The 1883 FA Cup final was contested by Blackburn Olympic and Old Etonians at the Kennington Oval. Blackburn Olympic won 2–1 after extra time. James Costley and Arthur Matthews scored for Blackburn; Harry Goodhart for Old Etonians. It was a watershed match for the sport, as for the first time in an FA Cup final a working-class team playing the 'combination game' (passing) were triumphant over a team playing the public school tactics of 'rushing' and 'scrimmages'.

Overview

Blackburn Olympic, coached by former England player, Jack Hunter, had previously eliminated Lower Darwen, Darwen Ramblers and Druids, reaching the final after a 4–0 over Old Carthusians in the semi-final. On the other hand, Old Etonians earned to play their third consecutive final, although they were not the favourites to win the match. The following is the chronicle of the match, as it appeared on The Morning Post: A key factor in the Olympians' victory was a tactical innovation. It played a 2-3-5 formation, rather than the familiar 2-2-6 of the Etonians, "which certainly strengthened the defence without essentially weakening the attack."

Match details