This competition is amongst the oldest in English football and can trace its roots back to its foundation in May 1885 with the first match being played in November of that year. The first winners of the competition were Hindley who defeated Westhoughton by 1 goal to nil in the final played at Ashton Recreation Ground on April 17th 1886. That the lead up to the final was riddled with controversy is something of an understatement and the full story, as chronicled in the book “The History of the Wigan Cup Competition” by Allan Veal and Bill Hudson, makes for interesting reading including another example of a trophy which had “gone missing!”
The competition was suspended for a while in the early years but recommenced in the 1896/97 season and reference is made to the trophy as presented by Sir Francis Sharpe Powell. The competition has operated from that time to the current day with the exception of the First World War years.
The current Wigan Cup was donated to the competition by a Mr Sydney Littler after the original trophy was destroyed in a fire whilst in the custody of Wigan Athletic in April 1953.
The trophy we see today has considerable age. The hallmarks indicate that it was assayed in London in 1887 but the makers mark has proved impossible to track down.
In detail we see the sovereign’s head – used up to 1890 as an indication that duty had been paid on the item.
A leopard which is the mark of the London Assay Office.
The letter “m” which in the context of London marks of the period represents the date of 1887.
We see also a lion which is a standard mark for sterling silver (92.5 parts per 100 of pure silver).
For many years the final was played at Springfield Park – the home of Wigan Athletic until 1999 when the stadium was demolished after over 100 years of hosting football clubs. As the competition entered the 21st century the final was played Robin Park, remembered mainly amongst NWCFL followers as the home of member club Wigan Robin Park FC
Member clubs who have won this trophy since the inception of the NWCFL include Garswood United, Wigan Robin Park and Ashton Athletic. Many followers of the NWCFL will recall Garswood United as being members for a couple of seasons in the mid 1990s. They now play in the Premier Division of the Cheshire League.
Of recent times the format of the competition has changed. Instead of a conventional knock-out tournament we see a mini-league format where the entrants are broken down into 8 leagues of four teams with the winners of each mini-league going on to compete in the quarter finals of what then becomes a knock-out competition.
Entrants for the 2019/20 competition include Ashton Athletic, Ashton Town and Burscough from the NWCFL.
Our grateful thanks go to Alan Greenhalgh from the Wigan Cup committee and Gordon Johnson from the committee of Ashton Town FC for their help with this article.
