mond2x: Ladies FA Cup medal goes under the hammer

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Ladies FA Cup medal goes under the hammer

FOOTBALL fans are being given the chance to bid for a piece of sporting history – a medal from the year Stoke lifted the FA Cup.

Long before Tony Pulis's lads got to Wembley, an invincible team called Stoke Ladies FC scooped the trophy. The year was 1922 and the score was 3-1.

Now, one of the medals awarded after that historic English Ladies' FA Challenge Cup match is to go under the hammer at Bonhams, in Chester, tomorrow.

It belonged to Lilian Bridgett, later known as Lilian Caton, who played right half and was the youngest member of the squad.

Her nine-carat gold medal, along with several black and white photos of the team line-up and a Sentinel cutting, are expected to fetch up to �500.

Stoke Ladies played Doncaster that summer's day 89 years ago and the match was at Cobridge Stadium, Port Vale's former ground.

Lilian, from Stoke, was a mere 15-years old-at the time and would go on to live past 100.

But the story behind the club proved just as fascinating as its greatest victory. For it was founded by Lilian's father, Len Bridgett, and four of his seven daughters played football.

Len, a fish dealer and one-time Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, was a Stoke City director and became president of the English Ladies' Football Association.

Yet Stoke Ladies actually owed its existence to family rivalry. Len's brother Arthur, who played for England, had seven sons and started a team called Bridgetts United.

Determined not to be outdone, Len formed the female team, who would play home matches at the fabled Victoria Ground.

In an interview with The Sentinel in 1994, Lilian recalled the days of her short-lived football career.

She said: "We had to train very hard and were helped to keep in trim by a masseur. Dad was very strict on discipline, but that was probably why we were such a good team."

Lilian's team mates included Daisy Bates, a prolific goal-scorer who later married Stoke City goalkeeper Bob Dixon. And then there was star player Dot Derricot, who scored 13 goals in a single match.

After winning the FA Cup, the club went on a tour of Spain, where the girls beat a French side in Barcelona.

But women's football began to fizzle out after the FA backed a rule, which stopped league clubs from staging women's matches. Stoke Ladies folded in 1923 after five years of being unbeaten on the pitch.

Lilian's cousin Peter Bridgett, who is now in his 60s and lives in Ashley, was surprised to hear of the medal coming up for auction. He is keen to put in a bid for it.

"I've already got some of the other medals from when they went on tour," he said.

"I used to visit Lily after she went up to live in Blackpool. She would tell me about getting to play football in front of the big crowds and the marvellous times they had. They would play in front of 40,000. It's incredible."

Tyne and Wear-based historian Patrick Brennan, an expert on women's football, said: "Stoke Ladies were very go-ahead in their day. They were fighting for the right to play the game.

"There will certainly be interest in the medal. I would be very surprised if it didn't fetch more than �500."

Lilian's medal, which includes an enamel design of a female footballer, is lot number 501.