Wednesbury Charity Cup

Last updated

Wednesbury Charity Cup
Founded1879 (1879)
Abolished1991;33 years ago (1991)
Region West Midlands
Last champions Cradley Town

The Wednesbury Charity Cup was an early football competition held from 1880 - eight years before the foundation of the Football League - for teams from the West Midlands region of England. [1] The competition was conceived and initiated by Isaak Griffiths, a businessman and magistrate from Wednesbury. [2] Money raised from the competition went to local causes. [2]

Contents

Trophy

Winners were awarded a solid silver trophy, [2] on which the name of each year's winning team was engraved. [1] The cup was made by Walker and Hall of Birmingham and hallmarked in 1879, and is topped by a figure of Charity [3] It cost £100, paid for by public subscription. [2]

The trophy weighs nearly 7 kilograms (15 lb) and is 2 feet 4 inches (71 cm) tall. [2]

In 2016, a member of the public offered the trophy, in poor condition, to Bowjangles, a jewellery shop in Wednesbury, for scrap. [1] Bowjanges owner Aaron Sheldon recognised its provenance and arranged for the trophy to be restored by Crescent Silver in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, a process which took five months. [1] The newly-restored trophy was sold at auction by Cuttlestones Auctioneers and Valuers of Wolverhampton, on 2 December 2016, [1] for £7,250. [3]

The first name engraved on the trophy is "Stafford Road, Wolverhampton 1880" and the last "Cradley Town 1991". [3]

Winners

Key

SeasonDateWinnersResultRunner-upVenueAtt. & NotesRef.
1879–8031 May 1880 Stafford Road 3–0ElwellsWednesbury Oval2,000 [4]
1880–8126 February 1881 Wednesbury Old Athletic 3–1 Stafford Road Wednesbury Oval"An immense number" [5]
1881–8227 May 1882 Wednesbury Old Athletic 3–2 Aston Unity Wednesbury Oval"Very meagre". Replay. [6]
Aston Lower Grounds Original tie 2–2.
1882–8319 May 1883 Nottingham Forest 5–3 West Bromwich Albion Wellington Road 4,000 [7]
1883–8417 May 1884 Wednesbury Town 3–0 Nottingham Forest 1,400. Replay. [8]
Original tie 2–2.
1884–8516 May 1885 Birmingham Excelsior 5–0 Birmingham St George's Wellington Road "Several hundreds." [9]
1885–861986 Walsall
1886–871987 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1887–8812 May 1888 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 Wednesbury Old Athletic Molineux Stadium [10]
1888–891889 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1889–901890 Wednesbury Old Athletic West Bromwich Albion res. [7]
1890–911891 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1891–921892 Singers [3]
1893–941894 West Bromwich Albion res. 4–0 Newport Wellington [7]
1912–131913 Walsall [3]
1914–181913No competition due to World War I.
1920–211921 Walsall [3]
1921–221922 Walsall [3]
1922–231923 Walsall [3]
1968–691969 Pelsall Villa [11]
1969–701970 Pelsall Villa [11]
1973–741974 Pelsall Villa [11]
1979–801980 Tipton Town [11]
1980–811981 Tipton Town [11]
1981–821982 Bilston Town [11]
1982–831983 Bilston Town [11]
1984–851985 Bilston Town [11]
1988–891989 Pelsall Villa [11]
1990–911991 Cradley Town [3]
1990–911991 Cradley Town [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cup provides a silver lining for Wood Green". Express & Star . 21 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Slice of Black Country football history to come under the hammer on 2nd December". Cuttlestones Auctioneers & Valuers. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Fine Art & Antique at Penkridge Auction Rooms - lot 236". Cuttlestones Auctioneers & Valuers. November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Carr, Steve (2022). A History of the Wednesbury Football Charity Association 1880-2009. West Bromwich: Grorty Dick.
  5. ↑ "Athletic Notes". Walsall Observer: 8. 5 March 1881.
  6. ↑ "Wednesbury". Lichfield Mercury: 8. 2 June 1882.
  7. 1 2 3 Matthews, Tony; Mackenzie, Colin (1987). Albion! A Complete Record of West Bromwich Albion 1879-1987. Breedon Books. p. 209. ISBN   0-907969-23-2.
  8. ↑ Smales, Ken (2006). Nottingham Forest The Official Statistical History. Pineapple Books.
  9. ↑ "Wednesbury Charity Cup". Birmingham Daily Post: 8. 18 May 1885.
  10. ↑ "Wednesbury Charity Cup Final". Manchester Courier: 3. 14 May 1888.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "29/11/2016 — Evening News". Midlands Today . 29 November 2016. BBC West Midlands . Retrieved 29 November 2016.
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