Presented by H.H. Prince Hassan Pacha* to the Amateur Athletic Club 1871
By Dr Jane Ainsworth
The History of the Event
The Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) was established in 1880. Prior to this, the Amateur Athletic Club (AAC) organised championships for gentlemen amateurs between 1866 and 1879. The Hassan Pacha Challenge Cup has been awarded to the winner of the 100 Yards since 1871.
On three occasions, the winner of this trophy went on to win Olympic gold for Great Britain in the same season; Harold Abrahams in 1924, as shown in Chariots of Fire, Allan Wells in the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, in 1980, and Linford Christie in Barcelona 1992.
There have been several overseas champions; the first of 12 American winners, Frederick Westing, took the 1888 title. Seraphino Antao, the first Kenyan athlete to win an AAA championship won this title in 1962.
The first South African champion, Reggie Walker, remains the youngest Olympic 100m champion aged just 19 he won the 100m at the 1908 London Olympics before going on the win the AAA Championship later that summer. Two other notable champions are Jack London, silver medallist at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and the first to use starting blocks at the Games, and E. McDonald Bailey, whose 7 titles are only exceeded by Linford Christie. Christie, one of an élite group of British athletes to hold the complete set of Olympic, World, Commonwealth, and European titles remains responsible for the longest queues of autograph hunters at athletics meetings in Britain.
The Donor
Prince Hassan Pacha was the third son of the ruler of Egypt, Khedive Ismail Pasha.
In 1871, while studying at Oxford University, he attended the championships of the Amateur Athletic Club and decided to present this trophy. Hassan’s father was responsible for the transformation of Egypt in the nineteenth century, with much advice and financial support secured from European countries, notably France, where he had been educated, and Britain. Only 4 years after his time at Oxford, Hassan was acting as a diplomat for his father in Germany, where he was instructed to recruit high-ranking officers for the Egyptian army. In 1876 during the Egyptian-Ethiopian War Hassan Pacha was kidnapped by the Ethiopians and only released after a large ransom was paid.
History of the Trophy
AAA champions in the 100 yards (1880-1969), then 100 metres (1970-1995) received this trophy for the event first contested in championships held by the organisation’s precursor, the Amateur Athletic Club, from 1866. Since 2010 the trophy has been presented to the winner of the English Senior Championships 100m. Until recently the trophy was on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester, where the exploits of Arthur Wharton, world record holder for the 100 yards, AAA champion in 1886 and 1887, and the first black professional footballer, have been celebrated.
Previous Winners*
| 1897 J.H. Palmer | 1930 C. Berger | 1967 B. Kelly | |
| 1898 F.Cooper | 1931 E. Page | 1968 P. Nash | |
| 1899 R.W. Wadsley | 1932 F. Reid | 1969 R. Jones | |
| 1900 A. Duffey | 1933 G. Saunders | 1970 G. Symonds | |
| 1901 A. Duffey | 1934 J. Sir | 1971 B. Green | |
| 1902 A. Duffey | 1935 A. Sweeney | 1972 V.Papageorgopoulos | |
| 1903 A. Duffey | 1936 M. Osendarp | 1973 D. Halliday | |
| 1904 J. Morton | 1937 C. Holmes | 1974 S. Williams | |
| 1905 J. Morton | 1938 M. Osendarp | 1975 S. Riddick | |
| 1906 J. Morton | 1939 A.W. Sweeney | 1976 D. Quarrie | |
| 1907 J. Morton | 1946 E. M. Bailey | 1977 C. Edwards | |
| 1908 R. Kerr | 1947 E. M. Bailey | 1978 J. Sanford | |
| 1909 R. Walker | 1948 J. Treloar | 1979 C. Edwards | |
| 1910 F. Ramsdell | 1949 E. M. Bailey | 1980 A. Wells | |
| 1880 W. Phillips | 1911 F. Ramsdell | 1950 E. M. Bailey | 1981 M. Lattany |
| 1881 W. Phillips | 1912 G. Patching | 1951 E. M. Bailey | 1982 C Sharp |
| 1882 W. Phillips | 1913 W. Applegarth | 1952 E. M. Bailey | 1983 C. Smith |
| 1883 J.M. Cowie | 1914 W. Applegarth | 1953 E. M. Bailey | 1984 D. Reid |
| 1884 J.M. Cowie | 1915 – No Championship | 1954 G. Ellis | 1985 E. Obeng |
| 1885 J. M. Cowie | 1918 (European War) | 1955 R. SAndstrom | 1986 L. Christie |
| 1886 A. Wharton | 1919 W. Hill | 1956 J. Young | 1987 D. Evans |
| 1887 A. Wharton | 1920 H.F.V. Edward | 1957 K. Box | 1988 L. Christie |
| 1888 F. Westing | 1921 H.F.V Edward | 1958 J. Omagbemi | 1989 L. Christie |
| 1889 E. Pelling | 1922 H.F.V. Edward | 1959 P. Radford | 1990 C. Smith |
| 1890 N. Morgan | 1923 E.H. Liddell | 1960 P. Radford | 1991 L. Christie |
| 1891 L. Cary | 1924 H. Abrahams | 1961 H. Jerome | 1992 L. Christie |
| 1892 C. Bradley | 1925 L. Murchison | 1962 S. Antao | 1993 L. Christie |
| 1893 C. Bradley | 1926 R. Corts | 1963 B. Jones | 1994 L. Christie |
| 1894 C. Bradley | 1927 H. Kornig | 1964 E. Figuerola | 1995 L. Christie |
| 1895 C. Bradley | 1928 W. Legg | 1965 E. Figuerola | |
| 1896 N. Morgan | 1929 J. London | 1966 P. Nash |
| 2010 T. Gilling | 2013 D. Chambers | 2016 J. Fearon |
| 2011 H. Aikines-Aryeetey | 2014 D. Chambers | 2017 O. Oduburun |
| 2012 D. Tobais | 2015 S. Safo-Antwi | 2018 A. Robertson |
| 2019 K de Escofet |
*N.B. Names are as recorded on the trophy and are not always as recorded elsewhere. The name of the donor is recorded on the this trophy as Pacha, despite being styled as Pasha in other sources.