The final has never been contested by two teams from outside the top division and there have only been eight winners who weren't 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. 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) being the last finalist from outside the top two tiers.
What year did the first inside club win?