Q 01/05

Aston Villa are said to have been founded in 1874 by four chapel cricketers meeting where?

A) Beneath a dim gas lamp

B) In a parish church vestry

C) At a cricket pavilion

D) In a Handsworth public house

Answer · why

A) Beneath a dim gas lamp

They had watched a rugby match, decided the game was 'a little too rough', and chose association football instead.

Q 02/05

What was the unusual condition of Aston Villa's first ever match, against Aston Brook St Mary's?

A) Each side fielded fifteen players

B) One half under rugby rules, one half under football rules

C) It was played on a cricket square

D) It was played with a rugby ball throughout

Answer · why

B) One half under rugby rules, one half under football rules

Villa won 1-0 against what was, after all, a rugby team.

Q 03/05

Which club's 'combination football' influenced George Ramsay, who joined Villa in 1876?

A) Third Lanark

B) Celtic

C) Queen's Park

D) Rangers

Answer · why

C) Queen's Park

The Villa players had never seen close ball control like his and immediately made him captain; his nickname was 'Scotty'.

Q 04/05

What annual salary did Villa offer in 1886 for the world's first professional football manager?

A) £150

B) £250

C) £500

D) £100

Answer · why

D) £100

There were 150 applicants; George Ramsay got the job and went on to win six titles and six FA Cups.

Q 05/05

Which Villa captain became the first player to score in every round of the FA Cup, in 1887?

A) Archie Hunter

B) Charlie Athersmith

C) Howard Spencer

D) John Devey

Answer · why

A) Archie Hunter

Villa were the first Midlands club to win the Cup and Hunter became one of the game's first household names.