In the earlier da3rs of the Cup the Wanderers were really the most influential body in Association football, and their record was one of exceptional brilliance. In the first seven years after the Cup was constituted it was held by the Wanderers five times; and though they won it outright by three successive victories in 1876, 1877, and 1878, they returned it to the Association, which thereupon framed a rule enacting that it shall never become the permanent property of any team.
The gradual enrolment of clubs composed exclusively of old public school boys struck at the very roots of the Wanderers' constitution; and, though it still continues in name, it ceased to be a power, and, indeed, was practically disbanded some years ago. Since its disappearance, though the Old Etonians, Clapham Rovers, and Carthusians have each had the distinction of holding it, latterly the possession of the Cup has been in the hands of northern teams mainly composed of professional players. The Blackbum Rovers, emulating the achievement of the Wanderers, won it three times in succession (in 1884, 1885, and 1886); and that club secured it subsequently in 1890 and 1891, making five times in all, equalling in this, too, the record of the Wanderers. Since the latter year the Cup has, with one notable exception, been held by Midland or Northern clubs. Aston Villa's victory, in 1905, was their fourth up to date. Tottenham Hotspurs, who won in 1901 after a drawn game, is the only Southern team that has won it since 1882, although Southampton were the runners-up in 1900 and 1902, and in the latter year only went down after a drawn game.
Unfortunately, Aston Villa's recollections of the early Cup fights must always be dimmed by one unpleasant memory. This was the theft of the original Cup from a
