1895–96 Aston Villa F.C. season

The 1895–96 English football season was Aston Villa's 8th season in the Football League.^[1] Under George Ramsay's management committee Villa were League champions for the second time in their history.^[2]

ManagerGeorge Ramsay

GroundWellington Road

First DivisionChampions (2)

FA CupRound 1

Quick facts Manager, Ground ...

Aston Villa

1895–96 season
Manager	George Ramsay
Ground	Wellington Road
First Division	Champions (2)
FA Cup	Round 1
← 1894–95 1896–97 â†’

Close

This was the season Villa lost the FA Cup – literally. Following their FA Cup win in 1894/95, it was on display in the window of a Birmingham shoe shop belonging to William Shillcock. In the night of 11–12 September 1895 it was stolen and never seen again. The first trophy, the 'little tin idol', had been made by Martin, Hall & Co at a cost of £20.^[3] Despite a £10 reward for information, the crime was never solved. The FA fined Villa £25 to pay for a replacement and a replica had to be made to the same design. Luckily they had it insured for £200! Just over 60 years later, 80 year old career criminal Henry (Harry) James Burge claimed to have committed the theft, confessing to a newspaper, with the story being published in the Sunday Pictorial newspaper on 23 February 1958. Burge claimed the cup had been melted down to make counterfeit half-crown coins, which matched known intelligence of the time that stolen silver was being used to forge coins which were then laundered through betting shops at a local racecourse.^[4]

Jimmy Crabtree (176) became Aston Villa's record signing in the summer of 1895 when the Club paid Burnley £250 for international back. Crabtree, Reynolds and Jimmy Cowan formed an outstanding line of half-backs. There were also debuts for Johnny Campbell, Jack Cowan, Edward Harris and Jeremiah Griffiths.^[5] John Campbell was a Scot from Celtic where he had won the Scottish championship twice, and later returned to the club. He had developed an outstanding reputation in Scotland, and emphasized his skill by scoring his 26 goals in just 26 games. 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall but nearly 12 stone (170 lb; 76 kg) in weight, he was said to be difficult to stop when running at the opposition's defence.