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...

  Unplayable Shack  Manchester City 2 Bradford Park Avenue 8 Frank Swift is one of the greatest English goalkeepers of all time. A First and Second Division, FA Cup and Charity Shield winner with Manchester City, his only League club, he represented his country on 33 occasions between 1941 and 1949. Only once did Swift, who tragically died in the Munich air crash, concede eight goals when a Shackleton inspired Avenue overturned a first leg FA cup deficit by winning 8-2 at Maine Road in January 1946.  The following is taken from Mark Metcalf’s newly published biography on Swift.  Mark is a Sunderland fan based in Halifax who watches eight to ten Avenue matches a season. Following the end of the war, and with League competition yet to return, it was agreed that the 1945-46 FA Cup would be played over two legs. Having squeezed past Port Vale 3-2 on aggregate, Avenue was drawn against Manchester City, who only weeks earlier they had lost 6-0 to.  Pl...

  The Wind! Arsenal fans love affair for Fred Spiksley. During the 1889/90 season Gainsborough Trinity had been invited to play a club match against Royal Arsenal on the Invicta playing field, a great amphitheatre that could accommodate 15,000 fans. An 8,500 crowd saw Arsenal go ahead when Arthur Christmas scored. Spectators had been left thrilled by the speed and ball control of Spiksley and as he sprinted away from the home full back Peter Connolly and half back David Howat someone in the crowd bawled out “Oh, my goodness! Heruns like the wind!” On 75 minutes the youngster escaped from Howat and met a cross to spectacularly volley the equaliser. Arsenal quickly re-took the lead and then survived fierce pressure to win the match after which cries went up from the crowd “Bravo Trinity”. Rough working hands were employed by two men to hoist Fred on to their shoulders and carry him back to the pavilion where he was heartily cheered. Despite the defeat Gainsborough were absolu...

  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, A...