York City Football Club will be coming together this weekend to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the club’s only appearance in the FA Cup Semi-Final!
In 1955, the club reached its furthest ever round in the FA Cup, progressing to the Semi-Final, setting up a tie against Newcastle United at Hillsborough in Sheffield.
In the first game played on the 26th March, the game finished 1-1 with the equaliser for the Minstermen coming from Arthur Bottom.
Unfortunately, in the replay Newcastle pipped City 2-0 to the final in front of nearly 60,000 at Roker Park.
Nevertheless, it still remains one of the most memorable periods in the club’s history!
For this weekend’s game against Wealdstone, we have many celebrations going on in and around the ground across the matchday.
Our official matchday programme features a special front cover designed by Mark Comer, as well as a 12-page spread dedicated to the semi-final produced by Paul Bowser.
Two supporters (Dave Smith & Ray Taylor) who went to the match back in 1955 will be here to tell the story at half-time with announcer Rob Havercroft, along with Supporters’ Trust board member Terry Espiner who has helped make the day possible.
The highlights from that first leg will be played before the match and at half-time on the brand new LED screen, so fans can take in all the action from the day.
Also in attendance at the LNER Community Stadium as guests of the Supporters’ Trust and sponsors in the Jorvik Lounge, we will have around 40 supporters who attended those games including:
- A son of a City legend who appeared in the YCFC Semi-Final team;
- A lady who used to babysit for Arthur Bottom’s children;
- A couple who are not just parents of a former City keeper, but grandparents of a former City defender too;
- A Newcastle United fan who saw the match at 14, moved to York with work at 16 and stayed here ever since.
- A former York City Reserve Team player who went on to win a ‘Blue’ by representing Oxford University in victory over Cambridge University at Wembley.
We hope all supporters will come together to help us recognise and celebrate our historic run!