You had to wait for the evening paper to find out the score.

The first Final on radio - in fact the first tie in any round - was Bolton Wanderers v Manchester City in 1926. But even then it was only relayed to public halls in Bolton and Manchester and wasn't a proper public broadcast.

In the following season the BBC broadcast the Fourth Round tie between Corinthians and Newcastle United, played at the old Crystal Palace. Corinthians were an amateur club whose own rules had initially barred them from playing competitive football and they hadn't entered The FA Cup until 1922, 40 years after the club's formation. Newcastle were 3-1 winners at the Palace on 29 January 1927.

Three months later Cardiff City famously overcame Arsenal in the Final to take The Cup out of England for the first time and that match was also transmitted to the public by the BBC.

What about television?

Sunderland v Preston North End in the 1937 Final was televised in part. In the following year runners-up Preston were back at Wembley to play Huddersfield Town and on that occasion the match was televised in its entirety by the BBC.

A TV audience estimated to be 10,000 certainly saw an exciting finish, George Mutch converting a penalty in the last minute of extra-time to win The Cup for the Lancashire side.

Last year's Final at the Millennium Stadium, where Arsenal beat Manchester United on penalties, had an estimated global TV audience of 484 million. Quite a contrast!