2nd May 1959
Nottingham Forest 2 Luton Town 1
The 1959 FA Cup Final was contested by Nottingham Forest and Luton Town at Wembley. Forest won 2–1, with goals from Roy Dwight and Tommy Wilson just four minutes apart. Dave Pacey scored Luton's consolation goal.
The game was notable for an unusually large number of stoppages due to injury, particularly to Nottingham Forest players, which was put down to the lush nature of the Wembley turf. The most notable of these stoppages occurred when goalscorer Roy Dwight was carried off the pitch after breaking his leg in a tackle with Brendan McNally after 33 minutes.
This also proved a turning point in the game as Forest had been the more dominant team to that point, leading by two goals at the time. Luton gradually took control of the match from this point on, scoring midway through the second half.
Forest were reduced to nine fit men with ten minutes remaining when Bill Whare was crippled with cramp, being forced to play wide on the wing where he was little more than a spectator.
The high volume of injuries during the second half led to four minutes of additional time being added on by the referee, during which time Luton twice came close to forcing extra time as Allan Brown headed narrowly wide of goal before Billy Bingham hit the side netting. Given the condition of the Forest team at that time it would have been a remarkable feat for them to have won the game or even forced a replay in extra time had Luton equalised.
At the final whistle the Forest manager Billy Walker entered the field to congratulate his team and was chased by a steward who tried to marshall him back off. The steward mistook Walker to be a pitch invader.
The game was televised live on the BBC Grandstand programme who introduced score captions into their broadcast for the first time in an FA cup final. This however caused much annoyance in Nottingham where their team's name was displayed on the screen at regular intervals as Notts Forest. Commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme apologised live on air for the mistake, stating that the caption should read Nott'm Forest.
During the game the Forest fans were heard to sing the theme tune to the then popular television programme Robin Hood, this being the first time that popular television culture had made its way into a terrace song during a cup final.
The FA Cup Final 1959 - Official Site
MATCH REPORT
Forest had come within an ace of losing to non‑League Tooting& Mitcham in the third round of the competition, drawing after being two goals down, but there have probably never been more worthy Final winners. Reduced to ten men after Dwight's injury on the half‑hour, they became the first side to win at Wembley with a depleted team. They were two goals up, after fourteen minutes and had established a moral superiority that even the loss of Dwight could not affect.
Forest settled quickly into their best form, and it came as no surprise when they took the lead in the tenth minute. Imlach, out on the left, feinted to cut inside, then beat McNally on the outside before pulling the ball back for Dwight to shoot into the top corner. Four minutes later the scene was repeated as Imlach centred perfectly for the unmarked Wilson to head past Baynham.
As the weight of numbers took its effect in the second half, Luton came more and more into the game and played much better football. Hawkes' hard cross into the goalmouth in the sixty‑second minute eluded several players before Pacey slammed the ball into the net to reduce Forest's lead.
In the last few minutes Forest were desperately kicking long balls upfield whenever possible, and, though Luton remained on the attack right up to the final whistle, the ten men stood firm.
Round By Round
Semi‑Final
LUTON T v Norwich C 1‑1, 1 ‑0; Aston Villa v NOTT'M FOREST 0‑1
Sixth Round
Blackpool v LUTON T 1 ‑1, 0‑1; Sheff Utd v Norwich C 1‑1, 2‑3; Aston Villa v Burnley 0‑0, 2‑0; NOTT'M FOREST v Bolton Wand 2‑1
Fifth Round
Ipswich T v LUTON T 2‑5, Blackpool v WBA 3‑1; Arsenal v Sheff Utd 2‑2,0‑3, Spurs v Norwich C 1‑ 1, 0‑1; Everton v Aston Villa 1‑4; Burnley v Portsmouth 1‑0; Bolton Wand v PNE 2‑2, 1‑1, 1‑0; Birmingham C v NOTT'M FOREST 1‑1, 1‑1, 0‑5
Fourth Round
Leicester C v LUTON T 1‑1, 1‑4; Stoke C v Ipswich T 0‑1; Bristol C v Blackpool 1 ‑1, 0‑1; WBA v Brentford 2‑0; Colchester Utd v Arsenal 2‑2, 0‑4; Worcester C v Sheff Utd 0‑2 Spurs v Newport Co 4‑1, Norwich C v Cardiff C 3‑2; Charlton Ath v Everton 2‑2, 1‑4; Chelsea v Aston Villa 1‑2; Blackburn R v Burnley 1‑2; Accrington S v Portsmouth 0‑0, 1‑4; Wolves v Bolton Wand 1‑2; PNE v Bradford C 3‑2; Birmingham C v Fulham 1‑1, 3‑2; NOTT'M FOREST v Grimsby T 4‑1
Third Round
LUTON T v Leeds Utd 5‑1; Leicester C v Lincoln C 2‑2,2‑0; Stoke C v Oldham Ath 5‑1; Ipswich T v Huddersfield T 1 ‑0; Southampton v Blackpool 1‑2; Doncaster R v Bristol C 0‑2; Sheff Wed v WBA 0‑2; Brentford v Barnsley 2‑0; Colchester Utd v Chesterfield 2‑0; Bury v Arsenal 0‑1; Worcester C v Liverpool 2‑1; Sheff Utd v Crystal Palace 2‑0; Spurs v W. Ham 2‑0; Newport Co v Torquay Utd 0‑0, 1 ‑0, Norwich C v Man Utd 3‑0; Plymouth Arg v Cardiff C 0‑3; Bristol R v CharIton Ath 0‑4; Everton v Sunderland 4‑0; Newcastle Utd v Chelsea 1‑4; Aston Villa v Rotherham Utd 2‑1; Blackburn R v Leyton Orient 4‑2; Stockport Co v Burnley 1‑3, Accrington S v Darlington 3‑0; Portsmouth v Swansea T 3‑1; Barrow v Wolves 2‑4, Scunthorpe Utd v Bolton Wand 0‑2; Derby Co v PNE 2‑2, 2‑4; Brighton & H Alb v Bradford C 0‑2; Middlesbro v Birmingham C 0‑1; Fulham v Peterborough Utd 0‑0, 1 ‑0; Grimsby T v Man C 2‑2, 2‑1; Tooting & Mitcham v NOTT'M FOREST 2‑2, 0‑3
FA Cup Final 1959 Collection
