Cup Finals on itv
1955/56 - 1967/68

The FA Cup Final
The first Football Association Challenge Cup final was played on 13th March 1872, a time before even motion photography had been invented - let alone television! The first transmission of a moving image was achieved by John Logie Baird in the UK in 1924, the BBC became involved with television in 1930 and they began the first true public high definition 405-line broadcasting service six years later, but only those living in and around London could tune in and, at the time, there were only thought to be around 2,000 "Televisor" sets in use around the entire world. Horses passing the winning post at the Derby was the first outside television broadcast in 1931, experiments with other sports soon followed although it wasn't until 16th September 1937 that live football was broadcast and this was merely a practice match from Highbury between Arsenal and Arsenal reserves. The first real landmark football broadcast was an England v Scotland match on Saturday 9th April 1938 (Scotland winning 1-0 with Tommy Walker scoring the goal on 6 minutes). Three weeks later the BBC screened the FA Cup final between Preston North End and Huddersfield Town, it was 0-0 after 90 minutes and went into extra-time. With one minute remaining, commentator Thomas Woodrooffe declared "If there's a goal scored now, I'll eat my hat", moments later Preston won a penalty which George Mutch duly despatched to win the game 1-0, Woodrooffe was later shown eating a hat made of cake, but sadly there was no satisfactory method for preserving television broadcasts at the time and there is no surviving footage. The BBC screened the following year's final but the outbreak of World War II then saw both television and the FA Cup suspended indefinitely. The FA Cup final of 1946 was played shortly before television resumed, thus the BBC began showing the final again from 1947. Ken Wolstenholme commentated on the 1949 final and he became the no.1 choice for BBC football coverage thereafter.
By January 1st 1950 there were still only 340,000 television licence holders and just two television transmitters (broadcasting to Greater London and the recently added Midlands area), yet by the end of the 1950's there were 10.5 million licence holders and 33 transmitters now covering all but the most remote and sheltered parts of the UK. As far as the general public were concerned, 1953 was the year in which television truly arrived, Queen Elizabeth's coronation that year was the event that convinced the masses that Television was now as essential as Radio. For many, the first experience of watching football on TV was the 1953 FA Cup final in which Stanley Matthews and Blackpool defeated Nat Lofthouse and Bolton Wanderers 4-3.
The first of the regional commercial television services launched in September 1955 and it wasn't long before the London ITV channel experimented with a live football match, showing the 2nd half of the 12th January 1956 FA Cup 3rd Round replay between Bedford and Arsenal on a Thursday afternoon (Arsenal won 2-1)*. Both BBC and ITV then simultaneously broadcast the 1956 FA Cup final live (with ITV apparently using the BBC's pictures but with their own commentator, Peter Lloyd). ITV began annual coverage of the final from 1958 (except 1960**). Gerry Loftus, a pre-war amateur with Manchester United and qualified referee, commentated on the 1958-66 finals for ITV (alongside Peter Lloyd for some), Hugh Johns then voiced the 1967 and 1968 finals before Brian Moore took over in 1969.

*ITV also showed live 2nd half coverage of Chelsea v Burnley on 1st February 1956 and West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur on 8th March 1956.
**ITV probably missed the 1960 FA Cup final because of the likely problems involved in covering two major ob's  in two days (they had covered Princess Margaret's wedding the previous day). The 1957 final was missed at a time when ITV virtually stopped doing ob's because of a cash crisis.

The League Cup Final
The League Cup was not introduced until season 1960/61. Initially, the final was contested over two legs and many of the top clubs declined to take part. The competition limped on into the mid 1960's, and then - in a bid to save it - the final was switched to Wembley in 1967 with the added promise of a place in Europe for the winners (provided they were a top flight club). Only Liverpool and Everton refused to enter that season and BBC1 showed highlights of the final which turned out to be a very memorable occasion, 3rd tier Queens Park Rangers beat top flight West Bromwich Albion after coming from two goals down to win 3-2. ITV then began showing highlights of the Wembley finals from 1968 onwards.

The Charity Shield
The origins of the Charity Shield dates back to 1898 when the best amateur team met the top professional team to contest the 'Sheriff of London Charity Shield', the annually awarded trophy was replaced by the current 'Charity Shield' in 1908 when the fixture pitted the Football League champions against the champions of the Southern League. 1913 saw an Amateurs XI take on a Professionals XI and it was only from 1930 that the shield was contested by the Football League champions and the winners of the FA Cup. The Charity Shield was scheduled as a pre-season match from 1959, but it would not be held at Wembley until 1974. BBCtv showed live coverage of the 2nd half in both 1962 (Ipswich Town v Tottenham Hotpsur) and 1963 (Everton v Manchester United). BBC2 intended to show highlights of the 1967 match (Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur) in colour, but due to a technical error on-site the footage ended up going out in black & white as usual.

*The BBC had showed a telerecording of the 2nd half of Wed 14/Sep/1955 Chelsea 3 Newcastle United 0 at 9.45-10.30pm.
 

This page only deals with the finals, ITV coverage of earlier rounds is dealt with in the relevant club's ITV regional page, see menu here.
ITV finals are in white, BBC or non-televised finals are in grey.
 

1955/56

FA Cup Final
Sat 5th May      Manchester City 3 (Hayes, Dyson, Johnstone) Birmingham City 1 (Kinsey)
ITV LIVE
Peter Lloyd, Billy Wright & Frank Swift
*Live on ATV London and ABC Northern & Midland from 2:30-4:50pm with "The Road to Wembley" at 2:30-2:40pm. This was the North's very first weekend of commercial television, Granada had begun the North's weekday service two days earlier and on Friday evening they interviewed a crowd of Manchester City supporters about to depart for Wembley. BBC tv also showed the cup final live from 2:30-4:50pm (Ken Wolstenholme commentating) with a break for Motor racing at half-time. In an attempt to win viewers from ITV,  the BBC also booked a Mersey pleasure boat and had stars Jimmy James and Anne Shelton aboard watching the final via a large screen and had them commenting on the game at full-time. At 7.15pm the BBC had 'Today's Sport' which promised interviews with members of the winning team, whilst on Sunday they scheduled telerecorded highlights from 2-3pm. To combat this, Granada announced that they would show City's homecoming parade live on the Monday, it became Granada's first ever outside broadcast, though City were late and the commentator, Gerry Loftus, was left to improvise for some 45 minutes instead of the intended 15. It was Manchester City's first FA Cup win since 1934, yet it turned out to be a tragic month for their German goalkeeper and former prisoner of war Bert Trautmann, not only did he break his neck in the match, his six year old son was struck and killed by a car in Cheshire three weeks after the final whilst Bert was away in Germany.

1956/57

Charity Shield
Wed 24th Oct    Manchester City 0 Manchester United 1 (Violet)
Maine Road
?BBC 2nd Half Live?
Ken Wolstenholme
*Possibly on "Sportsview" at 8:15-9:15pm. The match kicked off at 7:30pm. 16 year (and 19 days) old goalkeeper David Gaskell made his debut for Manchester United, replacing Ray Wood who was injured on the night. Gaskell later recalled that the change wasn't announced over the tannoy and many people in the ground, including commentator Ken Wolstenholme, didn't realise Gaskell was on the field; "He kept saying in his commentary that Ray Wood was back to his best England form. He hadn't realised that it was some 16-year-old kid."

FA Cup Final
Sat 4th May      Aston Villa 2 (McParland 2) Manchester United 1 (T.Taylor)
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*No coverage on ITV this year who instead showed "Variety Showtime" from a US airforce base in Lancashire. BBC coverage was their first programme on air that day, from 2:15-5:00pm. Highlights were included on "Sports Special" at 10:15-10:45pm and a repeat of the match was broadcast on Sunday afternoon at 2:50-4:15pm.

1957/58

Charity Shield
Tue 22nd Oct    Manchester United 4 (Taylor 3, Berry) Aston Villa 0
Old Trafford
BBC 2nd Half Live
*BBC 8:30-9:10pm.

FA Cup Final
Sat 3rd May      Bolton Wanderers 2 (Lofthouse 2) Manchester United 0
ITV LIVE
Peter Lloyd, Gerry Loftus & Berkeley Smith
*ITV's "FA Cup Final" programme went out at 2:30-4:55pm (ATV and ABC only, not Scottish or TWW). The BBC were on air from Wembley at the earlier time of 2:15pm. BBC highlights were included on "Sports Special" at 10:45-11:15pm and they then showed a repeat of the match in full on Sunday afternoon at 2:30-4:15pm.

1958/59

FA Cup Final
Sat 2nd May      Nottingham Forest 2 (Dwight, Wilson) Luton Town 1 (Pacey)
ITV LIVE
Gerry Loftus, Peter Lloyd
*ITV had "Soccer TV XI v Frankie Vaughan's Boys Clubs" at 1:20-2:20pm, then - following "Silverstone", live coverage from Wembley from 2:50-4:55pm. BBC coverage was included on "Grandstand" (11:30-5:05pm) and included a "Keep Fit Demonstration" (presumably on the Wembley pitch) at 2:40-2:50pm. The BBC also showed highlights on "Sportsview" at 10:20-10:50pm and repeated most of the action on Sunday afternoon at 3:00-4:15pm.

1959/60

Charity Shield
Sat 15th Aug    Wolverhampton W. 3 (Broadbent, Lill, Murray) Nottingham Forest 1 (Wilson)
Molineux
BBC
David Coleman
*Unknown transmission time

FA Cup Final
Sat 7th May      Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 (Deeley 2, McGrath (og)) Blackburn Rovers 0
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*No coverage on ITV this year, probably due to their covering a Royal Wedding the previous day. BBC included live coverage of the Cup final on "Grandstand" (12:45-4:55pm) and had highlights at 10:10-10:40pm, they also showed a repeat of the whole match on Sunday afternoon at 2:00-3:35pm.

1960/61

FA Cup Final
Sat 6th May      Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Smith, Dyson) Leicester City 0
ITV LIVE
Gerry Loftus
*ITV coverage was part of "All Star Afternoon" from 1:05-5pm, the programme also had Wrestling. The BBC included the match on "Grandstand" (11:15-4:55pm) which also billed Golf and Swimming. BBCtv showed a repeat of the whole match on Sunday afternoon at 2:00-3:35pm and may have included highlights on "Sports Special" on Saturday night at 10:22-11pm.

League Cup Final
1st Leg
Tue 22nd Aug 1961      Rotherham United 2 (Webster, Kirkman) Aston Villa 0
*The first League Cup tournament of 1960/61 wasn't actually completed until the early stages of the following season. No TV coverage was scheduled.

2nd Leg
Tue 5th Sep 1961         Aston Villa 3 (O'Neill, Burrows, McParland) Rotherham United 0 [AET]
*No TV coverage scheduled.

1961/62

League Cup Final
1st Leg
Thu 26th Apr    Rochdale 0 Norwich City 3 (Lythgoe 2, Punton)
*No TV coverage scheduled.

2nd Leg
Tue 1st May    Norwich City 1 (Hill) Rochdale 0
*Anglia had a camera at the match for a newsreel which included the goal and the presentation of the trophy to Ron Ashman as well as near misses. The report was most likely broadcast on "About Anglia" the following day (6:05-7:00pm).

FA Cup Final
Sat 5th May      Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Greaves, Smith, Blanchflower (pen)) Burnley 1 (Robson)
ITV LIVE
Gerry Loftus, Peter Lloyd
*ITV had an "All Star Afternoon from Wembley" from 1:20pm, but Wrestling took up a large portion of pre-match time before they focussed on the Wembley pitch from 2:40pm. BBC coverage was included on "Grandstand" which began at 11:15am, they had a look back at last year's final at 1:46pm and also included Golf, Swimming and Boxing. Jimmy Greaves scored early in the game to give Spurs the lead on 3, Robson equalised for Burnley on 50 but Spurs were immediately back in front through Smith on 51, a penalty converted by Blanchflower sealed the win for Spurs on 80. BBCtv repeated the match in full on the Sunday afternoon at 2:10-3:40pm.

1962/63

Charity Shield
Sat 11th Aug    Ipswich Town 1 (Stephenson) Tottenham Hotpsur 5 (Smith, Greaves 2, White, Medwin)
Portman Road
BBC 2nd Half LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*Included on "Grandstand", coverage began around 4pm.

League Cup Final
1st Leg
Thu 23rd May    Birmingham City 3 (Leek 2, Bloomfield) Aston Villa 1 (Thomson)
*No TV coverage scheduled. Leek openend the scoring for Birmingham on 14 and grabbed his 2nd on 52, Bloomfield made it 3-0 on 66, Thomson gave Villa hope for the 2nd leg with a late goal on 83.

2nd Leg
Mon 27th May    Aston Villa 0 Birmingham City 0
*No TV coverage scheduled.

FA Cup Final
Sat 25th May      Manchester United 3 (Law, Herd 2) Leicester City 1 (Keyworth)
ITV LIVE
Gerry Loftus
*ITV coverage began at 2:40pm. BBC coverage was included on "Grandstand" from 12 noon and included Golf, Boxing and Show Jumping. Law put United ahead on 30, Herd made it 2-0 on 57, Keyworth pulled one back for Leicester on 80, but Herd sealed victory for United by making it 3-1 on 85. The BBC repeated most of the game on Sunday afternoon at 3:50-5:15pm.

1963/64

Charity Shield
Sat 17th Aug    Everton 4 (Gabriel, Stevens, Vernon, Temple) Manchester United 0
Goodison Park
BBC 2nd Half LIVE
?Ken Wolstenholme?
*BBC tv showed the 2nd half LIVE during "Summer Grandstand".

League Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 15th Apr   Stoke City 1 (Bebbington) Leciester City 1 (Gibson)
*No TV coverage scheduled.

2nd Leg
Wed 22nd Apr    Leicester City 3 (Stringfellow, Gibson, Riley) Stoke City 2 (Violet, Kinnell)
*No TV coverage scheduled.

FA Cup Final
Sat 2nd May      West Ham United 3 (Sissons, Hurst, Boyce) Preston North End 2 (Holden, Dawson)
ITV LIVE
Gerry Loftus & Jimmy Hill
*ITV coverage of the cup final was included on  "Big Afternoon Out" which began at 1:15pm and also included wrestling, BBC1's "Grandstand" began at 11:30pm and they included Golf, Boxing and Ice Hockey. The cameras at Wembley were now positioned in a new gantry, see article here. Holden put Preston ahead on 10, but their lead was short lived with Sissons equalising on 12, Dawson restored North End's lead just before HT on 43. West Ham equalised through Hurst on 69 and with extra-time looming, Boyce netted a late winner for the Hammers on 90. BBC1 showed highlights the following afternoon from 3:15-4:30pm.
 
 
 

1964/65

League Cup Final
1st Leg
Mon 15th Mar    Chelsea 3 (Tambling, Venables, McCreadie) Leicester City 2 (Appleton, Goodfellow)
*No TV coverage scheduled. Tambling put Chelsea ahea don 33, Appleton levelled for Leicester just after HT on 46, Venables restored Chelsea's advantage on 70 but Leicester came back again with Goodfellow making it 2-2 on 75, McCreadie got the final goal on 81 to give Chelsea a 3-2 1st leg lead.

2nd Leg
Mon 5th Apr    Leicester City 0 Chelsea 0
*No TV coverage scheduled.

FA Cup Final
Sat 1st May      Liverpool 2 (Hunt, St John) Leeds United 1 (Bremner) [AET]
ITV LIVE
Gerry Loftus
*ITV coverage was now part of "World of Sport" (which had begun in January), the cup final edition began at 12:50pm, they had wrestling at 1:20pm and at half-time, but otherwise stuck to football. Over on BBC1, inbetween Golf, Swimming and Racing, "Grandtand" had Danny Blanchflower in the Wembley dressing rooms at 11:30am, "Meet The Fans" at 12:30pm, a film of Stanley Matthews' testimonial match at 12:35pm and "Meet The Finalists/Progress To Wembley" at 2:10pm before joining Wembley in time for the Community singing at 2:25pm, Ken Wolstenholme was the BBC commentator. The match ended 0-0 after 90 minutes and so extra-time was played, Roger Hunt put Liverpool ahead on 93 but Billy Bremner quickly equalised on 95, Ian St John scored Liverpool's winning goal on 113. BBC2 broadcast "Match of the Day: FA Cup Final" at 10:10-11:00pm (The Times says 7:00-7:50pm). There was no 2nd chance to see the action on ITV.

1965/66

League Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 9th Mar    West Ham United 2 (Moore, Byrne) West Bromwich Albion 1 (Astle)
*No TV coverage scheduled.

2nd Leg
Wed 23rd Mar    West Bromwich Albion 4 (Williams, Clark, Brown, Kaye) West Ham United 1 (Peters)
*No TV coverage scheduled.

FA Cup Final
Sat 14th May      Everton 3 (Trebilcock 2, Temple) Sheffield Wednesday 2 (McCalliog, Ford)
ITV LIVE
Gerry Loftus & Jimmy Hill
*ITV's "World of Sport" introduced by Eamonn Andrews began at 1pm, after meeting cup final personalities they had Wrestling from 1:20-2:25pm before joining Wembley at 2:27pm. BBC1's "Grandstand" started at 11:15am with David Coleman talking to Bobby Moore (captain of the cup winning side two years earlier), they included cricket as well as cup final build up - "Meet The Fans" was at 12:30pm, "How The Finalists Reached Wembley" at 1:30pm and "Meet The Finalists" at 2:15pm before joining live Wembley coverage with Ken Wolstenholme commentating. The Owls led 2-0 at one stage through goals by McCalliog on 4 and Ford on 57 but Mike Trebilcock became the first black player to score in the Cup final on 59 and then equalised with his 2nd on 64, Temple got Everton's winner on 74. BBC2 showed highlights at 10:10-10:55pm. ATV London showed Sunday afternoon highlights at 2:40-3:30pm.

1966/67

League Cup Final
Sat 4th Mar    Queens Park Rangers 3 (Morgan, Marsh, Lazarus) West Bromwich Albion 2 (Clark 2)
Wembley
BBC Highlights
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC1 showed highlights on "Match of the Day" at 10:05-10:55pm (the final being the only game featured). Clive Clark put Albion 2-0 ahead with goals on 7 and 36, Roger Morgan pulled one back for Rangers on 63, Rodney Marsh equalised on 75, Mark Lazarus netted the winner for Rangers on 81.

FA Cup Final
Sat 20th May      Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Robertson, Saul) Chelsea 1 (Tambling)
ITV LIVE
Hugh Johns & Billy Wright
*ITV's "World of Sport" coverage began at 12:30pm, regular host Eamonn Andrews introduced the show 'picking up surprise guests' and the roving reporters were Richard Davies (yet to adopt the more familiar moniker Dickie Davies) and Peter Lorenzo. Wrestling was shown from 12:50-1:50pm and Racing from 1:55-2:05pm and 2:25-2:35pm. Robertson opened the scoring for Spurs on 40, Saul made it 2-0 on 67, Tambling netted a late consolation for Chelsea on 85. BBC1 screened Saturday night highlights on "Match of the Day" at 10:00-10:50pm, ITV showed Sunday highlights at 2:50-3:30pm with ATV viewers in London watching "Star Soccer" and ABC viewers in the North & Midlands having their own "World of Soccer" presentation, both programmes used Hugh Johns commentary, other regions took one or the other except Southern, Scottish and Grampian who opted out. See the TVTimes page detailing the Saturday coverage here.
 

1967/68

Charity Shield
Sat 12th Aug    Manchester United 3 (Charlton 2, Law) Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Robertson, Jennings, Saul)
Old Trafford
BBC Highlights
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC2 intended to show this match as the first ever broadcast of football in colour at 10:00-10:45pm. BBC2 had become the first European TV channel to begin broadcasting in colour with scheduled colour programmes listed from 1st July 1967. Sadly something went wrong and the programme had to go out in black & white. In his autobiography "Under Auntie's Skirts", MOTD producer Alec Weeks describes how he got a call during half time to explain that engineers could see the feed in colour but for some reason the VT machine could not record it in colour, he recalls that the wife of the Manchester United chairman had organised a party at her house that night to watch the historic transmission on specially rented colour TV sets and she ended up berating him and the BBC for ruining her evening. He also mentions having to cancel a press reception to watch the colour highlights.

League Cup Final
Sat 2nd Mar    Leeds United 1 (Cooper) Arsenal 0
Wembley
ITV Highlights
Hugh Johns
*The first League Cup final to be covered by ITV. "World of Sport" previewed the final at 2:10-2:25pm, Sunday highlights appeared on ATV London's "Star Soccer" and ABC's "World of Soccer" at 2:30-3:20pm with other regions taking one or the other except in Scotland. "World of Soccer" may have had Barry Davies commentating for them. Terry Cooper scored the only goal for Leeds on 20 minutes.

FA Cup Final
Sat 18th May      West Bromwich Albion 1 (Astle) Everton 0 [AET]
ITV LIVE
Hugh Johns & Billy Wright
*This was the first British football match to be televised in colour, though only on BBC2 (as BBC1 and ITV were still black & white channels on VHF only), colour coverage ran from 2:30-5pm. Many TV sets were not equipped to receive BBC2 on UHF at the time and so BBC1 simulcast coverage on "Grandstand" which began at 11:15-11:30am with "The Wembley Scene", then "People at the Match" at 1:30-1:55pm, "How They Got There" at 1:55-2:15pm, "Meet The Teams" from 2:15-2:25pm, "Inside Wembley" 2:25-2:50 and then over to the commentator Ken Wolstenholme. ITV (except in the Scottish region) broadcast live coverage as part of "World of Sport" with "FA Cup Final Scene" at 1:40-1:50pm and again at 2:05-2:25pm, then continuous coverage from 2:35-4:45pm except for Racing results at HT. Jeff Astle scored the only goal to win it for West Brom three minutes into extra-time. BBC1 showed highlights on "Match of the Day" at 10:05-10:55pm, ATV London showed highlights on "Star Soccer" at 2:30-3:20pm on Sunday, ABC had their own "World of Soccer" presentation at the same time, the other regions took one or the other except Scottish who had their own 30 minutes highlights show (they had also shown 10 minutes of action towards the end of Saturday's "Scotsport Special").
 

Gerry Loftus article - part 1 / part 2

The European Cup
The first European club competition had been held as far back as 1897 between teams from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, later tournaments included the Mitropa Cup (1927-1939), the Coupe des Nations (held in 1930) and the Copa Latina (1949-1957). In 1955, a competition to be contested by the champions of each European league was suggested by French journalist Gabriel Hanot following claims in the British press that Wolverhampton Wanderers were the "Champions of the World" after a run of victories in friendly matches. The following season, "The European Champion Clubs' Cup" was contested by 16 teams entering on a 2 leg knock-out basis, leading to a single match final. The tournament was deemed a success and the format continued throughout the 1955-1968 period, with the addition of a Preliminary Round to accommodate further national representatives (including England) from 1956/57. A Second Round was introduced in 1966/67 which meant the First Round now involved 32 teams.

The European Cup-Winners Cup
The European Cup-Winners Cup was introduced as an experiment in season 1960/61 to be contested by clubs who had most recently won their domestic cup competition, only 10 teams entered (including FA Cup holders Wolverhampton Wanderers) but by the end of the decade there were as many teams taking part as there were in the European Cup*. The format was the same, a series of two-leg knock-out rounds leading to a final to be played at a pre-selected venue**. Although domestic cup competitions in mainland Europe were not as eagerly contested as their British counterparts, the Cup-Winners Cup proved to be a popular tournament and was considered to be a more worthy honour than the Fairs Cup***.

*Tottenham Hotpsur won the domestic League title and FA Cup double in 1961, this resulted in Tottenham entering the European Cup whilst beaten FA Cup finalists Leicester City were allowed to enter the Cup-Winners Cup.
**The first Cup-Winners Cup final in 1961 was a 2 leg home and away affair.
***Domestic cup winners who's final league position could have secured them a place in the Fairs Cup would always enter the Cup-Winners Cup instead.

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Glancing at the record books, the Fairs Cup appears to have been a somewhat bizarrely conceived competition initially contested by representative XI's from a selection of major European cities. In fact, it had simply evolved from the friendly matches that had been played during Europe's trade fairs.
England entered two teams into the first tournament which began in 1955, 'Birmingham' and 'London', with the players being chosen from their respective local league clubs. The fixtures were all scheduled to co-incide with the trade fairs, hence the tournament's name and the three years it originally took to complete. Four groups of 3 or 4 teams competed for a place in a two-leg semi-final and ultimately a two-leg final (two teams withdrew along the way). London reached the final but lost to Barcelona.
The next Fairs Cup tournament settled down into a more familiar looking two-leg knock-out format* this time contested by genuine league clubs, but it still took two season's to complete and only those based in trade fair cities took part. The competition then became an annual event from 1960/61 with clubs soon to be loosely entering on the basis of finishing among the runners-up in their domestic league campaigns, but a one club per city rule persisted until 1976.

*The 1963/64 and 1964/65 finals were single match affairs, all other finals were decided over two legs.

This page only deals with the European finals, TV coverage of earlier rounds is dealt with on the midweek highlights page here.
ITV finals are in white, BBC or non-televised finals are in grey.
 

1955/56

European Cup Final
Wed 13th June    Real Madrid 4 (Di Stéfano, Rial 2, Marquitos) Stade de Reims 3 (Leblond, Templin, Hidalgo)
Venue: Paris
BBC
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC television had coverage from 9:30-10:15pm, probably live 2nd half. The Madrid goals were scored by Di Stéfano (14), Rial (30 & 79) and Marquitos (67), the Reims goals by Leblond (6), Templin (10) and Hidalgo (62). Many spectators returning home from the game were involved in a train crash near Reims which killed 11 and injured 150.

1956/57

European Cup Final
Thu 30th May    Real Madrid 2 (Di Stéfano, Gento) Fiorentina 0
Madrid
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Di Stéfano put Real Madrid ahead on 70, Gento then made it 2-0 on 76.

1957/58

Fairs Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 5th Mar    London XI 2 (Greaves, Langley(pen)) Barcelona 2 (Martínez, Tejada)
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Martínez put Barcelona ahead on 7, Greaves quickly equalised for London on 10 but Barcelona were back in front on 35 through Tejada. Langley equalised for London again on 88 from the penalty spot.

2nd Leg
Thu 1st May    Barcelona 6 (Suárez 2, Martínez, Evaristo 2, Vergés) London XI 0
*No British TV coverage scheduled. The Barcelona goals were scored by Suárez (on 6 and 8 minutes), Martínez (42), Evaristo (52 & 75) and Vergés (63).

European Cup Final
Wed 28th May    Real Madrid 3 (Di Stéfano, Rial, Gento) AC Milan 2 (Schiaffino, Grillo) [AET]
Brussels
BBC LIVE
*Live coverage on the BBC from 6.00-7.45pm (It was not scheduled in the Radio Times, so presumably it was arranged at short notice). Schiaffino put Milan ahead on 59, Di Stéfano equlised on 74, Grillo restored the Milan lead on 78  but only for Rial to level at 2-2 a minute later. Gento netted the extra-time winner for Madrid on 107.

1958/59

European Cup Final
Wed 3rd June    Real Madrid 2 (Mateos, Di Stéfano) Stade de Rheims 0
Stuttgart
REDIFFUSION & GRANADA
*Rediffusion & Granada had coverage at 6.40 and 7.00pm (not listed in TV Times), the game was due to end around 6:45pm British time, so perhaps the intention was to show the last 5 minutes or so and the lifting of the trophy. The BBC showed highlights between 9:00-10:00pm (with Ken Wolstenholme commentating) along with Boxing. Mateos scored the opening goal on 2 minutes, Di Stéfano made it 2-0 on 47. The BBC had shown action from the Semi-final 2nd Leg on 13th May 1959, "Sportsview" including the latter part of the 2nd half of Stade de Reims v Young Boys (Berne) with David Coleman commentating.

1959/60

Fairs Cup Final
1st Leg
Tue 29th Mar    Birmingham City 0 Barcelona 0
BBC LIVE 2nd Half
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC 8:10-9:00pm. The match kicked-off at 7:15pm.

2nd Leg
Wed 4th May    Barcelona 4 (Martínez, Czibor 2, Coll) Birmingham City 1 (Hooper)
*No British TV coverage scheduled (no football was billed in the Radio Times for "Sportsview" at 8:25-9:00pm). Barcelona were 2-0 up in 6 minutes with goals from Martínez (on 3) and Czibor, the latter player made it 3-0 on 48 and Coll added a 4th on 78 before Hooper netted a consolation on 82. Barcelona won the trophy 4-1 on aggregate.

European Cup Final
Wed 18th May    Real Madrid 7 (Di Stéfano 3, Puskás 4(1pen)) Eintracht Frankfurt 3 (Kress, Stein 2)
Hampden Park
SCOTTISH TV LIVE
Arthur Montford
*Scottish TV showed this final live from 7.25-9.30pm. BBC also showed it live from 7:25-9:15pm (Ken Wolstenholme). All of Madrid's seven goals were scored by two players - Di Stéfano (on 27, 30 & 73 mins), Puskás (46, 56(pen), 60, & 71) Frankfurt's goals were scored by Kress (18) and Stein (72 and 75).

1960/61

Cup-Winners Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 17th May    Rangers 0 Fiorentina 2 (Milan 2)
BBC LIVE 2nd Half
*BBC had live coverage between 8:15-9:15pm (arranged at short notice, not in Radio Times). Luigi Milan scored both goals for Fiorentina on 12 and 88 minutes.

2nd Leg
Sat 27th May    Fiorentina 2 (Milan, Hamrin) Rangers 1 (Scott)
BBC Highlights
George Davidson
*The BBC showed highlights two days after the match was played on Monday 29th May as part of a football highlights programme broadcast from 8.40-9.10pm which also included England's Saturday game in Austria. SCOTTISH TV may also have had highlights on "Scotsport Special" on Sunday night at 10:10-10:40pm.  Luigi Milan 's 12th minute goal made it 3-0 to Fiorentina on aggregate, Alex Scott pulled one back for Rangers on 60 but Kurt Hamrin had the last word on 86 to win the tie 4-1.

European Cup Final
Wed 31st May    Benfica 3 (Águas, Ramallets(og), Coluna) Barcelona 2 (Kocsis, Czibor)
Berne
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*Live on the BBC from 6:51- 8:45pm. Barcelona led through a Kocsis goal on 20, Benfica equalised through Águas on 30 and then led with an own goal from Ramallets on 32, it was 3-1 to Benfica when Coluna scored on 55, Barcelona pulled it back to 3-2 with a 75th minute goal by Czibor but Benfica held out for the win. Back on the 12th April, 45 minutes of the SF between Barcelona and Hamburg had been shown on the BBC (probably the 2nd half live).

Fairs Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 27th Sep    Birmingham City 2 (Hellawell, Orritt) AS Roma 2 (Manfredini 2)
*No British TV coverage scheduled (there was a "Sportsview" on the BBC at 8:25-9:00pm but the Radio Times does not bill football). Roma led 2-0 with two goals from Manfredini on 30 and 56, Hellawell then pulled it back to 2-1 on 78 and Orritt equalised on 85.

2nd Leg
Wed 11th Oct    AS Roma 2 (Farmer(og), Pestrin) Birmingham City 0
*No British TV coverage. ("Sportsview" was on the BBC at 8:15-8:45pm but did not bill football). A Farmer own goal on 56 gave Roma a 3-2 aggregate lead, Pestrin then sealed the win in the last minute.

1961/62

European Cup Final
Wed 2nd May    Benfica 5 (Águas, Cavém, Coluna, Eusébio 2) Real Madrid 3 (Puskás 3)
Amsterdam
BBC Highlights
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBCtv "Sportsview Special" 10:05-10:35pm. Real Madrid led 2-0 with two goals scored by Puskás on 17 and 23, Benfica came back to 2-2 through Águas on 25 and Cavém on 34, Puskás then completed his hat-trick on 38 to restore the Madrid lead but a Coluna goal on 51 followed by two goals from Eusébio on 65 and 68 won it for Benfica.

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Wed 10th May    Atlético Madrid 1 (Peiró) Fiorentina 1 (Hamrin)
Glasgow
BBC LIVE 2nd Half
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC 7:55-8:45pm. Peiró put the home side ahead on 11 but Hamrin's goal on 27 levelled the score for the return leg.

Replay
Wed 5th Sep    Atlético Madrid 3 (Jones, Mendonça, Peiró)) Fiorentina 0
Stuttgart
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Goals by Jones on 8, Mendonça on 27 and Peiró on 59 earned the Spanish a 4-1 aggregate win.

1962/63

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Wed 15th May    Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Greaves 2, White, Dyson 2) Atlético Madrid 1 (Collar(pen))
Rotterdam
ITV Highlights
*ITV showed highlights in two parts at 10:35-11:05pm & then 11:15-11:35pm (except ATV Midlands who opted out), BBC also had highlights with Ken Wolstenholme commentating from 10:40-11:10pm. Greaves put Spurs ahead on 16 and White's goal on 35 made for a 2-0 HT lead. In the 2nd half a Collar penalty on 47 pulled it back to 2-1, but Dyson made it 3-1 on 67, Greaves then added a 4th for Spurs on 80 and Dyson the fifth on 85.

European Cup Final
Wed 22nd May    AC Milan 2 (Altafini 2) Benfica 1 (Eusébio)
Wembley
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*A midweek afternoon kick-off time live on BBC1 from 2:45-5:00pm, highlights were possibly included on "Sportsview" later that evening at 8:45-9:15pm. Benfica led through a Eusébio goal scored on 18 but Milan came back in the 2nd half with two goals scored by Altafini on 58 and 66.

1963/64

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Wed 13th May    Sporting Lisbon 3 (Mascarenhas, Figueiredo 2) MTK Budapest 3 (Sandor 2, Kuti)
Brussels
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Lisbon's goals were scored by Mascarenhas (40) and Figueiredo (48 & 80), Budapest's goals came from Sandor (19 & 75) and Kuti (73).

Replay
Fri 15th May    Sporting Lisbon 1 (Morais) MTK Budapest 0
Antwerp
*No British TV coverage scheduled. João Morais scored the winning goal for Lisbon on 19 minutes.

European Cup Final
Wed 27th May    Inter Milan 3 (Mazzola  2, Milani) Real Madrid 1 (Felo)
Vienna
BBC LIVE 2nd Half
Ken Wolstenholme
*Live 2nd half coverage on "Sportsview" BBC1 8:20-9:15pm (except in Scotland). Mazzola put Milan ahead just before the break on 43, Milani made it 2-0 on 61, Real Madrid came back with a goal by Felo on 70 but Mazzola then scored his 2nd on 76 to win it for the Italians.

1964/65

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Wed 19th May    West Ham United 2 (Sealey 2) TSV 1860 München 0
Wembley
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC showed the whole match live from 7:25-9:15pm (except in Scotland). Two goals for Alan Sealey on 70 and 72 won it for West Ham. This remains the only time an English club has played in its home city in a European final (less than two months after Wembley became officially part of London).

European Cup Final
Thu 27th May    Inter Milan 1 (Jair) Benfica 0
Milan
BBC Highlights
*BBC1 10:35-11:20pm (not scheduled in the Radio Times, so must have been arranged at short notice). Jair scored the only goal on 42.

1965/66

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Thu 5th May    Borussia Dortmund 2 (Held, Libuda) Liverpool 1 (Hunt) [AET]
Hampden
SCOTTISH & GRANADA LIVE
*The Scottish & Granada regions showed this final live from 7:25pm, BBC1 also showed it live - starting at the same time of 7:25pm - with Ken Wolstenholme commentating. Held gave Dortmund the lead on 62, Hunt equalised on 68 to take the game to extra-time but Libuda won it for Dortmund on 109.

European Cup Final
Wed 11th May    Real Madrid 2 (Amaro, Serena) Partizan Belgrade 1 (Vasovic)
Brussels
*Surprisingly no British TV coverage, BBC1 were only scheduled to show highlights of Leeds' Fairs Cup SF  v Real Zaragoza at 10:30-11:00pm (the EC final may have been dropped at short notice as it was billed in the Radio Times). Partizan scored first through Vasovic on 55, Madrid equalised on 70 with a goal by Amaro and Serena then netted the winner for the Spaniards on 76..

1966/67

European Cup Final
Thu 25th May    Celtic 2 (Gemmell, Chalmers) Inter Milan 1 (Mazzola(pen))
Lisbon
SCOTTISH & GRAMPIAN LIVE
*Scottish & Grampian showed the match live from 5:25-7:10pm (with a break for the news). The game was not shown by other ITV regions but viewers could watch it live on BBC1 from 5:20-7:30pm (also with a break for the news, Ken Wolstenholme commentating). Milan took an early lead with a penalty converted by Mazzola on 7, Gemmell equalised on 62, Chalmers netted a late winner for Celtic on 85.

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Wed 31st May    Bayern Munich 1 (Roth) Rangers 0 [AET]
Nuremburg
SCOTTISH & GRAMPIAN LIVE
*Live coverage in the Scottish & Grampian ITV regions began at 7:30pm, BBC1 also showed it live from 7:25pm with Ken Wolstenholme commentating. Roth scored the winning goal in extra time on 108 mins.

Fairs Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 30th Aug    Dinamo Zagreb 2 (Cercek, Rora) Leeds United 0
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Cercek scored on 39, Rora made it 2-0 to the home side on 59.

2nd Leg
Wed 6th Sep   Leeds United 0 Dinamo Zagreb 0
BBC Highlights
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC1 10:45-11:20pm.

1967/68

Cup-Winners Cup Final
Thu 23rd May    AC Milan 2 (Hamrin 2) Hamburger SV 0
Rotterdam
*No British TV coverage scheduled. Kurt Hamrin scored the goals on 3 and 19 minutes.

European Cup Final
Wed 29th May    Manchester United 4 (Charlton 2, Best, Kidd) Benfica 1 (Graça) [AET]
Wembley
ITV LIVE
Hugh Johns & Ron Greenwood
*Live coverage on ITV began at 7:25pm, BBC1 also showed it live from 7:06pm with Ken Wolstenholme commentating. Bobby Charlton gave United the lead on 53, Graça equalised on 75 to take the game to extra-time. George Best  restored the United lead on 93 and Brian Kidd quickly made it 3-1 on 94, Charlton scored again on 99 to seal the victory. The ITV titles credit Billy Wright and Peter Lorenzo as being involved, Barry Davies may have had some sort of involvement too (perhaps as an interviewer).

Fairs Cup Final
1st Leg
Wed 7th Aug    Leeds United 1 (Jones) Ferencváros 0
BBC LIVE
David Coleman
*BBC1 7:30-9:10pm. Mick Jones scored the only goal on 41 mnutes.

2nd Leg
Wed 11th Sep   Ferencváros 0 Leeds United 0
BBC Highlights
David Coleman
*BBC1 10:50-11:25pm. Leeds win 1-0 on agg.
 

Others
Sun 04/Sep/1960  Real Madrid 5 (Puskas 2, Di Stefano, Herrera, Gento) Peñarol de Montevideo 1 (Spencer) Intercontinental Cup 2nd Leg
BBC Part LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC showed live coverage of most of the 2nd leg at 9:00-9:15 & 9:25-10:15pm, the first leg had ended 0-0. Real Madrid stormed to an early three goal lead through Puskas on 2, Di Stefano on 3 and another goal by Puskas on 8, it was 4-0 by HT with Herrera having scored on 40. Gento made it 5-0 on 54, Spencer netted a consolation on 80.