In my last Cobblers Past article I referred to three Hospital Shield charity matches, played between Northampton Town and Arsenal during the years 1930 to 1932. However, they were the last of a series of such games, which first began in 1910. But what were the Hospital Shield matches and why were they played?
I first came across vague references to Hospital Shield matches a few years ago. Such games were played all over the country, certainly from the early 1900s (but possibly even earlier), as charitable endeavours, aimed at raising money for the local hospitals. It was a pre-NHS era, of course - the health system that we enjoy today did not come into force until 5th July 1948, founded by the Welsh Labour Party MP and Minister of Health, Aneurin Bevan.
As far as Northampton Town F.C. is concerned, a certain amount of information relating to all of the Hospital Shield matches played at the County Ground, can be found in old copies of the local newspapers. The first Hospital Shield match was played between NorthamptonTown and Nottingham Forest in September 1910. At that time, the club had been in existence for just thirteen seasons and plied their trade in the Southern League.
From that moment on (but with a war-time interruption) the matches became a popular annual event. It’s also highly likely that such matches would have enjoyed greater significance than they might today. The fund-raising benefit to the local health system cannot be underestimated but for the townsfolk and early Cobblers’ supporters, it would have provided a rare chance to see some of the “big time Charlies” from the upper echelons of the Football League, displaying their talent and abilities at the County Ground.
When these games first began, Northampton Town were just beginning to make their mark on the football world. Having made their official debut in the 1897/98 season and initiallyplaying in the Northants League, they encountered other county teams - the likes of Wellingborough Reserves, Raunds Unity and Desborough. From lowly beginnings the teamprogressed swiftly to the Midland League and then the Southern League. Even then, the opposition might still consist of Kettering, Coalville and New Brompton, jostling amongst some of today’s major names, who were still in their own infancy and yet to achieve any sense of status or tradition.
As is so often the case today, it was only during FA Cup matches that the Cobblers encountered the giants, with games against Sheffield United, Middlesbrough, Leicester Fosseand Derby County being early highlights but all ending in eventual defeat. It was not until the 1909/10 season that the first shock was achieved, when they managed to knock out top flight opponents Wednesday (as they were known at the time) during an away day replay, before succumbing in the next round to Nottingham Forest following another drawn game.
At the end of the 1908/09 season, the Cobblers met the First Division Champions and north-eastern giants, Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge, in competition for the Charity Shield. This was then a fledgling event and as winners of the Southern League, the Cobblers were invited to compete for what was only the second ever such match. By this time, several of the Southern League sides had begun to rival teams in the Football League and were provingcapable of FA Cup upsets. The Southern League had established itself as the most competitive structure outside of the top two professional divisions and although the Cobblers performed well enough, they were beaten 2-0 by their more illustrious opponents. Two seasons later and they met Newcastle twice more in the FA Cup but once again were beaten in a replay at St James Park. In an exercise of persistence, the Cobblers invited Newcastle to play them for the 1911 Hospital Shield but again were found wanting.
The local press indicates that the Hospital Shield charity matches were established by an organisation called the Northampton Terriers’ Social Club, with the trophy initially described as the Northampton Terriers’ Hospital Shield. This intriguingly named organisation was formed around 1900 and while they had no interests in the canine world, they were certainly dogged in their endeavours. Their raison d'être focused on the promotion of social and sports contsts, as a vehicle for charity fund-raising. They seem to have existed without a home basebut still managed to organise events such as boxing, field sports, rowing and archery, along with whist and bridge evenings, all held in various venues around the town. Each year,several local organisations benefitted from their pursuits and they were presented with generous cheques at the club’s annual dinner. Inevitably, the organisation’s enterprise and activities seem to have been curtailed at some point during the war years. When the charity matches resumed in 1921, the Terriers association had been dropped completely and it wassimply the Northampton Hospital Shield from then on.
While Northampton General Hospital benefited from the gate receipts, the amounts donated and crowd totals are rarely stated within local reports. The attendance for the 1913 match wasgiven as 10,000 - this figure was probably rounded off (as was often the case in those days) but gate receipts would have realised a decent charitable sum. In 1930, the hospital received gate money of £500 or the equivalent of just over £31,000 today. In 1931, when the crowd was known to have numbered 7503, the sum raised was £450.
Some match reports were printed by the local press but other games were barely documented. No match photos are to be found but that’s no real surprise. In this era, photographers at football matches were not overly commonplace or even a regular feature for league games. However, these are the Hospital Shield matches which were played ...
Northampton Town 1 Nottingham Forest 0 - 26th September 1910
Northampton Town 1 Newcastle 2 - 18th September 1911
Northampton Town 1 Fulham 3 - 7th October 1912
Northampton Town 1 Fulham 2 - 23rd September 1913
1914-1920 - No competition following the outbreak of WWI but revived after a near 8 yearhiatus
Northampton Town 5 Fulham 1 - 25th April 1921
Northampton Town 0 Leicester City 1 - 27th April 1922
Northampton Town 2 Leicester City 1 - 13th September 1923
Northampton Town 2 Huddersfield Town 1 - 5th May 1924
Northampton Town 1 Nottingham Forest 2 - 4th May 1925
Northampton Town ? Nottingham Forest ? - 3rd May 1926 - Following the match and just before midnight, a National Strike was declared and many newspapers did not appear for several days, although in some instances the management hurriedly produced single sheet editions. For several days the country was in turmoil and as a result, I was unable to locate any sort of report for this game, although the following year it was stated that the match was drawn and the trophy shared for 6 months each by the two teams
Northampton Town 0 Nottingham Forest 1 - 9th May 1927
Northampton Town 3 Nottingham Forest 2 - 7th May 1928
Northampton Town 1 Derby County 3 - 6th May 1929
Northampton Town 0 Arsenal 7 - 5th May 1930
Northampton Town 0 Arsenal 1 - 4th May 1931
Northampton Town 2 Arsenal 3 - 10th May 1932
In April 1933 it was reported in the Birmingham Daily Gazette that Arsenal had declined the offer of a further charity match that year. Instead, Northampton were booked to visit Grimsby for a Hospital Shield match, although I’m assuming that an entirely different regional trophywas involved. This is the last mention of such charitable matches involving the Cobblers that I found. Even the town’s press appears to have become disinterested and such matches faded into obscurity.
Finally, I would like to clarify that there was an actual shield, which was presented to the winners of the matches and held for a year. Medals were also struck and given to the players.Following the 1912 Fulham game, the trophy was presented at a fine dinner, which prompted the Northampton Daily Echo to describe a “handsome shield”. Likewise, in 1925 a report from the Nottingham Journal glowed with similar admiration, despite the fact that NTFCseemed intent on retaining the shield, whatever the outcome of the match.
Today, there is little tangible evidence for any of the matches, although a visit to the Historical Archive of Northampton General Hospital might well reveal the brass plaque which was presented by NTFC together with a sizeable cheque.
But what became of the actual Hospital Shield? Unfortunately, its current whereaboutsremain a mystery and it continues to elude my attempts to track it down. When the main stand at the County Ground burnt down on the 28th December 1929, Derby County were the holders, so it wouldn’t have been lost to the conflagration. Appropriate representatives from both NTFC and Arsenal F.C. have been contacted but seemingly they have no knowledge of the shield and it is not to be found within their respective trophy rooms and cabinets. In addition, no photos of the shield seem to exist.
If you look at the 1909/10 team photo of the Cobblers, you will see the players and officials assembled behind a very impressive Southern League Champions trophy. Might the shield have borne a similar resemblance and if it did was there sufficient silver content to tempt the avaricious eye of some ne’er do well, with access to a smelting plant … no questions asked? I suspect that we’ll never know?
Make sure you check out Peters previous article. Northampton Town v Arsenal – Forgotten Friendlies & Epic Encounters
