Football cup

This is one of the first cups in the world ever to be awarded for a game of football

Football cup  details

Won by The Baltic Mayflower team in Glasgow, Scotland in the year 1889-90

Presented by John G Shanks

Eastern District, Juvenile Challenge Cup

Height approx. 18"

Material is solid silver and silver plate

History of the cup

During the mid 1880`s  the Todd's in Glasgow operated a sports shop located on London Road in the East end of Glasgow.  This must have been one of the earliest sport shops to have ever existed.  The Todd's were also credited with the invention of the bladder in a football. You could therefore say that they were the inventors of the modern day football.  Todd's also made most of the leather running shoes and sports shoes for the UK Olympic athletes as well as the young football teams that were developing at the time.  One of these football teams was the Baltic Mayflower,  they had just won the above cup,  but they had no money to pay for new football shoes.   The cup was therefore presented to the Todd's as collateral in payment for the shoes.  The football cup was displayed in the window of Todd's shop for many years since the football team did not return to pay for their shoes.

The football cup  was then passed down through the generations,  (Todd was our great, great grandfather ??),  where it now resides under the ownership of the DrydenAqua Trust.

The cup has tremendous  historical value and coupled with the history of the football and Todd's of Glasgow, it all goes to make this cup unique.

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