Victorian victory for the Monmore man in goal
THERE was not much joy for Wolverhampton folk at the 1896 FA Cup final – apart from one man, Jimmy Massey.
Born in Monmore Green, Massey was in goal for the Sheffield Wednesday side who beat Wolves 2-1 before a crowd of nearly 49,000 at the old Crystal Palace stadium in Sydenham.
Move
As well as being a Cupwinner, Massey would two years later play in the game dubbed “Football’s Longest Match”.
Massey grew up in Wolverhampton before moving to Denaby in Yorkshire. He played for that town’s club then secured a move to the team then known as The Wednesday. It did not mean instant success, however, as the established first choice keeper for The Wednesday was Bill Allan.
When Allan was injured Massey deputised for three games, the last of them being a 3-1 win over Wolves in November 1894 at Olive Grove, which was The Wednesday’s home. He also deputised in five games early in the following season, the first of them being another 3-1 home win over Wolves.
Allan was injured again in January, 1896, and though Massey had a broken finger sustained in a reserve game, he declared himself fit to play. He did well even though The Wednesday lost 3-1 at home to eventual league champions Aston Villa.
Displays
Massey’s displays in his third stint as Allan’s deputy were such that he kept his place and played in every round of the Cup run. Yet the final was only his 23rd game for The Wednesday. The 2-1 win over Wolves featured two goals from legendary winger Fred Spiksley, the first believed to be the quickest goal in an FA Cup final, a Manchester Guardian report claiming it came “after scarcely 20 seconds had passed.”
For the next five seasons Massey was first choice and in 1900 played in the first game at The Wednesday’s new ground, Hillsborough, then known as Owlerton.
Despite his consistent displays, Massey could not prevent The Wednesday being relegated in 1899 but he helped them bounce straight back as Second Division champions.
It was during the relegation season that Massey played in football’s longest game which began at the end of November, 1898, and finished on March 13, 1899, The Wednesday eventually beating Villa 4-1.
It all came about after the game at Olive Grove on November 26 kicked off late because the referee, the wonderfully-named Aaron Scragg, was late arriving.
He had to travel from Crewe but missed his connection in Manchester by a few seconds.
Scragg, principal coal buyer for the London and North Western Railway, telegraphed The Wednesday’s offices but they were quite a distance from the club’s ground at Olive Grove so at kick-off time, 2.30, no one had any information where the official was.
Local ref Fred Bye eventually stepped into the breach but valuable time had been lost. Scragg got to the ground in time to take over at half-time.
It was a typically dull November day. Rain had made the pitch greasy and as the game wore on many players had got muddy shirts and shorts which made them even harder to see in the gathering gloom.
With ten and a half minutes to go referee Scragg decided it was impossible to go on and abandoned the game with Villa 3-1 up. Most sources at the time credited Villa with a win but the Football League management committee did not see it that way and said the teams must complete the remaining 630 seconds at a convenient date.
Crowd
Villa duly made the trip back to Sheffield where Massey and his teammates added another goal to run out 4-1 winners. In order to attract a decent crowd, the sides agreed to play a shortened match afterwards in aid of longserving Harry Davis, another Black Country boy.
Davis was from Smethwick and had played for a club called Birmingham St George before being transferred to The Wednesday. St George were a prominent side and he had helped them win the Staffordshire Cup in 1891.
Bottom
The win over Villa brought a welcome two points as The Wednesday were in the middle of a run of nine matches which yielded just one point. When the game began back in November The Wednesday were tenth in the 18-team First Division. By the time it finished they were 17th. They eventually finished bottom while Villa were champions for the fourth time in six seasons.
After football, Massey became a coalminer and lost an eye in a pit accident. His employers were held responsible and Massey was awarded as compensation the princely sum of one shilling (5p) a week.
A grandson of Massey is Roy Massey, a striker who played for Rotherham, Leyton Orient and Colchester. He was later a coach at Colchester and Norwich before becoming Arsenal’s youth team coach.
Roy said his grandfather was a stubborn man and a man of principle, typical of which was his reaction to a legacy left him by his two sisters who had grown up with him in Wolverhampton before leaving for London where they were successful in business. Jimmy Massey refused to accept the sum of money they had left to him, saying: “They didn’t want anything to do with me when I was alive and I don’t want to have anything to do with them now.”
The man from Monmore Green was clearly dogged in his beliefs.