| Full name | Great Bridge Unity Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Unity | |
| Founded | by 1879 | |
| Dissolved | 1896 | |
| Ground | Horseley Heath | |
Great Bridge Unity F.C. was an English association football club from Great Bridge, then in Staffordshire, now in the West Midlands county.
The Unity first entered competitive football in 1883-84, with an entry for the Birmingham Senior Cup and the Walsall Cup. In the former, the club lost to Sutton Coldfield in the first round, after two replays. [1] In the latter, the club beat Aston Victoria in the first round, but lost to West Bromwich All Saints in the second. [2]
The club competed in the FA Cup in the 1887-88 season. In the first round, the Unity was beaten by Stafford Road F.C., but the Football Association ordered a replay as only seven of the Stafford Road players were eligible for the tournament. Rather than replay the tie, the Wolverhampton side scratched, and played a friendly against the Unity on the due date (which ended 1-1). [3]
In the second round, the Unity came from 2-1 down to beat Burton Swifts 5-2 away from home. [4] The Unity beat Birmingham Excelsior away in the third [5] but were finally downed by Bootle in the fourth, amid controversy; the Sporting Life judged Bootle's winner to have been offside, [6] and the Unity made protests against the eligibility of six Bootle players. By the time the appeal had been heard, Bootle had been knocked out by the Old Carthusians, and the FA had little appetite for finding in the Unity's favour in such circumstances. [7]
In 1889-90 the club was one of the founders of the Birmingham and District League; it later dropped out but resumed membership of the league for the season of 1891–92, but did not complete the season. [8]
The final reported matches for the club are in the 1895-96 season, in the West Midland League for amateur and reserve clubs. [9]
The club wore white shirts, [10] although it formally described its colours as black and white. [11]
FA Cup
Dudley Charity Cup
There were various attempts to start a new Great Bridge Unity club, the only one with any longevity being a 1910s incarnation which played in the very low-ranking Hill Top League in Birmingham. [14]
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Long Eaton Rangers Football Club was a football club based in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, England, which, for a brief period in the 1880s, had a legitimate claim to being one of the best teams in the country. They were founding members of the second ever league, The Combination, in 1888, and when that folded, the Football Alliance in 1889.
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The 1883–84 season was the sixth season in the history of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. Albion played their home matches at the Four Acres during the season, and the team wore a chocolate and white coloured kit. The club competed in the FA Cup for the first time, losing in the first round. They did reach the final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup, but were defeated by St George's in the final. Albion also participated in the Birmingham Senior Cup, Birmingham Charity Cup and Wednesbury Charity Cup, but were eliminated at the semi-final stage of all three competitions.
The 1884–1885 season was 7th season of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. It was their third and final season at the Four Acres and their last season as an amateur club. Continuing the trial of various coloured kits during the club's early years, the players wore cardinal red and blue halved shirts. The club reached the FA Cup quarter-final for the first time, played in the semi-finals of the Staffordshire Senior Cup and Birmingham Charity Cup and were eliminated from the Birmingham Senior Cup at the third round stage.
The 1886–87 season was the ninth season in the history of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. The club reached the FA Cup final for the second successive season, but again finished as runners-up, losing 0–2 to local rivals Aston Villa. Albion also reached the final of two regional cup competitions, winning the Staffordshire Senior Cup and finishing as runners-up in the Birmingham Senior Cup. In addition, they took part in the Walsall Senior Cup and Birmingham Charity Cup, as well as playing a number of friendly matches.
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The 1889–90 season was the ninth season of competitive association football played by Small Heath F.C., an English football club based in the Small Heath district of Birmingham. They competed in the inaugural season of the Football Alliance. They finished in tenth position in the twelve-team league with six wins, five draws and eleven defeats, which gave them seventeen points. The team scored 44 goals in Alliance competition but conceded 67.
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