Football authorities in England took a lot of criticism following the outbreak of Word War I for not suspending the fixture lists sooner than they did, with the full 1914-15 campaign being completed as normal. Conversely, when the conflict was over, it was understandable that things would take a while to get back to normal – not least because peace was declared much later than 1918-19 would have been expected to commence.
The general recovery of the nation was of course the priority, and with players stationed in various corners it made sense to take things slowly in terms of the Football League and FA Cup. A condensed Victory League was announced as a halfway measure for clubs ahead of 1919-20 and at least offered some sense of normality for the sports mad members of the public in the early months of 1919, and on Wearside Sunderland added to their makeshift programme by entering the Durham Challenge (Senior) Cup.
Having won it on several occasions in their formative years the competition elicited fond memories for the Lads, who since last entering in 1889-90, when they beat Darlington in the final to become holders for the fourth time, had seen their A side become regular winners also. The return of the first team though had the potential to get some money into local clubs decimated by the war, and after making their way through the rounds, beating Southwick, South Shields and Felling Colliery as they did so, Sunderland were back in the final that was to be played at Darlington’s Feethams on the 3rd of May.
Selected to play in goal for the last time was John Baverstock, who had been guesting for the side since February. Having originally made a name for himself turning out in the North-Eastern League for Blyth Spartans, the stopper was offered a permanent deal by Sunderland over the summer only to be told during a June meeting of the league’s management committee that the fact he was previously offered reduced fees by the Northumberland club did not automatically entitle him to a free transfer as had been thought. Sunderland, for their part, wrote a letter apologising to Blyth for the confusion, stating that they had been unaware he was still on their retained list.
Prior to Baverstock, local lad Jimmy Hugall had enjoyed a stint in nets. Originally from Whitburn, he had been playing for Clapton Orient when he joined the Footballers’ Battalion but as a corporal faced considerable service on the front and suffered several large-scale wounds. In 1916 he was commissioned to a ‘home’ regiment, the 12th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, where he was a lieutenant, and in early May 1918 he married what the press referred to as a ‘North Country lady’ in Sunderland. Although forced to relinquish his position in the army due to his injuries he was able to resume playing football, and in addition to six Victory League outings managed clean sheets in friendlies against Middlesbrough, and Newcastle United (twice), one of which was during a 1-0 Wear Tyne derby victory on Boxing Day 1918, the first match staged at Roker Park since April 1915.
When he returned to Orient in June 1919 he was joined by Owen Williams, a winger from Ryhope that had been on Sunderland’s books earlier in the decade. After retiring from the game, Hugall came back to Sunderland and worked as a licensee and was believed to be running the George & Dragon Hotel on High Street West (which was knocked down in 1973 to help make way for the Crowtree Leisure Centre) when he died aged just 38. His passing was thought to have been as a result of internal conditions attributed to when he was gassed during the war.
Crook Town were the opponents in the Durham Challenge showpiece in what was their first appearance in the final, and Baverstock was able to emulate Hugall with another shut out. The side had travelled to Darlington via the 10:30 train and had been told to expect a tough examination from the 1914-15 Northern League champions, but in reality the game was somewhat one sided, Bob Kyle’s men being aided by the withdrawal of the injured Woodall moments after they had taken the lead. It had been Charlie Buchan that had opened the scoring midway through the first half, with Barney Travers (four), Frank Cuggy and Jackie Mordue (two) also notching in a 8-0 win against a side that whilst obviously outclassed never gave up.
Some sources suggest that one of Mordue’s strikes may have actually come from Bobby Coverdale, but as captain it was Mordue that was presented the trophy at full time by a Mr Bennett, acting President of the Durham FA, to mark the fifteenth occasion the club had won the cup (the previous final, held in April 1915, had seen the reserves take the crown by beating Darlington 2-0, with Coverdale setting up one of the goals). Gate receipts for this latest instalment were reported as being £591.
*On Wednesday the 7th of May 1919 it was announced that Sunderland were signing Joe Kasher, who had played against them for his hometown team Crook in the final. Kasher had impressed greatly despite the final score and had already been on Bob Kyle’s radar anyway; whilst on trial over Easter he had featured for the Lads in a 2-0 Victory League success against Durham City. Comfortable using either foot, Blackpool, Middlesbrough, Barnsley and Preston North End were all reported to be keen on signing the centre-half, whilst Chelsea had even sent a representative to Darlington to approach him after the match and try and convince him to move to London. Kasher had earlier been a prisoner of war in Germany.
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