Blast From The Past – On This Day 1899 – CCFC Kick Off Their B’ham League Career With A Win

Highfield Rd & the John Bull stand

George Singer

This day (9th September) one hundred and twenty one year’s ago in 1899 was an historic one for the club and the City of Coventry -its first ever game in the Birmingham and District League at its new home ‘Highfields’ (soon to be called Highfield Road*). In fact CCFC had played its first BDL game the previous Saturday and won 3-1 at Wellington St. George‘s but that win was later expunged when Wellington withdrew from the league.

Only in August 1898 had approval come from the FL for the club to take on the the name Coventry City Football Club. Prior to this day the premier club in the City had been entitled ‘Singers FC’, effectively the works team of (George) Singer and Company. Joining the BDL in 1894 the club’s ground was at Stoke Road and Singers, since its foundation in 1883, had played only friendly and cup fixtures. This season saw the club apply to join the Football League and get no votes! Tom Cashmore was the newly named club’s Secretary.

It was fitting that CCFC’s first counting league fixture of the season should be at their their new ground and a good turnout of 3,000 fans (a ground record which lasted only until January 1900) turned up to see this historic game against Salopian opponents, Shrewsbury.  CCFC wore blue & black Shirts and white knickers and fans learnt to call them variations on ”The Cits’ ‘The City’ or the ‘Citizens’!

The only goal of the game came as early as the fourth minute from No.9 Mark Rideout to give CCFC a win and the points on their opener and at their new home.

CCFC’s BDL team a year earlier (1898)

City’s team (chosen by the club’s committee) remained unchanged for their first four league and cup games and was as follows:-

A.Harris (‘Junior’), A.Wareham, Jim Harris (‘Senior’), Joe Whitehouse, Joe Brampton, Charlie Lomas (c), A.H.Holmes, ‘Harry’ Walker, Mark Rideout, J.Crofts and Johnny Porter

Shrewsbury’s team was:-

Buttery, Hendry, Parish, Maudsley, Williams, Morris, McCoyne, Thomas, Tracey and Taylor. Referee:- Mr Tillotson (Birmingham)

A contemporary match report appears below:-

After this promising start the season unravelled into the most disastrous in the club’s history. Shrewsbury got revenge in early January beating the Cits 2-0 at their place. The team was constantly changed and many players were disaffected, allegedly due to the Committee having difficulty in meeting financial obligations to them.

In the 30 game league season CCFC only won six games and lost 21 scoring 47 goals but conceding a massive one hundred goals. They had to endure a 9-1 defeat e at Aston Villa Reserves, an 8-0 disaster at Halesowen, a 7-0 defeat at Dudley and 6-0 at Brierley Hill. Not surprisingly the club finished bottom of the BDL but thankfully were unanimously re-elected for the following season.

*’Highfields’ was a new 6.5 acre site bought for £100 from Craven Cricket Club. After removing a row of elms on the pitch, draining, laying & levelling ‘the Swan Lane enclosure’ opened with a wire-roped boundary and one stand, the ‘John Bull Stand’ (capacity 2,000).

Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the material