1873 FA Cup Final Cup win. It was the only Cup final prior to 1893 not played at The Oval. As the previous year's FA Cup winners, Wanderers received a bye straight to the final in the 1872–73. This was in keeping with the original concept of the competition being a "challenge cup", in which the holders would qualify directly for the following season's final and teams would compete for the other place in the final and the right to challenge them for the trophy. This was the only time this rule was used. In the first round Oxford University played Crystal Palace (a
1873 FA Cup Final 1873 FA Cup Final The 1873 FA Cup final was a football match between Wanderers and Oxford University on 29 March 1873 at Lillie Bridge in London. It was the second final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known in the modern era as the FA Cup). Unusually, the final was held in the morning, so as to avoid a clash with the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race which was held on the same day. Wanderers reached the final without playing a match, as the original rules of the competition stated that the holders would receive