A statue is set to be placed near the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield City Centre, commemorating Sheffield’s footballing heritage.
The charity in question, Sheffield Home of Football, are seeking to raise awareness for Sheffield’s footballing heritage, and have also made a bid to the UNESCO Memory of the World as a part of their aim for greater recognition as the “home of football”.
‘Heads or tails’, made by local sculptor David Westby, is dedicated to David’s brother, Martin Westby, a founder of the Sheffield Home of Football campaign who wrote extensively about football history in Sheffield, who sadly died in 2020.
The statue will commemorate a tie between Sheffield FC and Shropshire Wanderers that took place on the 30th October 1873.
The game is notable for being the only instance of an FA Cup game being decided by the toss of a coin.
The first game of the tie took place in Sheffield and finished a draw. The story was the same for the return fixture at the Racecourse Ground in Shrewsbury.
“So what do you do if you’re a Sheffielder? You go the pub,” said John Clarke, Secretary of the Sheffield Home of Football charity.
They realised that due to the dire financial situation of the clubs, which had been owned and run by wealthy businessmen in Sheffield industries, they could not afford to play a third game and so had to come up with an alternative; a coin toss.
“As that coin went up in the air, they suddenly realised that there was no more money in football and it was handed over to the poorer people.”
A modern fan might ask why they did not settle the tie with a penalty shoot out, but this was not to be adopted until 1970.
The frame of the statue is curved in an S shape to symbolise its beginnings in the steel industry, while the coins are made brass to symbolise how the industry brought money into the city.
For Sheffield Home of Football “the statues have always been on the agenda,” but the fundraising has taken some time as it has cost around £40,000.
As a public statue, it has also had to undergo wind tunnel testing which has added time to the project.
The charity are aiming for it to be installed in February 2026, near the Millennium Gallery in the City Centre.
They want the new installation to be the first of a new art trail all honouring parts of Sheffield’s football story.
The hope is for this trail to feature a statue of Brazilian legend Pele, commemorating his visit to the city in 2007, where he famously said: “without Sheffield FC there wouldn’t be a me.”
The trail would feature in Sheffield Home of Football’s guided walking tours.
Images courtesy of Andy Kershaw
