1892–93 Sheffield United F.C. season

Sheffield United
1892–93 season
Chairman Michael Ellison
Secretary Joseph Wostinholm
Division Two 2nd
(promoted via Test Match)
FA Cup Second Round
(eliminated by Sunderland)
Wharncliffe Charity Cup Finalists
(trophy shared with The Wednesday)
Top goalscorer League: Hammond (18)
All: Hammond (22)
Highest home attendance League: 4,500
(vs Grimsby Town)
FA Cup: 14,769
(vs Sunderland)
Lowest home attendance 500 (vs Darwen)
Home colours
Away colours
← 1890–91 1892–93 →

The 1892–93 season was the fourth in existence for Sheffield United. This was their first season playing in the recently formed Football League Second Division as the club sought to establish itself as a major footballing force. With some members of the football committee unconvinced of the long-term future of the Football League, the club also retained its membership of the Northern League.

Background

Sheffield United had finished third in the Northern League the previous season.[1] Their ambition, however, was to play in the Football League and in April 1982 their application to join was successful at the second attempt.[2] The club's application had previously been rejected in 1891 but with the league being expanded from 12 to 28 teams United, along with a number of other clubs including local rivals The Wednesday, were elected to play in the Football League for the 1892–93 season.[2] To the annoyance of the club's directors however, whereas The Wednesday were given entry directly into the First Division, United were placed in the newly formed Second Division.[2] Despite their Football League application being successful some members of United's football committee were unconvinced of its long-term future, and so the club elected to retain its membership of the Northern League as well.[3]

Kit

With the club now a member of The Football League, United elected to adopt a New Jersey consisting of thick red and white stripes.[4] This replaced the all white jersey they had worn in the previous season and was the first introduction of a strip that has remained (some minor alterations aside) to the present day.[4] United retained their white jersey as a change strip and matched both shirts with blue knickers and socks.[4] The club badge that had also adorned their jerseys the previous season was also dropped.[4]

Season

Pre-season

With United set to play in the newly formed Football League Second Division the club looked to strengthen its squad, as a number of fringe players departed Bramall Lane. Squad players William Getliff and W. Nesbitt were not retained,[5][6] and long-serving defender Ned Stringer retired from playing to take up a scouting post with the club.[7] Billy Bairstow was allowed to join local side Penistone,[8] while Thomas Smith's brief stay with the club came to an end as he was signed by Yorkshire neighbours Barnsley.[9]

Moving in the opposite direction, Walter Wigmore was signed from Worksop Town on 12 June.[10] By July United had added defender William Mellor,[11] and signed striker Arthur McCabe from nearby Rotherham Town on a free transfer.[12] Sheffield born defender George Waller, who had played in the 1890 FA Cup Final for cross–city rivals The Wednesday, was signed from Middlesbrough at the start of August,[13] before the club's pre-season dealings concluded with the arrival of wide player Joe Brady arrived from Renton.[14] Despite this influx of new players, the established first team remained largely unchanged from the previous season, with those players signed during the summer being used mainly as reserves and making relatively few first team appearances.

With the new season about to start, United kicked off their fixture list with a show-piece friendly game against established Scottish side Celtic, beating their visitors 1–0 courtesy of a Harry Hammond goal.[3]

Squad

Source: [3]

First team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
England DF Edgar Benson[note 1] (guest player from Sheffield FC)
England MF Joe Brady
England FW John Brookes[note 2]
Scotland DF Bob Cain
England MF Billy Croxon
England FW Fred Davies
England MF Samuel Dobson
Scotland FW John Drummond
Scotland FW James Duncan
Scotland FW Hugh Gallacher
England FW Frank Gamble (guest player from Heeley)
England DF Harry Gregory[note 3] (guest player from Ecclesfield)
England MF George Groves
England FW Harry Hammond
England FW Harry Hassall[note 4]
Scotland DF Billy Hendry (captain)
No. Position Player
Scotland FW Bob Hill
England DF Walter Hill
England DF Rab Howell
England GK Charlie Howlett
England DF Harry Lilley
England GK Will Lilley
England MF Arthur McCabe
England DF William Mellor
England DF Ernest Needham
England FW Walter Sylvester[note 5] (guest player)
England FW Sandy Wallace
England DF George Waller
England FW Arthur Watson
England DF Michael Whitham
England DF Walter Wigmore
England GK Fred Wood[note 6]

Players leaving before the end of the season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
England GK Charles Bunyan (guest from Chesterfield Town)
Scotland MF W. Patterson
No. Position Player
Scotland FW John Scott

Transfers

In

Position Player Transferred from Fee Date Source
FW England Walter Wigmore Worksop Town Free 12 June 1892 [10]
DF England William Mellor Unattached Free 2 July 1892 [11]
FW England Arthur McCabe Rotherham Town Free 30 July 1892 [12]
DF England George Waller Middlesbrough Free 6 August 1892 [13]
MF England Joe Brady Renton Free 14 August 1892 [14]
MF England Billy Croxon Illford Free 5 November 1892 [21]
FW Scotland Hugh Gallacher Preston North End Free 28 January 1893 [22]
FW Scotland Bob Hill Linfield Free 11 February 1893 [23]

Out

Position Player Transferred to Fee Date Source
FW England Billy Bairstow Penistone Free June 1892 [8]
FW England William Getliff N/A Released June 1892 [5]
DF England W. Nesbitt N/A Released June 1892 [6]
FW England Thomas Smith Barnsley Free June 1892 [9]
DF England Ned Stringer Retired N/A June 1892 [7]
DF Scotland W. Patterson N/A Released December 1892 [24]
FW Scotland John Scott Gainsborough Trinity Free December 1892 [25]

League tables

Source: [3]

Football League Second Division

Pos Team Pld W D L F A GD Pts
1Small Heath[note 7]2217239035+4536
2Sheffield United2216336219+4335
3Darwen[note 8]2214266036+2430
4Grimsby Town22111104241+123
5Ardwick2293104540+521
6Burton Swifts2292114747±020
7Northwich Victoria2292114258–1620
8Bootle228394963–1419
9Lincoln City2273124551–617
10Crewe Alexandra2263134269–2715
11Burslem Port Vale2263133057–2715
12Walsall Town Swifts2253143775–4013

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Northern League

Pos Team Pld W D L F A GD Pts
1Middlesbrough Ironopolis10910226+1819
2Newcastle United105143019+1111
3Sheffield United104241816+210
4Middlesbrough104061717±08
5Stockton103162427-37
6Darlington102171137-265

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Squad statistics

Source: [3]

Appearances and goals

As of the end of the season
No. Pos Nat Player TotalDivision Two Test Match FA Cup Northern League
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
DF England Edgar Benson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF England Joe Brady 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW England John Brookes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF Scotland Bob Cain 27 1 17 1 1 0 2 0 7 0
MF England Billy Croxon 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW Scotland Fred Davies 14 6 8 5 0 0 2 0 4 1
MF England Samuel Dobson 9 2 6 1 0 0 0 0 3 1
FW Scotland John Drummond 33 9 20 6 1 1 2 0 10 2
FW Scotland James Duncan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW Scotland Hugh Gallacher 12 5 9 4 1 0 0 0 2 1
FW England Frank Gamble 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
DF England Harry Gregory 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF England George Groves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW England Harry Hammond 29 22 18 18 1 0 2 1 8 3
DF England Harry Hassall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF Scotland Billy Hendry 31 2 20 2 1 0 2 0 8 0
FW Scotland Bob Hill 9 6 7 4 1 0 0 0 1 2
DF England Walter Hill 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF England Rab Howell 32 2 22 2 1 0 2 0 7 0
GK England Charlie Howlett 24 0 15 0 1 0 2 0 6 0
DF England Harry Lilley 16 0 7 0 0 0 1 0 8 0
GK England Will Lilley 11 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
MF England Arthur McCabe 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
DF England William Mellor 5 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
DF England Ernest Needham 32 8 20 5 1 0 2 2 9 1
DF England Walter Sylvester 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW England Sandy Wallace 23 7 16 3 0 0 0 0 7 4
DF England George Waller 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0
FW England Arthur Watson 24 8 15 6 1 0 2 1 6 1
DF England Michael Whitham 21 0 11 0 1 0 2 0 7 0
DF England Walter Wigmore 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
GK England Fred Wood 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Players who left before the end of the season:
GK England Charles Bunyan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW Scotland W. Patterson 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW Scotland John Scott 8 3 5 2 0 0 0 0 3 1

Top Scorers

Place Nation Position Name League Division Two Test Match FA Cup Northern League Total
1 England FW Harry Hammond 18 0 1 3 22
2 Scotland FW John Drummond 6 1 0 2 9
3 England DF Ernest Needham 5 0 2 1 8
England FW Arthur Watson 6 0 1 1 8
4 England FW Sandy Wallace 3 0 0 4 7
5 Scotland FW Fred Davies 5 0 0 1 6
Scotland FW Bob Hill 4 0 0 2 6
6 Scotland FW Hugh Gallacher 4 0 0 1 5
7 Scotland FW John Scott 2 0 0 1 3
8 England FW Samuel Dobson 1 0 0 1 2
Scotland DF Billy Hendry 2 0 0 0 2
England DF Rab Howell 2 0 0 0 2
9 Scotland DF Bob Cain 1 0 0 0 1
England DF George Waller 1 0 0 0 1
Totals: 60 1 4 17 82

Results

Source: [3]

Key

  Win   Draw   Loss   Void

Division Two

Test match

FA Cup

Northern League

Wharncliffe Charity Cup

Challenge match

Friendlies

Notes

  1. ↑ Edgar C. Benson was a local left back who played for Sheffield Club but was also registered with The Football League by United between August 1892 and June 1895. During that time he only made five appearances for the Blades and his only competitive start came in a Northern League game against Sunderland Albion in 1892.[15]
  2. ↑ John Arthur Brookes was an outside right registered by United in 1891 and stayed linked with the club until June 1895. During that period he made only three competitive appearances, his only league game being against South Bank in the Northern League.[16]
  3. ↑ Harry Gregory was a half back who played for United as a guest from Ecclesfield FC. Having made one appearance in United's first season, they registered him with The Football League for the 1892–1893 season but he made only one more appearance in a friendly fixture.[17]
  4. ↑ Harry Hassall was a left sided forward who was signed by United in the summer of 1892 from Kiveton Park. He spent only one season with United and played only twice for the first team in friendly fixtures before being released for following summer. It was reported in the local press that he had died not long after, in 1894.[18]
  5. ↑ Walter Sylvester spent a period on trial towards the end of the season, playing once for the first team in a friendly fixture.[19]
  6. ↑ Fred Wood was a Scots Guard who had previously played for Woolwich Arsenal when he was signed by United in November 1892. He made only five appearances for United, all of them in friendly matches.[20]
  7. ↑ Remained in Second Division after losing test match to Newton Heath.
  8. ↑ Elected to First Division after winning test match against Notts County.
  9. ↑ Michael Whitham played in goal for the second half.
  10. ↑ With the score at 2–1, the match was abandoned on 68 minutes due to excessive fog.
  11. ↑ Harry Hammond was sent off.
  12. ↑ Billy Hendry played in goal for the second half.
  13. ↑ Played in Hull under floodlights. Proceeds were given to Hull medical charities.
  14. ↑ Bob Cain was sent off but was allowed to return to the field after apologising to the referee.
  15. ↑ Bob Hill missed a penalty.

Bibliography

  • Clarebrough and Kirkham (2008). Sheffield United Who's Who. Hallamshire Press. ISBN 978-1-874718-69-7. 
  • Clarebrough and Kirkham (1999). A Complete Record of Sheffield United Football Club 1889–1999. Hallamshire Press. ISBN 0-9508588-2-X. 

References

External links

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