SPORT FROM THE ARCHIVES
26 Tettenhall Road where the family remained until Jack’s death in 1922.
Back on the football field the end of the 1905-06 campaign saw relegation from Division 1 after 18 consecutive seasons in the top flight, winning only eight matches and conceding 99 goals. They would not regain their status for 26 years.
They finished sixth in that 1906-07 season and were eliminated at the first-round stage of the FA Cup. Although Addenbrooke had managed to assemble a Wolves team largely made up of local men, with one or two experienced players from elsewhere, in their first two seasons in the Second Division and still appeared to be going nowhere fast. In 1906 he had secured the services of north-eastern born George Hedley to lead the attack and the following year he persuaded Kenneth Hunt, son of the vicar of St Mark’s Church in Chapel Ash, to play parttime for the club. That 1907-08 campaign saw a ninth-place league position but a much more successful cup run.
Fourth final
Wolves made it through to their fourth final. In the first round a John Shelton goal earned a draw at Bradford City’s frozen Valley Parade on 11th January, and the replay was won 1-0 four days later at Molineux. City’s goal in the first match was the only one that Wolves conceded in their run to the final.
Walter Radford scored a brace as 1903 cup-winners Bury were dispatched 2-0 at home in round two and then, on a day of rain and gales, Swindon Town were seen off by a similar scoreline, with Hedley and Billy Harrison sharing the spoils at Molineux. Radford scored the only goal of a tense encounter at Stoke City’s Victoria Ground to set up a semi-final against Southampton on 28th March, at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, when the Saints were sent on their way in front of a crowd of 44,696.
300 Club
The final was to be played against First Division Newcastle United at the Crystal Palace in London on 25th April 1908. Newcastle were the previous season’s champions.
Of the 1908 cup final eleven, five players still feature in the top 36 of all-time club appearance makers (the so-called ‘300 Club’). They are: Alf Bishop from Stourbridge; Billy Wooldridge from Netherton; Billy Harrison from Wybunbury in Cheshire; Jackery Jones from Wellington; and Ted Collins from Wolverhampton. Of the other six, three played well over 100 games each for the club (George Hedley over 200). In terms of origin, seven local lads turned out for Wolves at the Crystal Palace, six hailing from the Black Country – how times change!
Billy Harrison and Second Division Wolves caused a major upset by beating topflight Newcastle United 3-1. The Reverend Kenneth Hunt and George Hedley gave Wolves a two-goal advantage as the first half neared its close before James Howie reduced the arrears for the Geordies on 73 minutes. In a nerve-shredding finale, Billy Harrison broke away to score a fine solo effort with just five minutes left. His strike typified what made him a fans’ favourite with his tricky ball skills and ability to beat opponents. He had great pace, was two-footed and stronger than suggested by his 5 feet 4 and a half inch frame. Harrison’s cup final day was made all the more special as his wife had given birth to triplets on the morning of the match.
Having finished 9th in Division 2 that season, Wolves became the first team from the second-tier to win the FA Cup since 1894 and remain the lowestranked Football League side to win the FA Cup.
The victorious 1908 FA Cup final team remained largely intact for two further seasons, but the period between then and the outbreak of the Great War was inauspicious. Between 1909 and 1915 Wolves failed to progress beyond the third round of the competition at all and were twice eliminated in the first round, and in 1909 suffered a humiliating exit at the hands of Crystal Palace of the Southern League. The Wanderers never looked likely to end their nine-season spell in Division 2. With the war still far from over, the Football Association duly ordered the suspension of all competitions and most players on Wolves’ books left to join the army or to work in munitions factories.
When football recommenced in 1919 Wolves were knocked out of the FA Cup in the second round and finished 19th in Division 2, just three points from relegation. They fared little better in the league in 1920-21 but reached another FA Cup final (their fifth), meeting Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge in 1921.
The first semi-final against Cardiff City was played at Anfield and, watched by King George V, ended goalless. The replay took place at Old Trafford and Wolves triumphed 3-1. Sammy Brooks, once of Brierley Hill Alliance, scored one with George Edmonds and Dick Richards also chipping in. The 1921 final was played in atrocious conditions on a pitch turned into a mud heap as a result of a storm and torrential rain throughout the first half.
Crest
In their black and gold striped shirts with the town crest of Wolverhampton embroidered on them, Wolves struggled to come to terms with the conditions in the first half and keeper Noel George performed admirably to keep them in the contest. Eight minutes into the second period Spurs scored the only goal of the game through Jimmy Dimmock.
Unfortunately, the following
season they fell 3-0 to Preston North End in the first round and did not progress beyond the third round again until 1927. The 1921-22 campaign was a pretty miserable one too as Wolves finished just four points clear of the Division 2 relegation zone. Saddest of all this would be the last season for Jack Addenbrooke.
Unwell
On the advice of the club doctor, Jack Addenbrooke took time off to rest, but he was never to recover
He had complained of feeling unwell, suffering from headaches and breathing difficulties. On the advice of his friend and club doctor, Richard Wolverson, he took time off in June but things did not improve. Through the summer he continued to deteriorate and he was taken into the Royal Hospital in the first week of September. Sadly, he would never return to his post, dying on Thursday 7th September, aged 57.
Jack’s passing brought to an end an association that stretched back almost forty years, during which time he had led Wolverhampton Wanderers from a local amateur football club to becoming a founder member of the world’s first football league and two FA Cup wins from five final appearances.
Albert Hoskins came in as secretary with George Jobey becoming manager. Although several new players were
added to the squad the first league season without Jack Addenbrooke was a miserable one as Wolves finished rock bottom of the Second Division table.
They dropped into the recently formed Third Division (Northern Section) and the gloom surrounding Molineux was typified by the attendance of 3,882 for the 3-0 home win over Hull City on the 23rd April – the lowest since February 1915. It would remain an all-time low until September 17th 1985 when only 3,244 saw Bristol Rovers win 4-3 at Molineux, again in the Third Division.
Despite the relegation and a loss of £3,885, that same year (1923) at the annual meeting of shareholders Major A J Holloway announced the windingup of the old company and the formation of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (1923) Limited. The fight was now on for the team to climb back up the leagues from its lowly position in the third tier.
Jack Addenbrooke’s 37-year spell at the helm of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is likely to remain the longest ever in the club’s history.
And although these were different times, with five top four finishes in the top flight and two FA Cup wins, he ranks second only to Stan Cullis in terms of success.