WHEN FOOTBALL BEGAN

  WHELDON, FRED (ASTON VILLA) Season: 1897/98 Goals scored: 23 (out of 61); 16 home, 7 away Percentage: 37.7 per cent Runner-up: Fred Spiksley (Sheffield Wednesday), 17 goals Villa finished sixth One of the select band of men who have won fame both at cricket and football, Fred Wheldon had a long and brilliant sporting career. As a footballer, his services would have been accepted by any club in the country. When at his best, he was undoubtedly the finest inside left in England, possibly Scotland as well. His command of the ball, his adaptability to prevailing conditions, combined with his dodging, his swerving, and his deadly shooting, made him a great player in the highest company. Superb with both his head and feet, he often demoralised many a defence with his intricate play and not only did he score plenty of goals, but he created chances galore for his colleagues. One of the few players to serve three clubs within a 10-mile radius – Small Heath (now ...

  1900 FA CUP SECOND ROUND   Saturday 10 February 1900   Victory at Turf Moor in round one was tempered by news that an away tie against Notts County was next up for Bury.   Formed in 1862, Notts County are the oldest professional League club in the world, and when Bury travelled to play them they faced a club who were amongst the original 12 Football League members in 1888. County played their homes games at Trent Bridge County Cricket Ground, not moving to their current ground Meadow Lane until September 1910. Although they had never won the League title, they had captured the FA Cup in 1894, beating Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at Goodison Park, Jimmy Logan becoming the second player to score an FA Cup final hat-trick, following Blackburn Rovers’ Billy Townley into the record books. Only Stan Mortensen of Blackpool, in 1953, has equalled Logan and Townley’s feat.      Bury had played the Nottingham side at Gigg Lane in a League game on 6 Jan...