Stolen Cup

In 1893 the two Cup Finalists were Everton and Wolves. A week before the Final they met in the League. Everton sent their reserve team to save their best team for the Final. These reserves beat Wolves 4-2, and everyone expected Everton to win the Cup easily. But Wolves surprised everyone and won 1-0.

This was to be the first of many FA Cup 'upsets'. An upset is when the team with the better League position loses.

Soon after the FA Cup final some new streets were built in Wolverhampton. Each was named after a Wolves player. The players were also given a small copy of the Cup.

The following year there was an even bigger upset. Notts County became the first Second Division team to win the Cup.

The FA Cup is stolen

In 1895 Aston Villa won the FA Cup. They lent it to a shop in Birmingham owned by William Shillcock. The shop left the Cup in the window for everyone to see.

On the night of September 11, 1895 the Cup was stolen. A £10 reward was offered for the return of the Cup, but it was never found. In 1958 an eighty-three year old man called Harry Burge told a Sunday newspaper, 'I stole the Cup. I used it to make false coins.

In 1895 FA had a big problem. In those days there was only one FA Cup. Nobody knew how to make a second Cup. Then someone remembered about the copies given to the Wolves players. The FA borrowed one of these copies and copied it!