F.A. Cup Phactoids
The first FA Cup took place in 1872, won by The Wanderers.
The only current football league club to have played in the first FA Cup
was Scottish league team Queen's Park.
The first cup final to be played outside of London was in Derby, in 1886.
Up until 1894 a referee could only give a decision if
a player appealed for it.
The first cup (known as 'the tin cup') was stolen from a shop in Birmingham on September 11th 1895. It was never recovered and is thought to have been melted down.
3 other cups have been used: the second awarded to the, then, FA President in 1910;
the third was replaced in 1992 after it became too fragile; the current cup is the one presented at present
The only non-league team to win the FA Cup are Tottenham Hotspur (in 1901 Spurs were a non-league team)
Extra time, in the case of a draw after 90 minutes, was introduced in 1913.
The largest player to have played in an FA Cup match was Sheffield United's Billy Foulke in 1902. He was 21 stone, their goalkeeper. (they beat Southampton 2-1 in the replay)
The first man to score in every game, including replays, right up to, and including, the final was Tottenham Hotspurs' Sandy Brown
World Cup Phactoids
The first World Cup (The Jules Rimet trophy), in 1930, was staged in, and won by, Uruguay.
Brazil kept the original after winning it for athird time in 1970
Only 13 teams competed in the first tournament. Of those, France, Yugoslavia, Belgium and Romania were the only representatives from Europe
When England played East Germany in 1938 the players were made to perform the Nazi salute before the game.
Some objected to the salute but were forced to adhere, the others did not think it important.
Firsts
Misc Phactoids
Buster Merryfield, Uncle Albert in Only Fools And Horses, played professional football for Millwall
Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovic was a qualified football referee