At
the end of the First World War the local Hesketh
Bank footballing community found itseldf with
nowhere to play having been refused access to
previous playing areas. To rectify this situation
a group of local people banded together to purchase
a plot of land exclusively for sporting purposes
and on 23rd January 1920 formed the Hesketh Sports
Company Ltd who bought the current land and ran
the Football Club
To
help raise the necessary money the Company took
out a mortgage of £500, which was obviously
a large sum in its day. To help pay off this mortgage
the idea of running a Medals Competition was born.
A cup for the winners was donated to the Sports
Company by Major Fermor-Hesketh in 1920, which
is the same cup presented to this day, and in
1921 the first competition was run.
A
year later saw the formation of the present seperate
Hesketh Bank AFC, but the Sports Company continued
to organise the Medals and use the proceeds to
reduce the debt. This continued until the Second
World War and in 1947 the running of the competition
was handed over to the Football Club who agreed
to pay an increased rent for this honour which
also entitled them to keep the proceeds. In 1994
the Sports Company disbanded and sold the land
to the Parish Council.
Entry
is by invitation only to Clubs who must be affiliated
to their local Football Association. In the 80
years since the first competition, the tournament
still seems to be as popular as ever with the
teams enetering and the spectators. Nowhere outside
the Lancashire County Cup competitions will such
a variety of representatives be found in a single
competition, with clubs from the West Lancashire
League, Lancashire Amateur League, Preston &
District League, Southport & District League
and Sunday football represented from the Southport,
Ormskirk, Wigan and Lancashire Evening Post (Preston)
Leagues.
The
competition is run on a knockout basis during
April and May, with all matches played at Station
Road. In recent years with the help of local sponsorship
and advertising a competition programme is published
with seperate ones for the semi-finals and final
ties. Attendance at these games can be large and
the competition is well known and respected throughout
the area. Traditionally, the competition has provided
open, entertaining football, and certainly in
the modern era no one club has dominated the competition.
"THE
MEDALS" ROLL OF HONOUR
1921
Walmer Bridge
1922 Walmer Bridge
1923 Hesketh Bank
1924 Walmer Bridge
1925 Banks
1926 Dandys XI Tarleton
1927 Hesketh Bank
1928 Tarleton Mill
1929 Hesketh Bank
1930 Rydings XI Banks
1931 Rydings XI Banks
1932 St Bernards
1933 Kirkbys Bretherton
1934 Mere Brow
1935 Rydings XI Banks
1936 Rydings XI Banks
1937 Rydings XI Banks
1938 Rydings X1 Banks
1939 Tarleton Corinthians
1940 Banks
1941 - 1946 No Competition
1947 Tarleton Corinthians
1948 Winners Unknown
1949 Banks Reserves
1950 Winners Unknown
1951 Sumners XI Southport
1952 Banks Corinthians
1953 Hesketh Bank
1954 Winners Unknown
1955 Winners Unknown
1956 Winners Unknown
1957 Hesketh Bank
1958 Hesketh Bank
1959 Little Hoole
1960 Hesketh Bank
1961 Southport Amateurs
1962 Croston
1963 Winners Unknown
1964 Hoole Rangers
1965 Banks
1966 Winners Unknown
1967 Parbold United
1968 Almond Brook Celtic
1967 Lostock Hall
1968 Croston
1969 Lostock Hall
1970 Croston
1971 Hoole United
1972 Frenchwood Rovers
1973 Crossens
1974 Black Bull (Preston)
1975 Black Bull (Preston)
1976 Banks
1977 Ormskirk Young Farmers
1978 St Pauls Southport
1979 St Pauls Southport
1980 Banks
1981 Birkdale Crown
1982 Banks
1983 Birkdale Garage
1984 Birkdale Garage
1985 Birkdale Garage
1986 Parbold United
1987 Tarleton Corinthians
1988 BAC Saudi (Warton)
1989 Moorgate Villa (Ormskirk)
1990 Hesketh Celtic
1991 Wigan College
1992 Wigan College
1993 Burscough Richmond
1994 Shake Vaults (Southport)
1995 Hesketh Bank
1996 Fleetwood Hesketh
1997 Walmer Bridge
1998 Ormskirk West End
1999 Crossens
2000 Bedford Rangers (Southport)
2001 Hesketh Bank
2002 Fleetwood Hesketh
2003 Hesketh Bank
2004 Hesketh Bank "A"
2005 Royal Garrison
2006 Hesketh Bank
2007 Royal Garrison |
