Origins
Celebrating 120 years of the Grecians – The St Sidwell’s United's  Story
12. St Sidwell’s win our first-ever trophy

St Sidwell’s United's debut season was an unqualified success. Of special note was winning the new Exeter Junior League competiton. The Grecians, playing a mixture of friendlies and League games, got off to a storming start and won ten games on the trot before losing to St David’s in the League in December.

We’re not certain about all the games, but for the matches we do have scores for then the season’s playing record was a very respectable P25 W18 D3 L4.
Winning the League, in its inaugural year, was a tribute to the way a strong side had been put together. This was particularly displayed in defeating runners up St Luke’s College Reserves 5-1 and 3-1. The latter game was the last League game of the season and a winner-takes-all match for the title. St Sidwell’s had wobbled a bit and only drawn their penultimate fixture 1-1 against bottom team St Leonard’s.

The Devon and Exeter Gazette football reporter warned: ‘St Sidwell’s will have to beware or they will be ousted from their position.’ However, all went well, and the paper reported that ‘a splendid game was witnessed’. Playing at the College Ground, in Magdalen Road, St Sidwell’s ‘rose to the occasion in grand style’ to become champions. Grecian legend Sid Thomas scored twice and Sillick once.

The Cup and medals were presented at the League’s annual meeting at the Bude Hotel in Sidwell Street on 7 June. (Photo courtesy of Exeter Memories)



The League Secretary, Mr J L Wilkinson, speaking at the ceremony, said: ‘St Sidwell’s were to be congratulated on their success. Their performance was particularly meritorious from the fact that it was a newly formed club.’ Those last three words serve to confirm St Sidwell’s foundation as being in 1901.

The Mayor presented the cup to St Sidwell’s captain W Morgan along with the medals to the eleven members of the team. He also presented, on behalf of the club, a gold medal to Mr West, the secretary of the club. Most of the games played in this first season were friendlies including two against Torquay United Reserves. The biggest win was 9-1 against Crediton YMCA, away. The Crediton Chronicle reporter was not impressed and blamed the home goalkeeper: ‘At least six of the goals should have been easily stopped. I never saw such ‘soft’ affairs as some of them were.’ Undoubtedly the toughest encounters were against senior club Exeter United’s first team. St Sidwell’s lost both friendlies 3-2. These were fractious affairs; in the first, St Sidwell’s supporters were castigated by the local paper for not showing the referee ‘a little more respect’, and the second game was 'characterised by considerable roughness’.

It was a rivalry which would come to a head in the 1902-03 season.

St Sidwell’s United’s first season ended with a showpiece game at the County Ground, an event that will be covered in the next article.