1894–95 Aston Villa F.C. season
| 1894–95 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | George Ramsay |
| Ground | Wellington Road |
| Football League | 3rd |
| FA Cup | Winners |
| Season | 1894–95 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Sunderland, 3rd title |
| Relegated | Liverpool |
| Top goalscorer | John Campbell (22 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Sunderland 8–0 Derby County (1 September 1894) Blackburn 9–1 Small Heath (5 January 1895) |
| Biggest away win | Wolves 0–4 Aston Villa (22 December 1894) |
| Highest scoring | Blackburn 9–1 Small Heath (5 January 1895) |
| Longest winning run | 8 matches Everton |
| Longest unbeaten run | 10 matches Sunderland |
| Longest losing run | 7 matches Burnley |
| Highest attendance | 35,000 (27 October 1894) Everton 2–2 Sunderland |
| Lowest attendance | 1,000 Small Heath 4–4 Preston (29 September 1894) Stoke 2–2 Small Heath (27 October 1894) Blackburn 3–0 West Brom (22 December 1894) Derby County 1–1 Stoke (19 January 1895) Stoke 2–5 Sunderland (26 January 1895) |
| Average attendance | 7,431 |
← 1893–94 1895–96 → | |
The 1894–95 English football season was Aston Villa's 7th season in the Football League falling into what was to be called Villa's golden era. Villa started the season as League champions and, under George Ramsay's management committee, won the FA Cup for the second time. The 1894–95 Division 1 season was the first season of the First league Second City Derby with Aston Villa beating local rivals Small Heath 2–1 on 1 September 1894. Villa beat Small Heath in the final of the Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup.
The 1895 FA Cup Final was contested by Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion at Crystal Palace. Aston Villa won 1–0, with Bob Chatt being credited with scoring the fastest goal in FA Cup Final history, scored after just 30 seconds. This record would stand for 114 years before being broken by Everton 's Louis Saha in 2009 with a goal after 25 seconds. The first trophy, the 'little tin idol', had been made by Martin, Hall & Co at a cost of £20. It was stolen from a Birmingham shoe shop window belonging to William Shillcock while held by Aston Villa on 11 September 1895 and was never seen again. Despite a £10 reward for information, the crime was never solved. As it happened while it was in their care, the FA fined Villa £25 to pay for a replacement. Just over 60 years later, 80 year old career criminal Henry (Harry) James Burge claimed to have committed the theft, confessing to a newspaper, with the story being published in the Sunday Pictorial newspaper on 23 February 1958.Burge claimed the cup had been melted down to make counterfeit half-crown coins, which matched known intelligence of the time that stolen silver was being used to forge coins which were then laundered through betting shops at a local racecourse.
There were debut appearances for Harry Wilkes, Billy Dorrell, George Kinsey, Howard Spencer, Tom Purslow, Billy Podmore and Bob Gordon.