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Wednesbury Charity Cup

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Wednesbury Charity Cup
Founded1879 (1879)
Abolished1991; 33 years ago (1991)
RegionWest Midlands
Last championsCradley 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]

Trophy

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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

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Key

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Season Date Winners Result Runner-up Venue Att. & Notes Ref.
1879–80 31 May 1880 Stafford Road 3–0 Elwells Wednesbury Oval 2,000 [4]
1880–81 26 February 1881 Wednesbury Old Athletic 3–1 Stafford Road Wednesbury Oval "An immense number" [5]
1881–82 27 May 1882 Wednesbury Old Athletic 3–2 Aston Unity Wednesbury Oval "Very meagre". Replay. [6]
Aston Lower Grounds Original tie 2–2.
1882–83 19 May 1883 Nottingham Forest 5–3 West Bromwich Albion Wellington Road 4,000 [7]
1883–84 17 May 1884 Wednesbury Town 3–0 Nottingham Forest 1,400. Replay. [8]
Original tie 2–2.
1884–85 16 May 1885 Birmingham Excelsior 5–0 Birmingham St George's Wellington Road "Several hundreds." [9]
1885–86 1986 Walsall
1886–87 1987 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1887–88 12 May 1888 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 Wednesbury Old Athletic Molineux Stadium [10]
1888–89 1889 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1889–90 1890 Wednesbury Old Athletic West Bromwich Albion res. [7]
1890–91 1891 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1891–92 1892 Singers [3]
1893–94 1894 West Bromwich Albion res. 4–0 Newport Wellington [7]
1912–13 1913 Walsall [3]
1914–18 1913 No competition due to World War I.
1920–21 1921 Walsall [3]
1921–22 1922 Walsall [3]
1922–23 1923 Walsall [3]
1968–69 1969 Pelsall Villa [11]
1969–70 1970 Pelsall Villa [11]
1973–74 1974 Pelsall Villa [11]
1979–80 1980 Tipton Town [11]
1980–81 1981 Tipton Town [11]
1981–82 1982 Bilston Town [11]
1982–83 1983 Bilston Town [11]
1984–85 1985 Bilston Town [11]
1988–89 1989 Pelsall Villa [11]
1990–91 1991 Cradley Town [3]
1990–91 1991 Cradley Town [3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Cup provides a silver lining for Wood Green". Express & Star. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e "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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i "29/11/2016 — Evening News". Midlands Today. 29 November 2016. BBC West Midlands. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
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