The Cup Final at the Crystal Palace

The final before Wembley existed. From 1895 to 1914 the Cup Final was played on the slopes of the Crystal Palace grounds in south London, and in 1901 — Tottenham against Sheffield United — one hundred and ten thousand people came, the largest crowd football had ever drawn. The press photographers turned their cameras around and shot the hillside instead of the match: this is the photograph that proved the game had become the country’s largest regular gathering. The trees are full of boys — the original cheap seats. The pitch, somewhere beyond the hats, is a distant rumor.

Maker

press photograph

Date

1901

Medium of the original

Press photograph

Original held by

Unknown photographer, 1901 · Wikimedia Commons

Credit

Unknown photographer, 1901 · Wikimedia Commons

Rights

Public domain, verified

Catalogue number

PA-01076