When Crystal Palace and Manchester United kick off in the FA Cup Final later this month, it will in fact be a rematch more than a quarter century in the making. The two squads met in the final for the first time at the end of the 1989-90 tournament. It was, in fact, Palace’s first trip to the final match for the first and — until this year — only time. Manchester United, meanwhile, has a much richer FA Cup history, having appeared in the final match an astonishing 18 times. They have claimed 11 cups wins from those trips.
Here is the program cover for the first Palace vs. United FA Cup Final, played May 12, 1990 at Wembley Stadium.
Because the game ended in a 3-3 draw a replay was needed to decide a champion. That was played five days later at Wembley:
The replay was just as closely contested and was won 1-0 by the Red Devils, under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
To see more FA Cup programs, check out my English football section now!
