The Combination: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
→First incarnation: add detail regarding foundation, with citation |
||
| Line 49: | Line 49: | ||
==First incarnation== |
==First incarnation== |
||
[[File:Newton Heath - Jack Powell - First Incarnation.jpg|thumb|Sharpe's Card c 1890 depicting [[Jack Powell (footballer, born 1860)|Jack Powell]] as captain of Newton Heath<ref>{{cite web|title=Sharpe's Card c 1890 depicting Jack Powell as captain of Newton Heath|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterunitedman1/3404774297/in/set-72157625684721070|publisher=Flickr}}</ref>]] |
[[File:Newton Heath - Jack Powell - First Incarnation.jpg|thumb|Sharpe's Card c 1890 depicting [[Jack Powell (footballer, born 1860)|Jack Powell]] as captain of Newton Heath<ref>{{cite web|title=Sharpe's Card c 1890 depicting Jack Powell as captain of Newton Heath|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterunitedman1/3404774297/in/set-72157625684721070|publisher=Flickr}}</ref>]] |
||
The first Combination was set up in 1888, the same year [[the Football League]] was founded. |
The first Combination was set up in 1888, the same year [[the Football League]] was founded. Initiated by [[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]] secretary, J. G. Hall, it was established by clubs who had been excluded from the Football League, and was announced at the Royal Hotel in [[Crewe]]. However, while the Football League quickly proved a success, the Combination lacked central organisation, with poor planning and unfulfilled fixtures, and failed to complete its first season, finishing in April 1889 without a winner.<ref name="Whittle">{{cite news |last1=Whittle |first1=Paul |title=The Football Alliance: Teams Who Didn’t Make the League |url=https://the1888letter.com/the-football-alliance-teams-who-didnt-make-the-league/ |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=THE 1888 LETTER: Football Then And Now |date=4 April 2020}}</ref> |
||
The Combination consisted of 20 teams, although this proved too many teams for each one to play the other once, let alone twice. Instead each club was to play eight others home and away, making 16 games in total. Fixtures were left to individual clubs, which resulted in confusion, as it was unclear whether many matches between clubs were friendlies or Combination matches.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shury |first=Alan |author2=Brian Landamore |others=with Allen Kristensen and Tony Brown |title=The Definitive Newton Heath F.C. |orig-year=2002 |edition=2nd |series='Definitive' Club Histories |year=2005 |publisher=SoccerData |location=Nottingham |isbn=1-899468-16-1 |chapter=History of Newton Heath F.C. |page=11 }}</ref> |
|||
| ⚫ | Participating teams included [[Manchester United F.C.|Newton Heath]], [[Grimsby Town F.C.|Grimsby Town]], [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]], [[Port Vale F.C.|Burslem Port Vale]], |
||
| ⚫ | Participating teams included [[Manchester United F.C.|Newton Heath]], [[Grimsby Town F.C.|Grimsby Town]], [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]], [[Port Vale F.C.|Burslem Port Vale]], Crewe Alexandra, [[Bootle F.C. (1879)|Bootle]], [[Birmingham City F.C.|Small Heath]], [[South Shore F.C.|South Shore]] and [[Blackburn Olympic F.C.|Blackburn Olympic]]. Newton Heath, Grimsby, Crewe, Bootle and Small Heath went on to co-found the [[Football Alliance]] the following year. |
||
==Second incarnation== |
==Second incarnation== |
||
Revision as of 14:42, 30 November 2021
| Organising body | FA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1888 (first incarnation) 1890 (second incarnation) |
| First season | 1888-89 |
| Folded | 1911 |
| Country | England Wales |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Domestic cup(s) | FA Cup |
| Last champions | Whitchurch F.C. (3rd title) |
| Most championships | Everton reserves (6 titles) |
The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across the Northern England and the Midlands, and was wound up before completion. The second was created for the 1890–91 season, but disbanded in 1911. The league comprised teams primarily from North West England and later Wales.
The league should not be confused with the other former Football Combination, a competition for reserve teams from the South of England, or with the Lancashire Combination, another minor league running around the same time.
First incarnation
The first Combination was set up in 1888, the same year the Football League was founded. Initiated by Crewe Alexandra secretary, J. G. Hall, it was established by clubs who had been excluded from the Football League, and was announced at the Royal Hotel in Crewe. However, while the Football League quickly proved a success, the Combination lacked central organisation, with poor planning and unfulfilled fixtures, and failed to complete its first season, finishing in April 1889 without a winner.[2]
The Combination consisted of 20 teams, although this proved too many teams for each one to play the other once, let alone twice. Instead each club was to play eight others home and away, making 16 games in total. Fixtures were left to individual clubs, which resulted in confusion, as it was unclear whether many matches between clubs were friendlies or Combination matches.[3]
Participating teams included Newton Heath, Grimsby Town, Lincoln City, Burslem Port Vale, Crewe Alexandra, Bootle, Small Heath, South Shore and Blackburn Olympic. Newton Heath, Grimsby, Crewe, Bootle and Small Heath went on to co-found the Football Alliance the following year.
Second incarnation
The second incarnation was founded in 1890. The twelve founder members were:[4]
- Burton Swifts
- Chester
- Denton
- Derby St Luke's
- Gorton Villa
- Hyde
- Leek (not related to the current Leek Town)
- Macclesfield
- Northwich Victoria
- Stafford County (not related to the current Stafford Rangers)
- Witton (not related to the current Witton Albion)
- Wrexham
Five of the founding teams would eventually go on to play in the Football League, although in the case of Macclesfield, this would not happen until 1997–98. Glossop North End, who joined in 1894, were also elected to the League (in 1898), as were another later member team, Tranmere Rovers.
As the competition evolved, the nature of the teams changed, with many more Welsh teams being involved, as well as the reserve teams of the Football League clubs such as Everton and Crewe Alexandra. By the time the competition folded in 1911 none of the original members still participated, with the exception of Wrexham, who fielded their reserve team. It was succeeded by the Cheshire County League and later by the North West Counties Football League.
Champions
The champions of the league were as follows:[4]
| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890–91 | Gorton Villa | Macclesfield | Chester |
| 1891–92 | Everton Reserves | Northwich Victoria | Macclesfield |
| 1892–93 | Everton Reserves | Stoke Swifts | Chester |
| 1893–94 | Everton Reserves | Stoke Swifts | Leek |
| 1894–95 | Ashton North End | Glossop North End | Chester |
| 1895–96 | Everton Reserves | Macclesfield | Glossop North End |
| 1896–97 | Everton Reserves | Rock Ferry | Chester |
| 1897–98 | Everton Reserves | Crewe Alexandra | Chirk |
| 1898–99 | Everton Reserves | Liverpool Reserves | Tranmere Rovers |
| 1899–1900 | Chirk AAA | Wrexham | Druids |
| 1900–01 | Wrexham | Rhyl | Bangor |
| 1901–02 | Wrexham | Burslem Port Vale Reserves | Oswestry United |
| 1902–03 | Wrexham | Nantwich | Birkenhead |
| 1903–04 | Birkenhead | Chester | Nantwich |
| 1904–05 | Wrexham | Chester | Broughton United |
| 1905–06 | Whitchurch | Chester | Glossop Reserves |
| 1906–07 | Whitchurch | Chester | Wigan Town |
| 1907–08 | Tranmere Rovers | Chester | Oswestry United |
| 1908–09 | Chester | Saltney | Tranmere Rovers |
| 1909–10 | Crewe Alexandra Reserves | Saltney | Chester |
| 1910–11 | Whitchurch | Bangor | Oswestry United |
References
- ^ "Sharpe's Card c 1890 depicting Jack Powell as captain of Newton Heath". Flickr.
- ^ Whittle, Paul (4 April 2020). "The Football Alliance: Teams Who Didn't Make the League". THE 1888 LETTER: Football Then And Now. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ Shury, Alan; Brian Landamore (2005) [2002]. "History of Newton Heath F.C.". The Definitive Newton Heath F.C. 'Definitive' Club Histories. with Allen Kristensen and Tony Brown (2nd ed.). Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 11. ISBN 1-899468-16-1.
- ^ a b "England - The Combination". RSSSF.