By Chris Wright
Unfortunately we’ve had to nix requests from Pies fans for Anfield and Elland Road to be covered as part of our ongoing vintage “Around the Grounds” series as, weirdly enough considering the history shared between them, there just aren’t enough decent archive photographs of the two stadiums – so you’ll just have to make do with a monochrome tour around ‘Old Wembley’ as it’s now known…
Confusion and chaos reign as hundreds of thousands of fans spill onto the pitch before the 1923 FA Cup Final, a.k.a, the “White Horse Final” – the first FA Cup Final to be played at Wembley (or the “Empire Stadium” as it was then known). Billy the famous white police horse is just about visible in the upper-left corner of the pitch
Wembley as seen from the Graf blimp during the 1927 FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Cardiff City
The Home International Championship tie between England and Scotland as seen from the skies high above Wembley, 1928
The Graf Zeppelin hovers ominously low over the Wembley terraces, 1930
West Brom captain Tommy Glidden proudly leaves the stand with the FA Cup under his arm having just lead his team to a 2-1 victory over Birmingham City in the Final at Wembley, 1931
Wembley Stadium, 1932
Members of the British Forces are given front-row seats at Wembley to watch the 1941 Wartime Friendly between England and Scotland
Spectators arrive outside Wembley for the Wartime Friendly between England and Scotland, 1941
The view from the swarming terraces of the aforementioned Wartime Friendly, 1941
Photographers attempt to catch the action as Chelsea bear down on Charlton’s goal during the Football League South Cup Final at Wembley, 1944
Another vast crowd gathers to watch the second Wartime Friendly game between England and the Auld Enemy, 1944
External view of Wembley Stadium and the famous twin towers taken from the busy car park, 1947
BBC TV cameras film the FA Cup Final between Blackpool and Manchester United at Wembley, 1948
Thousands of Blackpool and Manchester United supporters meander up the new Olympic Road (now “Wembley Way”) on their way up to Wembley for the FA Cup Final, 1948
A small section of the 90,000 crowd that turned out for the 1948 FA Cup Final
The finishing touches are applied to the Olympic Torch at Wembley, 1948
The view from the commentary gantry for the Summer Olympic Games Final match between Yugoslavia and Sweden at Wembley, 1948
The Wembley scoreboard shows the final score, 1948
Scotland centre-back George Young checks the solidity of the Wembley goalposts before a Home International match against England, 1949
Arsenal’s Alex Forbes tries on the FA Cup trophy lid for size after beating Liverpool in the 1950 FA Cup Final at Wembley
Under pressure from the Blackpool forwards, a Newcastle United defender clears the ball off the line during a goalmouth scramble at the 1951 FA Cup Final
England’s inside-right Wilf Mannion is stretchered off with a suspected fractured cheek bone during a Home International against Scotland, 1951
Wembley Stadium circa 1952
Prime Minister Winston Churchill hands the FA Cup trophy over to victorious Newcastle captain Joe Harvey having beaten Arsenal in the 1952 final
General view of the international friendly between England and Germany at Wembley, 1954
Crowds spill out of the stadium and filter away down Wembley Way following an international friendly between England and Scotland, 1955
The first match ever to be played under floodlights at Wembley: an Inter Cities Fairs Cup match between London and Frankfurt, 1955
Victorious Aston Villa captain Johnny Dixon is mobbed by fans as he leads his side down from the Royal Box after beating Manchester United in the 1957 FA Cup Final
Manchester United’s Matt Busby watches his “Babes” play Bolton in the 1958 FA Cup Final at Wembley just three months after the Munich air disaster. Far left on the front row is Busby’s assistant Jim Murphy, the man responsible for almost single-handedly rebuilding the decimated United team
Nottingham Forest fans cheer on their team at the 1959 FA Cup Final at Wembley
Members of the Coventry Keep Fit Association entertain the Wembley crowd before the 1959 FA Cup Final between Forest and Luton
An amateur ski-jumping event is held at Wembley Stadium, 1961
A model of how Wembley would look following the proposed £500,000-plus refit that saw it duly transformed into the only stadium in the world capable of providing covered seating and terracing for 100,000 people, 1961
The same plans in graphic form, 1961
The 1962 FA Cup Final between Tottenham and Burnley: the final game to be staged at Wembley before renovation work began
A work in progress: Wembley’s new translucent roof is slowly but surely fitted, 1962
The finished article, 1963
(Photos: PA)
More in the series…
30 Vintage Photos Of Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, Taken Between 1905-1967
30 Vintage Photos Of Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium, Taken Between 1931-1967
Cracking Vintage Photos Of Aston Villa’s Villa Park, Taken Between 1932-1969
Spiffing Vintage Photos Of Everton’s Goodison Park, Taken Between 1905-1968
Corking Vintage Photos Of Tottenham’s White Hart Lane, Between 1903-1969