Midland Counties Football Union

The Midland Counties Football Union was a governing body for rugby union in The Midlands, England from 1879-1920.

Midland Counties
Full nameMidland Counties Football Union
Founded1879 (1879)
Disbanded1920 (1920)
RegionThe Midlands

History

The organisation was formed as the Midland Counties Football Club and covered the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. The Midland Counties representative team played in the County Championship from its inception in 1888 until 1920. The main club event was the Midland Counties Challenge Cup which continued to run until 1926.

Disbandment

Up until and following the disbandment in 1920, the union broke up and distributed its assets to the following unions:

The North Midlands was given responsibility for clubs sides based in Birmingham and the West Midlands, Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire, most of which were sub-members under the North Midlands umbrella (the Staffordshire RU would later achieve full RFU membership in 1962).[5] The Leicestershire and Warwickshire unions became full county constituents in their own right.

Club sides that had been based in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire would later join the Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire Rugby Football Union (created 1926).[6]

Honours

Midland Counties Cup

The Midland Counties Cup was inaugurated during the 1880-81 season and held for the first time the following season.[9]

Past Winners
Year Winners Runner-Up
1881-82MoseleyLeamington Rovers
1882-83Burton-on-TrentMoseley
1883-84MoseleyCoventry
1884-85MoseleySouth Warwickshire Rovers
1885-86MoseleyRugby
1886-87MoseleyRugby
1887-88Burton-on-TrentCoventry
1888-89MoseleyLeicester Tigers
1889-90Old EdwardiansBurton-on-Trent
1890-91CoventryLeicester Tigers
1891-92CoventryMoseley
1892-93CoventryBurton-on-Trent
1893-94CoventryLeicester Tigers
1894-95MoseleyCoventry
1895-96CoventryMoseley
1896-97MoseleyOld Edwardians
1897-98Leicester TigersMoseley
1898-99Leicester TigersNuneaton
1899-1900Leicester TigersMoseley
1900-01Leicester TigersMoseley
1901-02Leicester TigersMoseley
1902-03Leicester TigersRugby
1903-04Leicester TigersMoseley
1904-05Leicester TigersNottingham
1905-06NottinghamMoseley
1906-07CoventryStratford-on-Avon
1907-08Stratford-on-AvonNuneaton
1908-09Leicester TigersCoventry
1909-10Leicester TigersCoventry
1910-11CoventryMoseley
1911-12Leicester TigersCoventry
1912-13Leicester TigersBelgrave Premier Works
1913-14Coventry +Moseley +
1919-20CoventryNewbold-on-Avon RFC
1921-22NuneatonBurton-on-Trent
1922-23CoventryMoseley
1923-24NuneatonCoventry
1924-25MoseleyBirmingham
1925-26Newbold-on-AvonOld Centrals

+ Result declared null and void.[10] The competition was discontinued after 1925-26.

Number of wins

Notes
  1. The Leicestershire RU was formed back in 1887, with the Leicestershire County Cup club competition running as early as 1890.[2] However, a Leicestershire county representative side did not actually feature in the County Championship until after 1920 when the RFU finally awarded them full constituent membership. Prior to this, Leicestershire had been a sub-member of the Midland Counties Union and contributed county championship players to a Midlands side.[3]
  2. the Warwickshire RFU was formed 1914 from local clubs that had formerly been part of the Midland Counties Football Union.[4]
  3. Coventry also won the 1914 competition but the result was later declared void, leaving them with 9 Midlands Cup titles instead of 10.

References
  1. "History - the origins of North Midlands". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  2. 'Van' Hopkins, SI (1986). "Cups and Cup Winners". Leicestershire Rugby Union 1887-1987. Leicestershire Rugby Union. pp. 416, 418.
  3. "History - Early Days". Leicestershire Rugby Union. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  4. "History - the origins of North Midlands". Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  5. "STAFFORDSHIRE RUGBY HISTORY". Staffordshire RU. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  6. "History". Newark RUFC (Pitchero). Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  7. Jenkins, Vivian (1975–76). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook. Brickfield Publications Ltd. pp. 130–131. ISBN 0362-00221-5.
  8. ""Rugby Football." Times, 30 Mar. 1914, p. 14". Times Digital Archives.
  9. "Midland Counties Challenge Cup". Moseley Rugby Club.
  10. "Midland Counties Cup Fiasco". Moseley Rugby Club.
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