27 January 1900 Burnley 0 Bury 1 with the winners setting out on their first glorious cup run

 

On this day: 27^th January 1890

Bury’s glorious cup run begins at Burnley

At the start of the 1899-1900 season Bury Football Club were embarking on their fifteenth football season. Established just three summers prior to the Football League kicking-off in 1888 the Shakers were set, following promotion in their inaugural season, for their fifth season in Division One. (Premier League today)

Small crowds meant a constant struggle to survive, and the club had lost in April 1899 the services of the first Bury player to gain an International Cap when James Settle moved to Everton for a much needed £400. Bury ended the season in tenth place, from eighteen, but had shown fine form in cup competitions by winning the Lancashire Senior Cup, a much sought after competition at the time and finishing as runners-up in the Manchester Senior Cup.

 

On their day Bury was capable of beating any side, as shown by their victories at home that season against the top two in the League, Aston Villa and Liverpool. Settle’s departure was a blow, but by no means terminal as the side contained some fine players in long-serving George Ross, Joe Leeming, Jasper McLuckie, Joe Plant and top-scorer Charlie Sagar. Joining them over the summer were two lads from Middleton, Willie Wood and Billy Richards. Both were to play a big part in the FA, not to forget Lancashire and Manchester Cup, successes that followed over the following four seasons, culminating in a record 6-0 victory at the 1903 FA Cup Final.

 

The 1899 FA Cup victors were Sheffield United, whose four goals in the final half hour of the final had resulted in them overcoming a Derby County side that had led at half time through a John Boag goal.

 

The 1899-1900 FA Cup got underway on Saturday 16 September 1899, and it was followed by five qualifying rounds prior to the first round proper in January 1900. This consisted of sixteen ties. Seventeen - of the total of eighteen - First Division sides were given a bye to this round, as were The Wednesday, winners of the competition in 1896, and Bolton of Division Two and also Southern/non-league Bristol City, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur.

 

Bury’s FA Cup record was a poor one, with only a solitary third round/quarter-final tie in 1895-96 to brag about. The previous season the Shakers had crashed out in round two when West Bromwich Albion had triumphed 2-1 at home. Bury had first entered the FA Cup at the start of the 1887-88 season, little more than two years after being formed. However, realising that they had turned up to play away against Blackburn Rovers with a side containing a number of ineligible players Bury withdrew from the tournament prior to kick off. As such it wasn’t until 3 October 1891 before a first tie was actually played by Bury when before a 3,500 crowd at Gigg Lane, Witton was beaten 3-1 in the first qualifying round.

 

The first round tie in 1900 meant a short trip to Burnley. The east Lancashire side was having a poor season and was lying eight points and nine places below fifth placed Bury in Division One prior to kick-off. Yet with only a solitary away victory from nine games so far, and having lost 1-0 at Turf Moor in October, this was certain to be a stiff test for the Shakers.

 

There was great interest beforehand in the first FA cup-tie between the sides, and a record gate was predicted in the event of fine weather. The county of Lancashire was in a frenzy over the war in South Africa. Two centuries of conflict between the British Empire and the Boers had re-erupted in October 1899 with the British garrisons of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley besieged by Boers determined to starve out the inhabitants.

 

Across Britain thousands had volunteered to fight and there were enthusiastic scenes to bid them farewell, including one at the Drill Hall in Ramsbottom on January 13^th 1900 when eleven men of the K Company 2^nd Volunteers Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment had departed.

 

War though is a dirty business and no such scenes accompanied the news only eleven days later that Sergeant J C R Milne of Radcliffe, the son of factory owner J C Milne, had been killed fighting on the Spion Kop as the Boer’s threatened to overrun the British army. The deaths of local British soldiers had led at the start of the century to the Mayor of Bury opening a shilling [5p] fund for the widows and children of those left behind.

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday 27 January 1900

FA Cup First Round

 

 

Injuries meant that Burnley were without Abe Hartley at centre forward and Harrington at outside left, their places being taken by Billy Bowes and John Miller respectively. Meanwhile Bury were at full strength

 

BURNLEY 0

 

Hillman, Woolfall and McLintock, Barron - Taylor - Livingstone

Place - senior, Morrison, Bowes, Chadwick, Miller

 

BURY 1 (Sagar)

 

Bury: Thompson, Darroch and Davidson, Pray - Leeming - Ross,

Richards, Wood, McLuckie, McLuckie, Sagar, Plant

 

 

Referee - Mr Brodie of Wolverhampton

Half-time 0-0

Attendance - 6,020.

£179 receipts

 

MATCH REPORT; ‘CRICKET AND FOOTBALL FIELD’

 

There would not be 5,000 present when the teams lined up, thanks to blustery, cold weather.

 

Half an hour previous to the start a heavy hailstorm raged across the field, and the ground was very sloppy. Mr Brodie of Wolverhampton was the referee. Jack Hillman won the toss, and played with the wind and sun in favour of Burnley, who began to press and a good movement by Tommy ‘Ching’ Morrison and Walter Place senior became dangerous. However the home men were stopped by Jack Pray, but most of the play continued to be in the Bury half. The wind was greatly in favour of Burnley, Billy Bowes and Edgar Chadwick put in two clever runs, and then play by the Bury left carried the game into the home territory where Hillman was hard pressed. Neither side had scored at quarter of an hour, and play was ruling evenly.

 

A foul against Bury helped the home side, and play was transferred to the opposite end, where Joe Taylor was unsuccessful at goal. From a rush by the home forwards John Miller obtained possession at the corner, but shot behind. Charlie Sagar made a capital run, but offside saved Burnley some trouble. A corner off Tom Woolfall resulted in Hillman being bombarded, but he defended cleverly. A free kick to Burnley again transferred play to the visitors’ end but Jack Darroch by a lengthy kick relieved. A corner was conceded to Burnley, but Sagar headed out, and followed it up to the home half. A goal kick for Burnley resulted in Taylor passing to Chadwick, but Wood stopped the run. A minute before half time Chadwick shot over the bar. There was no score at the interval.

 

HALF-TIME 0-0

 

In the second half Burnley were quick away, and Chadwick shot wide. Bury, who now had the wind behind them, soon got to the other end, but a fine centre by Billy Richards was well cleared by Woolfall. Then Sagar got clean away and shot splendidly, but Hillman saved at the expense of a corner, which was cleared. A hot attack ensued on the Bury goal, but offside spoiled the effect. A good centre by Richards was punted away by Tom McLintock.

 

The play ruled of a give-and-take character, first one side and then the other attacking. The combination was not of a very high order, and was of a typical character. Morrison got away on the Burnley right, but Fred Thompson saved his final shot cleverly and soon afterwards he saved from Fred Barron at the expense of a corner, which proved abortive. Bury had very little the best of matters. Continued pressing by the visitors carried play to the Burnley half, where Hillman was conspicuous with a clever save from a shot by Richards. Taylor and Richards were penalised in turn, and Miller made a fine run, but shot astray. Morrison and Taylor made a vigorous attack and from Miller’s centre Bowes scored, but was given offside. A minute later Sagar scored for Bury, from a pass by Richards.

 

 

SPECIAL

 

The great victory only substantiates the opinion repeatedly expressed all over Lancashire that Bury are about the pluckiest team in the county. This win was achieved in the face of great odds, the weather and wind that they had to face at the start, being something terrible, but despite the meteorological obstacles and the sturdy defence of Burnley they fought doggedly, and after keeping their end intact until half-time, took advantage of the wind afterwards, scoring the only goal of the afternoon. Their supporters will forgive all past failures at Turf Moor [*] in view of this handsome Cup win.

 

The game may be described as a typical cup-tie struggle. There was poor combination in both teams, but they played hard, the defence being superior to the attack. Play during the second half was good up to Bury scoring, and then it fell into a rough-and-tumble scrimmage. Burnley had a goal disallowed for offside, and the decision caused much dissatisfaction but there was no doubt about Bury’s point. However, there was very little between the teams.

 

[*] This is a reference to the fact that Bury had never previously won a League game at Turf Moor.

 

JACK HILLMAN

 

Would probably win a place between the sticks in the greatest Burnley XI ever. Devon-born Hillman enjoyed two spells at Turf Moor, missing only six games in four seasons before moving to Everton for £200 in 1895. After a further move to Dundee the keeper returned to Burnley in 1897 and was rewarded for his fine displays with a debut for England against Ireland in 1899, playing in the same side as Bury’s Jack Plant in a 13-2 success.

 

Hillman was to have an unfortunate end to the 1899-1900 season when his side slumped 4-0 at home to Nottingham Forest on the final day of the season, thus accompanying Glossop North End into Division Two. In the aftermath of the game the Forest captain Archie McPherson accused the keeper of attempting to bride him to lose the game. Hillman’s defence proved as poor as the Burnley one of that season and his claims before the FA that he was only joking were not seen as a laughing matter. He was suspended for 12 months and also lost his entitlement to a benefit game that would have probably resulted in him earning £300. As his weekly wages are unlikely to have been much above £3 a week this was a serious loss in income.

 

Back in the side for the 1901-02 season Hillam moved on to Manchester City where he won an FA Cup winners medal in 1904. Hillman was in the City goal when Bury drew 2-2 in the final of the 1903 Manchester Senior Cup.