The Midland Counties Football Union was a governing body for rugby union in The Midlands, England from 1879 to 1920.
History The organisation was formed as the Midland Counties Football Club and covered the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. The Midland Counties representative team played in the County Championship from its inception in 1888 until 1920. The main club event was the Midland Counties Challenge Cup which continued to run until 1926.
Disbandment Up until and following the disbandment in 1920, the union broke up and distributed its assets to the following unions: North Midlands Rugby Football Union Leicestershire Rugby Union Warwickshire Rugby Football Union
The North Midlands was given responsibility for clubs sides based in Birmingham and the West Midlands, Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire, most of which were sub-members under the North Midlands umbrella (the Staffordshire RU would later achieve full RFU membership in 1962). The Leicestershire and Warwickshire unions became full county constituents in their own right.
Club sides that had been based in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire would later join the Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire Rugby Football Union (created 1926).
Honours 1913–14 Rugby Union County Championship winners
Midland Counties Cup The Midland Counties Cup was inaugurated during the 1880-81 season and held for the first time the following season.
Past winners Year Winners Runner-up1881-82 Moseley Leamington Rovers1882-83 Burton-on-Trent Moseley1883-84 Moseley Coventry1884-85 Moseley South Warwickshire Rovers1885-86 Moseley Rugby1886-87 Moseley Rugby1887-88 Burton-on-Trent Coventry1888-89 Moseley Leicester Tigers1889-90 Old Edwardians Burton-on-Trent1890-91 Coventry Leicester Tigers1891-92 Coventry Moseley1892-93 Coventry Burton-on-Trent 1893-94 Coventry Leicester Tigers1894-95 Moseley Coventry1895-96 Coventry Moseley1896-97 Moseley Old Edwardians1897-98 Leicester Tigers Moseley1898-99 Leicester Tigers Nuneaton1899-1900 Leicester Tigers Moseley1900-01 Leicester Tigers Moseley1901-02 Leicester Tigers Moseley1902-03 Leicester Tigers Rugby1903-04 Leicester Tigers Moseley1904-05 Leicester Tigers Nottingham1905-06 Nottingham Moseley1906-07 Coventry Stratford-on-Avon1907-08 Stratford-on-Avon Nuneaton1908-09 Leicester Tigers Coventry1909-10 Leicester Tigers Coventry1910-11 Coventry Moseley1911-12 Leicester Tigers Coventry1912-13 Leicester Tigers Belgrave Premier Works1913-14 Coventry + Moseley +1919-20 Coventry Newbold-on-Avon RFC 1921-22 Nuneaton Burton-on-Trent 1922-23 Coventry Moseley1923-24 Nuneaton Coventry1924-25 Moseley Birmingham1925-26 Newbold-on-Avon Old Centrals + Result declared null and void. The competition was discontinued after 1925-26.
Number of wins Leicester Tigers (12) Coventry (9) Moseley (9) Burton-on-Trent (2) Nuneaton (2) Newbold-on-Avon (1) Nottingham (1) Old Edwardians (1) Stratford-on-Avon (1)
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