Spurs FA Cup Titles

Tottenham Hotspur have won the FA Cup eight times, a tally that only Arsenal and Manchester United have bettered. Only one final that the club has reached has ever gone the other way and it took Coventry City extra-time and a cruel deflection off Gary Mabbutt to manage it.

Spurs’ relationship with the competition began in the most unlikely fashion of all, when a non-league side defeated the best that the Football League had to offer. It runs from Danny Blanchflower’s double-winning side of the 1960s through to Keith Burkinshaw’s back-to-back wins at the start of the 1980s, by way of a broken unbeaten run at Wembley and a couple of properly chastening afternoons against clubs based two divisions below them.

FA Cup Wins

Spurs’ eight FA Cup wins span nine decades, from a Southern League side lifting the trophy off the Football League’s finest to a scrappy penalty against Queens Park Rangers. Three of them arrived within seven years of each other in the 1960s, and two more came back-to-back at the start of the 1980s.

1900-1901: Spurs Become the Only Non-League Winners

Tottenham Hotspur won the FA Cup for the first time on the 27th of April 1901, beating Sheffield United 3-1 in a replay at Bolton’s Burnden Park, after the original final at Crystal Palace had finished 2-2 in front of a world-record crowd of 110,820. John Cameron, Tom Smith and Sandy Brown scored in the replay, with Brown amongst the scorers in both games. Spurs were then a Southern League club rather than members of the Football League proper. No other side from outside the League has managed the feat since football turned professional in 1888.

1920-1921: Dimmock’s Strike Beats Wolves

Spurs won a second FA Cup on the 23rd of April 1921, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. Jimmy Dimmock scored the only goal eight minutes into the second-half and the trophy was presented by King George V. It came in Tottenham’s first season back in the First Division after winning promotion the year before.

1960-1961: The Double Is Completed

Tottenham beat Leicester City 2-0 at Wembley on the sixth of May 1961, with Bobby Smith and Terry Dyson getting the goals, to complete the League and Cup Double. Spurs had already won the First Division title that season. No club had done the League and Cup Double since Aston Villa in 1897 and none at all had managed it in the 20th century until Spurs got there.

1961-1962: Blanchflower’s Penalty Seals the Chessboard Final

Spurs retained the FA Cup with a 3-1 win over Burnley at Wembley on the fifth of May 1962. Jimmy Greaves put Tottenham ahead inside three minutes, Jimmy Robson equalised for Burnley after half-time, then Bobby Smith restored the lead before Danny Blanchflower settled it from the penalty spot. Cautious, patient football rather than open attacking play earned the match its nickname, the ‘Chessboard Final’.

1966-1967: The First All-London Final

On the 20th of May 1967, Tottenham defeated Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley in the first FA Cup final contested by two London clubs, watched on by 100,000 spectators. Jimmy Robertson put Spurs ahead before teeing up Frank Saul for the second, with Bobby Tambling’s reply for Chelsea proving to be no more than a consolation.

1980-1981: Villa’s Wonder Goal Wins the Replay

Spurs and Manchester City drew 1-1 in the final on the ninth of May 1981, courtesy of a Tommy Hutchison own goal, before Tottenham won the Wembley replay 3-2 five days later. Ricky Villa put Spurs ahead, Steve MacKenzie equalised, and a Kevin Reeves penalty had City in front at half-time, before Garth Crooks levelled it and Villa settled the game with a slaloming run past four defenders in the 76th minute. It was voted the Wembley Goal of the Century in 2001.

1981-1982: Hoddle’s Penalty Sees off QPR

Tottenham retained the Cup after a 1-0 replay win over Queens Park Rangers on the 27th of May 1982, the original final three days earlier having finished 1-1. Glenn Hoddle scored in both games, converting the winning penalty inside six minutes of the replay after QPR captain Tony Currie brought down Graham Roberts. It matched Aston Villa’s then-record of seven FA Cup wins.

1990-1991: Gascoigne’s Injury Overshadows an Eighth Cup

Spurs won their eighth FA Cup on the 18th of May 1991, beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 after extra-time at Wembley. Paul Gascoigne was carried off with torn cruciate ligaments after just 15 minutes, having already committed two reckless tackles, with Stuart Pearce scoring the resulting free-kick to put Forest ahead. Paul Stewart equalised in the second-half, and a Des Walker own goal in extra-time completed the turnaround. Gascoigne’s injury cost him the following season and Euro 1992.

Near Misses & Second-Place Finishes

For all their success in finals, Spurs have come up short only once, and it happened at the worst possible moment, against a club appearing in its first Wembley final.

1986-1987: Mabbutt’s Own Goal Ends the Unbeaten Run

Tottenham had never lost an FA Cup final until Coventry City beat them 3-2 after extra-time on the 16th of May 1987. Clive Allen and Gary Mabbutt scored for Spurs either side of two Coventry goals, but Lloyd McGrath’s cross deflected in off Mabbutt’s shin during extra-time to hand Coventry the club’s first major trophy and Tottenham’s only defeat in eight finals. Spurs had already gone out of the League Cup at the semi-final stage and finished third in the league that season, leaving David Pleat’s side with nothing at all to show for a campaign that had once promised a domestic treble.

Disasters & Upsets

Spurs’ FA Cup history has its share of afternoons to forget too, against clubs from two divisions below them and, more recently, from just one.

1987-1988: Third Division Port Vale Provide the Shock

First Division Tottenham travelled to Third Division Port Vale for a fourth-round tie on the 30th of January 1988, promptly losing 2-1. Ray Walker’s 25-yard strike and a Phil Sproson goal put Vale two up before Neil Ruddock pulled one back, but Spurs could not find an equaliser at Vale Park in front of a crowd of just over 20,000. Two divisions separated the sides, one of the widest gulfs in league position from which Tottenham have ever suffered an FA Cup defeat.

2021-2022: Middlesbrough Extend the Wait

Championship side Middlesbrough knocked Tottenham out of the FA Cup fifth round on the second of March 2022, winning 1-0 after extra-time at the Riverside Stadium. Substitute Josh Coburn scored the only goal in the 107th minute, denying Spurs a quarter-final place and extending a run that, at the time, stretched back 14 years without a major trophy. Middlesbrough had beaten Manchester United on penalties in the previous round, meaning that Spurs were their second Premier League scalp running.