Sport in Birmingham

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Sport has always been important in Birmingham, England, from the hundreds of diverse grass-roots sports clubs to internationally famous teams, associations and venues. The city has been awarded the title National City of Sport by the Sports Council.

Contents 1 Football 2 Athletics 3 Cricket 4 Other team sports 4.1 Rugby Union 4.2 Basketball 4.3 Speedway 4.4 Hockey 4.5 Netball 4.6 Volleyball 4.7 Water Polo 4.8 Miscellany 5 Racket Sports 5.1 Tennis 5.2 Badminton 6 Other individual sports 6.1 Golf 6.2 Boxing 6.3 Snooker/Pool 6.4 Swimming 7 Other sports and pastimes 7.1 Greyhound Racing 7.2 Bowling 7.3 Ice Skating 7.4 Roller Derby 7.5 Motor Racing 7.6 Skate Boarding 7.7 Miscellany 8 References

[edit] Football

The city is home to two of the UK's oldest professional football teams in the world: Aston Villa (1874) and Birmingham City (1875). Nearby West Bromwich Albion's ground The Hawthorns used to be divided by the Birmingham/ Smethwick border, but was moved completely into the latter by a minor rationalisation of local government borders in the 1960s and is now in Sandwell.

Aston in Birmingham is notable for being the location for the first football league, which was invented by William McGregor on March 22, 1885. Aston Villa Football Club were the founders of the Premier League in 1992.

[edit] Athletics

The Birmingham Athletic Club opened a Gymnasium in King Alfred's Place, in Aug 1865/6, and held their annual display and assault-at-arms in the Town Hall. The first festival of the Birmingham Athletic Club was held in 1868. On March 1, 1880, an association was organised of many of the bicycle clubs, cricket clubs, football clubs, and similar athletic bodies in the town and neighbourhood, under the name of "The Midland Counties Amateurs' Athletic Union." The sport was so popular that in January, 1879 the "Midland Athlete," newspaper was first published.

Today Athletics takes place at the open-air Alexander Stadium on a national and international level. Recent development has seen addition of a High Performance Centre^[1] for indoor intense specialist training. The Stadium is also home to Birchfield Harriers, who have contributed towards Britain's National and International Athletics for many years and has produced international athletes such as Denise Lewis, Mark Lewis-Francis and Kelly Sotherton. The National Indoor Arena is Britain's Premier Indoor Athletics stadium and in 2003 successfully hosted the 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. The city hosted the European Athletic Association's European Indoor Championships in 2007.

[edit] Cricket

There has been a Cricket Club in existence in Birmingham since 1745, and it has been chronicled that a match was being played on the same day on which the Battle of Culloden was fought.

In legion, The Birmingham Cricket Club, started in 1819, the members including the young elite of the town at Ladywood. The Birchfield Cricket Club was established in 1840.

Among the noteworthy matches of late years are those of the All England Eleven against a local twenty-two, at the Lower Grounds on June 5, 1871, with the visitors winning. More recently, County Cricket is played at the Edgbaston Stadium, home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club. International test matches are also held there.

In 1882, Bournville Cricket Club was founded in Froggarts Farm on the corner of Bournville Lane and Linden Road, which is now The Old Farm Hotel. The Ground held its first county game when Worcestershire played Essex in June 1910, and in 1982 held an ICC champions trophy 3rd Place Play off when Papua New Guinea played Bangladesh.

[edit] Other team sports

[edit] Rugby Union

Rugby Union is played in Birmingham by Moseley Rugby Football Club promoted as Champions to National League 1 in April 2006. The club was founded in 1873 and reached three cup finals, playing for most of their history at The Reddings. However, in 2000 it relocated to a temporary ground at the University of Birmingham and now have a new permanent home at Billesley Common.

The Solihull-based Birmingham & Solihull Pertemps Bees and Coventry RFC stage local derby games.

[edit] Basketball

Basketball is played by the Birmingham Bullets, who compete in the top United Kingdom basketball league. However, the Bullets are currently in a season-long break from competitive action.

[edit] Speedway

In March 2007, Speedway racing returned to Birmingham after 20 years. A new team was created to compete at the Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium under the name the "Birmingham Brummies"^[2].

[edit] Hockey

Hockey is a very popular sport with Harborne and Bournville competing at professional level.

Bournville Hockey Club were founded in 1902 as a section of the Bournville Athletic Club. Their first game was against Small Heath on November 15, 1902, in which they lost. Bournville has produced international hockey players including David Griffith-Jones, who was selected to play for Wales in 1955 becoming Bournville's first international player. Bournville have moved venues in their history as a result of Cadbury's closure of the sports facilities at the factory. They are currently based at the University of Birmingham and King Edward VI High School for Girls. They are also reaching an agreement with Tally Ho Bowls Club for a club base there^[3].

The Bournville Hockey Club Men's First team are in the Division One of the English Hockey League whilst Harborne Hockey Club compete in the Midlands Premier League.

[edit] Netball

Dozens of junior and senior Netball clubs exist in Birmingham such as the Birmingham City Netball Club (founded in the 1970s) which coordinates junior and intermediate netball teams (under-18s).

The Birmingham (adult) Netball League plays from September to March (approximately) and has roughly 100 teams which are arranged in 13 divisions. The 1st division includes some of England's top clubs like for instance Linden who are based at Nechells Community Centre and are currently the National Clubs League Division 1 leaders. There are several other Netball leagues in the UK of which Birmingham teams contribute considerably ^[4]

[edit] Volleyball

Volleyball takes place on a small scale across various venues in the city, several amateur teams exist such as "Selly Baskets Volleyball Team", "Persian Phoenix Volleyball Club", "Birmingham University Volleyball Club" and '"'Birmingham Volleyball Club" who are currently in National Volleyball League Division 2.

[edit] Water Polo

There are many ground root Water Polo teams in existence across the Greater Birmingham area such as Warley Wasps who were established in 1888, the team runs both male and female water polo teams. Also Sutton Coldfield Water Polo and Solihull Swimming Club offers water Polo training for children and Adults with qualified Water Polo coaches.

The City of Birmingham Swimming club draws from the local water polo clubs and competes at a national level.

[edit] Miscellany

• Lacrosse, a popular Canadian game, was introduced here June 23, 1883, by a team of Canadian Amateurs and Iroquois Indians, who exhibited their prowess at the Lower Grounds. The game never quite took off in the city.

[edit] Racket Sports

[edit] Tennis

The first ever game of lawn tennis was played in Edgbaston in 1859 by Major Thomas Henry Gem and Batista Pereira, both residents of the city.

Tennis is not nowadays regularly associated with inner city urban areas, however several schemes nationwide are working to rectify this under achievement, many local tennis clubs and teams still exist in Greater Birmingham such as the 'Birmingham City Tennis Club', international tennis is still played at Edgbaston's Priory Club.

[edit] Badminton

The National Indoor Arena also hosts many other sporting events, such as the World Indoor Badminton Championships.

[edit] Other individual sports

[edit] Golf

Golf is a popular sport in the city with many clubs.

Boldmere, Cocks Moors Woods, Harborne Church Farm, Hatchford Brook, Hilltop, Lickey Hills and Pype Hayes are all large high quality golf courses within Birmingham city ^[5].

Professional Golf is played at the Belfry (4km outside Birmingham) which sometimes hosts The Ryder Cup.

[edit] Boxing

Boxing is popular in the City with many clubs and famous professional boxers such as Patrick Cowdell and Robert McKracken who have continued to support boxing in the UK by turning their skills to coaching new up- and- coming boxers.

Prize-fighting was long the popular sport of high and low life blackguards, and Birmingham added many a redoubtable name to the long list of famous prize-fighters, whose deeds are recorded in "Fistiana" and other chronicles of the ring. The earliest account of a local prize-fight is of that which took place in October 1782, for 100 guineas a side, between Jemmy Sargent, a professional, and Isaac Perrins, one of the Soho workmen. Jemmy knuckled under after being knocked down thirteen times, in as many rounds, by the knock-kneed hammer man from Soho, whose mates, it is said, won £1,500 in bets through his prowess.

[edit] Snooker/Pool

[edit] Swimming

Birmingham's first swimming club formed in 1862 under the title of the "Birmingham Amateur Swimming Club". The "Birmingham Leander Swimming Club", based at Northwood Street Baths, commenced their aquatic activities in June, 1877. The two clubs merged to form the "Birmingham and Leander Swimming Club" and moved to Woodcock Street Baths.

The celebrated swimmer, Captain Webb, visited Birmingham several times, and the Athletic Club presented him with a gold medal and purse on December 4, 1875. In 1949, the Birmingham Association of Swimming Clubs partnered with Warwickshire Amateur Swimming Association to successfully win a bid to stage the "International Speed Swimming Contest for the Bologna Trophy", which was staged at Woodcock Street Baths. The City of Birmingham Baths Department organised a visit as part of a tour by the "Het Y" Swimming Club of Amsterdam in 1950^[6].

More recently The University of Birmingham trains some of the most promising professional swimmers in Britain ^[7]. The team has won bronze medal consecutively in the BUSA team championships 2003-04 and 2004-05.

The "City of Birmingham Swimming Club" also trains swimmers of all ages and competes professionally at local and national level as does "Perry Beeches Sutton Swimming Squad", "Boldmere Swimming Club", "Orion Swimming Club" (located at King Edward VI High School for Girls) and "Solihull Swimming Club" (located at Tudor Grange Sports Centre, Solihull).

School swimming was introduced in the city in April 1875 following a campaign by Joseph Chamberlain, which commenced at a Meeting of the Council on November 10, 1874. Following co-operation between the City of Birmingham Baths Department and the Birmingham School Board, schools were able to buy books of tickets to allow pupils to swim under the guidance of teachers at pools^[6].

[edit] Other sports and pastimes

[edit] Greyhound Racing

Greyhound racing is a popular event in the city with two large stadiums at Hall Green and Perry Barr.

[edit] Bowling

Bowling has long been a popular tradition in Birmingham with bowling greens and quoit grounds often attached to public houses. In 1778 there was one at the Salutation inn, at the bottom of Snow Hill; at an earlier date there was also one at the Hen and Chickens in the High Street. In 1825 a bowling green was laid out at the corner of Highfield Road and Harborne Road, for "a very select party" of Edgbastonians. Bowls is still played in the city today.

[edit] Ice Skating

Ice Skating Rinks were opened at the Lower Grounds May 1, 1875; at Bingley Hall, October 2, 1875; at Moseley, December 6, 1876; and at Handsworth, October 8, 1877; and, for a time, the amusement was exceedingly popular, more than one fortune accruing from the manufacture of patent and other roller skates. One of the most noteworthy feats on the slippery rinks was the skating of 200 miles in 24 hours by a Mr. F. Betteridge at Bingley Hall, August 20, 1878. In winter of 2005 one of the largest temporary outdoor ice skate rinks in Britain was erected on Centenary Square.

[edit] Roller Derby

Birmingham's first and only female amateur roller derby league, the Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames, formed in October 2006. Roller Derby is an aggressive quad skating sport where blockers try to stop jammers from scoring points by lapping the blockers. This fast & furious contact sport has captured the imagination of American crowds and now the BBDD are set to introduce this sport the West Midlands.

[edit] Motor Racing

The city is home to Birmingham Wheels, a short-track oval circuit based in Saltley. The circuit stages a number of high profile stock car and banger race meetings, along with a charity race event every winter for Children In Need. The future of the circuit is uncertain however, with plans for the City of Birmingham Stadium.

The city also staged the Birmingham Superprix on a number of occasions during the 1980s, a Formula 3000 event which took place on a street circuit in the city centre. Many of the competitors later went on to compete in Formula One, including former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi. Nigel Mansell also lived in Birmingham as a child and into his early adult years.

[edit] Skate Boarding

Skateboarding is popular in the city. Many small skate parks exist as well as the Epic Skate Park based in Moseley, the park opened in 2003 within a former bus and tram garage. The park is one of the largest of its kind in Europe and now hosts international skate competitions as well as music videos and film.

The skate board wheel was pioneered in Birmingham during the 19th century.

[edit] Miscellany

• Croquet was introduced in 1867; the first code of laws being published in October, 1869.

[edit] References