An early Welsh rugby medal: 1888 Cardiff Football Union medal, silver & blue enamel, inscribed CARDIFF FOOTBALL UNION, 1888, lacking brooch fitting to
£1,500 - £2,500
An early Welsh rugby medal: 1888 Cardiff Football Union medal, silver & blue enamel, inscribed CARDIFF FOOTBALL UNION, 1888, lacking brooch fitting to reverse Despite the name, the Cardiff Football Union was a rugby organisation. Rugby historian Gwyn Prescott believes that the Cardiff Football Union medal was a Cup medal, as this Union only existed to administer the competition. In 1888, the winners were Penarth. This union was in existence only for a few years. It was disbanded when Penarth won the cup outright after the fourth final. The cup is now in the Penarth club museum. During the 1890s, the Cardiff and District Football Union (now renamed the Cardiff and District Rugby Union) was formed and they introduced the Mallett Cup - still played for today - but this is a different competition from the one relating to the present medal. The original recipient of the Cup winner's medal is unknown but for the record Gwyn Prescott confirmed the Penarth line-up as follows: H.E. (Herbie) Morgan, R (Dickie) Garrett (captain), J (Joe) Williams, G (George) Rowles, G L (Glyn) May, F Moore, T (Tom) Hutchings, L Lawday, J (John) Hayes, A Mears, T (Tom) Garrett, G (George) Garrett, W P Edgington, G Lawday & J Maloney. Gwyn Prescott is the author of a recently published book which covers these matters - This Rugby Spellbound People: Rugby Football in Nineteenth Century Cardiff and South Wales (Welsh-academic-press.com).