The FA Cup is one of football’s most famous trophies, but the very first version of it vanished in 1895.
Stolen from a Birmingham shop window, the mystery of the missing silverware remained unsolved for decades—until a late confession added a surprising twist.
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Aston Villa won the 1895 final by beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0. They brought the trophy back to Birmingham, where it became known as the “little tin idol.”
Villa supporter William Shillcock, who made boots and balls locally, asked the club if he could display the cup in his shop window.
Fans enjoyed seeing it up close, but that decision would prove costly.
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On 11 September 1895, burglars struck in the middle of the night. The cup disappeared, and police never found the culprits. A £10 reward was offered but with no success.
Aston Villa were later fined £25 by the FA for losing the trophy.
The FA needed a replacement, so Birmingham silversmiths Vaughtons were commissioned.
Howard Vaughton, grandson of the founder and a former Villa player who won the FA Cup in 1887, was involved in the process.
Fortunately, the company had made a plaster cast a few years earlier, which helped in recreating the trophy.
The Birmingham-made trophy was used until 1910, when it was replaced by a new version made in Bradford and presented to FA president Lord Kinnaird.
But the mystery of the stolen cup lingered for decades.
– ADEVERTISEMENT –
In the late 1950s, a petty criminal from Birmingham, then in his 80s, admitted he and two others had stolen the cup and melted it down to make fake half-crown coins.
He even claimed some of the counterfeit money was spent at a pub run by former Villa player Dennis Hodgetts.
His confession, however, could never be proven.