Wednesbury Charity Cup

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]

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

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
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
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. "Cup provides a silver lining for Wood Green". Express & Star. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  2. "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. "Fine Art & Antique at Penkridge Auction Rooms - lot 236". Cuttlestones Auctioneers & Valuers. November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  4. 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. "29/11/2016 — Evening News". Midlands Today. 29 November 2016. BBC West Midlands. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
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