 Aston Villa 1896-97 Aston Villa was formed in 1874 by cricket enthusiasts from a Wesleyan chapel. After Preston North End made the early running, Villa dominated the early years of the League, winning five championships in the last seven years of the nineteenth century. The double season marked the club's move from a rented pitch (belonging to a local butcher) at Perry Bar to a permanent home at Villa Park, which had previously housed an amusement park. Their League campaign comprised thirty games and the Cup was contested over three rounds before the semi-finals. After their previous Cup win Villa embarrassingly "lost" the trophy, which was stolen from the shop window of a local sports goods manufacturer and was never seen again, despite a Ł10 reward being offered. The club was subsequently fined Ł25. Football League Chairman William McGregor paid tribute to the the club: "For brilliancy and, at the same time, for consistency of achievement, for activity in philanthropic enterprise, for astuteness of management and for general alertness, the superiors of Aston Villa cannot be found." Generous praise, but then McGregor was a former vice-President of Villa. Villa became the second club to win the double, finishing 11 points clear of Sheffield United in the League and beating Everton 3-2 in the F.A. Cup Final at The Crystal Palace. Fred Wheldon (front, 4th right) demonstrates his non-conformity by wearing his golf socks. Back row: George Ramsay (secretary), Joe Grierson (trainer), Howard Spencer. James Whitehouse, Joshua Margoschis (chairman), Albert Evans, James Crabtree, James Lee (director), Charles Johnstone (director). Front row: Dr Vincent Jones (director), James Cowan, Charlie Athersmith, John Campbell, John Devey, Fred Wheldon, John Cowan, Jack Reynolds, Frederick Rinder (director). (Team line-up provided by Bernard Gallagher)
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