The Combination

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For the feature film of the same name, see The Combination (film). For the organized crime group, see Murder, Inc. For other uses, see Combination (disambiguation).
The Combination
Organising bodyFA
Founded1888 (first incarnation)
1890 (second incarnation)
First season1888-89
Folded1911
CountryEngland
Wales
Number of teams20
Domestic cup(s)FA Cup
Last championsWhitchurch F.C. (3rd title)
Most championshipsEverton reserves (6 titles)

The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across the Northern England and the Midlands, and was wound up before completion. The second was created for the 1890–91 season, but disbanded in 1911. The league comprised teams primarily from North West England and later Wales.

The league should not be confused with the other former Football Combination, a competition for reserve teams from the South of England, or with the Lancashire Combination, another minor league running around the same time.

First incarnation[]

Sharpe's Card c 1890 depicting Jack Powell as captain of Newton Heath[1]

The first Combination was set up in 1888, the same year the Football League was founded. It was established by clubs who had been excluded from the Football League, initiated by Crewe Alexandra secretary J. G. Hall, and was announced at the Royal Hotel in Crewe. However, while the Football League quickly proved a success, the Combination lacked central organisation, with poor planning and unfulfilled fixtures, and failed to complete its first season, finishing in April 1889 without a winner.[2]

The Combination consisted of 20 teams, although this proved too many teams for each one to play the other once, let alone twice. Instead each club was to play eight others home and away, making 16 games in total. Fixtures were left to individual clubs, which resulted in confusion, as it was unclear whether many matches between clubs were friendlies or Combination matches.[3]

Participating teams included Bootle, Blackburn Olympic, Burslem Port Vale, Crewe Alexandra, Grimsby Town, Lincoln City, Newton Heath, Small Heath and South Shore. Bootle, Crewe, Grimsby, Newton Heath and Small Heath went on to co-found the Football Alliance the following year.

Second incarnation[]

The second incarnation was founded in 1890. The twelve founder members were:[4]

Five of the founding teams would eventually go on to play in the Football League, although in the case of Macclesfield, this would not happen until 1997–98. Glossop North End, who joined in 1894, were also elected to the League (in 1898), as were another later member team, Tranmere Rovers.

As the competition evolved, the nature of the teams changed, with many more Welsh teams being involved, as well as the reserve teams of the Football League clubs such as Everton and Crewe Alexandra. By the time the competition folded in 1911 none of the original members still participated, with the exception of Wrexham, who fielded their reserve team. It was succeeded by the Cheshire County League and later by the North West Counties Football League.

Champions[]

The champions of the league were as follows:[4]

Season Champions Runners-up Third
1890–91 Macclesfield Chester
1891–92 Everton Reserves Northwich Victoria Macclesfield
1892–93 Everton Reserves Stoke Swifts Chester
1893–94 Everton Reserves Stoke Swifts Leek
1894–95 Ashton North End Glossop North End Chester
1895–96 Everton Reserves Macclesfield Glossop North End
1896–97 Everton Reserves Rock Ferry Chester
1897–98 Everton Reserves Crewe Alexandra Chirk
1898–99 Everton Reserves Liverpool Reserves Tranmere Rovers
1899–1900 Chirk AAA Wrexham Druids
1900–01 Wrexham Rhyl Bangor
1901–02 Wrexham Burslem Port Vale Reserves Oswestry United
1902–03 Wrexham Nantwich Birkenhead
1903–04 Chester Nantwich
1904–05 Wrexham Chester Broughton United
1905–06 Whitchurch Chester Glossop Reserves
1906–07 Whitchurch Chester Wigan Town
1907–08 Tranmere Rovers Chester Oswestry United
1908–09 Chester Saltney Tranmere Rovers
1909–10 Crewe Alexandra Reserves Saltney Chester
1910–11 Whitchurch Bangor Oswestry United

References[]

  1. ^ "Sharpe's Card c 1890 depicting Jack Powell as captain of Newton Heath". Flickr.
  2. ^ Whittle, Paul (4 April 2020). "The Football Alliance: Teams Who Didn't Make the League". THE 1888 LETTER: Football Then And Now. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  3. ^ Shury, Alan; Brian Landamore (2005) [2002]. "History of Newton Heath F.C.". The Definitive Newton Heath F.C. 'Definitive' Club Histories. with Allen Kristensen and Tony Brown (2nd ed.). Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 11. ISBN 1-899468-16-1.
  4. ^ a b "England - The Combination". RSSSF.
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