The 1927 Football Association Charity Shield was the 14th FA Charity Shield, an annual English

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

match. The match, held at Stamford Bridge on 12 October 1927, was contested by Cardiff City, who beat

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the 1926–27 FA Cup, and amateur side

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

. This was the first FA Charity Shield appearance for both sides, although Corinthian had previous won the

Sheriff of London Charity Shield The Sheriff of London Charity Shield, also known as the Dewar Shield, was a football competition played annually between the best amateur and best professional club in England, though Scottish amateur side Queens Park also took part in 1899. The ...

on three occasions. After a goalless first half, Corinthian went ahead early in the second half with a goal from

Gilbert Ashton Gilbert Ashton MC (27 September 1896 – 6 February 1981) was an English cricketer who played 62 first-class matches between the wars, mostly for Cambridge University (whom he captained in 1921, and also captained at football) and Worcesters ...

. There were many attacks from both sides, but it took until the 77th minute before Cardiff equalised with a header by

Hughie Ferguson Hugh Ferguson (2 March 1895 – 8 January 1930) was a Scottish professional footballer. Born in Motherwell, he played for Parkhead at junior level as a semi-professional and was one of the most sought after young players in Scotland before sig ...

after a series of passing plays. With only a few minutes remaining on the clock, Cardiff won a

corner kick A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is taken ...

and from the cross, and

Len Davies Leonard Stephen Davies (28 April 1899 – 1945) was a Welsh professional footballer. Born in Cardiff, he trained as a marine engineer before becoming a footballer, making his senior debut for his hometown club Cardiff City in 1919 in the Southe ...

tapped the ball into the net to put them ahead. The game finished with the score two goals to one in Cardiff City's favour. Several charities benefited from the proceeds of the match, including the

King Edward VII's Hospital for Officers King Edward VII's Hospital (formal name: King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes) is a private hospital located on Beaumont Street in the Marylebone district of central London. Agnes Keyser, later known as Sister Agnes, established the hospi ...

and the

National Institute for the Blind The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people in the UK with sight loss. History The RNIB was founded by Thomas Rhodes Armitage, a doctor who had eye ...

Background

The FA Charity Shield was founded in 1908 as a successor to the

. It was a contest between the respective champions of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and Southern League, and then by 1913 teams of amateur and professional players. At a

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

Council meeting on 22 April 1927, it was decided that the following season's Charity Shield match should be played between the winner of the 1926–27 FA Cup and the amateur team

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

. This would mark the first occasion Corinthians would play in the competition, they had previously won the Sheriff of London Charity Shield on three occasions. Cardiff City qualified for the 1927 FA Charity Shield as winners of the 1926–27 FA Cup. They defeated

by one goal to nil, with the only goal of the game coming from

. It was the club's first FA Cup victory, and the only time that the trophy had been won by a club outside of England. A few months after Cardiff's victory, the match between them and Corinthians for the FA Charity Shield was set to take place at Stamford Bridge on 12 October. Corinthian announced their team a few days prior to the game, though goalkeeper

Benjamin Howard Baker Benjamin Howard Baker (13 February 1892 – 10 September 1987) was an English athlete who excelled in a wide range of sports, mostly in association football and high jump.Cambridge University A.F.C. Cambridge University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Cambridge. Official university publications have claimed that the club was formed in 1856,

Due to an injury to Tom Watson, Billy Hardy was switched to the other wing in defence for Cardiff City.

Match

Summary

The Corinthians gained a

early on, and Cardiff cleared. This was followed up by a further attack by the amateurs, but R.G. Jenkins' shot went straight to

Tom Farquharson Thomas Gerard Farquharson (4 December 1899 – 24 December 1970) was an Irish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Dublin, he played youth football for local sides. In his teens, he became a member of the Irish Republica ...

in the Cardiff goal. Cardiff attacked twice in quick succession; both chances were squandered. A.H. Chadder, Frank Hartley and Jenkins moved up-field for Corinthian with some passing movement and played the ball through for Claude Ashton, but he shot wide of the post. Three corners followed for Cardiff, which were each stopped by Russell in goal for Corinthian stopped each chance. A few minutes later

headed the ball down to the feet of Ferguson, but the Cardiff player fired the ball wide of the goal despite being only a few feet away from the goal line. Just before half time, Cardiff won a

direct free kick A free kick is a method of restarting play in association football. It is awarded after an infringement of the laws by the opposing team. Direct and indirect free kicks Free kicks may be either direct or indirect, distinguished as follows: ...

;

Fred Keenor Frederick Charles Keenor (31 July 1894 – 19 October 1972) was a Welsh professional footballer. He began his career at his hometown side Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 organised by his former s ...

hammered the ball into a wall of Corinthian players. The second half began with a speedy Cardiff attack. Corinthian countered, resulting in shots from both Claude and

within 15 seconds of each other. Another Cardiff attack resulted in Ferguson missing the goal from a few feet out once again. After four minutes in the second half, Corinthians attacked once more.

Fred Ewer Frederick Harold Ewer (30 September 1898 – 29 January 1971) was an English international footballer, who played as a wing half. Career Born in West Ham, Ewer played for Corinthian in the 1927 FA Charity Shield, where they lost against Cardif ...

played it down the left wing to Kenneth Hegan, who passed it into the centre towards Gilbert Ashton, who fired it past Farquharson. Shortly after the restart, Billy Thirlaway appeared to be about to score a certain goal for Cardiff, but was charged down by Russell. Further chances came in rapid succession; for Cardiff, Ferguson struck the crossbar with one shot; then for Corinthian, Claude Ashton passed forward to Jenkins, who struck it wide of an open goal mouth. Hegan sent the ball over the bar, and then a further shot by Claude Ashton was charged down. In the 77th minute, Keenor, Ferguson and Davies passed the ball among themselves before playing it wide to Thirlaway. Ferguson ran to the centre and the ball was crossed towards him. Ferguson leapt and headed the ball into the net to equalise for Cardiff. It looked like Cardiff were about to go ahead, however, a last minute tackle by Alfred Bower prevented Ernie Curtis from scoring, giving the Welsh team another corner. The ball was fired towards the goal mouth, and was shot into the goal from close range by Davies putting Cardiff ahead. The final two attacks of the game were both by Cardiff, with Russell saving a header by Ferguson and then Curtis firing the ball over the crossbar.

Details

Source:

Post-match

The match raised money for several charities.

received £210;

, £52 10 s; Newspaper Press Fund, £52 10s; National Institute of Journalist's Orphans, £52 10s;

London Lock Hospital The London Lock Hospital was the first voluntary hospital for venereal disease. It was also the most famous and first of the Lock Hospitals which were developed for the treatment of syphilis following the end of the use of lazar hospitals, as l ...

, £52 10s; Prince of Wales General Hospital, £52 10s;

Sheffield Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary was a hospital in Upperthorpe, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. History Founding an infirmary for Sheffield was suggested in an anonymous letter written 1789 and following a public meeting in April 1792, public subscri ...

, £52 10s; Railway Benevolent Institution, £25; and the Surgical Aid Society received £25. A further sum of £210 was given to several Welsh based charities. Corinthian never played in another FA Charity Shield, although they would later be runner-up in a resurrected Sheriff of London's Charity Shield, first to Arsenal in 1931 and in 1932, and then to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

in 1934. The club ceased to exist in 1939, when they merged with fellow amateur team Casuals to form the Corinthian-Casuals, which still plays today. The format of the FA Charity Shield changed several further times over the following decades, and in 1974 it was moved to August to become the opening match of each year's

season, and played between the winner of the FA Cup and the most senior league, now the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. Cardiff City is yet to return to the FA Charity Shield, which was renamed the FA Community Shield in 2002. However, between

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, the match was held at Cardiff's

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

while the new

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

was under construction. The closest Cardiff City has come so far to returning to the match was in 2008 when they reached the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

once more, but lost by a goal to nil against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1927 Fa Charity Shield FA Community Shield

Comm The command in the Unix family of computer operating systems is a utility that is used to compare two files for common and distinct lines. is specified in the POSIX standard. It has been widely available on Unix-like operating systems since ...