The Sheriff of London Charity Shield was an English football competition played once a year between an amateur and a professional side in England.
The first game was played on March 19, 1898, after being devised by Sir Thomas Dewar. Proceeds from the annual game were distributed to hospitals and charities.
The competition was short-lived due, in part, to the dominance of the professional sides, and also to a rift in the Football Association which saw the creation of the Amateur Football Association. The shield was ceased in 1907 - although the charitable spirit of the trophy was to continue on in the Charity Shield; it was twice resurrected since, once in the 1930s and the other in the 1960s.
There was a one off game played between Watford(current holders) and Corinthian Casuals in 1983. Watford ran out 6-1 winners.
The Shield itself, commissioned by Dewar, was over six feet high - the largest trophy to be competed for in the history of football. In the 1980s the trophy was put up for auction and sold for £26,000 to a private American owner. It is on display in the Watford Museum.
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