1900-01 : Tonge

• Things were a bit quieter this season, with the total entrants now reduced to 32 clubs.  With 19 clubs leaving (or could be 20, as we had one mystery club last season), and one name change (Hooley Bridge became Heywood Central), that meant 8 new clubs and 4 returning after a gap
• The four returning clubs were Middleton, who had left in 1895 when the higher ranked clubs left to join the Manchester Senior League, Hyde and Lymm who had both missed just last season, and Levenshulme who return after a two season gap

• The format of the competition remained the same as last season, except due to the reduced number of clubs, there were only 2 Preliminary Rounds, before the 1st and and 2nd Qualifying Rounds, followed by the 1st Round "proper", which was technically the Quarter Finals.  As previously, the Quarter Finals ie "1st Round Proper" was when the four "selected clubs" entered.  Twelve clubs were given a bye to the 1st Qualifying Round ie to bypass the Preliminary rounds 
• So 16 clubs started in the 1st Preliminary Round, 12 more into the 1st Qualifying Round and then 4 more into the Quarter Finals
• The previous season winners Newton Heath Athletic were one of the selected clubs, but got knocked out by Denton in their first game 

• This was the first season that Oldham Athletic played in the Cup, having tried to move to what later became known as Boundary Park, but instead were playing at Hudson Fold.  They went out in the very first Preliminary Round though, after a replay against Mossley (not the modern day club, but an earlier version just renamed from Round Hey)

• The other modern day club playing this season was Broadheath (renaming in 1903 to Altrincham) and they had their 2nd best season so far, reaching the Semi-Finals (they had reached the Final in 1897)

• The Final saw Heywood of the Central Lancashire League get all the way to meet the Manchester League champions Tonge at Middleton's ground. Tonge just beat them 3-2 to win the Cup for the first time at the 11th attempt

NAME CHANGES
• Heywood Central - the new name of Hooley Bridge
 
NEWLY ENTERING
• Ashton-under-Lyne - from the Tameside area (Athletic Grounds ground)
• Chorlton Road Congregational - from the Old Trafford area (Brooks's Bar ground)
• Dukinfield - from East Manchester

• Duknfield Borough - from East Manchester (Cheetham Hill Road ground)

• Mossley - from Tameside area - just renamed from Round Hey, and not related to the later Mossley club still active (Luzley ground)

• Mossley Amateurs - from Tameside area (Broadcarr ground)

• Oldham Athletic - from Oldham and had upgraded to Junior status and attempted to move to what would become Boundary Park, but not yet done (Hudson Fold ground)
• Swinton Albion - from Salford area, west of Manchester
 

 

RETURNING AFTER A BREAK

• Hyde - returning after one season away
• Levenshulme - returning from two seasons away
• Lymm - returning after one season away

• Middleton - returning for the first time since 1894/95 when they were moved to the Manchester Senior Cup

 

 

LEAGUES
Of the 32 teams entering this season, all of the teams played in a league as follows:

• Manchester League (10) - Tonge; Sale Holmfield; Manchester Talbot; Newton Heath Athletic; Stretford; Broadheath; Oldham Athletic; Middleton; Lymm; Hyde

• North Cheshire League (9) - Hyde St George’s; Werneth Albion; Hooley Hill; Denton; Romiley; Ashton-under-Lyne; Mossley Amateurs; Dukinfield; Mossley

• Manchester Federation (4) - Didsbury; Zion Pleasant Sunday Afternoon; Levenshulme; Swinton Albion
• Central Lancashire League (4) - Freetown; Heywood; Heywood West End; Heywood Central
• Manchester Combination (1) - Springfield
• Sale & District League (1) - Chorlton Road Congregational
• Hooley Hill & District League (1) - Dukinfield Borough
• Lancashire Combination (1) - Berry's Association
• Glossop & District Amateur League (1) - Glossop St James

BYES

 

BYE TO ROUND																																						TEAMS
1st Qualifying Round																																						Heywood; Sale Holmfield; Manchester Talbot; Hyde St George’s; Broadheath; Werneth Albion; Denton;  Hooley Hill; Dukinfield Borough; Didsbury; Heywood West End; Zion Pleasant Sunday Afternoon
Quarter Final																																						Freetown; Tonge; Newton Heath Athletic; Berry's Association

 

 

 

FIRST PRELIMINARY ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 22 Sept 1900																							Mossley																																			2-2																Oldham Athletic																																						Luzley   (Mossley)																																						3.30pm*																unknown																																						HT 1-0.  KO was delayed due to referee arriving late
Sat 22 Sept 1900																							Middleton																																			5-0																Dukinfield																																						Boarshaw Lane   (Middleton)																																						3.30pm																unknown																																						HT 2-0
Sat 22 Sept 1900																							Hyde																																			4-1																Glossop St James																																						Townsend Street   (Hyde)																																						3.30pm																unknown																																						HT 2-1
Sat 22 Sept 1900																							Ashton-under-Lyne																																			4-0																Mossley Amateurs																																						Athletic Grounds   (Ashton-u-Lyne)																																						3.30pm																unknown																																						HT 1-0
Sat 22 Sept 1900																							Chorlton Road Congregational																																			1-4																Springfield																																						Brooks's Bar   (Manchester)																																						3.30pm																unknown
Sat 22 Sept 1900																							Heywood Central																																			1-4																Romiley																																						Central Grounds   (Heywood)																																						3.30pm																unknown
Sat 22 Sept 1900																							Stretford																																			6-1																Swinton Albion																																						Longford Bridge   (Stretford)																																						3.30pm																unknown																																						HT 4-1
Sat 20 Oct 1900																							Levenshulme																																			1-3																Lymm																																						Stockport Road  (Longsight)																																						unknown																unknown																																						Unknown why this was played 4 weeks later than the other games

 

 

 

FIRST PRELIMINARY ROUND - REPLAY

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 6 Oct 1900																							Oldham Athletic																																			1-3																Mossley																																						Hudson Fold   (Oldham)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 4-1.  Attendance: 700

 

 

 

SECOND PRELIMINARY ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 13 Oct 1900																							Hyde																																			4-1																Middleton																																						Townsend Street   (Hyde)																																						3pm																unknown
Sat 13 Oct 1900																							Mossley																																			0-2																Ashton-under-Lyne																																						Luzley   (Mossley)																																						3pm																unknown
Sat 13 Oct 1900																							Romiley																																			6-2																Stretford																																						unknown																																						3pm																unknown
unknown																							Lymm																																			unknown																Springfield																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown																																						The match was delayed due to Lymm's previous round match  not being played until 20 October This was played on either 3rd or 7th November  Score was unknown but Springfield went through to the next round

 

 

 

FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 24 Nov 1900																							Manchester Talbot																																			9-1																Dukinfield Borough																																						Princess Road   (Manchester)																																						2.45pm																unknown
Sat 24 Nov 1900																							Hyde St George's																																			1-0																Hyde																																						Ewen Fields   (Hyde)																																						2.45pm																unknown
Sat 24 Nov 1900																							Didsbury																																			2-1   VOID																Heywood																																						unknown																																						2.45pm																unknown																																						A Heywood protest about the referee not being neutral   was upheld and the match ordered to be replayed
Sat 24 Nov 1900																							Denton																																			3-2																Ashton-under-Lyne																																						Chapel House   (Denton)																																						2.45pm																unknown
Sat 24 Nov 1900																							Werneth Albion																																			4-0																Sale Holmfield																																						unknown																																						2.45pm																unknown
Sat 24 Nov 1900																							Hooley Hill																																			1-4																Springfield																																						Pack Horse Ground   (Audenshaw)																																						2.45pm																unknown
Sat 24 Nov 1900																							Zion Pleasant Sunday Afternoon																																			4-3																Romiley																																						unknown																																						2.45pm																unknown
Sat 8 Dec 1900																							Broadheath																																			3-0																Heywood West End																																						Navigation Lane   (Altrincham)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 1-0  Game moved from 24 Nov due to Broadheath   being in the Cheshire Senior Cup on the same day
Sat 8 Dec 1900																							Didsbury																																			0-6																Heywood																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 0-2   Original game was voided on 24 November

 

 

 

SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 15 Dec 1900																							Heywood																																			5-2																Springfield																																						Egerton Park   (Heywood)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						HT 3-1
Sat 15 Dec 1900																							Hyde St George's																																			1-3																Broadheath																																						Ewen Fields   (Hyde)																																						2.30pm																unknown
Sat 15 Dec 1900																							Zion Pleasant Sunday Afternoon																																			1-4																Manchester Talbot																																						unknown																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						HT 0-2
Sat 15 Dec 1900																							Denton																																			3-0																Werneth Albion																																						Chapel House   (Denton)																																						2.30pm																unknown

 

 

 

QUARTER FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 19 Jan 1901																							Denton																																			3-1																Newton Heath Athletic																																						Chapel House   (Denton)																																						2.45pm																Mr Chadwick   (Droylsden)																																						HT 1-1. Attendance: 2000   "wretched weather"
Sat 19 Jan 1901																							Broadheath																																			2-1																Berry's Association																																						Navigation Lane   (Altrincham)																																						2.45pm																unknown																																						HT 2-0  "continuous downpour of rain"
Sat 19 Jan 1901																							Freetown																																			Abandoned																Tonge																																						unknown																																						2.45pm																unknown																																						Attendance: "a poor gate"   Abandoned on 15 mins due to the "wretched weather"  Score was 1-0 to Freetown
Sat 19 Jan 1901																							Heywood																																			6-0																Manchester Talbot																																						Egerton Park   (Heywood)																																						2.45pm																unknown																																						HT 1-0. Attendance: "a poor gate"   "weather was wretched, rain falling through the match"   Manchester Talbot protested about the "bad state of the weather"   but it was rejected by the Manchester FA as "frivolous"  and the result stood
Sat 26 Jan 1901																							Freetown																																			1-6																Tonge																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown																																						Original game had been abandoned on 15 mins

 

 

 

SEMI-FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 16 Feb 1901																							Tonge																																			3-2  VOID																Broadheath																																						unknown																																						3pm																unknown																																						Also reported as being 1-0  Neutral venue was used but not known which   Match was voided and ordered to be replayed  though the reason is not known
Sat 23 Feb 1901																							Heywood																																			3-1																Denton																																						Church Lane   (Harpurhey)																																						3pm																unknown																																						Played at Berry's Association's ground  Heywood were also scheduled to play Accrington Stanley in the   Lancashire Junior Cup on 16 Feb so this game was put back a week
Sat 9 Mar 1901																							Tonge																																			5-1																Broadheath																																						Church Lane   (Harpurhey)																																						3.30pm																Mr T Chadwick																																						HT 3-1.   Played at Berry's Association's ground   Original game was ordered to be re-played

 

 

 

FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 16 Mar 1901																							Heywood																																			2-3																Tonge																																						Boarshaw Lane   (Middleton)																																						unknown																Mr J Gilchrist  (Berry's)																																						HT 0-1.  Record gate for a Manchester Junior Cup Final of £60   Ground was almost full 30 mins before KO  2000 fans travelled from Heywood Played at Middleton's ground

 

NAME CHANGES
• None

OUTGOING

• Ashton-under-Lyne - did not enter again

• Chorlton Road Congregational - did not enter again

• Dukinfield Borough - did not enter the following season, but re-entered for 1902/03

• Freetown - did not enter the following season, but re-entered for 1902/03

• Glossop St James - did not enter again

• Heywood Central - believed to have folded

• Heywood West End - did not enter again

• Hyde - did not enter again until 1904/05

• Lymm - did not enter again

• Mossley - did not enter again, though later club did

• Springfield - did not enter again

• Swinton Albion - believed to have folded

 

 

---

1901-02 : Heywood
 

• The total entrants for the Cup was now down to just 26 clubs.  With 12 clubs leaving, that meant just 5 new clubs and 1 returning after a long gap
• The returning club was Failsworth, who had left in 1896, but rejoined as they moved to join the Manchester League as well

• The format of the competition remained the same as last season, except due to the reduced number of clubs, there were only 2 ties in the 1st Preliminary Round. The 2nd Preliminary Round followed, before the 1st and and 2nd Qualifying Rounds, followed by the 1st Round "proper", which was technically the Quarter Finals.  As previously, the Quarter Finals ie "1st Round Proper" was when the four "selected clubs" entered.  Twelve clubs were given a bye to the 1st Qualifying Round ie to bypass the Preliminary rounds 

• With the Central Lancashire League having troubles, this led to problems for Freetown, and they withdrew from the Cup at a late stage. They would have had a bye to the 1st Qualifying Round, and so Sale Holmfield were voted to gain the bye in their place
• So 4 clubs started in the 1st Preliminary Round, 6 more in the 2nd Preliminary Round, 12 more into the 1st Qualifying Round and then 4 more into the Quarter Finals
• The previous season winners Tonge were one of the selected clubs, but got knocked out by Berry's Association after a replay in the Quarter Finals

• This was the second season that Oldham Athletic played in the Cup, and this time got to the 1st Qualifying Round.  However, their next match against Heywood United, saw them play them 3 times after the games were ordered to be played again.  Firstly due to darkness, then Oldham were fined £1 1s for an ineligible player at the next attempt to settle it, before they then crashed out 7-1

• The Final saw last season's finalist Heywood, now of the Manchester League, beat league rivals Berry's Association 2-1 at Tonge's ground. This was Heywood's first and only Manchester Junior Cup win

NAME CHANGES
• None
 
NEWLY ENTERING
• Black Lane Temperance - from the Radcliffe area
• Edge Lane Amateurs - from the Droylsden area - previously a strong junior side, dropped to Amateur status for this season and played as Edge Lane Amateurs
• Heathfield - from the Newton Heath area, east of Manchester 

• Heywood United - from the Heywood area (Crimble Vale ground)
• Stalybridge Athletic - from Tameside area (Crookbottom ground)
 

 

RETURNING AFTER A BREAK

• Failsworth - returning back for the first time since 1895/96

 

 

LEAGUES
Of the 26 teams entering this season, all of the teams played in a league as follows:

• Manchester League (10) - Tonge; Sale Holmfield; Manchester Talbot; Newton Heath Athletic; Broadheath; Oldham Athletic; Middleton; Failsworth; Heywood, Berry's Association

• North Cheshire League (8) - Hyde St George’s; Werneth Albion; Hooley Hill; Denton; Romiley; Stalybridge Athletic; Mossley Amateurs; Dukinfield

• Manchester Federation (4) - Didsbury; Zion Pleasant Sunday Afternoon; Heathfield; Stretford
• Bolton & District League (2) - Heywood United; Black Lane Temperance

• Sale & District League (1) - Levenshulme
• Hooley Hill & District League (1) - Edge Lane Amateurs
 

 

BYES

 

BYE TO ROUND																																						TEAMS
2nd Preliminary Round																																						Black Lane Temperance; Heywood United; Mossley Amateurs; Romiley; Werneth Albion; Dukinfield
1st Qualifying Round																																						Edge Lane Amateurs; Oldham Athletic; Failsworth; Manchester Talbot; Sale Holmfield; Heathfield;   Newton Heath Athletic; Hooley Hill; Stalybridge Athletic; Berry's Association; Middleton; Hyde St George's
Quarter Final																																						Broadheath; Tonge; Heywood; Denton

 

 

 

FIRST PRELIMINARY ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 21 Sept 1901																							Levenshulme																																			3-0																Stretford																																						Stockport Road  (Longsight)																																						3pm																unknown
Sat 21 Sept 1901																							Zion Pleasant Sunday Afternoon																																			5-1																Didsbury																																						unknown																																						3pm																unknown

 

 

 

SECOND PRELIMINARY ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 19 Oct 1901																							Romiley																																			5-2																Mossley Amateurs																																						unknown																																						3.15pm																unknown
Sat 19 Oct 1901																							Werneth Albion																																			3-3																Dukinfield																																						Gee Cross   (Hyde)																																						3.15pm																unknown
Sat 9 Nov 1901																							Heywood United																																			5-3																Zion Pleasant Sunday Afternoon																																						Crimble Vale   (Heywood)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 4-0  "a fair attendance of spectators"
Sat 9 Nov 1901																							Levenshulme																																			3-5																Black Lane Temperance																																						Stockport Road  (Longsight)																																						unknown																unknown																																						Date was moved due to Black Lane's FA Cup tie

 

 

 

SECOND PRELIMINARY ROUND - REPLAY

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 16 Nov 1901																							Dukinfield																																			Postponed																Werneth Albion																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown																																						Match was postponed due to dense fog
Sat 23 Nov 1901																							Dukinfield																																			0-2																Werneth Albion																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown																																						2 players were later suspended for fighting in the match - John Skitt (Dukinfield) - 1 month   and Arnold Mottram (Werneth Albion) - 2 weeks   However this game was incorrectly listed as a North Cheshire League game,  but must have been the cup tie as there was no other date it could have been

 

 

 

FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 7 Dec 1901																							Berry's Association																																			3-1																Stalybridge Athletic																																						Church Lane   (Harpurhey)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						HT 3-0  Game was finished in semi-darkness  Fixture was reversed as Stalybridge Athletic   were drawn at home
Sat 7 Dec 1901																							Black Lane Temperance																																			1-2																Failsworth																																						unknown																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						HT 0-2
Sat 7 Dec 1901																							Edge Lane Amateurs																																			W/O awarded																Werneth Albion																																						unknown																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						Edge Lane Amateurs scratched  so walkover was awarded to Werneth Albion
Sat 7 Dec 1901																							Middleton																																			1-2  VOID  W/O awarded																Hyde St George's																																						Boarshaw Lane   (Middleton)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						The match was abandoned due to darkness  so would have been re-played  But Hyde St George's protested about an ineligible man  and so Middleton were disqualified   Hyde St George's were therefore awarded the match
Sat 7 Dec 1901																							Newton Heath Athletic																																			1-2  VOID																Hooley Hill																																						Brewery Park   (Newton Heath)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						HT 4-2  Tie ordered to be played again  as the full 90 mins was not completed
Sat 7 Dec 1901																							Oldham Athletic																																			1-1  VOID																Heywood United																																						Hudson Fold   (Oldham)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						The match ended early due to darkness  so was ordered to be played again
Sat 7 Dec 1901																							Romiley																																			0-4																Manchester Talbot																																						unknown																																						2.30pm																unknown
Sat 7 Dec 1901																							Sale Holmfield																																			unknown																Heathfield																																						Atkinson Road   (Sale)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						The result is unknown but Heathfield  went through to the next round
Sat 14 Dec 1901																							Oldham Athletic																																			3-1  VOID																Heywood United																																						Hudson Fold   (Oldham)																																						unknown																unknown																																						Heywood United lodged a protest against Oldham Athletic   for playing an ineligible man.   Oldham were fined £1 1s for breaking Rule 4
Sat 21 Dec 1901																							Newton Heath Athletic																																			0-1																Hooley Hill																																						Brewery Park   (Newton Heath)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 0-1. Attendance 1000
Wed 25 Dec 1901																							Heywood United																																			7-1																Oldham Athletic																																						Crimble Vale   (Heywood)																																						unknown																Mr W Gilgryst																																						HT 1-0

 

 

 

SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 28 Dec 1901																							Berry's Association																																			2-1																Werneth Albion																																						Church Lane   (Harpurhey)																																						2.30pm																unknown
Sat 28 Dec 1901																							Failsworth																																			7-3																Heathfield																																						Lord Lane   (Failsworth)																																						2.30pm																unknown
Sat 28 Dec 1901																							Hooley Hill																																			4-3																Heywood United																																						Pack Horse Ground   (Audenshaw)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						HT 1-1  "wet weather, before a large crowd"
Sat 28 Dec 1901																							Manchester Talbot																																			6-3																Hyde St George's																																						Princess Road   (Manchester)																																						2.30pm																unknown

 

 

 

QUARTER FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 25 Jan 1902																							Broadheath																																			Postponed																Heywood																																						Timperley Station   (Timperley)																																						2.45pm																unknown																																						Postponed due to snow - after Heywood arrived
Sat 25 Jan 1902																							Denton																																			Postponed																Hooley Hill																																						Chapel House   (Denton)																																						2.45pm																unknown																																						Postponed due to snow
Sat 25 Jan 1902																							Manchester Talbot																																			Postponed																Failsworth																																						Princess Road   (Manchester)																																						2.45pm																unknown																																						Postponed due to snow
Sat 25 Jan 1902																							Tonge																																			2-2																Berry's Association																																						Tonge Hall    (Middleton)																																						2.45pm																unknown
Sat 1 Feb 1902																							Denton																																			2-3																Hooley Hill																																						Chapel House   (Denton)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 1-0  "a good attendance"; "ground was slippery"
Sat 1 Feb 1902																							Manchester Talbot																																			4-2																Failsworth																																						Princess Road   (Manchester)																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 8 Feb 1902																							Broadheath																																			1-4																Heywood																																						Timperley Station   (Timperley)																																						unknown																Mr Broughton																																						HT 0-2  "very poor attendance present"   "snow fell heavily... never ceased during the match...   four inches thick"

 

 

 

QUARTER FINAL - REPLAY

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 8 Feb 1902																							Berry's Association																																			2-0																Tonge																																						Church Lane   (Harpurhey)																																						unknown																unknown

 

 

 

SEMI-FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 8 Mar 1902																							Berry's Association																																			4-2																Manchester Talbot																																						Bank Lane   (Clayton)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 2-0  Played at Newton Heath's ground
Sat 8 Mar 1902																							Heywood																																			2-1																Hooley Hill																																						Hudson Fold   (Oldham)																																						unknown																Mr Dale																																						HT 1-1. Attendance 5000  Played at Oldham Athletic's ground  "miserable weather"

 

 

 

FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 5 Apr 1902																							Berry's Association																																			1-2																Heywood																																						Tonge Hall   (Middleton)																																						3.15pm																unknown																																						HT 1-1   "a fairly large crowd, several hundred of whom went from Heywood"   Played at Tonge's ground  "ground was in a bad state"

 

 

NAME CHANGES
• Newton Heath Athletic - changed their name to Newton Heath, taking the name from the club that had just changed to become Manchester United

• Edge Lane Amateurs - changed their name back to just Edge Lane, but did not re-attempt to play in the Manchester Junior Cup

OUTGOING

• Black Lane Temperance - did not enter again

• Broadheath - did not enter for their final season as Broadheath in 1902/03 but re-entered as Altrincham in 1903/04

• Denton - did not enter the following season, but re-entered for 1903/04

• Didsbury - did not enter again for the next 2 seasons, re-entering in 1904/05

• Dukinfield - believed to have folded

• Edge Lane Amateurs - did not enter again

• Failsworth - did not enter the following season, but re-entered for 1903/04

• Heywood United - did not enter again for the next 3 seasons, re-entering in 1905/06

• Hyde St George's - did not enter again

• Middleton - believed to have folded

• Romiley - did not enter again

• Sale Holmfield - did not enter again for the next 2 seasons, re-entering in 1904/05

• Stalybridge Athletic - did not enter again

• Werneth Albion - did not enter again

 

---

1902-03 : Oldham Athletic
 

• The total entrants for the Cup was now down to just 22 clubs, a further reduction and the lowest since 1890.  With 14 clubs leaving, that meant again 5 new clubs but this time 5 returned after a gap
• The returning clubs were Droylsden (not related to the modern side), Dukinfield Borough (who didn't turn up for their game!), Freetown, Hollinwood (returning for the first time since 1893/94) and Rusholme (first time since 1896/7)

• The format of the competition remained similar to last season, except due to the reduced number of clubs, there was now only a single Preliminary Round, and then only 2 ties in it. 1st and and 2nd Qualifying Rounds followed, then the 1st Round "proper", which was technically the Quarter Finals.  As previously, the Quarter Finals ie "1st Round Proper" was when the four "selected clubs" entered.  Fourteen clubs were given a bye to the 1st Qualifying Round ie to bypass the Preliminary round 

• With the Central Lancashire League still having troubles, Freetown had missed last season, but they returned anyway.  Denton though were a late withdrawal
• So 4 clubs started in the Preliminary Round, 14 more into the 1st Qualifying Round and then 4 more into the Quarter Finals
• The previous season winners Heywood were one of the selected clubs, but got knocked out by Oldham Athletic in the Quarter Finals

• This was the third season that Oldham Athletic played in the Cup, and this time they went through and won it

• The Final was again an all-Manchester League game.  Berry's Association were showing their strength by reaching a 2nd consecutive Final, but were again beaten by a single goal margin

NAME CHANGES
• Newton Heath - the new name of Newton Heath Athletic, taking the name from the club that had just changed to become Manchester United
 
NEWLY ENTERING
• Abbey Hey - from the East Manchester area
• Fernleigh - from the Royton area of Oldham

• Manchester & Salford Teachers Association - from the Manchester area

• Parkfield Central - from the Middleton area, north of Manchester (Woodside ground)

• Uppermill - from the Oldham area
 

 

RETURNING AFTER A BREAK

• Droylsden - returning from four seasons away

• Dukinfield Borough - returning after one season away

• Freetown - returning after one season away

• Hollinwood - returning from eight seasons away

• Rusholme - returning from five seasons away

 

 

LEAGUES
Of the 22 teams entering this season, I have been unable to trace any league for 3 of them (Freetown, Dukinfield Borough, Manchester & Salford Teachers Association):

• Manchester League (7) - Tonge; Manchester Talbot; Newton Heath; Oldham Athletic; Berry's Association; Hooley Hill; Levenshulme

• Manchester Federation (7) - Abbey Hey; Zion Pleasant Sunday Afternoon; Heathfield; Stretford; Droylsden; Parkfield Central; Rusholme
• Oldham & District League (4) - Mossley Amateurs; Fernleigh; Uppermill; Hollinwood

• Lancashire Combination (1) - Heywood

BYES

 

BYE TO ROUND																																						TEAMS
1st Qualifying Round																																						Oldham Athletic; Heathfield; Abbey Hey; Droylsden; Dukinfield Borough; Fernleigh; Uppermill;   Freetown; Hollinwood; Newton Heath; Levenshulme; Mossley Amateurs; Rusholme; Tonge
Quarter Final																																						Berry's Association; Heywood; Hooley Hill; Manchester Talbot

 

 

 

PRELIMINARY ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 27 Sept 1902																							Parkfield Central																																			unknown																Manchester & Salford   Teachers Association																																						Woodside   (Middleton)																																						unknown																unknown																																						The match could also have been played on Sat 18 Oct 1902   Score unknown but Parkfield Central went through
Sat 27 Sept 1902																							Zion Pleasant Sunday Afternoon																																			unknown																Stretford																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown																																						The match could also have been played on Sat 18 Oct 1902   Score unknown but Stretford went through

 

 

 

FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 6 Dec 1902																							Fernleigh																																			6-3																Mossley Amateurs																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 6 Dec 1902																							Freetown																																			3-0																Rusholme																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 6 Dec 1902																							Heathfield																																			1-0																Abbey Hey																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 6 Dec 1902																							Hollinwood																																			1-2																Oldham Athletic																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 6 Dec 1902																							Levenshulme																																			3-1																Droylsden																																						Stockport Road   (Longsight)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 1-1
Sat 6 Dec 1902																							Newton Heath																																			2-2																Tonge																																						Brewery Park   (Newton Heath)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 0-2 "a large number of spectators"
Sat 6 Dec 1902																							Stretford																																			2-1																Parkfield Central																																						Longford Bridge   (Stretford)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 1-1
Sat 6 Dec 1902																							Uppermill																																			W/O awarded																Dukinfield Borough																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown																																						A walkover was awarded to Uppermill due to   Dukinfield Borough not turning up to the match

 

 

 

FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND - REPLAY

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 13 Dec 1902																							Tonge																																			1-4																Newton Heath																																						Tonge Hall   (Middleton)																																						unknown																unknown

 

 

 

SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 3 Jan 1903																							Fernleigh																																			12-1																Uppermill																																						unknown																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						Possibly switched to Uppermill's ground
Sat 3 Jan 1903																							Heathfield																																			Postponed																Freetown																																						unknown																																						2.30pm																unknown
Sat 3 Jan 1903																							Oldham Athletic																																			3-2																Levenshulme																																						Hudson Fold   (Oldham)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						HT 1-1
Sat 3 Jan 1903																							Stretford																																			0-7																Newton Heath																																						Longford Bridge   (Stretford)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						HT 0-1
Sat 24 Jan 1903																							Heathfield																																			4-3																Freetown																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown

 

 

 

QUARTER FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 7 Feb 1903																							Berry's Association																																			6-1																Heathfield																																						Church Lane   (Harpurhey)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 4-0
Sat 7 Feb 1903																							Hooley Hill																																			2-5																Newton Heath																																						Pack Horse Ground   (Audenshaw)																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 7 Feb 1903																							Manchester Talbot																																			4-2																Fernleigh																																						Princess Road   (Manchester)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 1-1
Sat 21 Feb 1903																							Oldham Athletic																																			5-1																Heywood																																						Hudson Fold   (Oldham)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 3-1  Was moved from 7 Feb due to a Lancashire Junior Cup clash   KO was 40 mins late due to the weather conditions   Heywood also played a Lancashire Combination game   at the same time v Padiham, though this match   at Oldham was stated to be their 1st team

 

 

 

SEMI-FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 7 Mar 1903																							Berry's Association																																			3-2																Manchester Talbot																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown																																						Was played at an unknown neutral venue
Sat 7 Mar 1903																							Oldham Athletic																																			2-1																Newton Heath																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown																																						Was played at an unknown neutral venue

 

 

FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 4 Apr 1903																							Oldham Athletic																																			1-0																Berry's Association																																						Tonge Hall   (Middleton)																																						unknown																unknown																																						Was played at Tonge's ground  "a large crowd"   The gate receipts saw both sides take home £11 8s 8d

 

 

 

NAME CHANGES
• None

OUTGOING

• Abbey Hey - did not enter the following season and folded in 1904

• Droylsden - believed to have folded - Droylsden United renamed as Droylsden in 1905 and it was they that played in 1905/06

• Dukinfield Borough - did not enter again

• Fernleigh - did not enter the following season and folded in 1904

• Freetown - did not enter again

• Heathfield - did not enter again

• Heywood - did not enter the following season and folded in 1904

• Hooley Hill - did not enter the following season, but re-entered for 1904/05

• Levenshulme - believed to have folded - a new club was formed in 1906 and it was they that play in 1907/08

• Manchester & Salford Teachers Association - believed to have folded

• Manchester Talbot - believed to have folded

• Mossley Amateurs - did not enter again

• Rusholme - did not enter again until 1905/06

• Uppermill - believed to have folded

 

---

1903-04 : Berry's Association
 

• The total entrants for the Cup was down yet again and there was just 19 clubs, and this was the lowest since the very first season (18).  With 15 clubs leaving, there were 8 new clubs and another 4 returned after some time away
• The returning clubs were Altrincham (one season away and newly renamed from Broadheath), Denton (back after having withdrawn at the last minute last season), Failsworth (also back after one season away), and Urmston (returning after four seasons away)

• The deadline for entries was extended to the 1st October, presumably to try and attract more entrants.  It did mean that the competition didn't get underway until 14th November

• The format of the competition was tweaked due to the lower number of clubs.  There was now two small Preliminary Rounds, and then just one Qualifying Round.  This was then followed by the 1st Round "proper", which was technically the Quarter Finals.  As previously, the Quarter Finals was when the four "selected clubs" entered.  So 6 clubs started in the 1st Preliminary Round, 5 more had a bye to the 2nd Preliminary Round and 4 more to the Qualifying Round

• Parkfield Central had been playing at Woodside last season but this time round, with no known league, they were playing their games at Tonge's ground for some reason. 

• Another oddity was Rossall Mission who played in the North Salford League before and after this season but not this season. They also were disqualified for playing their game at the neighbouring Brewery Park, home of Newton Heath, without informing the Manchester FA
• The Final was again an all-Manchester League game, and in fact the same as the previous season's final. This time though, Berry's Association were the victors against Oldham Athletic by a single goal.  This was Oldham's third consecutive final

NAME CHANGES
• Altrincham - the new name of Broadheath
 

NEWLY ENTERING
• Crossley Old Boys - from the Clayton area, East Manchester

• Glossop United - from the Glossop area, east of Manchester (North Road ground)
• Harpurhey Wesleyans Athletic - from North Manchester

• Millbrook St James - from Stalybridge area of Tameside, east of Manchester (Millbrook ground)

• Old Collegians - from the North Manchester area (Heaton Park ground)

• Rossall Mission - from the Newton Heath area, East Manchester

• Stalybridge Albion - from Tameside area, east of Manchester, and considered Stockport Rovers reserve side (Crookbottom ground)

• Thornsett United - from close to New Mills, south east of Manchester, technically in Derbyshire

 

 

RETURNING AFTER A BREAK

• Altrincham - returning after one season away

• Denton - returning after one season away

• Failsworth - returning after one season away

• Urmston - returning from four seasons away

 

LEAGUES
Of the 19 teams entering this season, I have been unable to trace any league for 2 of them (Parkside Central, Rossall Mission):

• Manchester League (10) - Tonge; Newton Heath; Oldham Athletic; Berry's Association; Stretford; Hollinwood; Glossop United; Altrincham; Denton; Failsworth

• Manchester Federation (3) - Thornsett United; Crossley's Old Boys; Urmston
• Ashton & District League (2) - Millbrook St James; Stalybridge Albion

• Manchester Amateur League (1) - Old Collegians

• Sale & District League (1) - Harpurhey Wesleyans Athletic

BYES

 

BYE TO ROUND																																						TEAMS
2nd Preliminary Round																																						Rossall Mission; Glossop United; Millbrook St James; Old Collegians; Crossley's Old Boys
Qualifying Round																																						Altrincham; Failsworth; Denton; Stretford
Quarter Final																																						Berry's Association; Newton Heath; Tonge; Oldham Athletic

 

 

 

FIRST PRELIMINARY ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 14 Nov 1903																							Hollinwood																																			4-2																Harpurhey Wesleyans Athletic																																						unknown																																						2.30pm																unknown
Sat 14 Nov 1903																							Parkfield Central																																			4-2																Urmston																																						Tonge Hall   (Middleton)																																						2.30pm																unknown
Sat 14 Nov 1903																							Thornsett United																																			1-0																Stalybridge Albion																																						unknown																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						The goal was a penalty.   Game was switched from Stalybridge

 

 

 

SECOND PRELIMINARY ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 5 Dec 1903																							Hollinwood																																			3-3																Thornsett United																																						unknown																																						2.30pm																unknown
Sat 5 Dec 1903																							Millbrook St James																																			Unknown																Parkfield Central																																						Millbrook   (Stalybridge)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						The score was not known but it was a draw   and went to a replay on 19 Dec
Sat 5 Dec 1903																							Rossall Mission																																			0-2																Glossop United																																						Brewery Park   (Newton Heath)																																						2.30pm																unknown																																						HT 0-1.  Initially match was abanoned on 81 mins due to darkness.   However instead of a replay, the result was allowed to stand   with Glossop United awarded the result following a protest against Rossall Mission.   They had moved the ground to Newton Heath's home ground  without getting permission from the Manchester FA, which was against the rules
Sat 19 Dec 1903																							Old Collegians																																			Unknown																Crossley's Old Boys																																						Heaton Park   (Manchester)																																						unknown																unknown

 

 

 

SECOND PRELIMINARY ROUND - REPLAY

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 19 Dec 1903																							Parkfield Central																																			2-2																Millbrook St James																																						Tonge Hall   (Middleton)																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 19 Dec 1903																							Thornsett United																																			3-0																Hollinwood																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown

 

 

SECOND PRELIMINARY ROUND - 2nd REPLAY

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
unknown																							Millbrook St James																																			Unknown																Parkfield Central																																						Millbrook   (Stalybridge)																																						unknown																unknown																																						Score unknown but Parkfield Central went through to the next round.   Date was unknown but must have been between Fri 25 Dec and Sat 2 Jan

 

 

 

QUALIFYING ROUND

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 9 Jan 1904																							Failsworth																																			6-0																Altrincham																																						Lord Lane   (Failsworth)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 2-0. Attendance: 800
Sat 9 Jan 1904																							Old Collegians																																			Unknown																Glossop United																																						Heaton Park   (Manchester)																																						unknown																unknown																																						The score was not known but Old Collegians won.  Glossop United also played a Manchester   League game at the same time
Sat 9 Jan 1904																							Parkfield Central																																			4-1																Stretford																																						Tonge Hall   (Middleton)																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 9 Jan 1904																							Thornsett United																																			3-1																Denton																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown

 

 

 

QUARTER FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 30 Jan 1904																							Failsworth																																			6-1																Newton Heath																																						Lord Lane   (Failsworth)																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 30 Jan 1904																							Oldham Athletic																																			13-1																Parkfield Central																																						Hudson Fold   (Oldham)																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 30 Jan 1904																							Thornsett United																																			1-5																Berry's Association																																						unknown																																						unknown																unknown
Sat 30 Jan 1904																							Tonge																																			2-1																Old Collegians																																						Tonge Hall   (Middleton)																																						unknown																unknown

 

 

 

SEMI-FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 27 Feb 1904																							Failsworth																																			1-1																Berry's Association																																						Brewery Park   (Newton Heath)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 1-1.  Played at Newton Heath's ground
Sat 27 Feb 1904																							Tonge																																			1-2																Oldham Athletic																																						Tonge Hall   (Middleton)																																						unknown																unknown																																						HT 0-1.  Played at Tonge's ground rather than a neutral venue

 

 

 

SEMI-FINAL - REPLAY

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 5 Mar 1904																							Berry's Association																																			4-1																Failsworth																																						Church Lane   (Harpurhey)																																						unknown																unknown																																						Played at Berry's ground rather than a neutral venue

 

 

 

FINAL

 

DATE																							HOME																																			SCORE																AWAY																																						GROUND																																						KO																REFEREE																																						NOTE
Sat 26 Mar 1904																							Oldham Athletic																																			1-2																Berry's Association																																						Hyde Road   (Manchester)																																						unknown																Mr H Dale																																						Played at Manchester City's ground

 

 

 

NAME CHANGES
• None

OUTGOING

• Crossley's Old Boys - believed to have folded

• Glossop United - did not enter the next season and folded mid-way through that season

• Harpurhey Wesleyans Athletic - did not enter the next season and folded at the end of that season

• Hollinwood - believed to have folded

• Millbrook St James - did not enter again

• Oldham Athletic - did not enter again

• Parkfield Central - did not enter again until 1906/07

• Rossall Mission - did not enter the next season and folded at the end of that season

 

 

---

1904-05 : Berry's Association
 

• The total entrants for the Cup was finally back up, now being 23 clubs.  With 8 clubs of last season's entrants leaving, there were 6 new clubs and another 6 returned after some time away
• The returning clubs were Cheetham Hill (who had last played in the very first season 1887/88), Didsbury (back after 2 seasons away), Freetown (back after one season away, but clearly not the force they were a few years ago), Hooley Hill (back after one season away), Hyde (with rumours of a merger with Hyde St George's starting, they returned after three seasons away) and Sale Holmfield (back after 2 seasons away).

• The format of the competition was similar to how it was last season.  There were two Preliminary Rounds, with the first now having 7 ties. The Qualifying Round was then followed by the 1st Round "proper", which was technically the Quarter Finals.  As previously, the Quarter Finals was when the four "selected clubs" entered.  So 14 clubs started in the 1st Preliminary Round, 1 more had a bye to the 2nd Preliminary Round and 4 more to the Qualifying Round

• Two clubs scratched their 1st Preliminary Round ties.  Old Collegians withdrew, but continued on in the Manchester Amateur League.  However Hadfield Ramblers seemed to have disappeared before the season even started, and are presumed folded from that point.

• The Final saw Altrincham equal their best performance, reaching a 2nd Final.  The last was in 1897 as Broadheath.  Berry's Association though were now in their 4th consecutive Final and were the first club to retain the Cup since Middleton 12 seasons earlier.

• The main controversy of the season was caused by the Manchester FA itself.  The Manchester League was not happy with them for not just inviting clubs to join the Manchester Junior Cup, but to enter them without their consent, and then ask for confirmation later. This was the case for 4 teams and the Manchester League advised the clubs to reject the entry.  Two did reject (not clear who they were), but Denton and Hooley Hill accepted anyway.  The League subsequently advised that any alteration to league games as a consequence of the cup “would form a subject in which compensation for same would figure”. While Hooley Hill did not suffer any consequence, Denton’s New Year’s Eve game with Northwich Victoria had to be postponed due to their Cup tie with Hyde.  Denton responded by withdrawing instead from the Hyde Cup. Northwich Victoria were said to considering filing for compensation for the loss of the lucrative holiday fixture.  The Manchester League raised a complaint to the Manchester FA about the offical who was responsible for it.