As it’s World Cup draw week, I thought I’d share one of my favourite football stories with you, about the first ever World Cup, though it was only for domestic sides at the time.I heard this story for the first time when I was nine, due to it being made in to a television drama in 1981, called a Captain’s Tale. It made a real impression on me, because it seemed so far fetched, yet was true and here’s how it happened.
After the success of the first Olympic football tournament at the London Olympics of 1908, a gentleman by the name of Sir Thomas Lipton had an idea to have a World Cup. Whilst the Olympic tournament had been for amateur players only, Lipton wanted the best professional club sides in the world to compete for a trophy, which would be called the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy. He approached the English F.A. who refused to have anything to do with such a nonsense.
It was sad to say, but in those days, the English F.A. tended to look down at most countries in the world and upheld it’s insular and rather outdated opinions for far too long. Suffice to say, they refused to play in the first 3 official world cups, as of course, England believed they were the best in the world and had no need to prove it by playing horrible little foreign teams. Maybe in those first 3 World Cups, England could have added another trophy to the meagre one World Cup win in the last 80 years, we’ll never know but it wouldn’t have hurt to have a go.
So, rebuffed by the English F.A., an employee of Sir Thomas Lipton suggested an amateur side be chosen, as the F.A couldn’t interfere and a request went out to the teams in the Northern League, which is still functioning and is part of the English non league pyramid system. The only side that came back with interest were West Auckland F.C., a side made up of coal miners from Durham. So, Lipton accepted them as England’s representatives and the team had to travel to Turin.
Sir Thomas Lipton
Now, somehow, this little team of coalminers managed to raise the majority of the funds required to travel all the way to Turin, most of them pawning personal possessions to enable them to reach their destination but it proved a sacrifice worth making. Drawn against top German side, Stuttgarter Sportfruende, in the semi final, Auckland ran out 2-0 winners and amazingly went on to beat F.C. Winterthur 2-0 too to become the first winners of the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy.
Returning to Durham as heroes, the club were once again invited to defend the trophy in 1911, but this time the opposition were a little more familiar. Facing the defending champions in the semi-finals were F.C. Zurich, but once again the amateurs would not buckle to the better equipped side and once again triumphed 2-0. This then set up a mesmerising final against the home side, Italian giants Juventus but amazingly West Auckland thrashed them 6-1.
Under the rules of the tournament, West Auckland were allowed to keep the trophy, but this is were the tale takes a sad turn. Almost bankrupted in no small part due to the travelling to Italy twice in two years, the team had to pawn the trophy to their landlady to cover debts but the side still went under in 1912.The club reformed in 1914 as West Auckland Town and returned to the Northern League where they still remain to this day.
As for the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, it remained in the landlady’s family until 1960, when an appeal by the village of West Auckland saw them buy it back. Yet tragedy struck the club once more, when it was stolen in 1994 and has never been found since. A replica was commissioned and that now stands in the clubhouse, securely held a safe cabinet. This year also saw the club play Juventus in a friendly to celebrate the centenary of that first win, which they lost 7-1, but fair play on Juventus for enabling the club to celebrate what must go down as one of the strangest stories in English football.
Brilliant story, Paul. Thanks for sharing. Wasn’t aware of West Auckland but I’ll definitely never forget them now.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Great story.
Kinda interesting that the modern-day Club World Cup has never taken off.
And is this the same Lipton behind the bland tea?
THE GREATEST FOOTBALL STORY EVER TOLD
With the World Cup looming…
Alf Ramsey Knew My Grandfather at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle, from the 11th to 15th May
The hilarious true story of the West Auckland miners’ football team winning the first world cup in 1909 premiered in Durham last year to wonderful reviews and an attendance of 4,500 people – see below – and with most of the original cast returning should not be missed.
http://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/whats-on/alf-ramsey-knew-my-grandfather
http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2010/03/26/when-west-auckland-was-on-top-of-the-world/
“I adored this production… a glorious two hours of comedic genius. If there is any justice it will soon be playing to packed auditoriums up and down the country.” Newcastle Evening Chronicle
“Humbling and uplifting, laced with pathos, comedy, historical commentary but mostly enormous character, the brilliant dialogue and banter shine through, truly a winning performance” North East Live
“Studded with working-class humour, high-brow wit and thought-provoking dialogue” Sunderland Echo
“Very funny, a brilliant, ball-busting occasion – it may be easier to get a ticket for the Cup final but if you can, go quickly” Northern Echo
“Hilarious, but it’s the engaging characters which make it such a success” The Journal
“A real triumph which perfectly brings back to life a forgotten episode and pitches it back into the 21st century floodlights. It’s very very funny as well.” http://www.fansonline.net
“A great night’s entertainment …bringing the theatre to a young, male audience who might otherwise be out of reach” Durham Times
“I would definitely recommend this to everyone. A brilliant play and really funny” Fly Me to the Moon (Middlesbrough fanzine)
great great story well aware of it myself. proper football cheers allen chester fc 2010 reborn .