The earliest Manchester United [Newton Heath] football medal ever to have been offered at auction: the Manchester Senior Cup winner's medal awarded to

The earliest Manchester United [Newton Heath] football medal ever to have been offered at auction: the Manchester Senior Cup winner's medal awarded to Thomas Fitzsimmons in 1893, a 9ct. gold & enamel medal with a design based on the Coats of Arms of Manchester with a panelled football replacing the terrestrial globe , inscribed M.D.F.A., SENIOR, 1893, the reverse further inscribed T. FITZSIMMONS, WINNERS The first pieces of silverware to be put in the Newton Heath trophy cabinet was the Manchester Cup in 1886. When they won the Cup again in 1893 it was their fifth victory in the competition. In the 1892-93 Manchester Senior Cup Final Newton Heath beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 at Hyde Road on 15th April. Newton Heath had progressed to the final with victories over West Manchester and Bury. Fitzsimmons scored four goals during the competition. 1892-93 was also Hewton Heath's first season in the Football League Division One. They avoided relegation by beating Small Heath [Birmingham] in a play-off 'Test Match'. Fitzsimmons, having joined the club in November, scored 5 League goals during the campaign. Thomas Fitzsimmons was a Scot born at Annbank in south Ayrshire 21st October 1870. He was an outside-right and was one of several players on trial at Celtic who were seeking a replacement for Celtic's first ever goalscorer Neil McCallum. He was till a trialist when he made his League debut v Rangers at Ibrox on 24th September 1892. As such, this makes Fitzsimmons the only player in Celtic history to debut for the club in an 'Old Firm' fixture. This proved to be his only appearance for the Bhoys, although some records would suggest he played in a Glasgow Cup game before his League debut v Pollokshaws Athletic 17th September. A couple of months later he transferred to Newton Heath making his debut v Aston Villa 19th November at North Road, scoring in the 2-0 win. In all he made 30 competitive starts and scored 6 goals. In June 1894 Tommy Fitzsimmons returned to Scotland to play for his local team Annbank FC. Thomas's brother David also played for Newton Heath.