Wednesbury Charity Cup
Founded1880 (1880)
RegionWest Midlands
Current championsn/a

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

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

Date Winner Score Runners–up Venue Attendance Refs
31 May 1880 Stafford Road 3–0 Elwells Wednesbury Athletic Grounds 2,000 [4]
26 February 1881 Wednesbury Old Athletic 3–1 Stafford Road Wednesbury Oval "an immense number" [5]
27 May 1882 Wednesbury Old Athletic 3–2 (after 2–2 draw)[6] Aston Unity Wednesbury Oval

(after original tie played at Aston Lower Grounds)

 "very meagre" [7]
19 May 1883 Nottingham Forest 5–3 West Bromwich Albion Perry Barr 4,000 [8]
17 May 1884 Wednesbury Town 3–0 (after 2–2 draw) Nottingham Forest 1,400 [9]
16 May 1885 Birmingham Excelsior 5–0 Mitchell St George's Wellington Road[10] "several hundred" [11]
1886 Walsall Town
1887 Wednesbury Old Athletic
12 May 1888 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 Wednesbury Old Athletic Wolverhampton [12]
1889 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1890 Wednesbury Old Athletic West Bromwich Albion reserves [8]
1891 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1892 Singers FC - Coventry [3]
1894 West Bromwich Albion reserves 4–0 Newport Wellington [8]
1913 Walsall FC [3]
1914-1918 No competition due to World War I [3]
1921 Walsall FC [3]
1922 Walsall FC [3]
1923 Walsall FC [3]
1969 Pelsall Villa [13]
1970 Pelsall Villa [13]


1974 Pelsall Villa [13]
1980 Tipton Town [13]
1981 Tipton Town [13]
1982 Bilston Town [13]
1983 Bilston Town [13]


1985 Bilston Town [13]
1989 Pelsall Villa [13]


1991 Cradley Town [3]

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. ↑ "Football". Birmingham Mail: 3. 16 May 1882.
  7. ↑ "Wednesbury". Lichfield Mercury: 8. 2 June 1882.
  8. 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.
  9. ↑ Smales, Ken (2006). Nottingham Forest The Official Statistical History. Pineapple Books.
  10. ↑ Aston Villa's ground at the time
  11. ↑ "Wednesbury Charity Cup". Birmingham Daily Post: 8. 18 May 1885.
  12. ↑ "Wednesbury Charity Cup Final". Manchester Courier: 3. 14 May 1888.
  13. 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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