Defence of the Cup

1912-18

City's defence of the FA Cup took them past Queens Park Rangers, albeit after a replay, and Chelsea, before Bradford received its dream tie - .

It was the first real meeting of the two Bradford sides since Avenue had switched codes from rugby in 1907. The town was in ferment in the days leading up to the tie. The Yorkshire Observer printed 100,000 'favours' adorned with the colours of the two clubs.

By kick-off nearly 25,000 were crammed into the Park Avenue ground and several thousand were turned away. Fans clambered into trees and up telegraph poles in an attempt to witness the game. The town was almost devoid of men, though a fair crowd gathered in Town Hall Square, their eyes riveted to a score indicator provided by a local sports outfitters. Once again City won a Cup-tie by the margin of a single goal when Frank O'Rourke scored with a cross shot at the Horton Park End.

The quarter-final saw City play Barnsley in a series of games that gripped the entire county. In a third replay at Sheffield, City led 2-1 with a minute to go - unbelievably Barnsley scored twice in the final sixty seconds and sent City spinning out of the Cup.

March 9th 1912: Cup-holders City at Barnsley prior to the FA Cup Quarter-Final tie
from left to right: Campbell, Robinson, Boocock, Bond, Devine, Mellors, Speirs, O'Rourke, Logan, Torrance, McDonald

'And a little child shall lead them gently on their way' - a postcard produced for the Barnsley faithful.

In the summer of 1914 City invested heavily in attacking players to complement their defence, which was widely accepted to be the best in the country. Bradford had become one of the few towns to have two top flight teams, following Avenue's promotion in 1914. The first League derby was played at Valley Parade in October 1914 when City won a thrilling game 3-2.

The quarter-final of the FA Cup was again reached in 1915, but by that time the First World War was raging and soon after League football was suspended for the duration of hostilities.

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