Organised by the London FA, the Challenge Cup was a competition first contested in 1908 and, other than during the World Wars, the tournament was contested every season until 1974, when it was disbanded for 16 years.
The Cup resumed in 1990/91 and lasting for a further 10 years – during which time it was mostly won by non-league clubs – before it concluded permanently.
But in its early stages, the London Challenge Cup was dominated by Palace, who reached six of the first 12 finals, including four in a row between 1920 and 1923.
Among them was a 2-1 triumph against Spurs, on this day 113 years ago, during which the star of the show was undoubtedly goalkeeper Joe Johnson, a recruit six years earlier from Plymouth Argyle.
The winning goalscorer, meanwhile, was Edwin ‘Ted’ Smith, a 1911 recruit from Hull City who went on to become the club’s all-time second top goalscorer with 124 strikes.
"Thanks to a splendid display of goalkeeping by Johnson, Crystal Palace defeated Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane yesterday in a London Professional Charity Fund match by two goals to one,” the Daily Mirror’s match report read.
“The 'Spurs were much below full strength, Collins, Webster, Weir, Walden and Bliss all being absentees. Crystal Palace scored in the first five minutes owing to a blunder by Cartwright. The ex-Chelsea back, although he had plenty of time in which to clear, preferred to pass back to King, but the ball struck the crossbar and from the rebound [Edwin] Smith netted.
“The ‘Spurs after this were incessantly attacking, and Johnson, in the Palace goal, brought off many fine saves. He was, however, beaten before the interval by Middlemiss, who took a long pass from the right wing and found the net with a hard drive.
“The Palace had more of the game in the second-half, and [Charlie] Hewitt scored what proved to be the winning goal after fifteen minutes' play. The 'Spurs, however, should have scored on several occasions, but their shooting was very weak, and the Palace won rather luckily. About 5,000 people were present.”
