White Horse Wembley and World Cup Winners

The Sunday Pictorial captures in storyboard form the drama of the first FA Cup final held at Wembley Stadium in 1923. Up to 200,000 people stormed the 127,000 capacity stadium, spilling onto the pitch. Kick-off was delayed for 45 minutes as the pitch was cleared of supporters there to see Bolton take on West Ham. The press later referred to the event as the ‘White Horse Final’ owing to white police horse Billy, ridden by PC George Scorey, who managed to clear the crowds allowing the game to begin. However, other police horses were also involved.

Sunday Pictorial, 29 April 1923		Evening Standard, 1 August 1966
The British Library gratefully acknowledges the John Frost Newspaper Archive for permission to reproduce this front page.

43 years later, the Evening Standard devoted its entire front page to another moment in Wembley's famous history - an iconic photograph of England lifting the World Cup for the first time.