The club was founded as West Bromwich Strollers in 1878 by workers from George Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich, then in Staffordshire but now part of the West Midlands administrative county. They were renamed West Bromwich Albion in 1880, becoming the first team to adopt the Albion suffix. Albion was a district of West Bromwich where some of the players lived or worked, close to what is today Greets Green. West Bromwich Albion joined the Birmingham & District Football Association in 1881 and became eligible for their first competition, the Birmingham Cup. West Bromwich Albion reached the quarter-finals, beating several longer-established clubs on the way. In 1883, Albion won their first trophy, the Staffordshire Cup. West Bromwich Albion joined the Football Association in the same year; this enabled them to enter the FA Cup for the first time in the 1883–84 season. In 1885 West Bromwich Albion turned professional, and in 1886 they reached the FA Cup final for the first time, losing 2–0 to Blackburn Rovers in a replay. West Bromwich Albion reached the final again in 1887, but lost 2–0 to Aston Villa. In 1888 the team won the trophy for the first time, beating strong favourites Preston North End 2–1 in the final.
In March 1888, William McGregor wrote to what he considered to be the top five English teams, including Albion, informing them of his intention to form an association of clubs that would play each other home and away each season. Thus when the Football League started later that year, West Bromwich Albion became one of the twelve founder members. Albion's second FA Cup success came in 1892, beating Aston Villa 3–0. West Bromwich Albion met Villa again in the 1895 final, but lost 1–0. West Bromwich Albion suffered relegation to Division Two in 1900–01, their first season at The Hawthorns. West Bromwich Albion were promoted as champions the following season but relegated again in 1903–04. West Bromwich Albion won the Division Two championship once more in 1910–11, and the following season reached another FA Cup Final, where they were defeated by Second Division Barnsley in a replay.
West Bromwich Albion won the Football League title in 1919–20 for the only time in their history following the end of the First World War, their totals of 104 goals and 60 points both breaking the previous league records. West Bromwich Albion finished as Division One runners-up in 1924–25, narrowly losing out to Huddersfield Town, but were relegated in 1926–27.[11] In 1930–31 they won promotion as well as the FA Cup, beating Birmingham 2–1 in the final. The "Double" of winning the FA Cup and promotion has not been achieved before or since. West Bromwich Albion reached the final again in 1935, losing to Sheffield Wednesday, but were relegated three years later. They gained promotion in 1948–49, and there followed the club's longest unbroken spell in the top flight of English football, a total of 24 years.
In 1953–54 West Bromwich Albion came close to being the first team in the 20th century to win the League and Cup double. West Bromwich Albion succeeded in winning the FA Cup, beating Preston 3–2, but a loss of form towards the end of the season meant that they finished as runners-up to fierce rivals Wolves in the league. Nonetheless, West Bromwich Albion became known for their brand of fluent, attacking football, with the 1953–54 side being hailed as "The Team of the Century". One national newspaper went so far as to suggest that West Bromwich Albion be chosen en masse to represent England at the 1954 World Cup finals. West Bromwich Albion remained one of the top English sides for the remainder of the decade, reaching the semi-final of the 1957 FA Cup and achieving three consecutive top five finishes in Division One between 1957–58 and 1959–60.
Although their league form was less impressive during the 1960s, the second half of the decade saw West Bromwich Albion establish a reputation as a successful cup side. In 1966, under manager Jimmy Hagan, they beat West Ham in their first League Cup appearance, winning 5–3 on aggregate in the last two-legged final. The following year they reached the final again, the first at Wembley, but lost 3–2 to Third Division QPR after being 2–0 up at half-time. Albion's cup form continued under Hagan's successor Alan Ashman. He guided the club to their last major trophy to date, the 1968 FA Cup, when they beat Everton in extra time thanks to a single goal from Jeff Astle.[21] Albion reached the FA Cup semi-final and European Cup Winners Cup quarter-final in 1969, and were defeated 2–1 by Manchester City in the 1970 League Cup Final.
West Bromwich Albion were less successful during the reign of Don Howe, and were relegated to Division Two at the end of 1972–1973, but gained promotion three years later under the guidance of player-manager Johnny Giles. Under Ron Atkinson, West Bromwich Albion reached the 1978 FA Cup semi-final but lost to Ipswich Town. In 1978–79, the team finished third in Division One, their highest placing for over 20 years, and also reached the UEFA Cup quarter-final, where they were defeated by Red Star Belgrade.[26] In his second spell as manager, Ronnie Allen guided the team to both domestic cup semi-finals in 1981–82. The mid-1980s saw the start of Albion's longest and deepest decline. They were relegated in 1985–86 with the worst record in the club's history, beginning a period of sixteen years outside the top flight. Five years later the club were relegated to the Third Division for the first time.
West Bromwich Albion had spent the majority of their history in the top-flight of English football, but when the FA Premier League was founded in 1992 the club found themselves in the third tier, which had been renamed Division Two. In 1992–93 Albion finished fourth and entered the playoffs for the first time, having just missed out the previous year. Albion's first appearance at Wembley for over twenty years—and their last ever at the original stadium—saw them beat Port Vale 3–0 to return to the second level - now renamed the First Division. Manager Ossie Ardiles then joined Tottenham Hotspur however, and a succession of managers over the next few seasons saw Albion consolidate their Division One status without ever mounting a serious promotion challenge.
The appointment of Gary Megson in March 2000 heralded an upturn in the club’s fortunes. Megson guided West Bromwich Albion to Division One safety in 1999–2000, and to the play-offs a year later. He went on to lead the club to promotion to the Premiership in 2001–02. After being relegated in their first Premiership season, they made an immediate return to the top flight in 2003–04. In 2004–05 Megson's successor, former Albion midfielder Bryan Robson, led the team to a last-day “Great Escape”, when Albion became the first Premiership club to avoid relegation having been bottom of the table at Christmas. However they failed to avoid the drop the following season, and Robson was replaced by Tony Mowbray in October 2006. The club competed in the Championship promotion playoff final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2007, but lost 1–0 to Derby County. The following season Mowbray led West Bromwich Albion to Wembley again, this time in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. They lost 1–0 to Portsmouth, but one month later were promoted to the Premier League as champions. |