2025 marks the 140th anniversary of the first final of the Manchester Cup (later known as the Manchester Senior cup). The Manchester Cup was the first competition either Manchester United (as Newton Heath) or Manchester City (as Ardwick) won and was a hugely significant competition at the time of their first victories. In many ways it was more important locally than the FA Cup. The final was held on 25 April 1885 and you can read a match report of the game here and then my own words on the final:
The first season of the Manchester Cup proved to be very exciting with games involving Hurst and Newton Heath grabbing much attention in the local newspapers. In fact the two sides competed in the first Manchester Cup final. This was played at Manchester FC’s Whalley Range ground and had an attendance of approximately 3,500. The Ashton club won 3-0 and at the end of the match all the Hurst players were lifted shoulder high by their fans and there was tremendous excitement on the pitch. It was perhaps the first time a Manchester side had experienced success that actually meant something. Hurst could rightly claim to be the best in the area, and after the game finished the President of the Manchester FA, Mr. Colbert, presented the cup to J. Ingham, Hurst’s Captain. The Reporter newspaper then described the fantastic parade that took place all the way back to Ashton: ‘All the way from Whalley Range the victors kept cheering and the band playing, the cup being held up in front of one of the carriages in which the journey to Ashton was made. On arriving in town their cheers were redoubled and they received a great ovation in the streets.
‘The victors crowded into the Pitt & Nelson, and Mr. Joseph Fletcher, holding in his hand the cup which was filled with liquor, and addressing the captain of the club, said he had great pleasure in presenting to Mr. Ingham the cup on behalf of the Hurst Cricket & football Club.’
Joseph Fetcher was the landlord of the Pitt & Nelson and according to the Reporter he made a speech saying that he: ‘had lately been in Blackburn and he could assure them that the fame of the Hurst club was well known in that district and he was certain that the next season they would be called upon to play with teams from that district, the Mother of the Game.’
This was undoubtedly the finest moment for any of the Manchester clubs at this stage in history, and Hurst were worthy recipients of the praise. Hurst had done more than most to encourage the game to develop and, as well as entering the FA Cup, they also tried to arrange fixtures with teams beyond the Manchester boundaries. In March 1885 they had welcomed Welsh side Rhyl to Hurst and the Ashton side won 8-1 before 3,000 fans, then on Good Friday they played their return match and, according to reports from the period over 750 fans travelled from Ashton for the game which Hurst won 4-0. Considering the nature of travel, working conditions, and the state of the game at the time this was a major achievement.
You can find out more about the origins of football in Manchester in my book Manchester A Football History. The book is long out of print but PDFs of the entire 2010 edition is available to subscribers to this site.
This is the Introduction for the 2010 edition of the book Manchester A Football History (Gary James, published by James Ward). As with everything else on this site copyright laws apply. The book is published here for the personal use of subscribers to this site. For any other use please email the publishers at info@manchesterfootball.org
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