On This Day – 28th April
Around 300,000 people converged on Wembley Stadium on this day back in 1923 to watch the Cup Final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United.
It was the first match to be played at the new national stadium. The FA weren’t expecting to sell all of the 125,000 available tickets at Wembley. They were proved totally wrong as over up to 175,000 extra fans swarmed the turnstiles or climbed the walls of the stadium to gain entry.
The stadium gates were closed an hour and a quarter before kick off but spectators managed to get in. They filled the stands and went all the way to the edge of the pitch.
PC George Scorey went out on to the pitch on his white horse called Billie to restore order amongst the crowd. The Final became known as ‘The White Horse Final’ as newsreel footage of the game showed the horse on it. Scorey riding Billie through the swaying crowds remains the most iconic moment of the day.
King George V was in attendance to award the FA Cup to the winning team. His appearance at the game may have been one of the reasons why the attendance was so large.
Despite fans being right along the touchline, the game went ahead, but 45 minutes later than originally planned.
Bolton won the game 2-0, with goals from David Jack and Jack Smith.
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