West Ham Charity Cup

The West Ham Charity Cup was an annual amateur football tournament which was contested by teams from West Ham and the surrounding area, an area of Essex that is now part of London. Only players that lived locally were eligible to compete.^[1] The competition was founded as the West Ham Hospital Cup in 1885 by George Hay, Mayor of the County Borough of West Ham, to raise funds for the local hospital, and ran until 1931.^[2]

In March 1893, Castle Swifts faced Barking Woodville in the final, held at Clapton's Old Spotted Dog Ground in Upton Lane. The Swifts were two goals down before coming back to win the tie 4–2, with the goals coming from outside-right Grundy, inside-forwards Mitchell and Taylor and an own goal. A local newspaper made the following account of the final:

"After the match the crowd made a rush to the Grand Stand where the Mayor presented the large silver cup to the captain of the Castle Swifts and Mr. Comerford of the Cup Committee announced that ‘the medals had not yet come to hand, but they would be forwarded to the winners as soon as possible’. With that the captain was lifted on to the shoulders of several of his followers and carried from the ground."^[3]

Three of the teams in the 1895–96 tournament were Barking, Park Grove and Thames Ironworks, who would later become West Ham United. In a semi-final in Plaistow, Thames Ironworks beat Park Grove 1–0. Park Grove protested a technicality and forced a replay at Beckton Road, which The Ironworks won 3–0. Thames Ironworks faced Barking in the final on 21 March 1896 at the Old Spotted Dog Ground, drawing 2–2. They rematched a week later, and again drew, 0–0. The final was replayed a final time on 20 April 1896 and the Irons won 1–0.^[4]

Three of the teams in the 1896–97 tournament were Manor Park, West Ham Garfield and the defending champions, Thames Ironworks, who beat Manor Park in the semi-final, and lost the 20 March 1897 final 0–1 to Garfield.^[5] Thanes Ironworks later became West Ham United.

In April 1902, Clapton Orient won the tournament by beating Clapton 1–0.^[6]

Clapton have won the competition six times.^[7]

The tournament was not held between 1915 and 1918.^[8]

Tournament history

West Ham Charity Cup finals

Season	Winners	Score	Runners–up	Venue	Ref
1887–88	Ilford	3-0	Woodville	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[9]
1888–89	Ilford	1-1 Replay: 2-1 aet	Clapton	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[10]
1889–90	Clapton	1-0	Ilford	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[11]
1890–91	Ilford	2-1	Clapton	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[12]
1891–92	Ilford	4–0	Upton Park	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[13]
1892–93	Castle Swifts	4–2	Woodville	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[14]^[15]
1893–94	Woodville	1–0	St Luke's		^[16]
1894–95	Woodville	4–2	St Luke's	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[17]
1895–96	Thames Ironworks	2-2 Replay: 0-0 2nd replay: 1-0	Barking	Old Spotted Dog Ground (2x), St. Luke's F.C. ground (2nd replay)	^[18]^[19]^[20]
1896–97	West Ham Garfield	1-0	Thames Ironworks	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[5]
1897–98	West Ham Garfield	1-0	Ilford		^[21]
1898–99	Ilford	4-0	West Ham Garfield	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[22]
1899–1900	Woodford	3-0	Ilford	Leytonstone ground	^[23]
1900–01	Woodford	1-0	Leyton		^[24]^[25]
1901–02	Clapton Orient	1-0	Clapton	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[26]
1902–03	Clapton	2-0 aet	Clapton Orient	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[27]
1903–04	Clapton	3-0	Woodford	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[28]
1904–05	Romford	2-0	Clapton	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[29]
1905–06	Wanstead	2-0	Clapton	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[30]
1906–07	Clapton	2-1	Leytonstone	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[31]
1907–08	Clapton	4-3 aet	Romford	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[32]
1908–09	Romford	4-1	Leytonstone	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[33]
1909–10	Leytonstone	4-0	Romford United		^[34]
1910–11	Romford United	3-2	Leytonstone	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[35]
1911–12	Custom House	2-0	Romford Town	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[36]
1912–13	Leytonstone	3-2	Custom House	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[37]
1913–14	Leytonstone	4-1	Clapton	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[38]
1914–15	Leytonstone	1-0	Clapton Res.	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[39]
1915–1918	three-year gap				^[40]
1918–19	Leytonstone	?-?	Clapton	Leytonstone ground	^[41]
1919–20	Barking Town	4-1	Leytonstone	Leytonstone ground	^[42]
1920–21	Barking Town	6-1	Leytonstone	Old Spotted Dog Ground^[43]	^[44]
1921–22	Barking Town	2-1	Great Eastern Railway	Old Spotted Dog Ground^[45]	^[46]
1922–23	Custom House	1-0	Barking Town		^[47]
1923–24	Clapton^[a]	4-1	Custom House	Old Spotted Dog Ground	^[48]
1924–25	Clapton^[b]	2-1	Barking Town	Old Spotted Dog Ground^[49]	^[50]
1925–26	Clapton v Barking Town^[c]	0-0			^[51]
1926–27	?	?			^[52]
1927–28	?	?			^[53]^[54]
1928–29^[d]	Leytonstone	3-1	Custom House		^[55]
1929–30^[e]	Leyton	3-0	Leytonstone		^[56]
1930–31^[f]	Leyton Res.	1-0	Clapton Res.	Leyton^[57]	^[58]

1. Postponed until 6 September 1924
2. Postponed until at least 22 September 1925
3. Postponed until October 1926
4. Played on 16 September 1929
5. Played on 1 September 1930
6. Played on 3 October 1931

References

1. Powles 2005, p. 20.
2. "A Native of Paxton". Berwickshire News and General Advertiser. 3 May 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
3. Powles 2005, pp. 7–13.
4. Blows & Hogg 2000, p. 18.
5. Powles 2005, p. 42.
6. Kaufman, Neilson. "O's Through the Years". Leyton Orient F.C. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
7. Cox, Colleen (September 2016). (PDF). Bishopsgate Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
8. "West Ham Charity Cup". The Sportsman. 8 May 1919. p. 2. Retrieved 22 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Current Topics". Chelmsford Chronicle. 6 April 1888. p. 5. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Football Notes". East London Observer. 6 April 1889. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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12. "West Ham Hospital Cup". Barking, East Ham & Ilford Advertiser, Upton Park and Dagenham Gazette. 11 April 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "West Ham Charity Cup". East Anglian Daily Times. 11 April 1892. p. 8. Retrieved 22 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
14. "West Ham Charity Cup". Essex Standard. 25 March 1893. p. 7. Retrieved 22 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
15. Powles 2005, p. 8.
16. "Football. Saturday's Matches". Essex Herald. 3 April 1894. p. 5. Retrieved 22 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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19. "West Ham Charity Cup. Barking v. Thames Ironworks". Barking, East Ham & Ilford Advertiser, Upton Park and Dagenham Gazette. 4 April 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
20. "West Ham Charity Cup". London Evening Standard. 21 April 1896. p. 7. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
21. "Local Football". Barking, East Ham & Ilford Advertiser, Upton Park and Dagenham Gazette. 26 March 1898. p. 3. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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24. "Herts Charity Cup and West Ham Charity Cup-holders Drawn Together". The Middlesex Gazette. 16 November 1901. p. 7. Retrieved 22 January 2018 – via NewspaperArchive.com. 
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29. "West Ham Charity Cup". Tower Hamlets Independent and East End Local Advertiser. 8 April 1905. p. 7. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
30. "West Ham Charity Cup". The Sportsman. 10 April 1906. p. 4. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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32. "West Ham Charity Cup Final". The Sporting Life. 8 April 1908. p. 8. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
33. "West Ham Charity Festival". Chelmsford Chronicle. 9 April 1909. p. 7. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
34. "Leytonstone Win Another Cup". Athletic News. 4 April 1910. p. 6. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
35. "West Ham Hospital Festival". Chelmsford Chronicle. 7 April 1911. p. 3. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
36. "West Ham Charity Cup". Chelmsford Chronicle. 19 April 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
37. "Football Notes. Cups". Chelmsford Chronicle. 25 April 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
38. "West Ham Hospital Cup Final". Chelmsford Chronicle. 19 April 1914. p. 10. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
39. "West Ham Hospital Cup". Chelmsford Chronicle. 7 May 1915. p. 4. Retrieved 6 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
40. "West Ham Charity Cup". The Sportsman. 8 May 1919. p. 2. Retrieved 22 January 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
41. "To-day's Matches". Daily Herald. 24 May 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
42. "Football". Chelmsford Chronicle. 21 May 1920. p. 2. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
43. "FOOTBALL NOTES". Chelmsford Chronicle. 6 May 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
44. "Football". Chelmsford Chronicle. 3 June 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
45. "Sports at Southend". Chelmsford Chronicle. 19 May 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
46. "West Ham Hospital Cup". Chelmsford Chronicle. 26 May 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
47. "Football". Chelmsford Chronicle. 18 May 1923. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
48. "West Ham Charity Cup". The Sportsman. 8 September 1924. p. 8. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
49. "From Newmarket". Daily Herald. 19 September 1925. p. 8. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
50. "Other Cups". Chelmsford Chronicle. 2 October 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
51. "Other Cups". Chelmsford Chronicle. 8 October 1926. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
52. "Customers Extend Clapton". Chelmsford Chronicle. 28 January 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
53. "Other Cups". Chelmsford Chronicle. 23 September 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
54. "Interesting Items". Chelmsford Chronicle. 26 August 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
55. "Personal & Other Pars". Chelmsford Chronicle. 20 September 1929. p. 4. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
56. "Concerning Cups". Chelmsford Chronicle. 5 September 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
57. "To-morrow's Games and Teams". Chelmsford Chronicle. 2 October 1931. p. 3. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
58. "Other Cups". Chelmsford Chronicle. 9 October 1931. p. 3. Retrieved 5 February 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.

Bibliography

• Blows, Kirk; Hogg, Tony (2000). The Essential History of West Ham United. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-7036-8.
• Powles, John (2005). Iron in the Blood. Nottingham: Soccerdata. ISBN 1-899468-22-6.