Old Hill Wanderers F.C.
| Full name | Old Hill Wanderers Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | the Toffs[1] | |
| Founded | 1890 | |
| Dissolved | 1895 | |
| Ground | Halesowen Road | |
| Treasurer | Teddy Foley | |
| Secretary | John Pearson | |
|
| ||
Old Hill Wanderers Football Club was an English association football club based in Old Hill in the Black Country.
History
[edit]The club was formed in 1890, and, with backing from Teddy Foley (landlord of the Queen's Head on Garratt's Lane, the club's headquarters) and Albert Chapman,[2] competed in the Birmingham & District League, one of the country's strongest semi-professional leagues, between 1892 and 1895. Bolstered by a number of old West Bromwich Albion players, including Harry Green and George Timmins (who had both been part of the 1888 FA Cup-winning side), the club won the league championship in the 1893–94 season, securing the title with a 10–0 win over Berwick Rangers while closest rivals Aston Villa Reserves could only draw with Smethwick Carriage Works.[3]
The club also reached the fourth (and final) qualifying round of the FA Cup in 1894–95, bowing out at the Football League side Burton Wanderers.[4][5]
However, the club's success proved its downfall. The loss of quality players from the 1893–94 Birmingham League-winning side, such as Alec Leake and Billy Williams to Small Heath and West Bromwich Albion respectively, and another five to the ambitious Worcester Rovers,[6] was a major factor in the decline of the club's fortunes;[7] the club's wages - 7/6 per match - were so low, even in its title winning season, that two players were fined for dodging train fares.[8] Unable to match the results of the title-winning season, attendances declined and a financial loss of £200 for the 1894–95 season was reported.[9]
Worse, the club's landlord ordered the ground to be dismantled in August 1895, "so that it now looks like the wilderness it did six years ago",[10] and the club became homeless.[11] The club was voted out of the Birmingham and District League at the end of the 1894–95 season, replaced by Hereford Thistle,[12] and the club broke up before the new season started,[13] although an Old Hill Wanderers side played a handful of friendlies in 1895–96. In March 1897, the club's long-serving secretary, John Pearson, died of typhoid; Pearson, a boot manufacturer, was 31.[14] Foley revived the club in 1897, albeit without a home ground (borrowing that of Netherton Rovers for home games),[15] but it did not survive the season.[16]
Colours
[edit]The club wore black and amber stripes with black shorts.[17]
Ground
[edit]The club played at the Central Ground on Halesowen Road,[18] opposite the Pig & Whistle Inn (later the Victoria Hotel).[19] In 1892 the club's groundsman successfully defended a claim for trespass from a chain manufacturer who claimed to have the tenancy over the ground, but Teddy Foley successfully claimed that his tenancy included the ground.[20]
The highest crowd recorded was around 4,000 saw the Wanderers draw 3–3 with Causeway Green Villa on 24 October 1891.[21]
Notable players
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "History of Old Hill Wanderers". Sports Argus: 3. 2 February 1901.
- ↑ "History of Old Hill Wanderers". Sports Argus: 3. 2 February 1901.
- ↑ "Football notes". Kidderminster Shuttle: 2. 14 April 1894.
- ↑ "Old Hill Wanderers". The Football Club History Database. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
- ↑ "Old Hill Wanderers v Burton Wanderers". Sporting Life: 4. 17 December 1894.
- ↑ "Peeps into the past". Sports Argus: 4. 18 June 1949.
- ↑ "Close season chatter. Reflections of the Oldest League Secretary. The Penalty of Greatness". The Athletic News. 27 June 1910. p. 5. Retrieved 22 February 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Footballers defrauding a railway company". Birmingham Post: 6. 26 April 1894.
- ↑ "Football". The Worcestershire Chronicle. 22 June 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 22 February 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Football prospects in the district". County Advertiser & Herald for Staffordshire and Worcestershire: 6. 24 August 1895.
- ↑ Carr, Steve (23 February 2022). "From champions to oblivion — the football club who left no trace". Black Country Bugle. p. 21. Retrieved 22 February 2023 – via PressReader.
- ↑ "The Birmingham and District Football League". Shrewsbury Chronicle: 3. 5 June 1896.
- ↑ "Football". Worcestershire Chronicle: 7. 31 August 1895.
- ↑ "Death of Mr John Pearson". County Advertiser & Herald for Staffordshire and Worcestershire: 5. 28 March 1896.
- ↑ "In junior circles". Sports Argus: 4. 4 September 1897.
- ↑ "Birmingham Junior Cup (2nd Round)". County Express: 7. 11 December 1897.
- ↑ Bradbury, Mike (2013). Lost Teams of the Midlands. England: Xlibris. pp. 253, 256.
- ↑ "Old Hill Wanderers v Oldbury Town". County Advertiser & Herald for Staffordshire and Worcestershire: 6. 18 March 1893.
- ↑ Priest, Ben (28 January 1961). "Sport in the past". Stourbridge News: 9.
- ↑ "Curious case of wilful damage". County Advertiser & Herald for Staffordshire and Worcestershire: 6. 22 October 1892.
- ↑ "Old Hill Wanderers v. Causeway Green Villa". County Express for Worcestershire and Staffordshire. 31 October 1891. p. 6. Retrieved 21 February 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
