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!