1919–20 Aston Villa F.C. season

The 1919–20 English football season was the 28th season in the Football League for Aston Villa, and the first following the end of World War I. Villa won their sixth FA Cup at the end of season, beating Huddersfield Town 1–0 at Stamford Bridge. After a very public fall out with the Barnsley directors over travelling expenses, Frank Barson joined Aston Villa in October 1919.[1] Barson joined Villa for a fee of £2,850 – "more than the average Sheffield worker earned in a year", according to a Sheffield newspaper[2] – after persuasion from George Ramsay, who was rebuilding Villa after the First World War.[1] In October 1919, he made his debut in a 4–1 win at Middlesbrough. Barson played a large part in the Villa team during his three seasons at the club, but it is his run-ins with authority for which he is best known.[1]

Main article: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1874–1961)

Aston Villa
1919–20 season
ChairmanFrederick Rinder
ManagerGeorge Ramsay
First division9th
FA CupWinners

Tommy Smart, played for Halesowen Town before signing for Aston Villa in January 1920 for a £300.00 fee.[3]

A one-club man, Billy Walker scored 244 goals in 531 appearances for Villa between 1920 and 1934. He is Aston Villa's all-time top goalscorer.

Billy Walker made his senior debut in January 1920 in the FA Cup, scoring twice as Villa won 2-1 in the first round against non-league side Queens Park Rangers. He played in five more FA Cup games, scoring another three, helping Aston Villa reach the FA Cup Final. An extra time winner at Stamford Bridge by Billy Kirton saw Walker become an FA Cup winner in his debut season.[4] Walker also scored 8 league goals in 15 matches at the back end of the 1919-20 season, including a hat-trick against Newcastle United, as Villa ended the first season after the first world war in ninth place.[5]

Richard York scored one goal in 17 games in 1919–20, but did not feature in the 1920 FA Cup Final, which ended in a 1–0 victory over Huddersfield Town at Stamford Bridge.[6]

Table
Main article: 1919–20 Football League

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
7 Manchester City 42 18 9 15 71 62 1.145 45
8 Newcastle United 42 17 9 16 44 39 1.128 43
9 Aston Villa 42 18 6 18 75 73 1.027 42
10 Arsenal 42 15 12 15 56 58 0.966 42
11 Bradford Park Avenue 42 15 12 15 60 63 0.952 42
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

FA Cup
1920 FA Cup Final
Stanford Bridge hosted the match
Event1919–20 FA Cup
Aston Villa Huddersfield Town
1 0
After extra time
Date24 April 1920
VenueStamford Bridge, London
RefereeJ.T. Howcroft (Bolton)
Attendance50,018

The 1920 FA Cup final, the first since the end of the First World War, was contested by Aston Villa and Huddersfield at Stamford Bridge. Aston Villa won 1–0, with the goal coming in extra time from Billy Kirton, to clinch the trophy for a record sixth time.[7] This was the first ever FA Cup Final to require extra time to be played.[8][9] Huddersfield had secured promotion from the Second Division this season and were appearing in their first final.

Aston Villa captain, Andy Ducat, had represented England at both football and cricket.[10] The Villa team had four surviving members of the club's last victory in the 1913 F.A. Cup final; Tommy Weston, Sam Hardy, Clem Stephenson and Charlie Wallace.[11] Those four Villa players and Frank Moss had all served in the Armed Forces during World War I.[12] Frank Barson, known for his tough style of play, was warned before the kick-off by the referee against using his normal tactics.[13]

The trophy was presented by Prince Henry, the fourth son of King George V.[14][15] This was Villa manager George Ramsay's sixth FA Cup Final win, a record for a manager, and one that was only equalled in 2015 by Arsène Wenger – against Aston Villa.[12]

Road to the Final
Round 1Aston Villa2–1Queens Park RangersQPR were a non-league club at this time.[16]
Round 2Manchester United1–2Aston Villa
Round 3Aston Villa1–0Sunderland
Quarter-finalTottenham Hotspur0–1Aston VillaTottenham Hotspur were in the Second Division at this time.[16]
Semi-finalAston Villa3–1Chelseaplayed at Bramall Lane, Sheffield

Match details
Aston Villa1–0 (a.e.t.)Huddersfield Town
Kirton 100' Report
Attendance: 50,018
Referee: J.T. Howcroft (Bolton)
Aston Villa
Huddersfield Town
GK England Sam Hardy
RB England Tommy Smart
LB England Tommy Weston
RH England Andy Ducat (c)
CH England Frank Barson
LH England Frank Moss
OR England Charlie Wallace
IR England Billy Kirton
CF England Billy Walker
IL England Clem Stephenson
OL England Arthur Dorrell
Secretary-Manager:
Scotland George Ramsay
GK Scotland Sandy Mutch
RB England James Wood
LB England Fred Bullock (c)
RH England Charlie Slade
CH England Tom Wilson
LH England Billy Watson
OR England George Richardson
IR England Frank Mann
CF England Sam Taylor
IL England Jack Swann
OL England Ernie Islip
Manager:
England Ambrose Langley

References
  1. Woodhall, Dave (2007). "The hardest man in history". Heroes and villains. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
  2. "Soccer legend's medal for sale". The Star. UK. 2007. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
  3. Tommy Smart www.avfchistory.co.uk
  4. "F.A Cup Final: Aston Villa v Huddersfield Town, 1920 (b/w photo)". www.bridgemanimages.com. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  5. "1919-20 Season Final Football Tables". www.englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  6. "Detailed bio". Aston Villa Database. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  7. "Aston Villa | Club | History | Timeline". Avfc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  8. Tom Davis & Mat Kendrick (18 April 2015). "Aston Villa at Wembley: The 50 most memorable claret and blue moments in the FA Cup". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  9. John Motson (2005). Motson's FA Cup Odyssey: The World's Greatest Knockout Competition. Robson. p. 48. ISBN 1-861-05903-5.
  10. Richard William Cox; Dave Russell; Wray Vamplew, eds. (2002). Encyclopedia of British Football. Psychology Press. p. 16. ISBN 0-714-65249-0.
  11. "Aston Villa's FA Cup Finals". Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  12. "Villa's WWI heroes". Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  13. Simon Brunton (16 December 2014). "The forgotten story of … Frank Barson's seven-month ban". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  14. "Aston Villa v Huddersfield FA Cup Final 1920". Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  15. Rory Benson (15 August 2016). "Aston Villa vs Huddersfield Town: Pick your Terriers team to start at Villa Park". The Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  16. "1920 FA Cup Results". Retrieved 27 December 2016.
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