Wednesbury Charity Cup

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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 , 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
1880 Stafford Road
1881 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1882 Wednesbury Old Athletic
19 May 1883 Nottingham Forest 5–3 West Bromwich Albion Perry Barr 4,000 [4]
1884 Wednesbury Town Strollers 2-2

3-0 (replay)

Nottingham Forest 1400 [5]
1885 Birmingham Excelsior
1886 Walsall Town
1887 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1888 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1889 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1890 Wednesbury Old Athletic West Bromwich Albion reserves [4]
1891 Wednesbury Old Athletic
1892 Singers FC - Coventry [3]
1894 West Bromwich Albion reserves 4–0 Newport Wellington [4]
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 [6]
1970 Pelsall Villa [6]


1974 Pelsall Villa [6]
1980 Tipton Town [6]
1981 Tipton Town [6]
1982 Bilston Town [6]
1983 Bilston Town [6]


1985 Bilston Town [6]
1989 Pelsall Villa [6]


1991 Cradley Town [3]

References[]

  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. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Smales, Ken (2006). Nottingham Forest The Official Statistical History. Pineapple Books.
  6. ^ 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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