1887–88 Aston Villa F.C. season

Early history of Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa records and statistics Aston Villa 1887–88 George Ramsay Ground Wellington Road FA Cup 5th 1886–87 1888–89 1887–88 FA Cup EnglandWalesIreland 149 West Bromwich Albion (1st title) Preston North End 1886–87 1888–89 The 1887–88 English football season was Aston Villa's 9th season in the Football Association Cup, the top-level football competition at the time. It was not as successful ending. As late as 1901, in the warm weather months, Villa would forgo their heavier woollen club colours in favour of thin cotton red shirts .Aston Villa, Sports Argus, 14 September 1901 With competitive football at a premium, William McGregor (Villa's President) worked to create a competition involving regular matches and wrote to the leading clubs of the time (all based in the North of England and the Midlands). After some discussion the clubs agreed to set up a twelve team league. Each club would play the other home and away, for a total of twenty-two matches each. Villa were to be joined in the inaugural competition by Stoke, Wolves, West Brom, Notts County, Burnley, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County, Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Accrington (no relation to the present-day Accrington Stanley) and Preston North End. The league was never styled 'the English League' as McGregor envisioned that Scottish clubs would one day wish to join. FA Cup 1887–88 FA Cup 1st Round Oldbury Town 0–4 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/37 Aston Villa W 🟩 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/37 2nd Round Small Heath 0–4 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/38 Aston Villa W Villa's last pre-league FA Cup campaign saw the first competitive "Second City derby" occur on Saturday, 5 November 1887 Villa beat Small Heath 4–0 in the second round. Tommy Green scored a brace before half-time with Albert Brown and Albert Allen adding to the score in the second half. This was their first meeting with modern rivals Birmingham City.https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/38 Small Heath Alliance 0-4 Aston Villa (Holders), 1887-88 FA Cup 2nd Round, 5 Nov 1887 avfchistory.co.uk 7 August 2023 They would not play again until the local rivals were promoted to the First Division for the 1894–95 season🟩 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/38 3rd Round: Aston Villa received a bye 4th Round Shankhouse 0–9 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/39 Aston Villa W 5th Round, 7 January 1888 Aston Villa 1–3 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/40 Preston North End L Wellington Road's record attendance of 26,849 was set for an FA Cup fifth round match against Preston North End on 7 January 1888. Preston won 3–1, and the match was marred by a huge pitch invasion, the first serious incidence of crowd trouble in English football.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005, Yore Publications, p143, 0954783042 Preston were a fine side and the match was billed as a clash between England's best teams. This prompted a then-record crowd which the police had some difficulty keeping off the pitch. With Preston leading 3–1 and chaos in the stadium, the clubs tried to calm things down by declaring the match a 'friendly'. However, the FA overruled the decision and decided that the result would stand. Villa, the holders, were out. Birmingham Senior Cup Birmingham Senior Cup Birmingham Charity Cup Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. had amalgamated.Walsall Social Life http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36201 A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 17: Offlow hundred (part) British History Online 4 October 2010 M Greenslade 1976 Walsall Town Swifts' inaugural match was a 0–0 draw against Aston Villa in the Birmingham Charity Cup final on 9 April 1888. A disagreement over the venue of the replay meant Aston Villa were awarded the trophy.Matthews Tony The Complete Record of Walsall Football Club Breedon Books 1999 978-18598315647Walsall FC to host Aston Villa in 125th birthday bash https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/walsall-fc/2013/05/18/walsall-fc-to-host-aston-villa-in-125th-birthday-bash// 13 May 2018 Express & Star 23 July 2019 Players There were debuts for Gershom Cox,Gershom Cox https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/gershom-cox 2026-01-23 AVFC History Harry Devey,Harry Devey https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/harry-devey 2026-01-23 AVFC History Tommy GreenTommy Green https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/tommy-green 2026-01-23 AVFC History and Albert Allen.Albert Allen https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/albert-allen 2026-01-23 AVFC History Inside-forward Allen became Villa's first England international p10, The Aston Villa Miscellany David Woodhall, 2007. 1-905326-17-3 scoring three goals in a 5–1 victory over Ireland in April 1888. References External links Aston Villa official website Category:Aston Villa F.C. seasons Aston Villa F.C.