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Champion Athletes at Birmingham (1902)

Champion Athletes at Birmingham (1902)

Crowds enjoying the spectacle at Birmingham Athletics Club.

Amateur athletics was hugely popular in the Edwardian era, but sadly only three films of athletics meetings survive in the Mitchell & Kenyon collection. This film is densely packed, with fine coverage of track and field events, presentations and crowds, and vignettes of the champions. Plus there's an early screen heartthrob in American sprinter Arthur Duffey, who teasingly blows a kiss to camera.

Duffey's fellow American Samuel Jones, the champion high-jumper, is also singled out by the filmmakers. These shots reflect the extent of American domination of athletics at the time. Duffey - the Usain Bolt of his day - had been the hot favourite for the 1900 Paris Olympics, but injury denied him victory in the 100 yards final. Look out for the on-screen advert for the New Century Pictures cinematograph exhibition at Birmingham's Curzon Hall, where this title was shown, alongside a range of other films including Lord Kitchener's Return. The Birmingham Daily Mail review delighted at the "capital animated pictures of the Birmingham Athletic Club Sports on Saturday."

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From the collection

Edwardian Sports

Their attention may not always have been on the pitch or the track, but Edwardian filmmakers Mitchell and Kenyon were pioneers of filmed sport.

Sport was an increasingly booming industry in the early 20th Century. Banks of mud were gradually replaced by covered stands, filled by larger (overwhelmingly male) crowds of spectators thanks to growing leisure time. It was mostly these crowds, and the prospect of drawing them to paid screenings, that attracted Mitchell & Kenyon - which explains why their cameras were so often pointed at the terraces.

Even so, these pioneering films have left us with an evocative record of sport's emergence as the mass entertainment we know today. Over 50 sporting events feature here: mostly football and rugby, but also athletics, cricket, cycling, horse racing and rowing. 

54 videos in this collection

Crowds enjoying the spectacle at Birmingham Athletics Club.
1

Champion Athletes at Birmingham (1902)

  • Birmingham
  • 1902
Did he bowl or did he throw? A fascinating record of an early cricketing controversy.
2

Arthur Mold Bowling to A.N.Hornby (1901)

  • Old Trafford Cricket Ground
  • 1901-07-12
The earliest surviving Merseyside derby on film catches two of Everton's goals in a 3-1 home win.
3

Everton v Liverpool (1902)

  • Liverpool
  • 1902-09-27
A truly impressive exhibition of calisthenics from two teams of girls - perhaps an early talent contest?
4

Calisthenics (c.1905)

  • 1900
Exciting scenes of amateur cycling's 'Race of Champions' at Manchester's Fallowfield track.
5

Race for the Muratti Cup at Manchester Wheelers' Annual Meet (1901)

  • Manchester
  • 1901
Rare film of Manningham FC's days as a rugby club, in a hard-fought contest at Dewsbury's Crown Flatt ground.
6

Dewsbury v Manningham (1901)

  • Dewsbury
  • 1901-10-19
The 1900 Grand National winner at home with his trainer in County Kildare
7

Ambush II at Eyrefield Lodge, The Curragh (1902)

  • 1902-01-15
Athletes and acrobats wow the crowds at the annual Cycling Club carnival.
8

Leeds Athletic and Cycling Club Carnival at Headingley (1902)

  • Headingley
  • 1902
First-ever footage of Manchester United in a tense Edwardian football fixture.
9

Burnley v Manchester United (1902)

  • Burnley
  • 1902-12-06
Rare film record of an Edwardian local league cricket game between two Lancashire sides.
10

Great Local Derby, Accrington v Church Cricket Match (1902)

  • Accrington
  • 1902-07-05
A misty afternoon's rugby match draws a large crowd.
11

Mitchell and Kenyon 149 Hull F.C. V Wigan (1902)

  • Kingston upon Hull
  • 1902-10-04
The annual championship meeting of England's premier athletics association.
12

AAA Championships at Fartown, Huddersfield (1901)

  • Fartown Ground, Huddersfield
  • 1901
Rugby arch rivals lock horns in Hull.
13

Hull F.C. v Hull Kingston Rovers (1902)

  • Kingston upon Hull
  • 1902-04-26
Jolly japes and jumping in the lake - it's the water carnival in Leeds on Lifeboat Day.
14

Leeds Lifeboat Procession and Sports at Roundhay Park (1902)

  • Leeds
  • 1901
Bolton Wanderers overpower the shortlived Burton United at Burnden Park under rainy skies.
15

Bolton v Burton United (c.1904)

  • Burnden Park, Bolton
  • 1904
Bradford City's first ever home league game after switching from rugby to football in 1903.
16

Bradford City v Gainsborough Trinity (1903)

  • Valley Parade, Bradford
  • 1903-09-05
17

Cambridge University Sportsday (1903)

  • Cambridge
  • 1903-03-14
Edwardian oarsmen get some last minute practice in before the big race.
18

Crews Practicing on River Lee at Cork Regatta (1902)

  • 1902-07-20
An Edwardian contest between teams representing the English and Irish Football Leagues, with plenty of goal-line action.
19

England v Ireland at Manchester (1905)

  • Manchester
  • 1905-10-14
Blackburn Rovers play at home at Ewood Park to an unidentified team in an Edwardian football fixture.
20

Blackburn v... (1904)

  • Ewood Park, Blackburn
  • 1904-04
The camera is a welcome distraction to the spectators of a home defeat at Goodison Park.
21

Everton v Newcastle United (1902)

  • Liverpool
  • 1902-09-13
None of the goals but plenty of action in a 4-1 home win to Everton.
22

Everton v Newcastle United (1903)

  • Liverpool
  • 1903-09-19
A rugby league game shows the sport in transition, on a bitterly cold day.
23

Halifax v Salford (1901)

  • Halifax
  • 1901-04-23
Hull City football club plays a friendly match in their inaugural season.
24

Hull City Football (c.1905)

  • Kingston upon Hull
  • 1905
A less-than-serious Leeds team take a four-goals-and-two-tries battering from Hunslet.
25

Hunslet v Leeds (1901)

  • Hunslet
  • 1901-02-16
Schoolboy footballers fight it out at Ewood Park.
26

Moss Street v St Philips Football (1907)

  • Blackburn
  • 1907-03-30
Spectators enjoy a day at the races in Edwardian Manchester.
27

Manchester Races (1902)

  • Manchester
  • 1902
An Edwardian Rugby League final pits Lancashire against Yorkshire.
28

Northern Union Challenge Cup Final - Halifax v Salford (1903)

  • Leeds
  • 1903
A delightful day out on the water as Edwardian rowers mess about on the River Hull.
29

Kingston Rowing Club at Practice (1902)

  • Stoneferry
  • 1902-05-03
Early league football, with the team who will become Birmingham City losing at Anfield in a relegation year.
30

Liverpool v Small Heath (1901)

  • Liverpool
  • 1901-09-28
Over a hundred Edwardian athletes gather for a gruelling walking race.
31

Manchester to Blackpool Road Race (1903)

  • Blackpool
  • 1903
An Edwardian football match at Newcastle's St James' Park ground.
32

Newcastle United v Liverpool (1901)

  • Newcastle upon Tyne
  • 1901-11-23
The game is held up for the camera to do a full tour of the cheering crowds at Trent Bridge, Notts County's home until 1910.
33

Notts County v Middlesbrough (1902)

  • Nottingham
  • 1902-09-27
The evolution of Rugby League in a top of the table match between rival Lancashire clubs.
34

Oldham v Swinton (1901)

  • Oldham
  • 1901-01-12
Early football giants Preston and Villa face up in an epic Edwardian contest.
35

Preston North End v Aston Villa (1905)

  • Preston
  • 1905-11-11
Preston triumph at Deepdale in an Edwardian contest between two of England's oldest football teams.
36

Preston North End v Notts County (1904)

  • Preston
  • 1905-10-17
The Lillywhites take on the Wolves at Deepdale, watched by a large crowd and the club mascot.
37

Preston North End v Wolverhampton Wanderers (1904)

  • Preston
  • 1904-11-19
A ropey pitch and worse goalkeeping in a typical non-league football derby in Edwardian Yorkshire.
38

Rotherham Town v Thornhill (1902)

  • Rotherham
  • 1902-02-11
Runcorn, Lancashire Senior Competition winners in 1900 and third in 1901, face a fierce challenge from visiting St Helens.
39

Runcorn v St Helens (1901)

  • Runcorn
  • 1901-02-16
Batley go down to Lancashire rivals Salford in the very first season of the Northern Rugby League.
40

Salford v Batley (1901)

  • Salford
  • 1901-11-02
Sparkling images of fans and players at an Edwardian fixture at Sheffield's Bramall Lane.
41

Sheffield United v Bury (1902)

  • Sheffield
  • 1902-09-06
The crowds at Knowsley Road await a Rugby league match between the Saints and the Lions.
42

St Helens v Swinton (1901)

  • St Helens
  • 1901-01-19
A resounding win for Sunderland in the FA Cup, urged on by an enthusiastic band.
43

Sunderland v Leicester Fosse (1907)

  • Sunderland
  • 1907-01-12
A hard-fought North East derby in the Edwardian First Division.
44

Sunderland v Middlesbrough (1904)

  • Sunderland
  • 1904-01-09
Edwardian spectators and bookies enjoy an exciting day of horse racing.
45

Trotting Match at Springfield Park, Wigan (1904)

  • Springfield Park
  • 1904
Oarsmen compete along the River Lee in early 20th century Cork.
46

Two Oared Boat Race, Sunday's Well, Cork (1902)

  • 1902
International football action in front of an enthusiastic home crowd in Wrexham.
47

Wales v Ireland at Wrexham (1906)

  • Wrexham/Wrecsam
  • 1906
The entry of the teams and action from both halves of an Edwardian football game at Ewood Park.
48

Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa (1904)

  • Ewood Park, Blackburn
  • 1904
Scenes from the summer final between the Leander and Berlin rowing clubs.
49

Final of International Cup at Cork Regatta (1902)

  • 1900
Match action and scenes of an Edwardian rugby crowd at Warrington's Wilderspool stadium.
50

Warrington v St.Helens (1901)

  • Warrington
  • 1901
A team demonstrate their skills in the increasingly popular sport of water polo.
51

Water Polo Match (c.1901)

  • 1901
A large and lively crowd watches an Edwardian Second Division football match at Burnley's Turf Moor ground.
52

Burnley Football (1903)

  • Turf Moor
  • 1903
Spectral images of a football match at Bolton's Burnden Park.
53

Bolton Football 2 (c.1900)

  • Burnden Park, Bolton
  • 1900
An Edwardian First Division football match played at Blackburn's Ewood Park Stadium.
54

Blackburn Rovers v Sheffield United (1907)

  • Ewood Park, Blackburn
  • 1907-03-29
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