The 1876–77 English football season was Aston Villa's third season, twelve years before the creation of the Football League. Originally team captains would consult each other in order to resolve any dispute on the pitch. This role was now delegated to an umpire. Each team would bring their own partisan umpire allowing the team captains to concentrate on the game.
Aston Villa Football Club played in scarlet and royal blue hooped shirts, white shorts and royal bluecaps and stockings. The club rules stated "No member can take place in a match unless in the above uniform".
George Ramsay came to join Aston Villa by chance shortly after arriving in Birmingham. One day in 1876, whilst taking a stroll in Aston Park, the 21-year-old Ramsay came across a Villa players' practice match and was asked to make up the numbers. They were amazed by his skills; they had never seen a display of close ball control before. When the game was over, the Villa players surrounded him and invited him to join the club, and very soon he became their captain. Ramsay later described the newly formed club's approach to the game as 'a dash at the man and a big kick at the ball'. Word spread about how fine a player Ramsay was, and spectators began turning up to watch the little man nicknamed 'Scotty'. He also took charge of training, which saw dramatic improvement that showed in the results, introducing what was known as the "passing game". This had become the main style of play in Scotland, whereas in England most teams relied on what was known as the "dribbling game".
Wellington Road was opened in 1876 when Aston Villa moved to the ground. On 30 September the first team faced Wednesbury Town while the Seconds played at the Wednesbury ground. There were initially no spectator facilities; players changed in a nearby blacksmith's shed, and a hayrick was kept on the pitch, which had to be removed prior to matches. The pitch also had a slope away from one goal. There were no groundsmen and the pitch was grazed prior to a game.
Play was hampered by a hedge and three trees along the touchline. There was no money available so, instead of Saturday training, the players themselves felled the trees. They sold the wood to finance fencing and a gate which they erected themselves, enabling them to charge twopence admission. The first gate amounted to 6s 7½d. Charlie Johnstone recalled that the team retired to the Crown & Cushion pub with the first takings. The pub would serve as changing rooms and club house.
Note: The opposition changed its name between the quarter-final and semi-final in the Birmingham Cup from Wednesbury Town to Strollers. Villa fielded three Scotsmen, George Ramsay and brothers Jimmy Lindsay and Billy Lindsay.
↑Grant, Michael; Robertson, Rob (2011). The Management: Scotland's Great Football Managers. Edinburgh: Birlinn. ISBN978-1-78027016-6.
↑"Football Fixtures". Aris's Birmingham Gazette: 4. 30 September 1876.
↑Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005, Yore Publications, p143, ISBN0954783042
G.B. Ramsay
