Glossop North End AFC - Samuel Hill-Wood

The Legends of Football - Part One - Lost Heroes, Treasured Pride by Matthew Cox

Sir Samuel Hill-Wood, born on 21 March 1872 the son of Samuel Wood and Anne Kershaw Sidebottom, lived a long and prosperous, public life.

From early childhood Samuel Hill-Wood known locally as “Sammy” showed an unbelievable understanding of his family’s cotton business and how it was constructed and managed. Inspired by his father and grandfather to continue the business he was sent to be educated at Eton College. It was here where Sammy first acquired his obsession with sport. On returning from College, Sammy was fascinated to hear that Glossop had set up their own football club (Glossop North End) and that some of his father’s employees were involved. In response he organised a team representing his fathers company named Howardtown F.C. He played alongside employees in local leagues which consisted of teams from butchers, victuallers and rival mills. As the football game grew nationally, Howardtown F.C was not enough for Sammy and he began talks with other clubs. It was around this time rumours began saying that Samuel Hill Wood wanted to “buy” a football club.

Sir Samuel Hill-Wood in 1928

In April 1888 his father, Samuel Wood died aged 69; with this Sammy inherited his fathers business at Howardtown mills, life savings and reputation. This gave him the incentive to carry out his ambition to create a high class football club. Sammy delivered his proposal to the founders of Glossop North End and it was accepted almost immediately. He hand selected a small team of men that consisted of a secretary, two trainers and a scout.  This “Scout” travelled the land observing the top teams of the time such as Manchester City and Preston North End for the perfect players. Sammy expressed in a telegram that, “money is the key “; a quote that still applies today. Sammy also pulled some strings in his cricket line of work, persuading fellow cricketers to come and play for him. By 1890 Glossop North End were playing in the North Cheshire League and things were looking good.

In the early 1800s the game of football was used as tool to encourage young men to go to church and to maintain a “team” spirit on the day of rest. However by the late 1800s the sport had developed not only into a national game but an entertaining enterprise. Samuel Hill Wood had spotted not only an opportunity for investment, but also advertisement on a national scale. When Sammy turned 22 he injected a huge sum of money into the club, big enough in fact to start paying wages and turned the club professional. 

This same year also saw Sammy make his debut in cricket playing for the Derbyshire County first team.  Glossop North End were making national headlines when they entered the Second Division of the Football league.

Sammy loved the attention he and the club were getting so much so he boosted the club yet again with another financial push. 

This gave them the edge they needed drafting in some of the best players from teams from all over the land and even overseas. Building in confidence the team began to draw in huge crowds which brought the money rolling in. This could be seen when Glossop North End played local rivals Manchester City at North Road. Just over 7,000 were in attendance to see City win in a narrow victory over Glossop of 2-1. From this one match they had taken £150.18s.4d on the turnstiles alone

Glossop North End - The team who won promotion in 1899

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There was a huge uproar not just nationally but worldwide when Glossop North End made it into top flight football. In 1899 the nation stared in disbelief that a small town deep within the hills were battling it out on the pitch with some of the nation’s top teams from some of the wealthy cities. This could not have been possible without Samuel Hill Woods astounding insight, a true pioneer of sport. Sammy continued to work closely with the club even taking them to a F.A Cup Quarter Final in 1909.

In 1910 Sammy began a new career as a conservative MP for the High Peak. In 1913 he was involved in top secret government plans and had an early insight of what would unfold to be the Great War. So with that in hand he returned to Glossop and began to sell his shares in the club. But the influences of Sammy remained in Glossop as the "Hillmen” or “Wood’s Men” began their battle in the F.A Cup 1913. Even with Sammy gone from the club, the reputation remained as a record of 10,736 people flocked to see Preston North End at North Road for the F.A Cup 2^nd Round game.

Throughout the years to this day the legend of Sir Samuel Hill-Wood remains. As we celebrate entering the Final at Wembley of the FA Vase, the “Hillsmen” are a distinct reminder of that great pioneer. Just think Sammy had his own football club at the age of 18 and in the space of 14 years his club, Glossop was and still is to this day the smallest town in England ever to have a team grace the top flight football league.

By Matthew Cox 

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