The competition took its name from a local theatre owner, Thomas Youdan, who sponsored the competition and provided the trophy.
Rules
On 28 January 1867, representatives of thirteen football clubs from the Sheffield area met at the Adelphi Hotel to form the "Youdan Prize Committee". The committee drew up the following regulations to govern the tournament:
After the first round, the committee added a new rule that "the referee shall have power to award a Free Kick to the opponents of any Club, which makes more than three fouls or kicks-out, when the ball is being thrown in, if he considers those fouls or kicks-out to be intentional".
Participating teams
, the oldest and most prestigious local club, declined to participate in the competition.. After this withdrawal, twelve teams remained in the Cup.
Because twelve teams entered the tournament, there were three teams remaining after two rounds. One team, drawn at random, received a bye to the final, while the other two competed in a semi-final to provide the other finalist.
After the final had been played, it was decided to hold a second-place playoff between the losing finalist and the losing semi-finalist.
The semi-final, final and second-place playoff were held at Bramall Lane, which at this time was primarily a cricket ground.
Results
Under the Sheffield Rules of the time, the rouge was used as a tiebreaker if both teams scored an equal number of goals. Of the thirteen matches played in the tournament, seven were goalless, of which six were decided by rouges. Only one goal was scored after the first round. In the results below, rouges are shown in brackets beneath the main scoreline.
First Round
Second Round
Replay
Semi-finals
Final
Second place play-off
Trophy
The Youdan Prize Committee invited members of the public to submit their proposed designs for the trophy. The creator of the entry judged the best would be rewarded by Youdan with a prize of one sovereign. This prize was initially awarded to a Mr Jarvis, of Roscoe Works.. His design was subsequently combined with that of another entrant: Mr. Topham, engraver, who was awarded a further prize of one pound. Before the semi-final, it was decided that the second-placed club would also be awarded a prize, to be funded by an admission fee of 3d at the semi-final and final. This prize ended up being valued at £2 10s. The trophies were presented at a dinner held at the Adelphi Hotel on Monday 11 March. Because the winning design required "protracted time in its manufacture", it had not been completed in time for the ceremony. In its place, a "richly-ornamented claret jug", created by Martin, Hall, and Co., was awarded to Hallam. Youdan was absent through illness, so the trophy was presented by Mr J. Birley. The second prize, a "double-handed goblet enriched with athletic figures", was awarded to Norfolk. The inscription on the cup awarded to Hallam reads: The first-place trophy was subsequently lost. It did not resurface again until 1997, when a Scottish antiques collector contacted Hallam F.C. to tell them that he was in possession of it - they subsequently bought it back for £1,600. Since then it has been valued to be worth at least £100,000 by silver specialist Alastair Dickenson of the BBC programme Antiques Roadshow, although the owners have insisted it is not for sale.
Legacy
Attendances of up to 3,000 were reported in the press. This would not be exceeded by the reported attendance at an FA Cup final until 1878. Contemporary reports suggest that the 1867 tournament was expected to be repeated in subsequent years, with Youdan awarding a trophy of the original competition-winning design. This did not occur. Youdan nevertheless maintained an interest in football, for example by donating £50 in prize money to the Sheffield Football Association in 1870. The work of the ad-hoc Youdan Prize Committee in co-ordinating activity between local clubs and framing rules was a precursor to that of the Sheffield Football Association, which had already been formed by the end of January 1867, and issued its own first set of rules on 6 March 1867, the day following the final of the Youdan Cup. The Youdan Trophy, a Sheffield-based international youth team tournament founded in 2014, takes its name from the Youdan Cup.
