Midland Football Combination
Football league
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The Midland Football Combination was an English football league covering parts of the West Midlands. It comprised five divisions, a Premier Division, Divisions One and Two and two Reserves Divisions. The league was one of three official feeder leagues to the Midland Football Alliance.
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| |
| Founded | 1927 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2014 |
| Country |  England |
| Divisions | 3 (not including Reserve Divisions) |
| Level on pyramid | Levels 10–12 |
| Feeder to | Midland Football Alliance |
| League cup(s) | President's Cup Challenge Vase Challenge Urn Challenge Trophy Jack Mould Trophy Challenge Bowl |
| Last champions | Brocton (2013–14) |
| Most championships | Evesham United (6) |
Prior to 2006, the Premier Division was defined as step 7 in the National League System, even though it fed into the step 5 Midland Alliance.[1] In 2006, it was re-graded as step 6,[2] making teams in the top two divisions eligible to take part in the FA Vase and teams in the top division eligible to enter the FA Cup. The league merged with the Midland Football Alliance in 2014 to form the new Midland Football League.
History
The league was founded in 1927 as the Worcestershire Combination. The ten founder members were Oldbury Town, Stourbridge Reserves, Kidderminster Harriers Reserves, Bewdley, Blackheath Town, Halesowen Labour, Highley Colliers, Old Carolians, Stewart & Lloyds (Bilston) and Cookley St Peters. By the 1929–30 season four of the founding clubs had dropped out and the league had been reduced to just six teams, with the result that it held two separate competitions within the one season to bulk out the fixture list, but it then gained eight new teams and continued to expand.[3]
The league changed its name to the Midland Combination in 1968 to reflect the drawing of clubs from a wider area.
In the 2007–08 season, the league's representative team, drawn from clubs in Division One, reached the final of the FA National League System Cup.[4]
League champions
Worcestershire Combination
Initially the league consisted of a single division
| Season | Champions[5] |
|---|---|
| 1927–28 | Blackheath Town |
| 1928–29 | Blackheath Town |
Due to the number of teams having dropped dramatically, the 1929–30 season consisted of two separate "half-season" leagues.
| Season | First series | Second series[5] |
|---|---|---|
| 1929–30 | Halesowen Labour | Dudley Town |
For the 1930–31 the league reverted to its standard format.
| Season | Champions[6] |
|---|---|
| 1930–31 | Halesowen Labour |
| 1931–32 | Dudley Town |
| 1932–33 | Tarmac |
| 1933–34 | Woodside Wanderers |
| 1934–35 | Catshill Village Hall |
| 1935–36 | Lye Town |
| 1936–37 | Catshill Village Hall |
| 1937–38 | Catshill Village Hall |
| 1938–39 | Catshill Village Hall |
The league closed down in 1939 due to the outbreak of the Second World War and did not begin again until 1948.
| Season | Champions[6] |
|---|---|
| 1948–49 | Jack Mould's Athletic |
| 1949–50 | Bourneville Athletic |
| 1950–51 | Jack Mould's Athletic |
| 1951–52 | Walsall Wood |
| 1952–53 | Evesham United |
| 1953–54 | Brierley Hill Alliance Reserves |
| 1954–55 | Evesham United |
| 1955–56 | Malvern Town |
| 1956–57 | Stratford Town |
| 1957–58 | Wolverhampton Wanderers 'B' |
| 1958–59 | Shelfield Athletic |
| 1959–60 | Paget Rangers |
| 1960–61 | Paget Rangers |
For the 1960–61 season the league added a second division, with the existing division renamed Division One.
| Season | Division One | Division Two[7] |
|---|---|---|
| 1961–62 | Allens Cross | Allens Cross Reserves |
| 1962–63 | Alvechurch | Hall Green Amateurs |
| 1963–64 | Hall Green Amateurs | Castle Rovers |
| 1964–65 | Alvechurch | Hall Green Amateurs Reserves |
| 1965–66 | Evesham United | Alvechurch Reserves |
| 1966–67 | Alvechurch | Highgate United Reserves |
| 1967–68 | Evesham United | Whitmore Old Boys |
Midland Combination
| Season | Division One | Division Two[7] |
|---|---|---|
| 1968–69 | Evesham United | Highgate United Reserves |
| 1969–70 | Paget Rangers | Coleshill Town |
| 1970–71 | Paget Rangers | Solihull Town |
| 1971–72 | Alvechurch | Highgate United Reserves |
| 1972–73 | Highgate United | Albion Haden United |
| 1973–74 | Highgate United | Astwood Bank Rovers |
| 1974–75 | Highgate United | Whitmore Old Boys |
| 1975–76 | Northfield Town | Whitmore Old Boys |
| 1976–77 | Blakenall | Astwood Bank Rovers |
| 1977–78 | Sutton Coldfield Town | Hurley Daw Mill Welfare |
| 1978–79 | Sutton Coldfield Town | Stafford |
For the 1979–80 season a third division was added.
| Season | Division One | Division Two | Division Three[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | Bridgnorth Town | Hurley Daw Mill Welfare | Sheldon Promovere |
| 1980–81 | Moor Green | Sheldon Promovere | Southam United |
| 1981–82 | Chipping Norton Town | Bedworth United Reserves | Paget Rangers Reserves |
| 1982–83 | Bridgnorth Town | Studley Sporting | Bridgnorth Town Reserves |
For the 1983–84 season the divisions were renamed to Premier, One and Two.
| Season | Premier Division | Division One[9] | Division Two[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983–84 | Studley Sporting[10] | New World | Kingswinford Town |
| 1984–85 | Mile Oak Rovers[11] | Cheltenham Town Reserves | Bolehall Swifts |
| 1985–86 | Boldmere St Michaels[12] | Moor Green Reserves | Stratford Town Reserves |
| 1986–87 | Stratford Town[13] | Wilmcote | Bromsgrove Athletic |
| 1987–88 | Racing Club Warwick[14] | Chelmsley Town | West Midlands Fire Service |
| 1988–89 | Boldmere St Michaels[12] | Bloxwich | Upton Town |
| 1989–90 | Boldmere St Michaels[12] | Stapenhill Reserves | Pershore Town |
| 1990–91 | West Midlands Police[15] | Alcester Town | Badsey Rangers |
| 1991–92 | Evesham United[16] | Studley BKL | Marston Green |
| 1992–93 | Armitage 90[17] | Wellesbourne | Ansells |
For the 1993–94 season Division Three was added.
For the 2011–12 season Division Three was disbanded.
| Season | Premier Division | Division One | Division Two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Continental Star | Blackwood | Aston |
| 2012–13 | Walsall Wood | Alvis Sporting Club | Barnt Green Spartak |
| 2013–14 | Brocton | Cadbury Athletic | Kenilworth Town |
Final members
The teams that competed in the Combination's first team divisions in the 2013–14 season were as follows:
Premier Division
Division One
- Aston
- Barnt Green Spartak
- Cadbury Athletic
- Chelmsley Town
- Coton Green
- Droitwich Spa
- Fairfield Villa
- Feckenham
- FC Glades Sporting
- Hampton
- Knowle
- Phoenix United
- Shirley Town
- Sutton United
- West Midlands Police
Division Two
- Alcester Town
- Austrey Rangers
- Badsey Rangers
- Barton United
- Burntwood Town
- Coventry United
- Enville Athletic
- FC Stratford
- Inkberrow
- Kenilworth Town
- Leamington Hibernian
- Northfield Town
- Paget Rangers
- Perrywood
- Polesworth
- Rostance Edwards
- Rugeley Rangers – record expunged
Cup competitions
Each division other than the Premier had its own knockout competition, Division One competing for the President's Cup, Division Two for the Challenge Vase, Division Three for the Challenge Urn, and the Reserve Division for the Challenge Trophy. There were also other cup competitions run by the Midland Football Combination for its members including the Jack Mould Trophy and the Challenge Bowl.