document_title: FA Cup

question_text: last team to win fa cup not in top division

question_tokens: last team to win fa cup not in top division

text: FA Cup

text: History[edit]

text: In 1863, the newly founded Football Association (the FA) published the Laws of the Game of Association Football, unifying the various different rules in use before then. On 20 July 1871, in the offices of The Sportsman newspaper, the FA Secretary C. W. Alcock proposed to the FA committee that "it is desirable that a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association for which all clubs belonging to the Association should be invited to compete". The inaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871. After thirteen games in all, Wanderers were crowned the winners in the final, on 16 March 1872. Wanderers retained the trophy the following year. The modern cup was beginning to be established by the 1888–89 season, when qualifying rounds were introduced.[3]

text: Following the 1914–15 edition, the competition was suspended due to the First World War, and did not resume until 1919–20. The 1922–23 competition saw the first final to be played in the newly opened Wembley Stadium (known at the time as the Empire Stadium). Due to the outbreak of World War II, the competition was not played between the 1938–39 and 1945–46 editions. Due to the wartime breaks, the competition did not celebrate its centenary year until 1980–81; fittingly the final featured a goal by Ricky Villa which was later voted the greatest goal ever scored at Wembley Stadium, but has since been replaced by Steven Gerrard.[4]

text: Having previously featured replays, the modern day practice of ensuring the semi-final and final matches finish on the day, was introduced from 2000 onwards. Redevelopment of Wembley saw the final played outside of England for the first time, the 2001–2006 finals being played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The final returned to Wembley in 2007, followed by the semi-finals from 2008.

text: Eligibility[edit]

text: The competition is open to any club down to Level 10 of the English football league system which meets the eligibility criteria. All clubs in the top four levels (the Premier League and the three divisions of the Football League) are automatically eligible. Clubs in the next six levels (non-league football) are also eligible provided they have played in either the FA Cup, FA Trophy or FA Vase competitions in the previous season. Newly formed clubs, such as F.C. United of Manchester in 2005–06 and also 2006–07, may not therefore play in the FA Cup in their first season. All clubs entering the competition must also have a suitable stadium.

text: It is very rare for top clubs to miss the competition, although it can happen in exceptional circumstances. Manchester United did not defend their title in 1999–2000, as they were already in the inaugural Club World Championship. The club stated that entering both tournaments would overload their fixture schedule and make it more difficult to defend their Champions League and Premier League titles. The club claimed that they did not want to devalue the FA Cup by fielding a weaker side. The move benefited United as they received a two-week break and won the 1999–2000 league title by an 18-point margin, although they did not progress past the group stage of the Club World Championship. The withdrawal from the FA Cup, however, drew considerable criticism as this weakened the tournament's prestige and Sir Alex Ferguson later admitted his regret regarding their handling of the situation.[5][6][7]

text: Welsh sides that play in English leagues are eligible, although since the creation of the League of Wales there are only six clubs remaining: Cardiff City (the only non-English team to win the tournament, in 1927), Swansea City, Newport County, Wrexham, Merthyr Town and Colwyn Bay. In the early years other teams from Wales, Ireland and Scotland also took part in the competition, with Glasgow side Queen's Park losing the final to Blackburn Rovers in 1884 and 1885 before being barred from entering by the Scottish Football Association. In the 2013–14 season the first Channel Island club entered the competition when Guernsey F.C. competed for the first time.[8]

text: The number of entrants has increased greatly in recent years. In the 2004–05 season, 660 clubs entered the competition, beating the long-standing record of 656 from the 1921–22 season. In 2005–06 this increased to 674 entrants, in 2006–07 to 687, in 2007–08 to 731 clubs, and for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 competitions it reached 762.[9] The number has varied slightly but remained roughly stable since then, with 759 clubs participating in 2010–11, a record 763 in 2011–12, 758 for 2012–13, 737 for 2013–14 and 736 for 2014–15. By comparison, the other major English domestic cup, the League Cup, involves only the 92 members of the Premier League and Football League.

text: Competition format[edit]

text: Overview[edit]

text: Beginning in August, the competition proceeds as a knockout tournament throughout, consisting of twelve rounds, a semi-final and then a final, in May. A system of byes ensures clubs above Level 9 and 10 enter the competition at later stages. There is no seeding, the fixtures in each round being determined by a random draw. Prior to the quarter-finals, fixtures ending in a tie are replayed once only.[10] The first six rounds are qualifiers, with the draws organised on a regional basis. The next six rounds are the "proper" rounds where all clubs are in one draw.

text: Schedule[edit]

text: Entrants from the bottom two levels (9 and 10) begin the competition in the Extra Preliminary Round. Clubs from higher levels are then added in later rounds, as per the table below. The months in which rounds are played are traditional, with exact dates subject to each year's calendar.

text:
Round[2]
New entrants at this round[2]
Month
No of matches

Qualifying Competition[2]

Extra-Preliminary Round
Level 9 and 10 clubs
August
184

Preliminary Round
Level 8 clubs
160

First Round
Level 7 clubs
September
116

Second Round
Level 6 clubs
80

Third Round
none
October
40

Fourth Round
Level 5 clubs
32

Competition Proper[2]

First Round
Level 3 and 4 clubs
November
40

Second Round
none
December
20

Third Round
Level 1 and 2 clubs
January
32

Fourth Round
none
16

Fifth Round
February
8

Quarter-finals
March
4

Semi-Finals
April
2

Final
May
1

text: The qualifying rounds are regionalised to reduce the travel costs for smaller non-league sides. The first and second proper rounds were also previously split into Northern and Southern sections, but this practice was ended after the 1997–98 competition.

text: The final is normally held the Saturday after the Premier League season finishes in May. The only seasons in recent times when this pattern was not followed were 1999–2000, when most rounds were played a few weeks earlier than normal as an experiment, and 2010–11 and 2012–13 when the FA Cup Final was played before the Premier League season had finished, to allow Wembley Stadium to be ready for the UEFA Champions League final,[11] as well as in 2011–12 to allow England time to prepare for that summer's European Championships.[12]

text: The draw[edit]

text: The draws for the Extra-Preliminary, Preliminary, and First Qualifying Rounds used to all occur at the same time. Thereafter, the draw for each subsequent round is not made until after the scheduled dates for the previous round, meaning that in the case of replays, clubs will often know their future opponents in advance. This season 2016/17 the draw for the 1st qualifying round was drawn at a later date as per previous season's later rounds.

text: The draw for each of the proper rounds is broadcast live on television, usually taking place at the conclusion of live coverage of one of the games of the previous round. Public interest is particularly high during the draw for the third round, which is where the top-ranked teams are added to the draw.

text: Tiebreaking[edit]

text: In rounds up to and including the fifth round proper, fixtures resulting in a draw (after normal time) go to a replay, played at the venue of the away team, at a later date; if that replay is still tied, the winner is settled by a period of extra time, and if still necessary, a penalty shootout. Since 2016–17, ties are settled on the day from the quarter-finals onwards, using extra time and penalties.

text: Until 1990–91, further replays would be played until one team was victorious. Some ties took as many as six matches to settle; in their 1975 campaign, Fulham played a total of 12 games over six rounds, which remains the most games played by a team to reach a final.[13] Replays were traditionally played three or four days after the original game, but from 1991–92 they were staged at least 10 days later on police advice for the rounds proper. This led to penalty shoot-outs being introduced, the first of which came on 26 November 1991 when Rotherham United eliminated Scunthorpe United.[14]

text: From 1980–81 to 1998–99, the semi-finals went to extra time on the day if the score after 90 minutes was a draw. If the score was still level after extra time, the match would go to a replay. Replays for the semi-finals were scrapped for 1999–2000, the last semi-final to go into a replay was in 1998–99 when Manchester United beat Arsenal 2–1 after extra time. The first game had ended in a 0–0 draw.

text: The first FA Cup Final to go to extra time and a replay was the 1875 final, between the Royal Engineers and the Old Etonians. The initial tie finished 1–1 but the Royal Engineers won the replay 2–0 in normal time. The last replayed final was the 1993 FA Cup Final, when Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday fought a 1–1 draw. The replay saw Arsenal win the FA Cup, 2–1 after extra time.

text: The last quarter-final to go to a replay was Manchester United vs West Ham United in the 2015–16 FA Cup. The original game at Old Trafford ended in a 1–1 draw, while Manchester United won the replay at the Boleyn Ground, 2–1. It was also the last FA Cup game ever played at the Boleyn Ground.[15]

text: Qualification for subsequent competitions[edit]

text: European football[edit]

text: The FA Cup winners qualify for the following season's UEFA Europa League (formerly named the UEFA Cup; from its launch in 1960 until 1998, they entered the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup instead). This European place applies even if the team is relegated or is not in the English top flight. In the past, if the FA Cup winning team also qualified for the following season's Champions League or Europa League through their league position, then the losing FA Cup finalist were given this European berth instead. FA Cup winners enter the Europa League at the group stage. Losing finalists, if they haven't qualified for Europe via the league, began earlier, at the play-off or third qualifying round stage.[16] From the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League season, however, UEFA does not allow the runners-up to qualify for the Europa League through the competition.[17] If the winner – and until 2015, the runner-up – has already qualified for Europe through their league position (with the exception of the UEFA Cup until 1998), the FA Cup berth is then given to the highest-place team in the league who has not yet qualified.

text: FA Community Shield[edit]

text: The FA Cup winners also qualify for the following season's single-match FA Community Shield, the traditional season opener played against the previous season's Premier League champions (or the Premier League runners-up if the FA Cup winners also won the league – the double).

text: Venues[edit]

text: Fixtures in the 12 rounds of the competition are usually played at the home ground of one of the two teams. The semi-finals and final are played at a neutral venue – the rebuilt Wembley Stadium (since 2008 and 2007 respectively).

text: Competition rounds[edit]

text: In the matches for the twelve competition rounds, the team who plays at home is decided when the fixtures are drawn – simply the first team drawn out for each fixture. Occasionally games may have to be moved to other grounds due to other events taking place, security reasons or a ground not being suitable to host popular teams. In the event of a draw, the replay is played at the ground of the team who originally played away from home.

text: In the days when multiple replays were possible, the second replay (and any further replays) were played at neutral grounds. The clubs involved could alternatively agree to toss for home advantage in the second replay.

text: Semi-finals[edit]

text: The semi-finals have been played exclusively at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium since 2008, one year after it opened and after it had already hosted a final (in 2007). For the first decade of the competition, the Kennington Oval was used as the semi-final venue. In the period between this first decade and the reopening of Wembley, semi-finals were played at high-capacity neutral venues around England; usually the home grounds of teams not involved in that semi-final, chosen to be roughly equidistant between the two teams for fairness of travel. The top three most used venues in this period were Villa Park in Birmingham (55 times), Hillsborough in Sheffield (34 times) and Old Trafford in Manchester (23 times). The original Wembley Stadium was also used seven times for semi-final, between 1991 and 2000 (the last held there), but not always for fixtures featuring London teams. In 2005, both were held at the Millennium Stadium.

text: In 2003 the FA took the decision to permanently use the new Wembley for semi-finals to recoup debts in financing the new stadium.[18] This was controversial, with the move seen as both unfair to fans of teams located far from London, as well as taking some of the prestige away from a Wembley final.[19] In defending the move, the FA has also cited the extra capacity Wembley offers, although the 2013 fixture between Millwall and Wigan led to the unprecedented step of placing 6,000 tickets on sale to neutral fans after the game failed to sell out.[20] A fan poll by The Guardian in 2013 found 86% opposition to Wembley semi-finals.[20]

text: Final[edit]

text: The final has been played at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium since it opened, in 2007.[21] The rebuilding process meant that between 2001 and 2006 they were hosted at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in Wales. Prior to rebuilding, the final was hosted by the original Wembley Stadium since it opened in 1923 (being originally named the Empire Stadium). One exception to this 78 year series of Empire Stadium finals (including five replays) was the 1970 replay between Leeds and Chelsea, held at Old Trafford in Manchester.

text: In the 51 years prior to the Empire Stadium opening, the final (including 8 replays) was held in a variety of locations, predominantly in London, and mainly at the Kennington Oval and then Crystal Palace. It was played 22 times at The Oval (the inaugural competition in 1872, and then all but two times until 1892). After The Oval, Crystal Palace hosted 21 finals from 1895 to 1914, broken up by four replays elsewhere. The other London venues were Stamford Bridge from 1920 to 1922 (the last three finals before the move to Empire Stadium); and the University of Oxford's Lillie Bridge in Fulham for the second ever final, in 1873. The other venues used sparingly in this period were all outside of London, as follows:

text:
Racecourse Ground, Derby (1886)
Fallowfield Stadium, Manchester (1893)
Goodison Park, Liverpool (1894)
Burnden Park, Bolton (1901 replay)
Old Trafford, Manchester (1911 replay)
Goodison Park (1910 replay)
Bramall Lane, Sheffield (1912 replay)
Old Trafford (1915)

text: Artificial turf[edit]

text: The FA permitted artificial turf (3G) pitches in all rounds of the competition from the 2014–15 edition and beyond.[22] Under the 2015–16 rules, the pitch must be of FIFA One Star quality, or Two Star for ties if they involve one of the 92 professional clubs.[2] This followed approval two years previously for their use in the qualifying rounds only – if a team with a 3G pitch progressed to the competition proper, they had to switch their tie to the ground of another eligible entrant with a natural grass pitch.[23] Having been strong proponents of the surface, the first match in the proper rounds to be played on a 3G surface was a televised first round replay at Maidstone United's Gallagher Stadium on 20 November 2014.[24]

text: Trophy[edit]

text: The eventual winners of the competition receive the FA Cup; it is only loaned to the club by the FA, under the current (2015–16) rules it must be returned by 1 March, or earlier if given seven days’ notice.[2] Traditionally, the holders had the Cup until the following year's presentation, although more recently the trophy has been taken on publicity tours by the FA in between finals.[25]

text: The trophy comes in three parts – the cup itself, plus a lid and a base. There have been two designs of trophy in use, but five physical trophies have been presented. The original trophy, known as the "little tin idol", was 18 inches high and made by Martin, Hall & Co. It was stolen in 1895 and never recovered, and so was replaced by an exact replica, used until 1910. The FA decided to change the design after the 1909 winners, Manchester United, made their own replica, leading the FA to realise they did not own the copyright.[26] This new, larger design was by Fattorini and Sons, and was used from 1911.[26] In order to preserve this original, from 1992 it was replaced by an exact replica, although this had to be replaced after just over two decades, after showing wear and tear from being handled more than in previous eras. This third replica, first used in 2014, was built heavier to withstand the increased handling.[25] Of the four surviving trophies, only the 1895 replica has entered private ownership.[27]

text: The name of the winning team is engraved on the silver band around the base as soon as the final has finished, in order to be ready in time for the presentation ceremony.[25] This means the engraver has just five minutes to perform a task which would take 20 under normal conditions, although time is saved by engraving the year on during the match, and sketching the presumed winner.[28] During the final, the trophy is decorated with ribbons in the colours of both finalists, with the loser's ribbons being removed at the end of the game.[29] The tradition of tying ribbons started after Tottenham Hotspur won the 1901 FA Cup Final and the wife of a Spurs director decided to tie blue and white ribbons to the handles of the cup.[30] Traditionally, at Wembley finals, the presentation is made at the Royal Box, with players, led by the captain, mounting a staircase to a gangway in front of the box and returning by a second staircase on the other side of the box. At Cardiff the presentation was made on a podium on the pitch.

text: The tradition of presenting the trophy immediately after the game did not start until the 1882 final; after the first final in 1872 the trophy was not presented to the winners, Wanderers, until a reception held four weeks later in the Pall Mall Restaurant in London.[31] Under the original rules, the trophy was to be permanently presented to any club which won the competition three times, although when inaugural winners Wanderers achieved this feat by the 1876 final, the rules were changed by FA Secretary CW Alcock (who was also captain of Wanderers in their first victory).[32]

text: Portsmouth F.C. have the distinction of being the football club which has held the FA Cup trophy for the longest uninterrupted period - seven years. Portsmouth had defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 in the 1939 FA Cup Final and were awarded the trophy as 1938-1939 FA Cup Champions. But with the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the regular Football League and FA Cup competitions for the 1939-40 season were cancelled for the duration of the war. Portsmouth's manager Jack Tinn was rumoured to have kept the FA Cup trophy 'safe under his bed' throughout the duration of the war, but this is an urban myth. Because the naval city of Portsmouth was a primary strategic military target for German Luftwaffe bombing, the FA Cup trophy was actually taken ten miles to the north of Portsmouth, to the nearby Hampshire village of Lovedean, and there it resided in a quaint thatched roof country pub called The Bird in Hand for the seven years of the war.[33] After the conclusion of World War II, the FA Cup trophy was presented back to the Football Association by Portsmouth F.C. in time for the 1946 FA Cup Final.

text: Original design[edit]

text: 1871 original[edit]

text: The first trophy, the 'little tin idol', was made by Martin, Hall & Co at a cost of £20[34] It was stolen from a Birmingham shoe shop window belonging to William Shillcock while held by Aston Villa on 11 September 1895 and was never seen again. Despite a £10 reward for information, the crime was never solved. As it happened while it was in their care, the FA fined Villa £25 to pay for a replacement.

text: Just over 60 years later, 80 year old career criminal Henry (Harry) James Burge claimed to have committed the theft, confessing to a newspaper, with the story being published in the Sunday Pictorial newspaper on 23 February 1958. He claimed to have carried out the robbery with two other men, although when discrepancies with a contemporaneous report in the Birmingham Post newspaper (the crime pre-dated written police reports) in his account of the means of entry and other items stolen, detectives decided there was no realistic possibility of a conviction and the case was closed. Burge claimed the cup had been melted down to make counterfeit half-crown coins, which matched known intelligence of the time, in which stolen silver was being used to forge coins which were then laundered through betting shops at a local racecourse, although Burge had no past history of forgery in a record of 42 previous convictions for which he had spent 42 years in prison. He had been further imprisoned in 1957 for seven years for theft from cars. Released in 1961, he died in 1964.[35]

text: 1895 replica[edit]

text: After being rendered obsolete by the redesign, the 1895 replica was presented in 1910 to the FA's long-serving president Lord Kinnaird.[26] Kinnaird died in 1923, and his family kept it in their possession, out of view, until putting it up for auction in 2005.[36] It was duly sold at Christie's auction house on 19 May 2005 for £420,000 (£478,400 including auction fees and taxes).[26] The sale price set a new world record for a piece of football memorabilia, surpassing the £254,000 paid for the Jules Rimet World Cup Trophy in 1997.[27] The successful bidder was David Gold, the then joint chairman of Birmingham City; claiming the FA and government were doing nothing proactive to ensure the trophy remained in the country, Gold stated his purchase was motivated by wanting to save it for the nation.[27] Accordingly, Gold presented the trophy to the National Football Museum in Preston on 20 April 2006, where it went on immediate public display.[36] It later moved with the museum to its new location in Manchester.[26] In November 2012, it was ceremonially presented to Royal Engineers, after they beat Wanderers 7–1 in a charity replay of the first FA Cup final.

text: Current design[edit]

text: 1911 original[edit]

text: The redesigned trophy first used in 1911 was larger at 61.5 cm (24.2 inches) high, and was designed and manufactured by Fattorini's of Bradford, coincidentally being won by Bradford City in its first outing.[25][26]

text: On the 27 March 2016 episode of the BBC television programme Antiques Roadshow, this trophy was valued at £1 million by expert Alastair Dickenson, although he suggested that, due to the design featuring depictions of grapes and vines, it may not have been specifically produced for the FA, but was instead an off-the-shelf design originally meant to be a wine or champagne cooler.[26]

text: A smaller, but otherwise identical, replica was also made by Fattorini, the North Wales Coast FA Cup trophy, and is contested annually by members of that regional Association[37].

text: 1992 replica[edit]

text: The 1992 replica was made by Toye, Kenning and Spencer.[38] A copy of this trophy was also produced, in case anything happened to the primary trophy.[39]

text: 2014 replica[edit]

text: The 2014 replica was made by Thomas Lyte, handcrafted in sterling 925 silver over 250 hours. A weight increase to increase durability has taken it to 6.3 kilograms (14 lb).[25]

text: Medals[edit]

text: Each club in the final receives 40 winners or runners-up medals to be distributed among players, staff, and officials.[40]

text: In 1914 Burnley won the cup and received unique medals incorrectly struck as "English Cup Winners". One is displayed at Turf Moor, within the 1914 collection.[41]

text: Sponsorship[edit]

text: Since the start of the 1994–95 season, the FA Cup has been sponsored. However, to protect the identity of the competition, the sponsored name has always included 'The FA Cup' in addition to the sponsor's name, unlike sponsorship deals for the League Cup where the word 'cup' is preceded by only the sponsor's name. Sponsorship deals run for four years, though – as in the case of E.ON – one-year extensions may be agreed. Emirates Airline is the sponsor from 2015 to 2018, renaming the competition as 'The Emirates FA Cup', unlike previous editions, which included 'The FA Cup in association with E.ON' and 'The FA Cup with Budweiser'.[42]

text:
Period
Sponsor
Name

1871/72–1993/94
No main sponsor
The FA Cup

1994/95–1997/98
 Littlewoods
The FA Cup sponsored by Littlewoods[43]

1998/99–2001/02
 AXA
The AXA sponsored FA Cup[44](1998–99)
The FA Cup sponsored by AXA (1999–2002)

2002/03–2005/06
No main sponsor
The FA Cup

2006/07–2010/11
 E.ON
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON[45][46]

2011/12–2013/14
 Budweiser
The FA Cup with Budweiser[47]

2014/15
No main sponsor
The FA Cup

2015/16–2017/18
 Emirates
The Emirates FA Cup[42]

text: From August 2006 to 2013, Umbro supplied match balls for all FA Cup matches. Since March 2013, Nike has supplied the official match ball.

text: Records and statistics[edit]

text: Final[edit]

text: Team[edit]

text:
Most wins: 13:

Arsenal (1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017)

Most consecutive wins: 3, joint record:

Wanderers (1876, 1877, 1878)
Blackburn Rovers, (1884, 1885, 1886)

Most appearances in a final: 20:

Arsenal (1927, 1930, 1932, 1936, 1950, 1952, 1971, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017)

Most consecutive/uninterrupted years as FA Cup Champions: 7, Portsmouth F.C., (1939-1946)
Most Final appearances without ever winning: 4, Leicester City (1949, 1961, 1963, 1969)
Most Final appearances without ever losing: 5, Wanderers (1872, 1873, 1876, 1877, 1878)
Most Final appearances without losing (streak): 7, Tottenham Hotspur (1901, 1921, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982)
Biggest win: 6 goals: Bury 6–0 Derby County, (1903)
Most goals in a final: 7:

Blackburn Rovers 6–1 Sheffield Wednesday (1890)
Blackpool 4–3 Bolton Wanderers (1953)

Most goals by a losing side: 3:

Bolton Wanderers: Lost 3–4 against Blackpool (1953)
West Ham United: Drew 3–3 but lost in a penalty shootout against Liverpool (2006)

Most defeats: 8, Everton (1893, 1897, 1907, 1968, 1985, 1986, 1989, 2009)

text: Individual[edit]

text:
Most wins by player: 7, Ashley Cole (Arsenal) (2002, 2003, 2005) & (Chelsea) (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012)
Most wins by manager: 7, Arsène Wenger (Arsenal) (1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017),
Most appearances: 9, Arthur Kinnaird (Wanderers) (1872–73, 1875–76, 1876–77, 1877–78) & (Old Etonians) (1874–75, 1878–79, 1880–81, 1881–82, 1882–83)
Most goals (one final): 3, Billy Townley (Blackburn Rovers) (1890), James Logan (Notts County) (1894) & Stan Mortensen (Blackpool) (1953)
Most goals (all finals): 5, Ian Rush (Liverpool) (2 in 1986, 2 in 1989, 1 in 1992)
Most finals scored in: 4, Didier Drogba (Chelsea) (1 each in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012)
Youngest FA Cup finalist: Curtis Weston (Millwall), 17 years and 119 days (2004)
Youngest player to score in an FA Cup Final: Norman Whiteside (Manchester United), 18 years and 19 days (1983)
Oldest player: Billy Hampson (Newcastle United), 41 years and 257 days (1924)

text: All rounds[edit]

text:
Biggest win: Preston North End 26–0 Hyde (First Round, 15 October 1887)
Biggest away win: Clapton 0–14 Nottingham Forest (First Round, 17 January 1891)
Highest attendance at Wembley: 126,047 (official) up to 300,000 (estimate) at the "White Horse Final" (Bolton Wanderers v. West Ham United, 28 April 1923)
Most clubs competing for trophy in a season: 763 (2011–12)
Longest tie: 660 minutes (6 matches in total), Oxford City v. Alvechurch (Fourth Qualifying Round, November 6/9/15/17/20/22 1971; Alvechurch won the sixth match 1–0)
Longest penalty shootout: 20 penalties each, Tunbridge Wells v. Littlehampton Town (Preliminary Round Replay, 31 August 2005; Tunbridge Wells won 16–15)
Most rounds played in a season: 9, for:

Brighton & Hove Albion (1932–33: 1st–4th Qualifying Rounds, 1st–5th Rounds)
New Brighton (1956–57: Preliminary, 1st–4th Qualifying Rounds, 1st–4th Rounds)
Blyth Spartans (1977–78: 1st–4th Qualifying Rounds, 1st–5th Rounds)
Harlow Town (1979–80: Preliminary, 1st–4th Qualifying Rounds, 1st–4th Rounds)

Most games played in a season: 13, Bideford (1973–74: one First Qualifying, two Second Qualifying, five Third Qualifying, four Fourth Qualifying and one First Round)
Fastest goal: 4 seconds, Gareth Morris (for Ashton United v. Skelmersdale United, 1st Qualifying Round, 17 September 2001)
Most consecutive games without defeat: 22, Blackburn Rovers (First Round, 1884 through Second round, replay, 1886. Won two FA Cups.)
Most consecutive games without defeat: (Excluding defeat by penalty shoot-out) 29, Chelsea (Third Round Proper, 2009 through Fourth Round Proper, replay, 2013. Won three FA Cups.)
Fastest hat-trick: 2 min 20 sec, Andy Locke (for Nantwich Town v. Droylsden, Preliminary Round, August 1995)[48]
Most career goals: 49, Henry "Harry" Cursham (for Notts County in 12 tournaments from 1877–78 to 1888–89).
Most goals by a player in a single FA Cup season: 19, Jimmy Ross (for Preston North End, 1887–88. Preston outscored opponents 50–5 over 7 matches, including "Biggest win" shown above.).[49]
Most goals by a player in a single FA Cup game: 9, Ted MacDougall (for AFC Bournemouth in 11–0 defeat of Margate, First Round Proper, 20 November 1971)[50]
Scoreline: Two examples of teams scoring 7 goals and not winning – Dulwich Hamlet 8–7 St Albans City (Fourth Qualifying Round Replay, 22 November 1922), and Dulwich Hamlet 7–7 Wealdstone (Fourth Qualifying Round, 16 November 1929).
Youngest player: Andy Awford, 15 years and 88 days (for Worcester City v. Boreham Wood, 3rd Qualifying Round, 10 October 1987),[51]
Youngest goalscorer: Sean Cato, 16 years and 25 days (for Barrow Town v. Rothwell Town, Preliminary Round, 3 September 2011)[52]
Youngest goalscorer (proper rounds): George Williams, 16 years and 66 days (for Milton Keynes Dons v. Nantwich Town, First Round Proper, 12 November 2011)

text: Cup runs and giant killings[edit]

text: The possibility of unlikely victories in the earlier rounds of the competition, where lower ranked teams beat higher placed opposition in what is known as a "giant killing", is much anticipated by the public. Such upsets are considered an integral part of the tradition and prestige of the competition, and the attention gained by giant-killing teams can be as great as that for winners of the cup.[53] Almost every club in the League Pyramid has a fondly remembered giant-killing act in its history.[54] It is considered particularly newsworthy when a top Premier League team suffers an upset defeat, or where the giant-killer is a non-league club, i.e. from outside the professional levels of The Football League.

text: One analysis of four years of FA Cup results showed that it was 99.85 per cent likely that at least one team would beat one from its next higher division in a given year. The probability drops to 48.8 per cent for a two-division gap, and 39.28 per cent for a three-division gap.[54]

text: Early years[edit]

text: The Football League was founded in 1888, 16 years after the first FA Cup competition. Since the creation of The Football League, Tottenham Hotspur is the only non-league "giant-killer" to win the Cup, taking the 1901 FA Cup with a victory over reigning league runners-up Sheffield United: although at that time, there were only two divisions and 36 clubs in the Football League, and Spurs were champions of the next strongest football league – the Southern League and probably already good enough for the First Division (as was shown when they joined the Second Division in 1908 and immediately won promotion to the First.) Only two other actual non-League clubs have even reached the final since the founding of the League: Sheffield Wednesday in 1890 (champions of the Football Alliance, a rival league which was already effectively the Second Division, which it formally became in 1892 – Wednesday being let straight into the First Division), and Southampton in 1900 and 1902 (in which years they were also Southern League champions, proving the strength of that league: again, they were probably of equivalent standard to a First Division club at the time, but Southampton's form subsequently faded and they did not join the League till 1920 and the formation of the Third Division.)

text: Non-league giant killings[edit]

text: The most recent examples of a non-league team (Levels 5 to 10) beating a Level 1 opponent are National League side Lincoln City's away victory over Premier League side Burnley in the 2016–17 FA Cup and Conference Premier side Luton Town's away victory over Level 1 Premier League's Norwich City in the 2012–13 Fourth Round Proper. Prior to that game, the last time a non-league side defeated a Level 1 club was in 1989 when Sutton United claimed a 2–1 victory at home over Coventry City, who had won the FA Cup less than two years prior.[55]

text: In the 1971–72 FA Cup, a non-league side achieved a Level 1 giant killing that was voted "best FA Cup tie ever" in a 2007 poll by The Observer newspaper.[56] Non-league Hereford United was trailing First Division Newcastle United 0–1 with less than seven minutes left in the Third Round Proper replay, when Hereford's Ronnie Radford scored the equalizer – a goal still shown regularly when FA Cup fixtures are broadcast. Hereford finished the shocking comeback by defeating Newcastle 2–1 in the match.

text: Some small clubs gain a reputation for being "cup specialists" after two or more giant killing feats within a few years.[54] Yeovil Town holds the record for the most victories over league opposition as a non-league team, having recorded 20 wins through the years before it achieved promotion into The Football League.[57] The record for a club which has never entered The Football League is held by Altrincham, with 17 wins against league teams.

text: Non-league cup runs[edit]

text: For non-league teams, reaching the Third Round Proper – where all Level 1 sides now enter – is considered a major achievement. In the 2008–09 FA Cup, a record nine non-league teams achieved this feat.[58] As of the 2016–17 season, only nine non-league teams have reached the Fifth Round Proper (final 16) since 1945,[59] and only Lincoln City have progressed to the Sixth Round (final 8), during the 2016–17 edition of the tournament.[60] Prior to Lincoln's run, Kidderminster Harriers were the last team to reach the 5th round, in 1994, where they had a chance to inflict a giant-killing of their own against a Premier League side. They were drawn at home against West Ham United in Round 5 but lost 0 - 1 in a close game at Aggborough.

text: Chasetown, while playing at Level 8 of English football during the 2007–08 competition, are the lowest-ranked team to ever play in the Third Round Proper (final 64, of 731 teams entered that season). Chasetown was then a member of the Southern League Division One Midlands (a lower level within the Southern Football League), when they lost to Football League Championship (Level 2) team Cardiff City, the eventual FA Cup runners-up that year.[61] Their success earned the lowly organisation over £60,000 in prize money.

text: Giant killings between league clubs[edit]

text: In games between league sides, one of the most notable results was the 1992 victory by Wrexham, last in the previous season's league, over reigning league champion Arsenal. Another similar shock was when Shrewsbury Town beat Everton 2–1 in 2003. Everton finished 7th in The Premier League and Shrewsbury Town were relegated to the Football Conference that same season.

text: Winners and finalists[edit]

text: Consecutive winners[edit]

text: Four clubs have won consecutive FA Cups on more than one occasion: Wanderers (1872, 1873 and 1876, 1877, 1878), Blackburn Rovers (1884, 1885, 1886 and 1890, 1891), Tottenham Hotspur (1961, 1962 and 1981, 1982) and Arsenal (2002, 2003 and 2014, 2015).

text: Winning managers[edit]

text: The record for most winner's medals for a manager is held by Arsène Wenger, who has won seven titles with Arsenal (1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017).

text: Doubles/Trebles[edit]

text: Seven clubs have won the FA Cup as part of a League and Cup double, namely Preston North End (1889), Aston Villa (1897), Tottenham Hotspur (1961), Arsenal (1971, 1998, 2002), Liverpool (1986), Manchester United (1994, 1996, 1999) and Chelsea (2010). In 1993, Arsenal became the first side to win both the FA Cup and the League Cup in the same season when they beat Sheffield Wednesday 2–1 in both finals. Liverpool (in 2001) and Chelsea (in 2007) have since repeated this feat. In 2012, Chelsea accomplished a different cup double consisting of the FA Cup and the 2012 Champions League. In 1998–99, Manchester United added the 1999 Champions League title to their league and cup double to complete a unique Treble. Two years later, in 2000–01, Liverpool won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup to complete a cup treble. An English Treble has never been achieved.

text: Outside England[edit]

text: The FA Cup has only been won by a non-English team once. Cardiff City achieved this in 1927 when they beat Arsenal in the final at Wembley. They had previously made it to the final only to lose to Sheffield United in 1925 and lost another final to Portsmouth in 2008. Cardiff City is also the only team to win the national cups of two different countries in the same season, having also won the Welsh Cup in 1927. The Scottish team Queen's Park reached and lost the final in both 1884 and 1885.

text: Outside the top division[edit]

text: Since the creation of the Football League in 1888, the final has never been contested by two teams from outside the top division, and there have only been eight winners who were not in the top flight: Notts County (1894); Tottenham Hotspur (1901); Wolverhampton Wanderers (1908); Barnsley (1912); West Bromwich Albion (1931); Sunderland (1973), Southampton (1976) and West Ham United (1980). With the exception of Tottenham, these clubs were all playing in the second tier (the old Second Division) – Tottenham were playing in the Southern League and were only elected to the Football League in 1908, meaning they are the only non-League winners of the FA Cup since the League's creation. Other than Tottenham's victory, only 24 finalists have come from outside English football's top tier, with a record of 7 wins and 17 runners-up: and none at all from the third tier or lower, Southampton (1902, then in the Southern League) being the last finalist from outside the top two tiers.

text: Sunderland's win in 1973 was considered a major upset, having beaten Leeds United who finished third in the top flight that season.[62], as was West Ham's victory over Arsenal in 1980 as the Gunners were in their third successive FA Cup Final and were also the cup holders from the previous year as well as just having finished 4th in the First Division, whereas West Ham had ended the season 7th in Division 2. This also marked the last time (as of 2017-18) a team from outside the top division. Uniquely, in 2008 three of the four semi-finalists (Barnsley, Cardiff City and West Bromwich) were from outside the top division, although the eventual winner was the last remaining top-flight team, Portsmouth.[63] West Bromwich (1931) are the only team to have won the FA Cup and earned promotion to the top flight in the same season; whereas Wigan Athletic (2013) are the only team to have won the Cup and been relegated from the top flight in the same season.

text: Media coverage[edit]

text: Domestic broadcasters[edit]

text: The FA Cup Final is one of 10 events reserved for live broadcast on UK terrestrial television under the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events.

text: In the early years of coverage the BBC had exclusive radio coverage with a picture of the pitch marked in the Radio Times with numbered squares to help the listener follow the match on the radio. The first FA Cup Final on Radio was in 1926 between Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City but this was only broadcast in Manchester, the first national final on BBC Radio was between Arsenal and Cardiff in 1927. The first final on BBC Television was in 1937 in a match which featured Sunderland and Preston North End but this was not televised in full. The following season's final between Preston and Huddersfield was covered in full by the BBC. When ITV was formed in 1955 they shared final coverage with the BBC in one of the only club matches shown live on television, during the 1970s and 1980s coverage became more elaborate with BBC and ITV trying to steal viewers from the others by starting coverage earlier and earlier some starting as early as 9 a.m. which was six hours before kick off. Nowadays, this continues with Setanta and ESPN having all-day broadcasts from Wembley, but terrestrial TV coverage usually begins two hours before kick off. The sharing of rights between BBC and ITV continued from 1955 to 1988, when ITV lost coverage to the new Sports Channel which later became Sky Sports.

text: From 1988 to 1997, the BBC and Sky Sports had coverage of the FA Cup, the BBC had highlights on Match of the Day and usually one match per round while Sky had the same deal. From 1997 to 2001, ITV and Sky shared live coverage with both having two matches per round and BBC continuing with highlights on Match of the Day. From 2002 to 2008, BBC and Sky again shared coverage with BBC having two or three matches per round and Sky having one or two. From 2008–09 to 2013–14, FA Cup matches are shown live by ITV across England and Wales, with UTV broadcasting to Northern Ireland but STV refusing to show them. ITV shows 16 FA Cup games per season, including the first pick of live matches from each of the first to sixth rounds of the competition, plus one semi-final exclusively live. The final is also shown live on ITV. Under the same 2008 contract, Setanta Sports showed three games and one replay in each round from round three to five, two quarter-finals, one semi-final and the final. The channel also broadcast ITV's matches exclusively to Scotland, after the ITV franchise holder in Scotland, STV, decided not to broadcast FA Cup games. Setanta entered administration in June 2009 and as a result the FA terminated Setanta's deal to broadcast FA-sanctioned competitions and England internationals.[64] As a result of Setanta going out of business ITV showed the competition exclusively in the 2009–10 season with between three and four matches per round, all quarter finals, semi-finals and final live as the FA could not find a pay TV broadcaster in time. ESPN bought the competition for the 2010–11 to 2012–13 season and during this time Rebecca Lowe became the first woman to host the FA Cup Final in the UK.

text: In October 2009, The FA announced that ITV would show an additional match in the First and Second Rounds on ITV, with one replay match shown on ITV4. One match and one replay match from the first two rounds will broadcast on The FA website for free, in a similar situation to the 2010 World Cup Qualifier between Ukraine and England.[65] The 2009–10 First Round match between Oldham Athletic and Leeds United was the first FA Cup match to be streamed online live.[66]

text: Many[who?] expected BSkyB to make a bid to show some of the remaining FA Cup games for the remainder of the 2009–10 season which would include a semi-final and shared rights to the final. ESPN took over the package Setanta held for the FA Cup from the 2010–11 season.[67] The 2011 final was also shown live on Sky 3D in addition to ESPN (who provided the 3D coverage for Sky 3D) and ITV.[68] Following the sale of ESPN's UK and Ireland channels to BT, ESPN's rights package transferred to BT Sport from the 2013–14 season.[69]

text: BBC Radio 5 Live and Talksport provides radio coverage including several full live commentaries per round, with additional commentaries broadcast on BBC Local Radio.

text: Until the 2008–09 season, the BBC and Sky Sports shared television coverage, with the BBC showing three matches in the earlier rounds. Some analysts argued the decision to move away from the Sky and, in particular, the BBC undermined the FA Cup in the eyes of the public.

text: The early rounds of the 2008–09 competition were covered for the first time by ITV's online service, ITV Local. The first match of the competition, between Wantage Town and Brading Town, was broadcast live online. Highlights of eight games of each round were broadcast as catch up on ITV Local.[70][71] Since ITV Local closed, this coverage did not continue.

text: ITV lost the rights to the FA Cup beginning with the 2014–15 FA Cup, terrestrial rights will return to BBC Sport, with the final being shown on BBC One while BT Sport hold the pay TV rights. Under this deal, the BBC will show around the same number of games as ITV and still having the first pick for each round.[72]

text: Matches involving Welsh clubs are sometimes exclusively broadcast on Welsh language channel S4C, which is also available to view across the rest of the United Kingdom on satellite and cable television, and through the channel's website.[73] A similar arrangement is shared with BBC Cymru Wales from 2014–15, potentially giving the BBC an extra match per round.[74]

text: Overseas broadcasters[edit]

text: The FA sells overseas rights separately from the domestic contract.

text:
Territory
Current broadcaster(s)
Former broadcaster(s)

Australia
First Round to the Semi-finals are broadcast exclusively by ESPN Australia; final co-broadcast with SBS. Due to Australian anti-siphoning laws, the FA Cup Final is on a list of sporting events, that must first be offered to national television broadcasters and commercial free-to-air television broadcasters before rights can be acquired by a subscription television broadcaster.

Africa
Supersport, since 2015–16

Albania
Tring Sport, since 2009–10

Belgium
Eleven Sports Network, since 2015–2016
Prime, 2008–09 – 2011–12

Canada
Sportsnet World, since 2011–12
Setanta Sports, 2008–09 – 2010–11

Denmark
SBS Discovery Channel (Kanal 5, 6'eren, 7'eren), since 2012–13

France
beIN Sport, since 2012–13
Canal+, 2007–08, France Télévisions, 2008–09 – 2011–12

India
Sony Six & Sony ESPN, since 2012–13

Italy
Fox Sports, since 2013–14
SKY Italia, 2003–04 – 2011–12, Mediaset Premium, 2012–13

Netherlands
FOX Sports, since 2010–11

Russia
Match TV, since 2015–16

Spain
Teledeporte, since 2016–17[75]
Movistar+, 2008–2012

Sweden
TV10, since 2013–14

United States
From 2012–13, Fox Sports will feature FA Cup games split between Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Soccer Plus and the broadcast Fox network, with the Final being on Fox.[76]

text: English football portal


document_title: NFL playoffs

question_text: who has the first round bye in nfl playoffs

root

text: NFL playoffs

text: Current playoff system[edit]

text:
Schedule for the NFL playoffs

Season
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21

Wild Card
Jan 6–7
Jan 5–6
Jan 4–5
Jan 9–10

Divisional
Jan 13–14
Jan 12–13
Jan 11–12
Jan 16–17

Conference
Jan 21
Jan 20
Jan 19
Jan 24

Super Bowl
LII
Feb 4
LIII
Feb 3
LIV
Feb 2
LV
Feb 7

tag: table

text: The 32-team National Football League is divided into two conferences, American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC), each with 16 teams. Since 2002, each conference has been further divided into four divisions of four teams each. The tournament brackets are made up of six teams from each of the league's two conferences, following the end of the regular season. Qualification into the playoffs works as follows:[1]

tag: p

text:
The 4 division champions from each conference (the team in each division with the best overall record), which are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record.
Two wild-card qualifiers from each conference (the two teams with the best overall records of all remaining teams in the conference), which are seeded 5 and 6.

tag: ul

text: The names of the first two playoff rounds date back to the postseason format that was first used in 1978, when the league added a second wild-card team to each conference. The first round of the playoffs is dubbed the wild-card playoffs (or wild-card weekend). In this round, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. There are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference receive a bye in the first round, which entitles these teams to automatic advancement to the second round, the divisional playoffs, where they face the wild-card weekend survivors. The 1 seed has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system. The number 1 seed will host the worst surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5 or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4 or 5).[2] The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games (hosted by the higher seed), with the winners of those contests going on to face one another in the Super Bowl. Only twice since 1990 has neither a number one-seeded team nor a number two-seeded team hosted a conference championship game (in the 2006 AFC Championship the #3 seeded Indianapolis Colts hosted the #4 seeded New England Patriots with the Colts winning 38–34 and the 2008 NFC Championship the #4 seeded Arizona Cardinals hosting the #6 seeded Philadelphia Eagles with the Cardinals winning 32–25).

text: If teams are tied (having the same regular season won-lost-tied record), the playoff seeding is determined by a set of tie-breaking rules.[1]

text: One potential disadvantage is that the two teams with the best records in a conference could play each other before the conference championship if they are in the same division. The better team would be seeded #1, while the lesser team would be seeded #5 as the top wild-card team, and as shown in the diagram, it is possible for the #1 division winner to play the top wild-card team in the divisional round. (See also the "Modification proposals" section below.)

text: The New York Giants and New York Jets have shared the same home stadium since 1984 (first Giants Stadium from 1984 to 2009, and MetLife Stadium since 2010). Thus, if both teams need to host playoff games on the same weekend, they are always required to play on separate days, even during the Conference Championship round. The only time such a scheduling conflict has occurred was during wild-card weekend in 1985, when only 10 teams qualified for the postseason and there were only two wild-card games (See the "History" section below): Instead of playing both wild-card games on the same day, as was the case when the 10-team system was used from 1978 to 1989, the New England Patriots defeated the Jets, 26–14, on Saturday, December 28, before the Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers, 17–3, on the following day.

text: Breaking ties[edit]

text: Often, teams will finish a season with identical records. It becomes necessary, therefore, to devise means to break these ties, either to determine which teams will qualify for the playoffs, or to determine seeding in the playoff tournament. The rules below are applied in order until the tie is broken. If three teams are tied for one playoff spot and the third team is eliminated at any step, the tie breaker reverts to step one for the remaining two teams. If multiple playoff spots are at stake, the rules are applied in order until the first team qualifies, then the process is started again for the remaining teams.

text: The tie-breaking rules have changed over the years, with the most recent changes being made in 2002 to accommodate the league's realignment into eight four-team divisions; record vs. common opponents and most of the other criteria involving wins and losses were moved up higher in the tie-breaking list, while those involving compiled stats such as points for and against were moved to the bottom.[1][3]

text: The current tiebreakers are as follows, with coin tosses used if all of the criteria fail:[4]

text:
Divisional tiebreakers
Conference tiebreakers

Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs).
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games (games played against the same opponents).
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
Strength of victory (the combined won-lost-tied percentage of all the teams that a club has defeated).
Strength of schedule (the combined won-lost-tied percentage of all the teams that a club has played against).
Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best net points in common games.
Best net points in all games.
Best net touchdowns in all games.

Apply division tie breaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2.
Head-to-head, if applicable. (For ties among three or more teams, this step is only applied if there is a head-to-head sweep; i.e., if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.)
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
Strength of victory (record of all the teams they defeated that season).
Strength of schedule (record of all the teams they played that season).
Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best net points in conference games.
Best net points in all games.
Best net touchdowns in all games.

text: Overtime rules[edit]

text: The NFL introduced overtime for any divisional tiebreak games beginning in 1940, and for championship games beginning in 1946. The first postseason game to be played under these rules was the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants (the so-called "Greatest Game Ever Played"). Overtime under the original format was sudden death, the first team to score would be declared the winner.

text: In March 2010, the NFL amended its rules for postseason overtime, with the rule being extended into the regular season in March 2012. If a team scores a touchdown, or if the defense scores a safety on its first possession, it is declared the winner. If it scores a field goal on its first possession, however, it then kicks off to the opposing team, which has an opportunity to score; if the score is tied again after that possession, true sudden death rules apply and whoever scores next will win.

text: Since postseason games cannot end in a tie, unlike the preseason or regular season, additional overtime periods are played as necessary until a winner is determined. Furthermore, all clock rules apply as if a game had started over. Therefore, if the first overtime period ends with the score still tied, the teams switch ends of the field prior to double overtime. If a game was still tied with two minutes to go in double overtime, there would be a two-minute warning (but not during the first overtime period as in the regular season). And if it were still tied at the end of double overtime, there would be a kickoff to start triple overtime.[5] Although a contest could theoretically last indefinitely, or last multiple overtime periods like several National Hockey League postseason games, no NFL playoff game has ever gone into triple-overtime. The longest NFL game played to date is 82 minutes, 40 seconds: Miami Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian made the winning 37-yard field goal after 7:40 of double-overtime to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 27–24, in the 1971–72 NFL playoffs on December 25, 1971.[6]

text:
Playoff games that went at least into double overtime[7]

Length of game
Date
Away team
Score
Home team
Winning score

82:40
December 25, 1971
Miami Dolphins
27–24
Kansas City Chiefs
Garo Yepremian 37-yard field goal

77:54†
December 23, 1962
Dallas Texans
20–17
Houston Oilers
Tommy Brooker 25-yard field goal

77:02
January 3, 1987
New York Jets
20–23
Cleveland Browns
Mark Moseley 27-yard field goal

76:42
January 12, 2013
Baltimore Ravens
38–35
Denver Broncos
Justin Tucker 47-yard field goal

75:43
December 24, 1977
Oakland Raiders
37–31
Baltimore Colts
Dave Casper 10-yard touchdown pass from Ken Stabler

75:10
January 10, 2004
Carolina Panthers
29–23
St. Louis Rams
Steve Smith 69-yard touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme

† AFL game prior to the AFL–NFL merger.

text: Playoff and championship history[edit]

text: The NFL's method for determining its champions has changed over the years.

text: Early years[edit]

text: From the league's founding in 1920 until 1932, there was no scheduled championship game. From 1920–1923, the championship was awarded to a team by a vote of team owners at the annual owners' meeting. From 1924–1932, the team having the best winning percentage was awarded the championship (the de facto standard owners had been using anyway). As each team played a different number of games, simply counting wins and losses would have been insufficient. Additionally, tie games were not counted in the standings in figuring winning percentage (under modern rules, ties count as ½ win and ½ loss). There was a head-to-head tiebreaker, which also was weighted toward the end of the season: for two teams that played each other twice, each winning once, the team winning the second game was determined to be the champion (the criteria used to decide the 1921 title).[8][9]

text: 1932 playoff game[edit]

text: In 1932, the Chicago Bears (6–1–6) and the Portsmouth Spartans (6–1–4) were tied at the end of the season with the identical winning percentage of .857 (the Green Bay Packers (10–3–1) had more wins, but a lower winning percentage (.769) as calculated under the rules of the day, which omitted ties). An additional game was therefore needed to determine a champion. It was agreed that the game would be played in Chicago at Wrigley Field, but severe winter weather and fear of a low turnout forced the game to be moved indoors to Chicago Stadium. The game was played under modified rules on a shortened 80-yard dirt field, and the Bears won with a final score of 9–0.[8][10] As a result of the game, the Bears had the better winning percentage (.875) and won the league title. The loss gave the Spartans a final winning percentage of .750, and moved them to third place behind the Packers. While there is no consensus that this game was a real "championship" game (or even a playoff game), it generated considerable interest and led to the creation of the official NFL Championship Game in 1933.[10]

text: Before the Super Bowl[edit]

text: Given the interest of the impromptu "championship game", and the desire of the league to create a more equitable means of determining a champion, the league divided into two conferences beginning in 1933. The winners of each conference (the first place teams in the conferences) met in the NFL Championship Game after the season. There was no tie-breaker system in place; any ties in the final standings of either conference resulted in a playoff game being played in 1941, 1943, 1947, two games in 1950, and one each in 1952, 1957, 1958, and 1965. Since the venue and date of the championship game were often not known until the last game of the season had been played, these playoff games sometimes resulted in delaying the end of the season by one week.

text: The playoff structure used from 1933 to 1966 was considered inequitable by some because of the number of times it failed to match the teams with the two best records in the championship game, as only the conference winners would qualify for playoff contention. Four times between 1950 and 1966 (in 1951, 1956, 1960, and 1963) the team with the second-best win-loss record did not qualify for the playoffs while the team with the best record in the other conference, but only the third-best in the league, would advance to the championship game.

text: For the 1967 NFL season, the NFL expanded to 16 teams, and split its two conferences into two divisions each, with four teams in each division. The four division champions would advance to the NFL playoffs, and to remain on schedule, a tie-breaker system was introduced. The first round of playoffs determined the conference's champion and its representative in the NFL Championship Game, played the following week. Thus, 1967 was the first season there was a scheduled playoff tournament to determine the teams to play for the NFL Championship.[11]

text: During the three years (1967–69) that this playoff structure was in effect, there was one use of the tie-breaker system. In 1967, the Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Colts ended the season tied at 11–1–2 for the lead in the Coastal Division. The Colts came into the last game of the season undefeated, but were beaten by the Rams. Though the Colts shared the best win/loss record in the NFL that year, they failed to advance to the playoffs while three other teams with worse records won their divisions. This event figured into the decision in 1970 to include a wild-card team in the playoff tournament after the AFL–NFL merger.

text: During the 1960s, a third-place playoff game was played in Miami, called the Playoff Bowl. It was contested in early January following the 1960–69 seasons. Though official playoff games at the time they were played, the NFL now officially classifies these ten games (and statistics) as exhibitions, not as playoff games.[12]

text: AFL and AAFC playoffs[edit]

text: Since it would eventually merge with the NFL, the history of the AFL's playoff system merits some explanation. For the 1960–68 seasons, the AFL used the two-divisional format identical to the NFL to determine its champion. There was no tie-breaker system in place, so ties atop the Eastern Division final standings in 1963 and Western Division in 1968 necessitated playoff games to determine each division's representative in the championship.

text: For the 1969 season, a first round was added whereby each division winner played the second-place team from the other division. The winners of these games met in the AFL Championship Game.[11] In the only year of this format, the AFL Champion Kansas City Chiefs were the second-place team in the Western division. The Chiefs went on to win Super Bowl IV that season, thus becoming the first non-division winner to win a Super Bowl.[13]

text: During its brief history, the AAFC, which would merge into the NFL for the 1950 season, used an identical playoff format to the NFL from 1946 to 1948. In 1949 (its last year), the AAFC would merge its two conferences when one of its teams folded, and use a four-team playoff system. In 1948, the aforementioned issue of playoff inequity came into play when the San Francisco 49ers would miss the playoffs with a 12–2 record; they were in the same conference as the 14–0 Cleveland Browns, who would go on to win the Western Conference and then the AAFC's championship game against the 7–7 Buffalo Bills (AAFC).

text: Super Bowl and merger[edit]

text: The Super Bowl began as an inter-league championship game between the AFL and NFL, an idea first proposed by Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt. This compromise was the result of pressures the upstart AFL was placing on the older NFL. The success of the rival league would eventually lead to a full merger of the two leagues.[8]

text: From the 1966 season to the 1969 season (Super Bowls I–IV) the game featured the champions of the AFL and NFL. Since the 1970 season, the game has featured the champions of the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).

text: When the leagues merged in 1970, the new NFL (with 26 teams) reorganized into two conferences of three divisions each. From the 1970 season to the 1977 season, four teams from each conference (for a total of eight teams) qualified for the playoffs each year. These four teams included the three division champions, and a fourth wild-card team.[14]

text: Originally, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation.[15] From 1970 to 1974, the divisional playoff round rotated which of the three division champions would have home field advantage, with the wild-card teams and the teams they would face in the divisional playoff game would never have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Starting in 1970, the divisional playoff games consisted of the AFC Central champions and the NFC West champions playing their games on the road. Then in 1971 it rotated to the AFC East champions and the NFC East champions playing their games on the road. In the 1972 divisional playoff games, the AFC West champions and the NFC Central champions were the visiting teams. And 1973 it would start all over with the AFC Central and NFC West again, and so on.

text: The rotation system led to several playoff inequities, such as:

text:
In 1971, the teams with the two best records in each conference met in the divisional round.
In 1972, the Dolphins had to take their perfect record to Three Rivers Stadium to face the Pittsburgh Steelers, who went 11-3, in the AFC championship game.
In 1973, the Cowboys finished 10-4 but hosted two 12-2 teams, the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota.

text: The league did not institute a seeding system for the playoffs until 1975, where the surviving clubs with the higher seeds were made the home teams for each playoff round.[8] Thus, the top seeded division winner played the wild-card team, and the remaining two division winners played at the home stadium of the better seed (which meant that the lowest-seeded division winner had to open the postseason on the road). However, two teams from the same division could not meet prior to the conference championship game.[16] Thus, there would be times when the pairing in the divisional playoff round would be the 1 seed vs. the 3 seed and 2 vs. 4.

text: Expansion[edit]

text: Following an expansion of the regular season from 14 to 16 games in the 1978 season, the league added one more wild-card team for each conference. The two wild-card teams played the week before the division winners. The winner of this game played the top seeded division winner as was done from 1970–1977. The league continued to prohibit intra-divisional games in the divisional playoffs, but allowed such contests in the wild-card round.[17] This ten-team playoff format was used through the 1989 season.[14] Under this system, the Oakland Raiders became the first wild-card team to win a Super Bowl following the 1980 season.[18]

text: During the strike-shortened 1982 season, only nine regular season games were played, and a modified playoff format was instituted. Divisional play was ignored (there were some cases where division rivals had both games wiped out by the strike, although each division ultimately sent at least one team to the playoffs), and the top eight teams from each conference (based on W-L-T record) were advanced to the playoffs. As a result, this became the first time that teams with losing records qualified for the playoffs: the 4–5 Cleveland Browns and the 4–5 Detroit Lions.[19]

text: Several times between 1978–89, the two wild-card games had to be played on different days. Normally they both would be held on Sunday. In 1983 and 1988, the games were split between Saturday and Monday because Sunday was Christmas, and the NFL had avoided playing on that day at the time. In 1984, both games were played in the Pacific Time Zone, so they had to be played on Saturday and Sunday to accommodate for time differences. In 1985, both the New York Giants and Jets hosted wild-card games. As they have shared a home stadium since 1984, the games had to be played on different days.

text: For the 1990 season, a third wild-card team for each conference was added, expanding the playoffs to the current twelve teams. The lowest-seeded division winner was then "demoted" to the wild-card weekend. Also, the restrictions on intra-divisional games during the divisional playoffs were removed.[20]

text: The 2001 season became the first time that playoff games were played in prime time.[21] Thus, the league no longer had the same restrictions like in 1984 as to when to schedule games in the Pacific Time Zone.

text: The 1990 format continued until the 2002 expansion and reorganization into eight divisions. In this current format, as explained above, the 4 division winners and 2 wild cards are seeded 1–6, with the top 2 seeds receiving byes, and the highest seed in each round guaranteed to play the lowest seed. Also, seeds determine the home-field advantage.[14]

text: Modification proposals[edit]

text: There are some limitations that exist in the current 12-team playoff system. Since being a division winner is a guaranteed playoff berth, there have been many cases in which a team that wins a "weak" division either barely has a winning record or has a .500 or losing record altogether (such as the 2010 Seattle Seahawks). At the same time, since a division winner is seeded higher than the wild cards, non-division winners may end up playing a road game during Wild Card Weekend against a team with an inferior record, or may end up outright missing the playoffs. And going on the road during the first postseason round does not guarantee success: the first time that all four road teams won during Wild Card Weekend occurred during the 2015–16 season.[22]

text: This issue has become more prevalent since the aforementioned 2002 realignment. There are three notable examples in which a division winner with a .500 or sub-.500 record ended up winning a playoff game against a team with a superior record:

text:
In the 2008–09 season, the San Diego Chargers clinched the AFC West with only an 8–8 record, and hosted the 12–4 Indianapolis Colts in the wild-card round, while the New England Patriots failed to even secure a wild-card spot at 11–5. The Chargers then went on to defeat the Colts in that playoff game.
In the 2010–11 season, the aforementioned 2010 Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7–9 record, hosting and defeating the 11–5 New Orleans Saints. Failing to make the playoffs were the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both with 10–6 records, due to losing tiebreakers for the sixth seed to the Green Bay Packers, who went on to become the first sixth-seeded team from the NFC to win the Super Bowl. The 2010 Seahawks were the first team in NFL history to win both a division championship and a playoff game with a losing regular season record. They currently have the lowest win percentage of any team to ever make the playoffs.
In the 2014–15 season, the Carolina Panthers won the NFC South with a 7–8–1 record. By week 16, no team in that division could finish with more than seven wins. The Panthers then defeated the Atlanta Falcons, who were 6–9 and undefeated within the division entering the game, for the division title. They hosted and defeated the 11–5 Arizona Cardinals in the wild card round. The best team to miss the playoffs that year was the Philadelphia Eagles, who finished 10–6. To date, the 2014 Panthers and 2010 Seahawks are the only two teams to win a division, and a playoff game, with a losing record.

text: As a result of this seeding issue, frequent calls have been made to modify the playoff format even further. One proposal has been to expand the playoffs to 14 teams. Proponents of expansion note the increased revenue that could be gained from an additional two playoff games. They also note that the 12-team playoff system was implemented when the league only had 28 teams and six divisions (of 4 to 5 teams each). The opposition to such a move notes that an expansion of the playoffs would "water down" the field by giving access to lower-caliber teams. Opponents to expansion further point to the NBA playoffs and the NHL playoffs where more than half of the teams qualify for the postseason, and there is often a decreased emphasis on regular season performance as a result.[23][24]

text: After the 2007 playoffs saw two wild-card teams with better records (Jacksonville Jaguars and eventual Super Bowl XLII champions New York Giants) go on the road to defeat division winners (Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively) during wild-card weekend, the NFL explored another proposal to change the playoffs so that the team with the better record would host the game, even if that meant a division winner went on the road. The NFL's Competition Committee withdrew the request later that offseason,[25] with Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay mentioning that they wanted the idea to simply get a discussion going. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was a strong opponent of the rule change, believing that "if you win a division, it's good for your fans to know you will have a home game."[25]

text: Just before the 2010–11 Seahawks-Saints playoff game, McKay wanted to revisit the previous proposal to reseed teams during wild-card weekend.[26] However, sportswriter Peter King wrote that he believed league owners were still hesitant on implementing any such changes at this time due to the then-pending 2011 work stoppage, the proposals to extend the regular season from 16 to 18 games and how it will impact the postseason, and the simple fact that not enough teams have been seriously disadvantaged by the current format.[27]

text: In October 2013, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced plans to revisit the idea to expand the playoffs to 14 teams, with the increased revenue gained from the two additional postseason games being used to offset plans to shorten the preseason.[28] The two extra Wild Card games could also be scheduled on the weekend, creating triple-headers on both Saturday and Sunday. Goodell then suggested that they might instead be played on Friday and/or Monday, which may eventually cause scheduling conflicts with games of the new College Football Playoff.[29]

text: The 14-team playoff proposal remained tabled until December 2014, when no team in the NFC South could finish better than .500; Goodell stated that the league would vote on it at the March 2015 Owners' Meetings. One proposed 14-club system includes giving first-round byes for the teams with the best record in each conference, two division champions in each conference receiving home games, and the remaining eight teams would be seeded by win-loss record.[30] However, by the following February 2015, the Washington Post reported that support among team owners has eroded, and league leaders expressed reluctance to make a change until the one-year extension with CBS to televise Thursday Night Football expired at the end of the 2015 season.[31] The proposal lost all interest; today, it has never been raised. It is likely that movement won't be made on expanding either the playoffs or the regular season until at least 2020, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.[32]

text:
Wild-card playoff games in which a division winner defeated a wild-card team with a better regular season record (2002–present)

Season
Wild-card team
Regular season record
Division winner
Regular season record
Score
Final postseason result of division winner

2002–03
Indianapolis Colts
10–6
New York Jets
9–7
Jets, 41–0
Lost divisional playoffs vs. Oakland Raiders 30–10

2003–04
none

2004–05
none

2005–06
Jacksonville Jaguars
12–4
New England Patriots
10–6
Patriots, 28–3
Lost divisional playoffs vs. Denver Broncos 27–13

2006–07
none

2007–08
none

2008–09
Indianapolis Colts
12–4
San Diego Chargers
8–8*
Chargers, 23–17 (OT)
Lost divisional playoffs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 24–35

Atlanta Falcons
11–5
Arizona Cardinals
9–7
Cardinals, 30–24
Won divisional playoffs vs. Carolina Panthers 33–13
Won conference championship vs. Philadelphia Eagles 32–25
Lost Super Bowl XLIII vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 27–23

2009–10
Green Bay Packers
11–5
Arizona Cardinals
10–6
Cardinals, 51–45 (OT)
Lost divisional playoffs vs. New Orleans Saints 45–14

2010–11
New Orleans Saints
11–5
Seattle Seahawks
7–9*
Seahawks, 41–36
Lost divisional playoffs vs. Chicago Bears 35–24

2011–12
Pittsburgh Steelers
12–4
Denver Broncos
8–8*
Broncos, 29–23 (OT)
Lost divisional playoffs vs. New England Patriots 45–10

Atlanta Falcons
10–6
New York Giants
9–7
Giants, 24–2
Won divisional playoffs vs. Green Bay Packers 37–20
Won conference championship vs. San Francisco 49ers 20–17
Won Super Bowl XLVI vs. New England Patriots 21–17

2012–13
Indianapolis Colts
11–5
Baltimore Ravens
10–6
Ravens, 24–9
Won divisional playoffs vs. Denver Broncos 38–35 (2 OT)
Won conference vs. New England Patriots 28–13
Won Super Bowl XLVII vs. San Francisco 49ers 34–31

2013–14
none

2014–15
Arizona Cardinals
11–5
Carolina Panthers
7–8–1*
Panthers, 27–16
Lost divisional playoffs vs. Seattle Seahawks 31–17

2015–16
none

2016–17
Oakland Raiders
12–4
Houston Texans
9–7
Texans, 27–14
Lost divisional playoffs vs. New England Patriots 34–16

New York Giants
11–5
Green Bay Packers
10–6
Packers, 38–13
Won divisional playoffs vs. Dallas Cowboys 34–31
Lost conference championship vs. Atlanta Falcons 44–21

2017–18
none

* – .500 or losing record
Source: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/

text: NFL playoff appearances[edit]

text: Correct as of 2017–18 NFL playoffs

text: *Tiebreaker playoff appearances based on the team with the more recent playoff appearance.

text: Appearances by active teams[edit]

text:
Team
Appearances[33]

Green Bay Packers
32

Dallas Cowboys
32

New York Giants
32

Pittsburgh Steelers
31

Minnesota Vikings
29

Cleveland/St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams
28

Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts
27

San Francisco 49ers
25

Chicago Bears
25[A]

Philadelphia Eagles
25

Boston/New England Patriots
25[B]

Washington Redskins
24

Cleveland Browns
24[C][D]

Miami Dolphins
23

Denver Broncos
22

Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
22[B]

Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans
22[B]

Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs
20[B]

San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers
18[B]

Buffalo Bills
18[B]

Portsmouth Spartans/Detroit Lions
17[A]

Seattle Seahawks
16

Cincinnati Bengals
14

New York Jets
14[B]

Atlanta Falcons
14

New Orleans Saints
11

Chicago/St.Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals
10

Baltimore Ravens
10[D]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10

Carolina Panthers
8

Jacksonville Jaguars
7

Houston Texans
4

text:
^ Jump up to: a b Does not include the appearance in the 1932 NFL Playoff Game. The NFL officially records it as an additional regular season game[34]
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Includes American Football League postseason appearances. Per the conditions of the AFL–NFL merger, all history, playoffs and records of the AFL were incorporated into the NFL.
Jump up ^ The NFL does not officially recognize the Cleveland's Browns' playoff appearances and records from 1946 to 1949 when they were part of the All-America Football Conference.
^ Jump up to: a b The Baltimore Ravens were originally the Cleveland Browns, and moved to Baltimore in 1996. Due to an agreement with the city of Cleveland that allowed the club to move, the Browns name, colors, and team history/records were left for a new Cleveland Browns team while the team, personnel, and staff of the old Browns team were allowed to move to Baltimore. As such, the Ravens are considered to have begun play in 1996 while the current Cleveland Browns are considered to have been founded in 1950, were inactive from 1996–98, and resumed play as a new team in 1999.

tag: ol


document_title: Franking

question_text: congress members receive free postage. what is this called

question_tokens: congress members receive free postage . what is this called

text: Franking

text: Types and methods[edit]

text: While all affixed postage stamps and other markings applied to mail to qualify it for postal service is franking, not all types and methods are used to frank all types or classes of mails. Each of the world's national and other postal administrations establishes and regulates the specific methods and standards of franking as they apply to domestic operations within their own postal systems.[2] Although there are differences in the manner that the postal systems of the 191 nations[3] that belong to the Universal Postal Union (UPU) apply and regulate the way their mails are franked, most mails fall under one (and sometimes more) of four major types and/or methods of franking: postage (stamps, etc.), privilege, official business, and business reply mail.

text: Any and all conflicts that might arise affecting the franking of mails serviced by multiple administrations which result from differences in these various postal regulations and/or practices are mediated by the UPU, a specialized agency of the United Nations which sets the rules and technical standards for international mail exchanges.[4][5] The UPU co-ordinates the application of the regulations of postal systems of its member nations, including as they relate to franking, to permit the servicing and exchange of international mails.[6] Prior to the establishment of the UPU in 1874, international mails sometimes bore mixed franking (the application of franking of more than one country) before the world's postal services universally agreed to deliver international mails bearing only the franking of the country of origin.

text: Postage (stamps, etc)[edit]

text: "Postage" franking is the physical application and presence of postage stamps, or any other markings recognized and accepted by the postal system or systems providing service, which indicate the payment of sufficient fees for the class of service which the item of mail is to be or had been afforded. Prior to the introduction to the world's first postage stamps in Britain in 1840 ("Penny Black") and 1841 ("Penny Red"), pre-paid franking was applied exclusively by a manuscript or handstamped "Paid" marking and the amount of the fee collected.[7] The first US postage stamp was the red brown Five cent Franklin (SC-1) issued in 1847.

text: In addition to stamps, postage franking can be in the form of printed or stamped impressions made in an authorized format and applied directly by a franking machine, postage meter, computer generated franking labels or other similar methods ("Postage Evidencing Systems"),[8] any form of preprinted "postage paid" notice authorized by a postal service permit ("Indicia"),[9] or any other marking method accepted by the postal service and specified by its regulations, as proof of the prepayment of the appropriate fees. Postal franking also includes "Postage Due" stamps or markings affixed by a postal service which designate any amount of  insufficient or omitted postage fees to be collected on delivery.[10]

text: Franking privilege[edit]

text: "Privilege" franking is a personally pen-signed or printed facsimile signature of a person[11] with a "franking privilege" such as certain government officials (especially legislators) and others designated by law or Postal Regulations. This allows the letter or other parcel to be sent without the application of a postage stamp. In the United States this is called the "Congressional frank" which can only be used for "Official Business" mail.[12][13]

text: In addition to this type of franking privilege, from time to time (especially during wartimes) governments and/or postal administrations also authorize active duty service members and other designated individuals to send mails for free by writing "Free" or "Soldier's Mail" (or equivalent) on the item of mail in lieu of paid postal franking, or by using appropriate free franked postal stationery. In the United States, unless otherwise designated, such mails are serviced by both the military and civil postal systems that accept them as First Class letter mail.[14]

text: "Official Business"[edit]

text: "Official Business" franking is any frank printed on or affixed to mails which are designated as being for official business of national governments (i.e. governments which also have postal administrations) and thus qualify for postal servicing without any additional paid franking.[15] In Commonwealth countries the printed frank reads "Official Paid" and is used by government departments on postmarks, stationery, adhesive labels, official stamps, and handstruck or machine stamps.

text: In Canada, the monarch, the Governor General, members of the Senate of Canada, members of the House of Commons, the Clerk of the House of Commons, Parliamentary Librarian, Associate Parliamentary Librarian, officers of parliament, and the Senate Ethics Officer all have franking privilege and mails sent to or from these people are sent free of charge. Bulk mail from members of the House of Commons is limited to four mailings per year and to the member's own electoral district. Individuals may send letters to any of the above office-holders without charge.[16]

text: In the United States such mails are sent using postal stationery or address labels that include a "Penalty" frank ("Penalty For Private Use To Avoid Payment of Postage $300")[17] printed on the piece of mail, and/or is franked with Penalty Mail Stamps (PMS) of appropriate value.[18] Such mails are generally serviced as First Class Mail (or equivalent) unless otherwise designated (such as "bulk" mailings).

text: "Business Reply Mail"[edit]

text: "Business Reply Mail" (BRM) franking is a preprinted frank with a Permit number which authorizes items so marked to be posted as First Class Mail with the authorizing postal service without advance payment by the person posting the item. (International Reply Mail may specify Air Mail as the class of service.) Postage fees for BRM are paid by the permit holder upon its delivery to the specified address authorized by the permit and preprinted on the item of business reply mail. Governments also use BRM to permit replies associated with official business purposes.[19][20]

text: History of the "franking privilege"[edit]

text: A limited form of franking privilege originated in the British Parliament in 1660, with the passage of an act authorizing the formation of the General Post Office. By 1772, the abundance of franked letters represented lost revenue of more than one third the total collections of the Post Office.[21] In the 19th century, as use of the post office [22] increased significantly in Britain, it was expected that anybody with a Parliament connection would get his friends' mail franked.

text: In the United States, the franking privilege predates the establishment of the republic itself, as the Continental Congress bestowed it on its members in 1775. The First United States Congress enacted a franking law in 1789 during its very first session. Congress members would spend much time "inscribing their names on the upper right-hand corner of official letters and packages" until the 1860s for the purpose of sending out postage free mail. Yet, on January 31, 1873, the Senate abolished "the congressional franking privilege after rejecting a House-passed provision that would have provided special stamps for the free mailing of printed Senate and House documents." Within two years, however, Congress began to make exceptions to this ban, including free mailing of the Congressional Record, seeds, and agricultural reports. Finally, in 1891, noting that its members were the only government officials required to pay postage, Congress restored full franking privileges. Since then, the franking of congressional mail has been subject to ongoing review and regulation.

text: The phrase franking is derived from the Latin word "francus" meaning free. Another use of that term is speaking "frankly", i.e. "freely". Because Benjamin Franklin was an early United States Postmaster General, satirist Richard Armour referred to free congressional mailings as the "Franklin privilege."

text: The use of a franking privilege is not absolute but is generally limited to official business, constituent bulk mails, and other uses as prescribed by law, such as the "Congressional Frank" afforded to Members of Congress in the United States. This is not "free" franking, however, as the USPS is compensated for the servicing of these mails by annual tax-funded appropriations against which each Member is given a budgeted amount upon which he or she may draw.

text: A six-member bipartisan Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards, colloquially known as the "Franking Commission," is responsible for oversight and regulation of the franking privilege in the Congress.[23] Among the Commission's responsibilities is to establish the "Official Mail Allowance" for each Member based proportionally on the number of constituents they serve. Certain other persons are also accorded the privilege such as Members-elect and former presidents and their spouse or widow as well. A president who is convicted in the Senate as a result of an impeachment trial would not have a franking privilege after being forced to leave office.[24] The sitting president does not have personal franking privileges but the vice president, who is also President of the Senate, does.

text: In Italy, mail sent to  the President was free of charge until this franking privilege was abolished in 1999.[25]

text: In New Zealand, individuals (though not organisations) writing to a Member of Parliament can do so without paying for postage.[26]