The 1893–94 English football season was Aston Villa's 6th season in the Football League since its formation. They finished the season as champions for the first time, and for the next few years they would be very much the dominant side of English football, winning a total of five championships and two FA Cups by 1900.
| 1893–94 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | George Ramsay |
| Ground | Wellington Road |
| First Division | Champions (1) |
| FA Cup | Round 3 |
| Season | 1893–94 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Aston Villa (1/7, >> 1895–96) |
| Relegated | Darwen Newton Heath |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 939 (3.91 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jack Southworth (27 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Aston Villa 9–0 Darwen (26 December 1893) |
| Biggest away win | Wolves 0–8 West Brom (27 December 1893) |
| Highest scoring | Everton 8–1 Darwen (21 October 1893) West Brom 3–6 Aston Villa (21 October 1893) Everton 8–1 The Wednesday (23 December 1893) Aston Villa 9–0 Darwen (26 December 1893) Burnley 3–6 Aston Villa (7 April 1894) |
| Longest winning run | 6 matches Aston Villa Sheffield United Sunderland |
| Longest unbeaten run | 7 matches Nottingham Forest Sheffield United Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Longest losing run | 11 matches Newton Heath |
| Highest attendance | 27,500 Everton 7–1 Sunderland (30 September 1893) |
| Lowest attendance | 400 Derby County 2–1 Darwen (18 November 1893) |
| Average attendance | 7,012 |
← 1892–93 1894–95 → | |
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For the first two of these championship seasons, they were based at Wellington Road. Though reporters claimed gates of 20,000, it is not clear how many of these would have been able to see the game!
Villa built up a six-point lead by the end of December and maintained that margin to the end of the season, with only Sunderland providing a serious challenge.
Jack Devey was an all-round sportsman who enjoyed a long cricket career with Warwickshire. He played football for local clubs in Birmingham before joining Villa in 1891. He was capped twice by England.
Jimmy Cowan was an attacking centre-half in the days when this was a common tactic. He was well known as a sprinter and won the Powderhall Handicap in 1896. He was just 5 ft 61⁄2 in (1.69 m) tall, but his quoted weight of 12 st 3 lbs (77.6 kg) indicates a sprinter’s powerful build.
There were debut appearances for, Len Benwell,[1] George Russell, Jack Reynolds, Jim Elliott, Jimmy Welford, James Gillan,[2] Willie Groves, Steve Smith and Bill Randle.[3][4]
Aston Villa won the league title in the final match of the season 3-1 against Everton with goals from top scorer Guy Jones.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aston Villa (C) | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 84 | 42 | 2.000 | 44 |
| 2 | Sunderland | 30 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 72 | 44 | 1.636 | 38 |
| 3 | Derby County | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 73 | 62 | 1.177 | 36 |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 30 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 69 | 53 | 1.302 | 34 |
| 5 | Burnley | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 61 | 51 | 1.196 | 34 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Matches
edit| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Notes | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Sep 1893 | West Bromwich Albion | Wellington Road | 3–2 | — | Jack Reynolds (pen); Jack Devey; Albert Woolley |
| 9 Sep 1893 | Sunderland | Newcastle Road | 1–1 | — | Dennis Hodgetts |
| 11 Sep 1893 | Stoke | Wellington Road | 5–1 | — | Dennis Hodgetts (2); Jimmy Logan; Albert Woolley (2) |
| 16 Sep 1893 | Everton | Goodison Park | 2–4 | — | Albert Woolley; Charlie Athersmith |
| 23 Sep 1893 | Everton | Wellington Road | 3–1 | — | Albert Woolley (2); Charlie Athersmith |
| 30 Sep 1893 | Derby County | Wellington Road | 1–1 | — | Unknown |
| 2 Oct 1893 | Sheffield United | Bramall Lane | 0–3 | — | — |
| 7 Oct 1893 | Nottingham Forest | Town Ground | 2–1 | — | Jack Devey; Willie Groves |
| 14 Oct 1893 | Darwen | Anchor Ground | 1–1 | — | Jack Devey |
| 16 Oct 1893 | Stoke | Victoria Ground | 3–3 | — | Own goal; Charlie Athersmith (2) |
| 21 Oct 1893 | West Bromwich Albion | Stoney Lane | 6–3 | — | Jack Devey (2); Charlie Athersmith; Albert Woolley; Jimmy Cowan; Charlie Hare |
| 28 Oct 1893 | Burnley | Wellington Road | 4–0 | — | Charlie Hare; Jack Devey (2); Charlie Athersmith |
| 30 Oct 1893 | Sheffield United | Wellington Road | 4–0 | — | Charlie Hare (3); Jack Reynolds |
| 4 Nov 1893 | Blackburn Rovers | Ewood Park | 0–2 | — | — |
| 11 Nov 1893 | Sunderland | Wellington Road | 2–1 | — | Jack Devey; Jack Reynolds (pen) |
| 18 Nov 1893 | Bolton Wanderers | Pike's Lane | 1–0 | — | Jack Devey |
| 25 Nov 1893 | Preston North End | Wellington Road | 2–0 | — | Jack Devey; Charlie Hare |
| 2 Dec 1893 | Derby County | Baseball Ground | 3–0 | — | Dennis Hodgetts; Charlie Athersmith |
| 9 Dec 1893 | Sheffield Wednesday | Wellington Road | 3–0 | — | Own goal; Dennis Hodgetts; Charlie Athersmith |
| 16 Dec 1893 | Newton Heath | Bank Street | 3–1 | — | Own goal; Albert Brown |
| 23 Dec 1893 | Wolves | Molineux | 0–3 | — | — |
| 26 Dec 1893 | Darwen | Wellington Road | 9–0 | — | Charlie Athersmith (2); Dennis Hodgetts (3); Jack Reynolds; Jack Devey (2); Albert Brown |
| 6 Jan 1894 | Sheffield Wednesday | Olive Grove | 2–2 | — | Albert Brown; Dennis Hodgetts |
| 18 Jan 1894 | Preston North End | Deepdale | 5–2 | — | Jack Devey (2); Dennis Hodgetts; Jimmy Cowan |
| 3 Feb 1894 | Newton Heath | Wellington Road | 5–1 | — | Jack Devey (3); Dennis Hodgetts; Jack Reynolds |
| 3 Mar 1894 | Bolton Wanderers | Wellington Road | 2–3 | — | Bob Chatt (2) |
| 24 Mar 1894 | Blackburn Rovers | Wellington Road | 2–1 | — | Bob Chatt (2) |
| 26 Mar 1894 | Wolves | Wellington Road | 1–1 | — | Charlie Athersmith |
| 7 Apr 1894 | Burnley | Turf Moor | 6–3 | — | Willie Groves (2); Jack Devey (3); Dennis Hodgetts |
| 14 Apr 1894 | Nottingham Forest | Wellington Road | 3–1 | — | Charlie Athersmith; Bob Chatt; Jack Devey |
Source: avfchistory.co.uk
Ever-present: Jimmy Cowan
FA Cup
editFirst round
edit| Tie No. | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Aston Villa | 4–2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 27 January 1894 |
Second round
edit| Tie No. | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Sunderland | 2–2 | Aston Villa | 10 February 1894 |
| Replay | Aston Villa | 3–1 | Sunderland | 21 February 1894 |
Third round
edit| Tie No. | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | The Wednesday | 3–2 | Aston Villa | 24 February 1894 |
References
editExternal links
edit- Aston Villa official website
- avfchistory.co.uk The Matches