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Wycombe Wanderers v Bishop Auckland FA Amateur Cup Final - Saturday 13th April 1957

This was The Wanderers first ever visit to Wembley Stadium. Cheered by an estimated 30,000 fans in a 90,000 crowd, the Wanderers did their utmost to "Bash the Bishops" but were eventually overcome by 3 goals to 1. Wycombe were making only their second appearance in the Amateur Cup Final having beaten Hayes 1-0 in the Final at Highbury in 1931. On the other hand it was the Bishops 18th appearance in the Final and their 6th at Wembley in 8 seasons - the triumph over Wycombe completing a record breaking hat-trick of Wembley victories. With both clubs having a combination of Oxford and Cambridge blue in their strip - Bishop Auckland used halves while the Wanderers were in their 30th consecutive season of wearing quarters - it was decided that both teams changed. Wycombe chose a combination of red shirts and white shorts, while the Bishops wore white shirts with dark blue shorts. The TV cameras were there too with Kenneth Wolstenholme commentating. Billy Russell, making his Amateur Cup debut for the Bishops, opened the scoring midway through the first half following a mistake from 19 year old Len Worley. A massive roar greeted the Wycombe equaliser from Frank Smith on 38 minutes after he had connected with a Geoff Truett pass. But the Wanderers' fans were soon silenced as Bishops regained their lead two minutes later through Derek Lewin. A second-half goal by Warren Bradley with 18 minutes left on the clock sealed the game for the northerners as they cruised to victory. In the dying moments Auckland apparently indulged in the luxury of trying to set-up the legendary Bob Hardisty with a goal as it was thought that this was going to be his last game for the Club. But Wycombe were not disgraced and were welcomed home by nearly 10,000 people in High Wycombe town centre on their return on Saturday evening. They also went on to win the Isthmian League title for the second consecutive season, pipping Woking by one point after winning their last game of the season 3-2 against Corinthian Casuals. For the Bishops it was to be their last ever appearance in an Amateur Cup final as an era came to an end for the County Durham side. It was also to be another 34 years before Wycombe reached Wembley again when Martin O'Neill started a sequence of three successful visits in four seasons. Wycombe Team: Dennis Syrett, Freddy Lawson, Frank Westley, Geoff Truett, Michael Wicks, Jimmy Truett, Len Worley, Cliff Trott, Paul Bates, Jackie Tomlin, Frank Smith Bishops Team: Harry Sharratt, Dave Marshall, Bert Childs, Bobby Thursby, Corbett Cresswell, Jim Nimmins, Warren Bradley, Derek Lewin, Billy Russell, Bob Hardisty, Benny Edwards. Attendance: 90,000 Receipts: £28,113 plus £2,000 TV rights. Each club received £3,873-16-10d

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