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1896 FA Cup, Courtesy David Gold
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Mark Hendrick, Steven Broomhead (NWDA), David Gold, Gerry Sutcliffe
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National Football Museum's FA Cup exhibition goes to Parliament
The National Football Museum's touring exhibition Saved for the Nation: The Story of the FA Cup went on display in the heart of Parliament in the Upper Waiting Room in the House of Commons for a week commencing 26 January 2009.
The opportunity came at the invitation of Preston MP Mark Hendrick.
Mr Hendrick said to the Lancashire Evening Post: "This is an excellent opportunity for the museum to show parliamentarians and visitors to Parliament many of the items which are housed in Preston and also seen around the world, as the National Football Museum has an international reach. The museum still requires support and this is another opportunity for people to see the true value of its exhibits."
The exhibition was opened by Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, FA Chairman, Lord Triesman, NWDA Chief Executive, Steven Broomhead and 1896 FA Cup owner and Birmingham City Chairman, David Gold.
Left to right - Lord Triesman, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, David Gold
The exhibition is a celebration of the world's oldest and most loved football competition and includes features on:
- How and why the FA Challenge Cup was created in 1871/72
- The great FA Cup teams, players and goals, including film footage
- Great upsets and the most famous underdogs in the competition's history
The centre piece of the exhibition is the 1896 FA Cup trophy, the oldest surviving one, perhaps the most important single item of English football memorabilia. The exhibition explains the stories behind:
- The famous theft and permanent loss of the first FA Cup trophy in 1895
- The commissioning of the new trophy with the same design in 1896
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The great teams that won the trophy between 1896 and 1910: Sheffield Wednesday (twice); Aston Villa (twice); Nottingham Forest; Sheffield United (twice); Bury (twice); Spurs; Manchester City; Everton; Wolves; Manchester United; Newcastle
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The decision to retire the trophy in 1910, present it as a gift to the FA President Lord Kinnaird, and the development of a new design for the FA Cup trophy that has continued in use from 1911 until today
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The purchase of the 1896 trophy at auction in 2005 by Mr David Gold, Bimingham City Chairman, and his aim to ‘save it for the nation'
The exhibition includes objects, a selection tailored for each venue on the tour, from the world's best collection of football memorabilia cared for by the National Football Museum, that bring FA Cup history to life, including:
- Ball from the 1903 FA Cup Final won by Bury
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Sir Stanley Matthews' kit worn in the 1953 ‘Matthews Final' for Blackpool
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1934 FA Cup Final shirt worn by J.Easson of Portsmouth
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Graeme Sharp's shirt worn for Everton in the 1985 Final
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George Stacey's shirt from Manchester United's first Cup win in 1909 - Programme from the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley stadium
The exhibition will then continue its national tour, opening at Bolton Museum and Art Gallery in March and Leeds Museum and Art Gallery over the summer.
A National Touring Exhibition supported by:
In Association with: Mr David Gold
This National Football Museum national touring exhibition was developed in response to the opportunity to have on long-term loan from its new owner, Mr David Gold (Birmingham City Chairman and Co-owner), and display for the first time in 95 years, the oldest surviving FA Cup trophy used during FA Cup finals between 1896 and 1910.
David Gold bought the 1896 FA Cup at auction in May 2005. Gold was determined that the Cup would not be bought by an overseas buyer. At the time there was interest in the trophy from all over the world, particularly Germany. He paid £478,400 for the trophy. Commenting on his purchase, he said, “I bought it on behalf of the nation's football fans. I was in a lucky position of being able to preserve a historic piece of British sporting memorabilia”.