The inaugural Birmingham Cup was held in 1939 at the old Perry Barr Stadium on the Walsall Road, a mere stone’s throw from the current Aldridge Road venue, with Gloucester trainer Stan Raymond sending out Black Johnny to win at odds of 4/1. Although not staged every year for various reasons, the event still attracted some of the very best middle distance greyhounds in training from all corners of the country. As well as that man Jack Harvey who was successful in 1954, Frank Johnson, flapping legend Joe Booth, Joe De Mulder, John Bassett and Frank Baldwin won the Birmingham Cup twice at the old Perry Barr.
In 1992, the Birmingham Cup took place at the newly completed Perry Barr Stadium on the Aldridge Road, where Geoff De Mulder emulated his father by winning the event with Ballyard Curtis. Walthamstow’s John Coleman was a regular visitor to the winner’s enclosure in the 90’s, achieving success three times in four years, the latter occasion in 1998 with Honour And Glory when the event was first staged over its current distance of 480m. The legendary Charlie Lister OBE always targeted the competition with a strong team, and landed the event four times in seven years no less, including in 2009 with the super talented Fear Zafonic.
The Birmingham Cup was not staged between 2010 and 2019, but thanks to the initiative and generosity of Perry Barr trainer John Lambe, who undertook to resurrect the competition to its former glory in 2020 in memory of his late father Michael, the Birmingham Cup now sits proudly back at its place in the greyhound calendar, befitting its status and heritage.
