Craig
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The Rise and Fall of Football in Yorkshire - Part 2: Sheffield's Rise Continues, New Kids on the Block and Cup Finals Galore.
The first season of the new century was a largely forgettable one for all three of the West Riding's Football League clubs. Wednesday and Sheff Utd finished 8th and 14 respectively in the First Division while Barnsley floundered to 15th out of 18 in the Second tier. In the FA Cup Sheff Utd were beaten 3-1 by Spurs in a final replay at Burnden Park in Bolton. 1901/02 saw a new addition to the Second Division in the form of Doncaster Rovers who ultimately finished 7th and four places above Barnsley. In the First Division Wednesday finished a point and a place above Sheff United in 9th and 10th but it was Sheff Utd who had the last laugh with their second FA Cup title beating Southampton 2-1 in a final replay after an initial 1-1 stalemate.
The 1902/03 season saw The Wednesday win their first league title while United finished just three points behind them in 4th place. In the Second Division Barnsley completed yet another average season finishing 8th out of the 18 clubs. It was heartache for Doncaster though as they failed to be re-elected to the league despite finishing one place outside the relegation spots. The next season The Wednesday won their second league title in a row becoming champions 1903/04 while United this time finished way off the mark in 7th. In the Second Division Barnsley yet again finished an uninspiring 8th while newly elected Bradford City ended their first season as a football league club in 10th. The next couple of seasons were largely uneventful for Wednesday, United, Barnsley and Bradford with lacklustre midtable finishes. In the 1904/05 season Doncaster Rovers made a brief return to the football league but finished bottom of the pile in the 2nd tier in 20th position and were swiftly relegated straight back out. 1905/06 saw two new Yorkshire clubs in Leeds City and Hull City finish 5th and 6th in the Second Division.
The next few seasons saw little success in the league for any of the Yorkshire clubs bar Bradford City winning the Second Division and promotion to the top tier in 1907/08. In the 1907 FA Cup Final The Wednesday did defeat Everton 2-1 though and claimed their 2nd title in the competition. In 1910 Barnsley also reached their first FA Cup final drawing 1-1 with Newcastle only to lose the replay 2-0.
1910/11 saw Huddersfield Town complete their first season as a football league club finishing 13th in the Second Division. Barnsley narrowly avoided relegation but other than that it was an average season in the league for Yorkshire clubs. In the 1911 FA Cup final however Bradford City beat holders Newcastle 1-0 in a replay at Old Trafford following a goalless draw in the initial final. Yet again the league proved fruitless for any Yorkshire clubs in 1911/12 but Barnsley triumphed in the 1912 FA Cup final beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in a replay at Bramall Lane.
1912 to 1914 saw no seasons of note for any of the current Yorkshire league clubs. None were relegated or promoted and no titles were won. Bradford Park Avenue who now play in National League North were promoted to the top flight in 1914 though meaning the 1914/15 season saw two Yorkshire city derbies in Sheffield and Bradford respectively.
1914/15 once again saw no real acheivement league wise in Yorkshire. Barnsley finished 3rd in the Second Division but missed out to 5th place Arsenal for promotion in one of football's first major controversies, but more on that in the next installment. Sheff Utd won the last FA Cup final before the league was suspended due to World War I beating Chelsea 3-0 at Old Trafford in the 1915 Final to lift the cup for the third time in their history.
With the end of the 1914/15 season came a cessation of professional football in England for four years as the fans, and indeed the players, marched off to a living hell in the trenches of Flanders. When the competitions resumed in 1919 the Saturday heroes would be playing for a nation irreversibly changed by it's recent experiences.
The first season of the new century was a largely forgettable one for all three of the West Riding's Football League clubs. Wednesday and Sheff Utd finished 8th and 14 respectively in the First Division while Barnsley floundered to 15th out of 18 in the Second tier. In the FA Cup Sheff Utd were beaten 3-1 by Spurs in a final replay at Burnden Park in Bolton. 1901/02 saw a new addition to the Second Division in the form of Doncaster Rovers who ultimately finished 7th and four places above Barnsley. In the First Division Wednesday finished a point and a place above Sheff United in 9th and 10th but it was Sheff Utd who had the last laugh with their second FA Cup title beating Southampton 2-1 in a final replay after an initial 1-1 stalemate.
The 1902/03 season saw The Wednesday win their first league title while United finished just three points behind them in 4th place. In the Second Division Barnsley completed yet another average season finishing 8th out of the 18 clubs. It was heartache for Doncaster though as they failed to be re-elected to the league despite finishing one place outside the relegation spots. The next season The Wednesday won their second league title in a row becoming champions 1903/04 while United this time finished way off the mark in 7th. In the Second Division Barnsley yet again finished an uninspiring 8th while newly elected Bradford City ended their first season as a football league club in 10th. The next couple of seasons were largely uneventful for Wednesday, United, Barnsley and Bradford with lacklustre midtable finishes. In the 1904/05 season Doncaster Rovers made a brief return to the football league but finished bottom of the pile in the 2nd tier in 20th position and were swiftly relegated straight back out. 1905/06 saw two new Yorkshire clubs in Leeds City and Hull City finish 5th and 6th in the Second Division.
The next few seasons saw little success in the league for any of the Yorkshire clubs bar Bradford City winning the Second Division and promotion to the top tier in 1907/08. In the 1907 FA Cup Final The Wednesday did defeat Everton 2-1 though and claimed their 2nd title in the competition. In 1910 Barnsley also reached their first FA Cup final drawing 1-1 with Newcastle only to lose the replay 2-0.
1910/11 saw Huddersfield Town complete their first season as a football league club finishing 13th in the Second Division. Barnsley narrowly avoided relegation but other than that it was an average season in the league for Yorkshire clubs. In the 1911 FA Cup final however Bradford City beat holders Newcastle 1-0 in a replay at Old Trafford following a goalless draw in the initial final. Yet again the league proved fruitless for any Yorkshire clubs in 1911/12 but Barnsley triumphed in the 1912 FA Cup final beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in a replay at Bramall Lane.
1912 to 1914 saw no seasons of note for any of the current Yorkshire league clubs. None were relegated or promoted and no titles were won. Bradford Park Avenue who now play in National League North were promoted to the top flight in 1914 though meaning the 1914/15 season saw two Yorkshire city derbies in Sheffield and Bradford respectively.
1914/15 once again saw no real acheivement league wise in Yorkshire. Barnsley finished 3rd in the Second Division but missed out to 5th place Arsenal for promotion in one of football's first major controversies, but more on that in the next installment. Sheff Utd won the last FA Cup final before the league was suspended due to World War I beating Chelsea 3-0 at Old Trafford in the 1915 Final to lift the cup for the third time in their history.
With the end of the 1914/15 season came a cessation of professional football in England for four years as the fans, and indeed the players, marched off to a living hell in the trenches of Flanders. When the competitions resumed in 1919 the Saturday heroes would be playing for a nation irreversibly changed by it's recent experiences.
