| 1945–46 FA Cup | |
| Country: | England Wales |
| Defending Champions: | Portsmouth (1939) |
| Winners: | Derby County |
| Count: | 1 |
| Second: | Charlton Athletic |
| Prev Season: | 1939–40 |
| Next Season: | 1946–47 |
The 1945–46 FA Cup was the 65th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, generally known as the FA Cup, and the first to be held after the Second World War. Derby County were the winners, beating Charlton Athletic 4–1 after extra time in the final at Wembley, London. The tournament witnessed a disaster in the sixth round when, during the second leg of the Bolton–Stoke City tie, 33 people were crushed to death in the Burnden Park disaster.[1]
For the only time in the history of the competition, all matches from the first round proper up to and including the sixth round proper were played over two legs, the first leg being played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. In the first and second rounds proper, the second leg was played on the following Saturday; from the third round onwards, it was played during the week following the first leg. If aggregate scores were level after 90 minutes of the second leg had been played, a replay would take place at a neutral venue. These changes were made in order to give clubs additional revenue, as the Football League would not resume normal play until the autumn of 1946.
| Round | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | Saturday 1 September 1945 | |
| Preliminary round | Saturday 8 September 1945 | |
| First round qualifying | Saturday 22 September 1945 | |
| Second round qualifying | Saturday 6 October 1945 | |
| Third round qualifying | Saturday 20 October 1945 | |
| Fourth round qualifying | Saturday 3 November 1945 | |
| First round proper | Saturday 17 November 1945 Saturday 24 November 1945 | |
| Second round proper | Saturday 8 December 1945 Saturday 15 December 1945 | |
| Third round proper | Saturday 5 January 1946 w/c Monday 7 January 1946 | |
| Fourth round proper | Saturday 26 January 1946 w/c Monday 28 January 1946 | |
| Fifth round proper | Saturday 9 February 1946 w/c Monday 11 February 1946 | |
| Sixth round proper | Saturday 2 March 1946 w/c Monday 4 March 1946 | |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 23 March 1946 | |
| Final | Saturday 27 April 1946 |
w/c = week commencing
At this stage 38 Third Division North and Third Division South clubs and Newport County from the Second Division joined the 25 non-league clubs who had advanced from the qualifying rounds. Chester, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace and Norwich City received byes to the third round while Hull City and New Brighton took no part in the competition. To make the number of matches up, non-league Bath City, Yeovil Town, Bishop Auckland and South Liverpool received byes to this stage.
The first leg matches were played on Saturday, 17 November 1945 and the second legs on the following Saturday, 24 November 1945. No replays were necessary.
The first leg matches were played on Saturday, 8 December 1945 and the second legs on the following Saturday, 15 December 1945. No replays were necessary.
At this stage the Football League First and Second Division clubs (except Newport County) entered the competition along with Third Division clubs Chester, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace and Norwich City.
The first leg matches were played on Saturday, 5 January 1946 and the second legs in the following week commencing Monday, 7 January 1946. Two replays were necessary, both of which were played on Wednesday, 16 January 1946.
The first leg matches were played on Saturday, 26 January 1946 and the second legs in the following week commencing Monday, 28 January 1946. One replay was necessary, which was played on 4 February 1946.
The first leg matches were played on Saturday, 9 February 1946 and the second legs in the following week commencing Monday, 11 February 1946.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preston North End | 1–1 | Charlton Athletic | 9 February 1946 | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 6–0 | Preston North End | 14 February 1946 | |||
| Preston North End | 1–7 | align=left colspan=4 | Charlton Athletic | |||
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | Middlesbrough | 9 February 1946 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 1–1 | Bolton Wanderers | 13 February 1946 | |||
| Bolton Wanderers | 2–1 | align=left colspan=4 | Middlesbrough | |||
| 3 | Sunderland | 1–0 | Birmingham City | 9 February 1946 | ||
| Birmingham City | 3–1 | Sunderland | 13 February 1946 | |||
| Sunderland | 2–3 | align=left colspan=4 | Birmingham City | |||
| 4 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–3 | Brentford | 9 February 1946 | ||
| Brentford | 0–0 | Queens Park Rangers | 14 February 1946 | |||
| Queens Park Rangers | 1–3 | align=left colspan=4 | Brentford | |||
| 5 | Barnsley | 0–1 | Bradford Park Avenue | 9 February 1946 | ||
| Bradford Park Avenue | 1–1 | Barnsley | 13 February 1946 | |||
| Barnsley | 1–2 | align=left colspan=4 | Bradford Park Avenue | |||
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–4 | Derby County | 9 February 1946 | 22,000 | |
| Derby County | 6–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 14 February 1946 | 32,000 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–10 | align=left colspan=4 | Derby County | |||
| 7 | Chelsea | 0–1 | Aston Villa | 9 February 1946 | ||
| Aston Villa | 1–0 | Chelsea | 12 February 1946 | |||
| Chelsea | 0–2 | align=left colspan=4 | Aston Villa | |||
| 8 | Stoke City | 2–0 | Sheffield Wednesday | 9 February 1946 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 0–0 | Stoke City | 11 February 1946 | |||
| Stoke City | 2–0 | align=left colspan=4 | Sheffield Wednesday |
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See main article: 1946 FA Cup Final.
The final took place on Saturday, 27 April 1946 at Wembley and ended in a 4–1 win for Derby County after extra time. Charlton Athletic's Bert Turner opened the scoring with an own goal in the 85th minute, which he equalised a minute later to force extra time. A goal from Peter Doherty and two from Jack Stamps completed Derby's victory.