1890–91 was the sixth season for St. Mary's Football Club (St. Mary's F.C.) based in Southampton in southern England. Having won the Hampshire Junior Cup outright in the previous season, the club entered the Hampshire Senior Cup, winning it at the first attempt.

Summary of the season St. Mary's continued to play their home grounds at the Antelope Ground in St. Mary's Road and to wear a strip of cherry red quarters, although the shorts were now blue rather than white. The club continued to dominate football in the town of Southampton, with Freemantle, outside the town boundary until 1895, the only other substantial club in the locality.

By the end of the season, St. Mary's had won not only the Hampshire Senior Cup, but also the Charity Cup put up by Hampshire County Cricket Club. They were also able to widen the circle of friendly matches to include stronger military and touring sides. The season ended with a club membership in excess of 400 and a bank balance of £100, double that at the start of the season.

Personnel Although he continued to play, F. A. Delamotte stood down as club secretary and was replaced by John Hendin, with Harry Johns being appointed treasurer. Canon Basil Wilberforce remained as Honorary President although Dr. Russell Bencraft, the senior committee member, was responsible for the running of the club. There were two new members of the playing staff; George Marshall and Ernie Nicholls, both of whom would remain with the club for several years. The only player remaining from the eleven who played in the inaugural match in November 1885 was regular goalkeeper Ralph Ruffell although Arthur Fry made a brief return, making one cup appearance in goal in the absence of Ruffell. Apart from this change, the same eleven players appeared in all five cup matches played during the 1890–91 season.

Although there is no record of St. Mary's having any full-time professional players, they were able to attract the best players from the area. William Pickford, the secretary of the Hampshire F.A. (and later the President of the Football Association) writing some years later said: "It may or may not be that there were "inducements", though without doubt the honour of playing with a brilliantly successful side was itself no inconsiderable one".

Hampshire Senior Cup Having won the Hampshire Junior Cup outright in the previous season, St. Mary's now turned their attention to the Hampshire Senior Cup. Their chances of success at a senior level were not rated very highly as the Hampshire Independent reported:When the Senior ties commenced there was a very diverse feeling abroad as to the Saints' chances of getting a look in at the final; and some whose digestion had interfered with their judgement predicted that, although they had pulled off the junior honour, they would soon go under when pitted against the senior clubs of the county.

They were given a bye into the second round, where they met Geneva Cross, a team derived from staff at the Royal Victoria Hospital at Netley, who were easily defeated, 5–0. The match was played at the Antelope Ground in very muddy conditions, with the frozen pitch being softened by rain; the mud was reported to be "ankle deep at the Infirmary End".

A month later, St. Mary's met Banister Court in the semi-final; Banister Court were a school team composed mainly of teachers, who were renowned for their "pretty football". Amongst the pupils at Banister Court was the 16-year-old Charles Miller, who would go on to become the "father of Brazilian football", although he was deemed "too light" to play against St. Mary's burly full-backs. Despite the efforts of W. P. Cole in the Banister Court goal, who was reported to "throw the ball out like an expert labourer, with pints of beer in him, excavating a trench", St. Mary's won the match 3–0 to set up the final against the holders, the Royal Engineers from Aldershot Garrison on 14 March 1891.

As the holders, the Engineers were favourites to take the trophy for a third consecutive season. Playing at the County Ground in front of a record crowd estimated at between 4,000 and 5,000, who paid entrance fees totalling £63, St. Mary's took the lead after 20 minutes, through Ernie Nicholls who produced "a stinging shot which no goalkeeper could have saved" although the Engineers were level by half-time, following a slip by the Saints' captain, George Carter. In the second half, goals from Frank Bromley ("a cheer rent the air that might have been heard more than a mile away") and Bob Kiddle ("the delight of the Southampton people knew no bounds") gave St. Mary's the victory, thus remaining undefeated in four seasons of Hampshire cup football. The Southampton Times commented that "Saints never played a better game"; "once more, they had walked smiling through their opponents".

Writing in the Bournemouth Guardian, "Offside" considered the St. Mary's triumph as almost the only event of any notion in the local football world ... It was a victory highly creditable to the Southampton Club, for no other team in the County could have tackled the Engineers with the confidence that the Saints displayed.

After the match, the two sides went to Gidden's Restaurant where the Saints entertained the Engineers. During the after-dinner speeches, Dr. Russell Bencraft announced that the club "might enter for the English Cup, just for the sake of competing, as (he) felt sure they could hold their own against such teams as Swindon and Reading etc. and it would be a feather in their caps to get through a round or two".

Results

DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF – AScorersAttendance(estimated) 24 January 1891 2nd Geneva Cross H 5 – 0 Bromley, Farwell, Kiddle, Nicholls, Verney 24 February 1891 Semi-final Bannister Court N 3 – 0 Bromley, Farwell, Nicholls 14 March 1891 Final Royal Engineers, Aldershot N 3 – 1 Nicholls, Bromley, Kiddle 4,000 – 5,000

Legend WinDrawLoss

Hampshire County Cricket Club Charity Cup

Results

DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF – AScorersAttendance(estimated) 18 April 1891 Semi-final Bournemouth N 2 – 2 Farwell, Nicholls 24 April 1891 Final Royal Engineers, Aldershot N 1 – 0 Nicholls

Friendly matches St. Mary's continued to play most of their football in friendly matches, widening the circle to include stronger military and touring sides.

Results The results of the friendly matches that are known were as follows:

Date OpponentsH / AResultF – AScorers 20 September 1890 London Caledonians H 1 – 3 Farwell 4 October 1890 Freemantle H 4 – 0 Bromley, Deacon, Delamotte, Farwell 11 October 1890 Bournemouth A 1 – 0 Verney 18 October 1890 Geneva Cross A 3 – 3 Bromley (2), Farwell 23 October 1890 Winchester City A 6 – 0 Nicholls (3), Delamotte (2), Sims 25 October 1890 Cowes A 3 – 1 Bromley, Delamotte, Kiddle 1 November 1890 93rd (Highland) Regiment H 0 – 4 8 November 1890 Swindon Town H 2 – 3 Stride, Wilkins 15 November 1890 Weymouth College H 2 – 0 Carter, Farwell 22 November 1890 Royal Engineers, Aldershot H 4 – 3 Nicholls (3), Kiddle 13 December 1890 Bournemouth H 5 – 0 Farwell (2), Nicholls (2), Kiddle 7 February 1891 Reading H 1 – 3 Stride 14 February 1891 Royal Engineers, Aldershot A 1 – 5 Nicholls 28 February 1891 93rd (Highland) Regiment A 0 – 4 7 March 1891 Cowes H 2 – 0 Bromley, Reid 28 March 1891 Mr. Gray's Cambridge XI H 2 – 0 Delamotte, Farwell 30 March 1891 London Caledonians N 2 – 0 Bromley, Richardson 8 April 1891 Freemantle N 3 – 1 Bromley, Farwell, Warn

Player statistics The players who appeared in either of the two Cup tournaments were as follows. This list does not include players who only played in friendly matches. PositionName Hampshire CupappsHampshire CupgoalsCharity CupappsCharity CupgoalsTotalappsTotalgoals 332053 302050302050302050322153100010322052302050332255202040302050312051

Key GK — Goalkeeper FB — Full back HB — Half-back FW — Forward

Players The players who made their first competitive appearance for the club in 1889–90 include the following:

George Marshall (1869–1938) was a "sturdy, reliable defender" who remained with the club until 1896. Ernie Nicholls (1871–1971) had first played in friendly matches as a 16-year old in 1888. He remained with the club until the advent of the Southern League in 1894, during which period he was the club's most prolific goalscorer.

Notes Bournemouth "scratched" and no replay took place.

References

Bibliography