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On Thursday 19th May 2005 the oldest existing version of the FA Cup was sold at Christie's in London. The trophy used from 1896 - 1910 is an incredibly important football artefact which was presented at some of the most significant cup finals in history. We've detailed below the games in which the trophy was involved, in order to give football fans the chance to understand the true importance of the trophy.
After Aston Villa beat local rivals West Bromwich Albion, 1-0, to win the 1895 FA Cup they became the first club to win then lose the trophy in the same year. However, Villa`s loss wasn`t on the field but from a local shop. To reward their passionate supporters the club was persuaded to display the trophy in the window of William Shillcock, a Birmingham football and football boot manufacturer. Unfortunately that same evening, September 11th 1895 , someone broke in and stole the trophy that was the original, awarded since the first final in 1872.
That particular FA Cup was never recovered and was probably melted down and converted into half-crown coins ( approx 12.5 new pence ). Sixty three years later 83 year old Harry Burge, resident in a Birmingham hostel, claimed he was the culprit responsible for the theft though that was never proved.
Villa, despite suffering massive embarrassment were certainly not out of pocket as they, on the insistence of the Football Association had insured the cup for £200 so the subsequent £25 fine was a drop in the ocean. But credit to Villa was the way they took on the task of replacing the cup.
Howard Vaughton was a director of a firm of local silversmiths and as Villa`s first ever international and a member of the team that won the club`s first FA Cup in 1887, it was a fitting collaboration that provided the second Challenge Cup.
Luckily Wolves, after winning the cup in 1893, had awarded replicas to their players and so Vaughton was able to work from exact copies of the trophy `lifted` from W Shillcock of 73 Newton Row.
Villa had been the first winners of a final when it was moved to Crystal Palace but the first winners of the new FA Cup was The Wednesday who beat Wolves, 2-1 and the following year Villa took greater care of the cup when they beat Everton 3-2. Derby then lost their first FA Cup finals, to Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United. The Blades` first Challenge cup win, 4-1 over the Rams, was played out before a record attendance for the final, 73,833 and was a triumph over pain for one Sheffield player. Right back Harry Thickett turned out at Crystal Palace, despite two broken ribs that were protected by 50 YARDS of bandages. At the final whistle Harry, not surprisingly, passed out after his tribulation.
The first final of the 20th century saw Southern League Southampton thrashed 4-0 by Bury but the following year Spurs became the first, and only non-league side to win the FA Cup when they beat Sheffield United before a record attendance of 110,820. Centre forward Alex `Sandy` Brown became the first player to score in every round and he netted both goals in the final as well as one in the replay for a total of 15 in the season`s competition.
After another Sheffield United success in 1902 the following year Bury were again cup winners and they did so without conceding a goal in the competition only the second side to so do, after Preston in 1889. The Shakers 6-0 triumph over Derby meant their two cup triumphs had been secured with a 10-0 aggregate.
Billy Meredith settled the first all-Lancashire FA Cup Final, in 1904, when he scored the only goal of the game in which Manchester City beat Second Division Bolton Wanderers.
Aston Villa won their fourth FA Cup when they beat Newcastle United in 1905 and 12 months later the Magpies were again losing finalist when Everton were the winners of the new-look competition when the number of rounds was increased from five to six.
Everton failed to retain their trophy when they lost 2-1 to Sheffield Wednesday and a year later, for the third time in five finals, Newcastle were losers, 3-1 to Wolves. Sandy Turnbull scored Manchester United`s only goal when they beat Bristol City in 1909 but in 1910, as is right where the FA Cup is concerned, there was an irony for that season`s winning team.
Newcastle were perennial losers during the trophy`s stay at Crystal Palace but they finally secured a win in the captal`s top football event when they beat Barnsley in the 1910 final, but only after a replay. The first game finished 1-1 and Jock Rutherford`s last-minute equaliser that earned Newcastle a replay was the latest ever goal in an FA Cup Final. Albert Shepherd scored both goals in the 2-0 replay victory, including the first ever converted penalty in a final.
Newcastle were the last
winners of the second FA Cup as in 1911 the Football Association decided to
present the cup to Lord Kinnaird to celebrate his 21 years as President. It
wasn`t as if he needed the cup as he played in NINE as a player. But that`s
another story.