1893–94 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa
1893–94 season
ManagerGeorge Ramsay
GroundWellington Road
First DivisionChampions (1)
FA CupRound 3
First Division
Season1893–94
ChampionsAston Villa (1/7, >> 1895–96)
RelegatedDarwen
Newton Heath
Matches240
Goals939 (3.91 per match)
Top goalscorerJack Southworth
(27 goals)
Biggest home winAston Villa 9–0 Darwen
(26 December 1893)
Biggest away winWolves 0–8 West Brom
(27 December 1893)
Highest scoringEverton 8–1 Darwen
(21 October 1893)
West Brom 3–6 Aston Villa
(21 October 1893)
Everton 8–1 The Wednesday
(23 December 1893)
Aston Villa 9–0 Darwen
(26 December 1893)
Burnley 3–6 Aston Villa
(7 April 1894)
Longest winning run6 matches
Aston Villa
Sheffield United
Sunderland
Longest unbeaten run7 matches
Nottingham Forest
Sheffield United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Longest losing run11 matches
Newton Heath
Highest attendance27,500
Everton 7–1 Sunderland
(30 September 1893)
Lowest attendance400
Derby County 2–1 Darwen
(18 November 1893)
Average attendance7,012
Jimmy Cowan

The 1893–94 English football season was Aston Villa's 6th season in the Football League since its formation. They finished the season as champions for the first time, and for the next few years they would be very much the dominant side of English football, winning a total of five championships and two FA Cups by 1900.

For the first two of these championship seasons, they were based at Wellington Road. Though reporters claimed gates of 20,000, it is not clear how many of these would have been able to see the game!

Villa built up a six-point lead by the end of December and maintained that margin to the end of the season, with only Sunderland providing a serious challenge.

Jack Devey was an all-round sportsman who enjoyed a long cricket career with Warwickshire. He played football for local clubs in Birmingham before joining Villa in 1891. He was capped twice by England.

Jimmy Cowan was an attacking centre-half in the days when this was a common tactic. He was well known as a sprinter and won the Powderhall Handicap in 1896. He was just 5 ft 612 in (1.69 m) tall, but his quoted weight of 12 st 3 lbs (77.6 kg) indicates a sprinter’s powerful build.

There were debut appearances for, Len Benwell,[1] George Russell, Jack Reynolds, Jim Elliott, Jimmy Welford, James Gillan,[2] Willie Groves, Steve Smith and Bill Randle.[3][4]

Aston Villa won the league title in the final match of the season 3-1 against Everton with goals from top scorer Guy Jones.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Aston Villa (C) 30 19 6 5 84 42 2.000 44
2 Sunderland 30 17 4 9 72 44 1.636 38
3 Derby County 30 16 4 10 73 62 1.177 36
4 Blackburn Rovers 30 16 2 12 69 53 1.302 34
5 Burnley 30 15 4 11 61 51 1.196 34
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions

Matches

Date Opponent Venue Result Notes Scorers
2 Sep 1893 West Bromwich Albion Wellington Road 3–2 Jack Reynolds (pen); Jack Devey; Albert Woolley
9 Sep 1893 Sunderland Newcastle Road 1–1 Dennis Hodgetts
11 Sep 1893 Stoke Wellington Road 5–1 Dennis Hodgetts (2); Jimmy Logan; Albert Woolley (2)
16 Sep 1893 Everton Goodison Park 2–4 Albert Woolley; Charlie Athersmith
23 Sep 1893 Everton Wellington Road 3–1 Albert Woolley (2); Charlie Athersmith
30 Sep 1893 Derby County Wellington Road 1–1 Unknown
2 Oct 1893 Sheffield United Bramall Lane 0–3
7 Oct 1893 Nottingham Forest Town Ground 2–1 Jack Devey; Willie Groves
14 Oct 1893 Darwen Anchor Ground 1–1 Jack Devey
16 Oct 1893 Stoke Victoria Ground 3–3 Own goal; Charlie Athersmith (2)
21 Oct 1893 West Bromwich Albion Stoney Lane 6–3 Jack Devey (2); Charlie Athersmith; Albert Woolley; Jimmy Cowan; Charlie Hare
28 Oct 1893 Burnley Wellington Road 4–0 Charlie Hare; Jack Devey (2); Charlie Athersmith
30 Oct 1893 Sheffield United Wellington Road 4–0 Charlie Hare (3); Jack Reynolds
4 Nov 1893 Blackburn Rovers Ewood Park 0–2
11 Nov 1893 Sunderland Wellington Road 2–1 Jack Devey; Jack Reynolds (pen)
18 Nov 1893 Bolton Wanderers Pike's Lane 1–0 Jack Devey
25 Nov 1893 Preston North End Wellington Road 2–0 Jack Devey; Charlie Hare
2 Dec 1893 Derby County Baseball Ground 3–0 Dennis Hodgetts; Charlie Athersmith
9 Dec 1893 Sheffield Wednesday Wellington Road 3–0 Own goal; Dennis Hodgetts; Charlie Athersmith
16 Dec 1893 Newton Heath Bank Street 3–1 Own goal; Albert Brown
23 Dec 1893 Wolves Molineux 0–3
26 Dec 1893 Darwen Wellington Road 9–0 Charlie Athersmith (2); Dennis Hodgetts (3); Jack Reynolds; Jack Devey (2); Albert Brown
6 Jan 1894 Sheffield Wednesday Olive Grove 2–2 Albert Brown; Dennis Hodgetts
18 Jan 1894 Preston North End Deepdale 5–2 Jack Devey (2); Dennis Hodgetts; Jimmy Cowan
3 Feb 1894 Newton Heath Wellington Road 5–1 Jack Devey (3); Dennis Hodgetts; Jack Reynolds
3 Mar 1894 Bolton Wanderers Wellington Road 2–3 Bob Chatt (2)
24 Mar 1894 Blackburn Rovers Wellington Road 2–1 Bob Chatt (2)
26 Mar 1894 Wolves Wellington Road 1–1 Charlie Athersmith
7 Apr 1894 Burnley Turf Moor 6–3 Willie Groves (2); Jack Devey (3); Dennis Hodgetts
14 Apr 1894 Nottingham Forest Wellington Road 3–1 Charlie Athersmith; Bob Chatt; Jack Devey

Source: avfchistory.co.uk

Ever-present: Jimmy Cowan

FA Cup

See also

References