The 1882âÂÂ83 English football season was Aston Villa's 4th season in the Football Association Cup, the top-level football competition at the time. 1883 saw an increased takeover by professionals in the English game with Preston North End, in particular, attracting and paying a number of stars (mostly from Scotland). This move away from amateurism was to prove an advantage for Villa, whose industrial Birmingham home gave them access to large numbers of potential supporters. This in turn meant they could afford to pay decent wages to players with the ticket revenue accrued.
The year also saw Villa's longest run in the FA Cup. They beat Walsall Swifts, Wednesbury Old Athletic, Aston Unity and Walsall Town before a controversial 4âÂÂ3 loss to Notts County. A County player appeared to punch the ball off the line in the dying stages, but the referee was unmoved. The beaten Walsall Swifts and Walsall Town would later merge to make the present-day Walsall FC.
Viila played West Brom for the ever first time on 9 December 1882, in the second round of the Staffordshire Senior Cup: Villa hosted a 3âÂÂ3 draw in front of 13,900 fans, while in the replay West Bromwich Albion won by a single goal with an attendance of 10,500. It is possible that this is the first recorded incident of football violence with Albion fans being pelted with soil from home supporters before scuffles broke out between the two sets of fans.
There were debuts for Joe Simmonds, Thomas Bryan, David Anderson, Alf Harvey, Wally Roberts, Charles Apperley and Tommy Mason.