Villa Park was not the original home of Aston Villa - although the team played at the site of the current ground in the early days, it was based in Perry Barr for 21 years. The little acorn which grew into the mighty tree of Aston Villa did so on a farmer’s field in a semi rural location near to Perry Barry station despite the name– and how Villa developed in this unusual place, near to but nor actually in Aston – but then settled in Aston is quite a story.
Football started as an amateur game, and in the south of England remained in the early 1880s as a game played in the public schools. However the growth of the game in the Midlands, the North and especially Scotland, made it obvious that working class players had talent in abundance – but would only fulfil their talent if they stopped working
Aston Villa have always provided the England team with internationals, and some of the legends live on. Players before the Second World War have faded, but deserve to be remembered – and some have lived in the memory – my granddad’s favourite, Harry Hampton
You may know that Aston Villa started the first Football League in the world when Secretary William McGregor suggested it in 1888. But did Villa score the first League goal and how did the Villa start in the first place?