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The Youdan Football Cup, also known as the Youdan Cup, was an 1867 Sheffield rules football competition. Preceding the FA Cup by more than four years, it was among the first tournaments in any code of football.Template:Efn

BackgroundEdit

The competition took its name from a local theatre owner, Thomas Youdan, who sponsored the competition and provided the trophy.<ref name="artists"/>

RulesEdit

File:Youdan Football Cup handbill.jpg
Handbill or programme for the cup, as featured on the BBC Television programme Antiques Roadshow in May 2021 (transcription)

On 28 January 1867, representatives of thirteen football clubs from the Sheffield area met at the Adelphi Hotel to form the "Youdan Prize Committee".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The committee drew up the following regulations to govern the tournament:<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

After the first round, the committee added a new rule that "the referee shall have power to award a Free Kick to the opponents of any Club, which makes more than three fouls or kicks-out, when the ball is being thrown in, if he (the referee) considers those fouls or kicks-out to be intentional".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Participating teamsEdit

Participating clubs<ref>Unless otherwise stated, all details taken from the John Lillywhite annual of 1868</ref>
Team Foundation No. of members Home ground Colours
Norton<ref>Membership and ground taken from the 1869 Charles Alcock annual, foundation date and colour from the 1871 edition</ref> 1861 50 Norton Green
United Mechanics 1865 (September) 140 Norfolk Park Blue, white cap
Mackenzie 1862<ref>1871 Charles Alcock yearbook</ref> 500 Myrtle Road Pink shirt, plaid cap
Garrick 1866 (October) 400 East Bank Red, white, & blue
Hallam 1860 150 Sandygate Blue & white
Heeley 1862 70 Wellsbrook Park Grey & white hoops<ref>Described as "stripes".</ref>
Norfolk 1861 (December) 240 Norfolk Park Grey & blue
Fir Vale 1862 136 Pitsmoor White & red
Broomhall 1863 (October) 150 Ecclesall Road Black & white
Pitsmoor 1861 264 Pitsmoor White
Wellington 1866 150 Houndsfields Park Puce & white
Milton 1862 180+ South Heeley Black & yellow

FormatEdit

The competition was organised as a straight knockout tournament, with two exceptions:

  • Because twelve teams entered the tournament, there were three teams remaining after two rounds: one team, drawn at random, received a bye to the final, while the other two teams played a semi-final to determine the other finalist.
  • After the final had been played, it was decided to hold a second-place playoff between the losing finalist and the losing semi-finalist.<ref name="prize">Template:Cite journal</ref>

The semi-final, final and second-place playoff were all held at Bramall Lane, which at the time was primarily a cricket ground.

ResultsEdit

Under the Sheffield Rules of the time, the rouge was used as a tiebreaker if both teams scored an equal number of goals.Template:Efn

Of the thirteen matches played in the tournament, seven were goalless, of which six were decided by rouges. Only one goal was scored after the first round.

In the results below, rouges are shown in brackets beneath the main scoreline.

First roundEdit

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Second roundEdit

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Semi-finalsEdit

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FinalEdit

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Second place play-offEdit

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TrophyEdit

File:Guinnessrecord2.jpg
The certificate which stands at Sandygate Road.

The Youdan Prize Committee invited members of the public to submit their proposed designs for the trophy.<ref name="artists">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The creator of the entry judged the best would be rewarded by Thomas Youdan with a prize of one sovereign.

This prize was initially awarded to a Mr Jarvis, of Roscoe Works.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His design was subsequently combined with that of another entrant: Mr. Topham, engraver, who was awarded a further prize of one pound.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Before the semi-final, it was decided that the second-placed club would also be awarded a prize, to be funded by an admission fee of 3d at the semi-final and final.<ref name="football">Template:Cite journal</ref> This prize ended up being valued at £2 10s.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The trophies were presented at a dinner held at the Adelphi Hotel on Monday 11 March. Because the winning design required "protracted time [...] in its manufacture", it had not been completed in time for the ceremony.<ref name="Football History">Harvey (2005), p. 289</ref> In its place, a "richly-ornamented claret jug", created by Martin, Hall, and Co., was awarded to Hallam. Thomas Youdan was absent through illness, so the trophy was presented by Mr J. Birley to J. C. Shaw, Hallam's captain. The second prize, a "double-handed goblet [...] enriched with athletic figures", was awarded to Norfolk.<ref name="prize"/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The inscription on the cup awarded to Hallam reads:<ref name="bbc"/> <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

FOOTBALL CHALLENGE CUP. Template:Sc Thos. Youdan, Esq to be contested for by the various Football Clubs in Template:Sc was awarded to the Template:Sc Feb. 1867 Template:Sc{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

}}

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Shaw presented the trophy to the members of the Hallam Club at a dinner after the final match of their season, played at Sandygate on Saturday 16 March.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The first-place trophy was subsequently lost. It did not resurface again until 1997, when a Scottish antiques collector contacted Hallam F.C. to tell them that he was in possession of it – they subsequently bought it back for £1,600. Since then it has been valued to be worth at least £100,000 by silver specialist Alastair Dickenson of the BBC programme Antiques Roadshow, although the owners have insisted it is not for sale.<ref name="bbc">Template:Cite news</ref>

LegacyEdit

Attendances of up to 3,000 were reported in the press.<ref>Template:Cite journal.

The exact match is not identified in the article. Despite its statement that the match took place "five miles from Sheffield", Harvey (2005), p. 104 appears to assume that it is referring to the final.</ref> This would not be exceeded by the reported attendance at an FA Cup final until 1878.<ref>Harvey (2005), p. 172</ref>

Contemporary reports suggest that the 1867 tournament was expected to be repeated in subsequent years, with Youdan awarding a trophy of the original competition-winning design.<ref name="prize"/> This did not occur, and in the event the Cromwell Cup was held in 1868, sponsored and named after another Sheffield theatre owner.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Youdan nevertheless maintained an interest in football, for example by donating £50 in prize money to the Sheffield Football Association in 1870.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The work of the ad-hoc Youdan Prize Committee in co-ordinating activity between local clubs and framing rules was a precursor to that of the Sheffield Football Association, which had already been formed by the end of January 1867, and issued its own first set of rules on 6 March 1867, the day following the final of the Youdan Cup.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Youdan Trophy, a Sheffield-based international youth team tournament founded in 2014, takes its name from the Youdan Cup.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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SourcesEdit