The Lord Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup, commonly referred to as the Birmingham Charity Cup, was a football competition for teams from Birmingham and the surrounding area.
History
It was inaugurated in 1882 by Joseph Cofield, a player with St George's and the secretary of the Birmingham and District Football Association, who had been voted a benefice of £30 by the association; Cofield promptly pledged it as the starting fund for a new trophy, to be played for charity. The trophy was duly presented by the city's mayor, Richard Chamberlain, to Aston Villa as the first winner of the competition in the 1881–82 season, defeating Walsall Swifts 4–1. From 1910 onwards, the preliminary rounds were scrapped and the final became an invitation match. Other than during the First World War, the competition took place every year until 1939 with the exception of the 1925–26 season, when it was abandoned due to the General Strike. It fluctuated between being contested at the start and the end of the football season.
The competition was discontinued after the Second World War, other than on two occasions in the 1960s when the youth teams of Aston Villa and Birmingham City competed for the trophy. After this, the competition was discontinued altogether and the trophy itself used for the Birmingham Senior Amateur Cup competition.
Trophy The trophy was made by Birmingham silversmith William Spurrer, and contained 14lbs of silver. It was surmounted by a figure of a footballer and bore shields engraved with the initials of Chamberlain and the members of the Birmingham County Football Association's committee at the time of the competition's inauguration, the city's coat of arms, and representations of its main industries. The main bowl of the trophy featured two engraved drawings, one of an 1880s football match, complete with top-hatted umpire, and one of "the poor and sick succoured by the heavenly spirit". The plinth had a number of shields engraved with the names of the winning teams, although for unknown reasons some were missing.
Winners Aston Villa were the most successful team in the competition's history, winning it on thirty occasions outright and sharing the trophy five times. The club's youth team also jointly won the trophy twice when it was briefly revived in the 1960s as a youth competition. DateWinnerScoreRunners–upVenueAttendanceRefs6 May 1882Aston Villa4–1Walsall SwiftsAston Lower Grounds6,00012 May 1883Aston Villa8–0Walsall SwiftsAston Lower Grounds5,00026 April 1884Aston Villa3–2Wednesbury Old AthleticAston Lower Grounds10,0002 May 1885Aston Villa1-1Walsall SwiftsTrinity Road, Aston Unity F.C.5,000(R) 27 May 1885Aston Villa1-1Walsall SwiftsThe Chuckery5,00017 May 1886Aston Villa4-1Wednesbury Old AthleticWellington Road2,0001887Wolverhampton Wanderersn/aWolverhampton Wanderers were awarded the trophy when Aston Villa withdrew.Aston Villa 14 April 1888Aston Villa6-2Mitchell's St. George'sAston Lower Grounds 6 April 1889Aston Villa3–0Wolverhampton WanderersWarwickshire County Cricket Ground 5,0003 May 1890Aston Villa2–1Wolverhampton WanderersStoney Lane 6,0009 May 1891Aston Villa3–0Wolverhampton WanderersStoney Lane6,5007 May 1892Wolverhampton Wanderers2-1Small HeathAston Lower Grounds 29 April 1893Aston Villa3-2Small HeathAston Lower Grounds8,00028 April 1894Aston Villa3-1Wolverhampton WanderersAston Lower Grounds6,00027 April 1895Aston Villa5–3Small HeathAston Lower Grounds5,00025 April 1896Walsall1–0Sheffield UnitedWellington Road3,00024 April 1897Walsall1-1Aston VillaVilla Park8,000(R) 30 April 1897Walsall1-1Aston VillaVilla Park1,0004 October 1897 Aston Villa4-2WalsallVilla Park4,00017 October 1899Aston Villa1-0WalsallVilla Park 9,00013 November 1899West Bromwich Albion1–0WalsallVilla Park8,25019 November 1900Aston Villa1–1West Bromwich AlbionThe Hawthorns10,000(R) 17 December 1900Aston Villa2–0West Bromwich AlbionVilla Park12,65218 November 1901Aston Villa1–0West Bromwich AlbionVilla Park10,60024 November 1902Wolverhampton Wanderers3–2West Bromwich AlbionVilla Park4,50023 November 1903Aston Villa4–2Small HeathVilla Park 6,00021 November 1904Aston Villa1–0The match was abandoned after 50 minutes, with Aston Villa leading 1–0; the trophy was shared.Small HeathMuntz Street 8,00020 November 1905Aston Villa4–3Clives gives the score as 4-1.West Bromwich AlbionMuntz Street12,00024 September 1906Aston Villa1–1The trophy was shared.BirminghamMuntz Street 7,00014 October 1907Birmingham4–0Aston VillaVilla Park 6,00021 September 1908Birmingham5–2Aston VillaSt Andrew's 8,00020 September 1909Aston Villa2–BirminghamSt Andrew's 5,00019 September 1910Aston Villa2–1West Bromwich AlbionVilla Park5,50718 September 1911Aston Villa4–0West Bromwich AlbionVilla Park6,5032 October 1912Aston Villa5–1West Bromwich AlbionThe Hawthorns8,07722 October 1913West Bromwich Albion1–0Aston VillaVilla Park6,00023 September 1914West Bromwich Albion3–2Aston VillaVilla Park5,0178 May 1920Birmingham4–1Aston VillaVilla Park 20,00014 May 1921Birmingham2–2West Bromwich AlbionVilla Park8,06713 May 1922West Bromwich Albion2–0BirminghamVilla Park7,5002 May 1923Aston Villa2–0West Bromwich AlbionVilla Park2,30010 May 1924Aston Villa3–3BirminghamVilla Park 8,0009 May 1925West Bromwich Albion3–1BirminghamSt Andrew's10,0001926Not held due to the General Strike14 May 1927 Aston Villa 4-2BirminghamVilla Park 12 May 1928 Aston Villa 3-2BirminghamVilla Park 11 May 1929 Aston Villa 2-1BirminghamVilla Park 10,00010 May 1930 Aston Villa 5-1Wolverhampton WanderersVilla Park 25,0009 May 1931Aston Villa3–2West Bromwich AlbionThe Hawthorns18,18914 May 1932 Aston Villa 2-1Wolverhampton WanderersVilla Park 5,00013 May 1933Aston Villa4–0West Bromwich AlbionThe Hawthorns8,50012 May 1934Birmingham2–0Aston VillaSt Andrew's 7,0006 May 1935Birmingham2–1Aston VillaSt Andrew's 9 May 1936Birmingham4–2Aston VillaVilla Park 10,0008 May 1937Aston Villa2–2BirminghamVilla Park 2,0001938Birmingham1–1Coventry City13 May 1939 Aston Villa 1–0Coventry CityVilla Park 5,000(1st Leg) 24 October 1961Aston Villa Youth3-1Birmingham City YouthSt Andrew's (2nd Leg) 7 May 1962Birmingham City Youth3-1 (4-4 Aggregate)Aston Villa YouthVilla Park (1st Leg) 15 April 1964Birmingham City Youth3-3Aston Villa YouthSt Andrew's (2nd Leg) 20 April 1964Aston Villa Youth1-1 (4-4 Aggregate)Birmingham City YouthVilla Park
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