CONTENTS Part 1 : How It All Began 7 The Origins of Aston Villa 8 The Name 'Aston Villa' 8 How The Football Club Was Born 9 More Achievements 14 Further Background History 19 A Timeline of Main Events 27 A Summary History (1874-1944) 30 The Villa's Early Days 54 In The Beginning 55 Risks and Near Misses 58 Part 2 : About The Club 63 The Management of the Club 64 Overview 64 The Villa People and What They Did 64 Villa's Lead in Football Development 74 Looking Back on 50 Years (1874-1924) 85 Promise, then Disaster (1924-1936) 90 Wanted: The Villa Of Old 99 Hogan The Father Of Modern Football? 107 Part 3 : The Club's Grounds 115 The Story of Perry Barr 116 The Need For A Permanent Home 116 Football Becomes A Serious Affair 124 The Ground's Developments 128 The Visit Of Preston In The Cup 131 Into The League 137 The Story of Villa Park 142 Aston Hall and Park 142 The Lower Grounds and Mr. Quilter 152 The Magnificent Meadow 159 The Aston Lower Grounds Company 162 Aston Villa Takes An Interest 172 The Villa Move Home 178 Villa Park Ground Records 188 Part 4 : Great Matches 191 Ground Breaking Matches 192 Birmingham Cup, 1880 192 FA Cup, 1887 194 FA Cup, 1897 201 FA Cup, 1905 206 Other Very Interesting Matches 210 The Villa Since 1944 219
The story of how Aston Villa became a Superclub
From the very words of George Ramsay, Fred Rinder and other early architects and supporters of the great Club, published in newspapers of long ago, this book brings to light the character of those early leaders and the methods they used to keep the Villa ahead of the pack.
The book also provides more light on the person of Jimmy Hogan, a famous coach who came to the Villa in 1936 with the order to get the Villa back on the map! He went on to serve the Villa for a total of 9 years, in two periods spanning 23 years, and left a blueprint for football that the world has since followed.
Moreover, John tells the tale of the Villa's first ground at Perry Barr and, drawing on the research of those that have looked into the origins of the Aston Lower Grounds, conveys the story of how Villa Park emerged from what was once part of Aston Hall's grounds.
Embedded into those accounts he records the main footballing triumphs of the Club in its first (mainly glorious) 70 years' history.
The book is well illustrated, and includes some images not seen for many years.
In fact, John has not only included much new material, but also has managed to condense the essence of his 2-volume Aston Villa Chronicles (1874-1924, and after) into 220 A5 pages.
There's a lot packed into this book that will be of deep interest to avid followers of the Villa's history. John hopes that "The Villa Way 1874~1944" will prove to be a lasting testament to a great football club.
220 black and white glossy pages. A well illustrated A5 softback.
Price £9.90 (including P and P in the UK).
Ordering: Please obtain the book via this link.