| Full name | Wednesbury Strollers Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Kid Gloves, Dark Reds [1] | |
| Founded | 1873 | |
| Dissolved | c.1885 | |
| Ground | Trapezium Ground | |
Wednesbury Strollers F.C. was an English football club based in Wednesbury, Staffordshire which was active in the 1870s and 1880s.
The Wednesbury Football Club was formed in 1873 and originally played a form of Sheffield rules. [2] The club was generally referred to as both Wednesbury and Wednesbury Town. [3] From 1877 to 1885 the club was formally known as Wednesbury Strollers. [4] The club was considered a more upmarket side than the Wednesbury Old Athletic Club (W.O.A.C.), with generally richer patrons but less public support. [5]
The club entered the FA Cup during the four seasons from 1878–79 to 1881–1882, without any conspicuous success, in part thanks to the regional nature of the draw, which landed the amateur club with professional opponents on two occasions; however the club was the first from the West Midlands conurbation to enter the competition. The Strollers' FA Cup record was:
The club's final tie, against Notts County, saw the match at the Castle Ground in Nottingham end 5–3 to County. The Strollers protested against one of County's goals, which the Strollers alleged went over the bar rather than under; after the match the Strollers registered a formal protest against two players as not being qualified to take part in the Cup, and at the lack of neutrality from the Nottingham-based referee. [7] The Football Association ordered a re-play at a neutral ground, which was played at the County Cricket Ground in Derby. The fitter professional side ran up eleven goals. [8]
The club had more success in the Birmingham Senior Cup, reaching the semi-final in the competition's first year of 1876-77, and the final in 1877–78; the club changed its name between the quarter-final and the semi-final in the latter year from Town to Strollers. A measure of the difference between the Strollers and the W.O.A.C. is the latter's semi-final at home to Shrewsbury was watched by 6,000, while the Strollers only attracted 200. [9]
In the final, played at Aston Villa's Wellington Road ground in front of 5,000 spectators, Shrewsbury came from 1–0 down at half-time, the equalizer being scored from a Wace corner "cannoning off" Shrewsbury half-back A. T. Ward, and forward J. E. Sprott scoring the winner after Shrewsbury had struck the bar - an early use of the crossbar. [10] The Strollers protested (unsuccessfully) that Wace was not a genuine resident of Shrewsbury. [11]
The club reached the last six in 1879-80 and the last eight in 1882–83, both times losing heavily to the professional Walsall Swifts F.C. The club's final competitive match was against the second Wednesbury Town club, in the Birmingham Senior Cup, in 1884–85; the new Town won 5–0. [12]
The club's colours were originally orange and black. [15] By 1876 they had changed to maroon and white, which remained the club's colours until its dissolution. [16]
The club originally played at Crankhall Farm, [17] and by 1877 the club had moved to Wood Green. The club also used the Trapezium Ground in Wednesbury for its bigger matches.
Birmingham St. George's F.C. was a football club based in Smethwick, England. The club started as St George's FC in Aston, before moving to the Cape Hill brewery in 1886 under the name Mitchell St George's.
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.
The Birmingham Senior Cup is a football competition for Birmingham County FA club teams, organised by the Birmingham County Football Association. It began in 1876 and is the oldest county cup competition still active.
The 1880s was a decade that saw Aston Villa F.C. go from a small club to one that could challenge most teams in the country at the time. It also saw their most significant contribution to the game across the globe, with William McGregor creating the world's first Football League.
Henry Alfred Cursham was an English footballer and cricketer. He played football mostly for Notts County, with spells at Corinthian, Grantham Town and Thursday Wanderers. In cricket, he played two first class games for Nottinghamshire.
Wednesbury Town F.C. was the name used for three football clubs based in Wednesbury, West Midlands, England.
Stafford Road F.C. was an English association football club founded in 1874, which now defunct. The club was connected to the Stafford Road railway works in Wolverhampton, then-Staffordshire.
Wednesbury Old Athletic, often referred to as W.O.A.C., was an English association football club based in Wednesbury, West Midlands. There were three clubs that had this name.
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. The competition was conceived and initiated by Isaak Griffiths, a businessman and magistrate from Wednesbury. Money raised from the competition went to local causes.
The 1882–83 season was the fifth season in the history of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This was the club's first season at their fourth ground, the Four Acres. The ground had been home to the West Bromwich Dartmouth Cricket Club since 1834, but the cricket club allowed Albion to play football matches there on Saturdays and Mondays. The club wore two different kits during 1882–83: as well as the chocolate and blue halves from the previous season, the club also sported narrow red and white hoops.
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.
St Peter's College, Saltley was a teacher training establishment located in Saltley, Birmingham, England. Today the former college building has now been refurbished and sub-divided into a multi-use facility, combining homes, offices and meeting rooms.
Birmingham Excelsior Football Club was an English football club with a claimed foundation date of 1874.
Calthorpe was an English association club based in Birmingham.
Aston Unity Football Club was an association football club from Aston, now in Birmingham. The club was one of the first clubs in Birmingham and entered the FA Cup a number of times in the 1880s.
Notts Olympic Football Club was an English football club from the Radford district of Nottingham.
Oldbury Town Football Club was an English football club from the Oldbury, then in Worcestershire.
Shrewsbury F.C. was a football club based in Shrewsbury, England. The club is recorded as playing its home games at Monkmoor Lane, Shrewsbury.
The 1876–77 Birmingham Senior Cup was the first edition of the first football tournament played to Football Association laws, other than the FA Cup, and therefore the first local senior tournament.
Newport Football Club was an association football club from Newport, Shropshire. In the 1880s the club was often referred to as Newport Town.
