The Football Association was founded in 1863, but the World's first football association did not inaugurate the World's first tournament. In 1867, The Sheffield FA was founded and in that year they held the Youdan Cup, sponsored by local theatre owner, Tommy Youdan. 12 teams competed for the opportunity to lift the first ever football trophy.
Thomas Youdan (1816-1876) was a theatre proprietor in Sheffield, known for sponsoring the Youdan Football Cup, the first ever multi-club tournament in the history of football.
Youdan, the son of a farm labourer, was born near Doncaster. He was baptized on 19 May 1816. At the age of 18, he moved to Sheffield, where he was employed as a labourer and a silver stamper*. He then ran a public house, and later built the Surrey Theatre on the site of a former pawn shop. The Surrey Theatre contained a ballroom, theatre, concert-hall, and even a menagerie. In 1858, Youdan was elected to Sheffield City Council.He served as a councillor for six years.
* guess what this means!
The Surrey Theatre burned down in 1865, which caused Youdan to lose nearly £30,000. He then converted a storage building into the Alexandra Opera House, before retiring in 1874, and returning to the countryside. He died on 28 November 1876 at his residence of Flotmanly House, near Filey. Youdan was a prolific philanthropist. In addition to endowing the Youdan Cup, he made generous donations to charities of all kinds.
12 local teams competed for the chance to make history, winning the first ever football trophy. Hallam won, beating Norfolk (both districts in the city) by "rouges" used after a 0-0 anti-climatic draw. Rouges were a minor point scored by shooting the ball through additional posts pitched on either side of the main goal posts, only being used in the event of a draw. (bit like Aussie Rules "goals").
The following year, the Sheffield FA, held the World's second cup tournament, named the Cromwell Cup after a local benefactor, Oliver Cromwell-no relation! The final was an anti-climax but Wednesday beat Garrick 1-0 in a sudden death, extra time period, after a speculative high kick up and under was spilt by a Garrick player into his own goal!
Charles Alcock, the secretary of the F.A. on July 20th 1871, wrote that "It is desirable that a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association, for which all clubs belonging to the Association should be invited to compete." Clubs, of course, had to jojn the FA first!
Fifty eligible clubs entered for the first competition, which began on November 11th with one match between Crystal Palace and Hitchin which ended 0-0, so both qualified for the next round.
Scots club, Queen's Park was given a bye to the semi-final where the Scots drew 0-0 with Battersea based, Wanderers, but could not afford to come back for the replay! SO The Wanderers made the final where they beat the Royal Engineers 1-0. Morton Peto Betts (below with cricket bat!) scored the, only and winning goal and was a member of the FA Cup's "founding committee".
The Trophy stayed in the hands of the "public schools" southerners until 1883, when Blackburn Olympic set a record as the first northern and working class club to lift the trophy. By then the game became a national obsession.
Betts also played cricket for Middlesex and Kent.
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