National Cup
The National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the English Basketball League. For most of the competition's history, the draw has featured the elite of English basketball, but teams from the British Basketball League currently do not compete in the National Cup, as they compete in their own separate competition, the BBL Cup.
The final is usually played midway through the season, at a neutral venue. The winners of the tournament are awarded the George Williams Trophy, which is named for the man who donated the original cup.
History
The competition was originally launched as the National Championship Cup in 1936,[1] as the first attempt to develop a regular national basketball competition in England. The cup was initially organized by the Amateur Basket Ball Association of England and Wales (ABBA), a forerunner of the current England Basketball organization. During World War II, the competition was put on hiatus, with the last pre-war winners, Birmingham Athletic Institute, retaining the trophy for the duration of the hostilities.
Since the introduction of the National Basketball League in 1972, the cup has gradually seen its influence on the English game wane, and the competition was renamed the National Cup in 1979 to avoid confusion with the league championship. A further blow to the competition was to follow in 2003, when the league was re-branded as the English Basketball League and new rules governing the use of import players were introduced across all England Basketball competitions. These changes led to conflict with the independent British Basketball League, which withdrew the support of all top-flight clubs and started their own breakaway competition.[2]
Format
The competition is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn completely at random – there are no seeds, with the draw for all the rounds up to and including the quarter-final taking place in May. When there are an uneven number of clubs in the draw, some pre-selected teams will receive byes into the next round, but in recent years the number of entries has exceeded 64, necessitating a preliminary round.
Past Winners
Season | Winners | Runners-Up | Venue | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1935/1936 | Hoylake YMCA | London Polytechnic | Birmingham | 32 – 21 |
1936/1937 | Hoylake YMCA | Latter Day Saints | Liverpool | 23 – 17 |
1937/1938 | Catford Saints | Rochdale Greys | Wembley Arena | 61 – 47 |
1938/1939 | Catford Saints | Rochdale Greys | London Arena | 53 – 41 |
1939/1940 | Birmingham Athletic Institute | Central YMCA | London Arena | 35 – 30 |
1940-1946 | No competition | |||
1946/1947 | Carpathians | Birmingham Dolobran | Birmingham | 48 – 25 |
1947/1948 | Latter Day Saints | Latvian Society | Barking | 39 – 30 |
1948/1949 | Latter Day Saints | Birmingham Dolobran | Leicester | 44 – 35 |
1949/1950 | Latter Day Saints | USAF Burtonwood | Nottingham | 43 – 32 |
1950/1951 | Birmingham Dolobran | London Polytechnic | Nottingham | 34 – 33 |
1951/1952 | London Polytechnic | Birmingham Dolobran | Wembley Arena | 40 – 29 |
1952/1953 | London Polytechnic | Birmingham Dolobran | Manchester | 55 – 46 |
1953/1954 | London Polytechnic | Nottingham YMCA | Birmingham | 98 – 53 |
1954/1955 | London Polytechnic | Birmingham Dolobran | London Arena | 58 – 54 |
1955/1956 | No competition | |||
1956/1957 | Central YMCA | London Polytechnic | London Arena | 63 – 51 |
1957/1958 | Central YMCA | East Ham | London Arena | 48 – 40 |
1958/1959 | Aspley OB | Birmingham Dolobran | Leicester | 58 – 39 |
1959/1960 | Central YMCA | London Polytechnic | Birmingham | 95 – 62 |
1960/1961 | London University | Central YMCA | South Ruislip | 68 – 59 |
1961/1962 | Central YMCA | RAE Eagles | South Ruislip | 87 – 47 |
1962/1963 | Central YMCA | London University | Royal Albert Hall | 70 – 69 |
1963/1964 | Central YMCA | London University | Royal Albert Hall | 78 – 56 |
1964/1965 | Aldershot Warriors | Oxford University | Crystal Palace | 79 – 63 |
1965/1966 | Oxford University | Aldershot Warriors | Crystal Palace | 91 – 70 |
1966/1967 | Central YMCA | Vauxhall Motors | Crystal Palace | 64 – 62 |
1967/1968 | Oxford University | Aldershot Warriors | Crystal Palace | 61 – 59 |
1968/1969 | Central YMCA | Aldershot Warriors | Crystal Palace | 70 – 62 |
1969/1970 | Liverpool Police | Oxford University | Crystal Palace | 73 – 67 |
1970/1971 | Manchester University | Sutton | Crystal Palace | 88 – 81 |
1971/1972 | Avenue | Cambridge | Crystal Palace | 78 – 66 |
1972/1973 | London Latvian SK | Sutton | Crystal Palace | 70 – 69 |
1973/1974 | Sutton & Crystal Palace | Embassy All Stars | Crystal Palace | 120 – 100 |
1974/1975 | Embassy All Stars | Sutton & Crystal Palace | Wembley Arena | 82 – 81 |
1975/1976 | Crystal Palace | Embassy All Stars | Wembley Arena | 108 – 88 |
1976/1977 | Crystal Palace | Embassy All Stars | Wembley Arena | 91 – 90 |
1977/1978 | Crystal Palace | Team Fiat Coventry | Wembley Arena | 89 – 87 |
1978/1979 | Doncaster Panthers | Crystal Palace | Sheffield Arena | 73 – 71 |
1979/1980 | Crystal Palace | Doncaster Panthers | Sheffield Arena | 97 – 67 |
1980/1981 | Crystal Palace | Doncaster Panthers | Coventry | 91 – 74 |
1981/1982 | Solent Stars | Doncaster Panthers | Leicester | 127 – 91 |
1982/1983 | Solent Stars | Birmingham Bullets | Leicester | 98 – 97 |
1983/1984 | Solent Stars | Leicester Riders | Royal Albert Hall | 86 - 67 |
1984/1985 | Kingston Kings | Manchester United | Royal Albert Hall | 103 - 98 |
1985/1986 | Kingston Kings | Solent Stars | Royal Albert Hall | 113 - 82 |
1986/1987 | Kingston Kings | Portsmouth | Royal Albert Hall | 95 - 87 |
1987/1988 | Kingston Kings | Portsmouth | Royal Albert Hall | 90 - 84 |
1988/1989 | Bracknell Tigers | Manchester Eagles | London Arena | 87 - 75 |
1989/1990 | Kingston Kings | Sunderland Saints | London Arena | 103 - 78 |
1990/1991 | Sunderland Saints | Leicester Riders | London Arena | 88 - 81 |
1991/1992 | Kingston Kings | Thames Valley Tigers | Sheffield Arena | 90 - 71 |
1992/1993 | Guildford Kings | Worthing Bears | Doncaster | 82 - 72 |
1993/1994 | Worthing Bears | Thames Valley Tigers | Sheffield Arena | 92 - 83 |
1994/1995 | Sheffield Sharks | Thames Valley Tigers | Sheffield Arena | 89 - 66 |
1995/1996 | London Towers | Sheffield Sharks | Sheffield Arena | 70 - 58 |
1996/1997 | London Leopards | Sheffield Sharks | Sheffield Arena | 87 - 79 |
1997/1998 | Thames Valley Tigers | Leicester Riders | Sheffield Arena | 82 - 78 |
1998/1999 | Sheffield Sharks | London Leopards | Sheffield Arena | 67 - 65 |
1999/2000 | Sheffield Sharks | Manchester Giants | Sheffield Arena | 89 - 80 |
2000/2001 | Leicester Riders | London Leopards | Sheffield Arena | 84 - 80 |
2001/2002 | Chester Jets | Birmingham Bullets | Sheffield Arena | 112 - 105 |
2002/2003 | Brighton Bears | Chester Jets | National Indoor Arena, Birmingham | 89 - 79 |
2003/2004 | Plymouth Raiders | Teesside Mohawks | English Institute of Sport, Sheffield | 89 - 82 |
2004/2005 | Reading Rockets | City of Sheffield Arrows | National Indoor Arena, Birmingham | 76 - 75 |
2005/2006 | Essex & Herts Leopards | Reading Rockets | National Indoor Arena, Birmingham | 79 - 75 |
2006/2007 | Manchester Magic | Worthing Thunder | National Indoor Arena, Birmingham | 85 - 80 |
2007/2008 | Manchester Magic | Worthing Thunder | Moorways Centre, Derby | 104 - 89 |
2008/2009 | Reading Rockets | Manchester Magic | English Institute of Sport, Sheffield | 74 - 68 |
2009/2010 | Bristol Academy Flyers | Manchester Magic | English Institute of Sport, Sheffield | 63 - 61 (OT) |
2010/2011 | Brixton Topcats | Bristol Academy Flyers | Ponds Forge, Sheffield | 77 - 63 |
2011/2012 | London Leopards | Bristol Academy Flyers | Ponds Forge, Sheffield | 64 - 63 |
2012/2013 | Leeds Carnegie | Bristol Academy Flyers | Ponds Forge, Sheffield | 66 - 64 |
2013/2014 | Reading Rockets | Newham Neptunes | Worcester Arena, Worcester | 93 - 72 |
2014/2015 | Manchester Magic | Reading Rockets | English Institute of Sport, Sheffield | 76 - 58 |
References
- ↑ "Men's Competition History". pawprint75.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ↑ "James slams National Cup wreckers". getreading.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ↑ "Men's National Competition Winners". England Basketball. Archived from the original on June 18, 2003. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ↑ "England Basketball League Statistics". England Basketball. Retrieved 15 June 2014.