Scott Sumner

The 100th anniversary of Rovers’ last FA Cup triumph is fast approaching. A barren century will be all the more frustrating because the club dominated most of the competition’s early years, before recording the sixth and most recent victory in 1928.

FA Cup Final 1928.jpg

Until Aston Villa reached seven in 1957, Rovers were joint leaders of the ‘Most FA Cup Wins’ table and have gradually slipped down the standings since.

However, the club still sit in joint eighth on the current list and thankfully those in pursuit don’t exactly look likely to threaten the position soon.

FA Cup Winners.JPG

Sadly, there won’t be a Rovers fan around today who remembers the 3-1 victory over Huddersfield Town 97 years ago. For those supporters still alive who experienced the 1994/95 championship and the 2002 League Cup win, the FA Cup is the remaining piece of silverware needed to complete the domestic set (ignoring minor competitions).

A couple of semi-final appearances in both the 1950s and 2000s have provided rare glimmers of hope that the run might end. The defeat to Wolves in 1960 remains the best chance Rovers have had of adding to the prestigious history in the competition.

Anyway, I was recently flicking through a copy of the excellent book ‘Images of East Lancashire’ by Eric Leaver and was drawn to the below photo in the social history section.

The caption reads: ‘This Blackburn Rovers fan and mascot were dressed up for the team’s victorious trip to the 1928 FA Cup Final.’

I immediately recognized the name and Revidge address on the image from some family history records. William Woods was my grandfather’s uncle. Born in 1886, he was 42 at the time of the cup final and worked as a photographer. He passed away in 1937.

Unfortunately, I have no details as yet about the goat! Perhaps it’s the earliest evidence of that modern sporting acronym and Mr Woods was proclaiming that Rovers were the ‘Greatest Of All Time’ in the FA Cup!

FA Cup Final 1928 Woods.jpg