Wigan Athletic and The Herefordshire Senior Cup Final of 1972
Yes you read the title right that proud Lancastrian club Wigan Athletic once took part in the Herefordshire Senior Cup. It’s only 140 miles down the M6 from Wigan to Hereford so something of a local derby? Clearly it is for here’s the proof that Wigan did indeed compete for the Herefordshire FA’s premier cup competition.Why and how did this happen? Well it’s not so strange actually because the Herefordshire Senior Cup was an invitational tournament that first took place in 1951. Details are a bit sketchy but it would appear that it was set-up to give Hereford Utd a cup to play for and to provide some revenue for the HFA. The first invited team was Shrewsbury Town who promptly beat the Bulls 3-1 to become the first holders.
The Herefordshire FA then decided to make it an open competition and up to eight teams from Herefordshire and the surrounding counties took part. Hereford Utd failed to make the final in the four seasons it was an open competition. Merthyr Tydfil won it twice, Worcester City once and then in 1955 the two finalists Stourbridge and Kidderminster could not agree on a date to play the final. With both teams outside the jurisdiction of the HFA the issue couldn’t be resolved so the final was declared null and void.
From 1956 the competition reverted to an invitational final with the first invitees being Merthyr Tydfil who at the time were a powerful and highly successful Southern League club who during the late forties and early fifties regularly applied (without success) for election to the Football League. Hereford beat them to win the cup for the first time and then for each of the next five seasons Newport County were the opposition for Hereford. Newport were in the third division at the time whilst Hereford were in the Southern League with ambitions of being elected to the Football League of their own. Hereford more than held their own in these games against the third division side who usually sent a full strength side, winning the cup three times to Newport’s two.
In 1962 fourth division Oxford Utd took over as the opposition and the HFA, in an attempt to squeeze more revenue from the competition, opted for a two-leg final. The games proved difficult to arrange and the cup was not played for in either 1963 or 1964. Though it did return to the fixture calendar in 1965 and 1966 with Oxford winning both times to notch a hattrick of wins.
The 1967 competition reverted to a single final game and this time the visitors to Edgar Street were fourth division Port Vale who were seen off 2-0 as Hereford lifted the cup for the fifth time. The HFA pulled of something of a coup for the 1968 final as second division Charlton Athletic agreed to play. The Londoners ran out winners with a 3-2 victory after extra time.
From 1969 the final again was played over two-legs with Newport County returning as opposition after an eight year break. Hereford battered them 8-4 on aggregate scoring four goals in each leg. The next two seasons saw Worcester City take on the Bulls with the Edgar Street side victorious on both occasions. This is a picture of Hereford skipper Mick McLaughlin with the Herefordshire Senior Cup after the 5-4 2nd-leg win. Won with a last minute winner after hereford had trailed 3-1 early in the second half.
Which all brings us to the game against Wigan Athletic in 1972. Wigan were a top non-league side at the time and had made numerous attempts at election to the Football League. Indeed they have more unsuccessful applications than any other club and it was this seeming reticence by the Football League to admit them that led them in 1972 to make an audacious if unsuccessful bid to join the Scottish Second Division in their quest for league football.
The first leg of the Senior Cup had been played earlier in the season at Springfield Park and the two teams had played out a 1-1 draw. I’m not sure of the result from the second leg but Hereford won it to cap off an amazing season. They’d had a fabulous and famous cup run which saw them draw 2-2 with Newcastle Utd at St James Park before winning the replay at home 2-1 after being a goal down. Ronny Radford’s 30 yard 85th minute equaliser is still to this day shown on TV and for many epitomises the magic of the FA Cup. Unfortunately for Hereford the magic didn’t last for they were knocked out by West Ham in the next round but their stock was riding high. They finished the season as runners up in the Southern League and after fourteen attempts at election to league they finally achieved and took their place in division four for the 72/73 season.
As for Wigan they had to wait a few more years but were eventually elected in 1978 and .. well .. look at them now. As for the Herefordshire Senior Cup I’m not sure of the more recent winners so if anyone has got any further information then please do leave a comment below. Cheers
BN would like to thank Corfu Bull for finding this article which originally appeared on http://footysphere.com.