On This Day – 14th January
It was on this day in 1933 that one of the biggest shocks in the FA Cup’s 143-year history took place.
Third Division Walsall hosted First Division Arsenal in a match that was seen as a formality for the away team.
Herbert Chapman’s Arsenal had won their first FA Cup in 1930 and First Division title in 1931. They were slowly becoming the biggest club in English football and would go on to win a further four league titles and an FA Cup in the 1930’s.
Walsall were in their twentieth season as a Football League club, having dropped in and out of non-league since they were founded in 1888. No one expected them to beat the mighty Arsenal, but they did by two goals to nil.
The victory, courtesy of second half goals from Gilbert Alsop and Bill Sheppard, gave Walsall a famous win. It remains the greatest-ever victory in the club’s 133-year history.
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