Aston Villa F.C. season 1895-96

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Manager: George Ramsay (sec)

Leading scorer: John Campbell, 26

Ever-present: Jack Devey

First at top: Sep 30

Date won league: Apr 4

Players used: 18

Derby County won all 10 home games and led the table at the end of December, with Villa in third. Six consecutive wins took Villa to the top in January and they finished with a four point margin over Derby, taking the title when Derby dropped a point on April 4.

Villa paid Burnley £250 for international back James Crabtree in the summer of 1895. Crabtree, Reynolds and Jimmy Cowan formed an outstanding line of half-backs.

John Campbell was a Scot from Celtic where he had won the Scottish championship twice, and later returned to the club. He had developed an outstanding reputation in Scotland, and emphasized his skill by scoring his 26 goals in just 26 games. 5ft 9in tall but nearly 12st in weight, he was said to be difficult to stop when running at the opposition’s defence.

This was the season Villa lost the FA Cup – literally. Following their FA Cup win in 1894/95, it was on display in a shop window in Birmingham. Sometime during the night of September 11-12 1895 it was stolen and never seen again. A replica had to be made to the same design. Villa were fined £25. Luckily they had it insured for £200!