelly, Scott, Walter Harrison, Plummer (captain), King, Griffiths, Lee, Jimmy Harrison, Chisholm, Adam.
IN 1949, despite fighting relegation from the Second Division, 400-1 outsiders Leicester City reached their first ever FA Cup final, where they met high-flying First Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers
Managed by Johnny Duncan, Leicester City’s young team had a gruelling run to the final.
The third round tie against First Division Birmingham City went to two replays.
After defeating Preston North End in the fourth round, eighteen goals were scored in the fifth round tie against Luton Town! City equalised in the last minute of extra time to draw 5-5 at Luton before defeating the Hatters 5-3 in the replay four days later.
After winning 1-0 at Brentford in the quarter-final, lowly Leicester sensationally defeated league champions Portsmouth 3-1 in the semi-final at Highbury with Don Revie scoring twice.
Revie along with goalkeeper Ian McGraw missed the final through injury. Leicester City were 2-0 down at half-time. Mal Griffiths made it 2-1 soon after half-time and in the 64th minute the Wembley crowd thought that Ken Chisholm had equalised before his ‘goal’ was ruled offside. Sam Smyth’s goal a minute later secured a 3-1 victory for Wolves.
The following week, after an open top bus tour, the team then had to play three games in four days. They needed to draw the final game at Cardiff City to avoid the drop into the Third Division. They drew 1-1 and Nottingham Forest were relegated instead.