Nationwide Division One Football

West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion was formed on the 20th September 1879 by a group of workers from the George Salter Spring Works. They were originally called West Bromwich Strollers. But they changed their name to West Bromwich Albion a year later. The club first match was against Black Lake Victoria on 13th December 1879 were they won 1-0 the goal coming from Harry Aston at Dartmouth Park, West Bromwich.

In 1883 the club won their first trophy, the Staffordshire Cup. They beat Stoke 3-2 in the final.

In the same year the club were in the FA Cup for the first time. But it was only three years later when they finally reached a final – 1886. This saw them play Blackburn Rovers. Which they lost 2-0 in the replay after a 0-0 draw. In the following they got to the final as well, but they lost to Aston Villa 2-0. For the third time in a row the club reached the final in 1888. In which they beat Preston North End 2-1.

West Bromwich has set a record on 4th April 1892 for beating Darwen 12-0. A record which still stands for the top division of English football.
In 1900 saw the club move to the Hawthorns, in which their first game was against Derby County on 3rd September resulting in a 1-1 draw. But at the end of the season the club was relegated to the Second Division. But they were then promoted in the next season.

After the First World War in the first full season of 1919-20 Albion won the League Championship for the first, and so far the only time in the clubs history.

During the 1930s West Brom set another record by beating Birmingham City 2-1 in the 1931 FA Cup final (Albion's first visit to Wembley Stadium). The 1930s also saw the club gain promotion from the Second Division in the same season. Also four years later saw Albion back at Wembley in the FA Cup Final, only this time they lost to Sheffield Wednesday 4-2. And Albion was in the 1936-37 FA Cup competition, which saw them beat Arsenal 3-1 at The Hawthorns. This match was played in front of their record crowd of 64,815.

During the 1950s the club won the FA Cup of 1954 by beating Preston North End 3-2. This Season also saw the club lost the First Division title to Wolves. But the season did start well for the club as they won nine wins in a row.

The 1960s saw the club win the League Cup in 1966, but in the following season in 1967 they were runners-up. The 1960s also saw the club win the FA Cup of 1968. In 1970 the club didn’t have success as they lost the League Cup to Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley.

In West Bromwich Albion’s recent history saw the club go down to the in 1995-96 the club only had one win. Also the had a good start to the 1996-97 season but an even better start came in the 1997-98 season when the club went into the top three after a 1-0 home win over Reading.
West Bromwich Albion has spent the last seasons in the nationwide Division one. But the club were Second Division runners-up in 2002 and Third Division Play-off winners of 1993.

West Bromwich Albion plays their football at the Hawthorns which has a capacity of 28,000.

The star players at West Bromwich Albion are Rob Hulse, Jason Koumas, Scott Dobie, Lee Hughes, Bernt Haas, Neil Clement, Thomas Gaardsoe, Sean Gregan and Artim Sakiri.

West Bromwich Albion hope to end the season within the top three of the table with the aim of winning of featuring in the final so they can gain promotion to the Barclaycard Premiership.