WEST BROMWICH ALBION F.C.

'West Bromwich Albion Football Club' (also known as 'West Brom', 'The Baggies', 'Albion', 'The Albion', 'The Throstles' or 'W.B.A.') is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands. The team currently plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, although they have competed in the top-flight for the majority of their existence. The club was formed in 1878 by workers from Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich, and have played their home games at The Hawthorns since 1900.
West Brom were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League in 1888, but have won the league title only once, in 1920. They have had more success in the FA Cup, with five wins. The first came in 1888, the year the League was founded, and the most recent in 1968, which was their last major trophy. They also won the Football League Cup at the first attempt in 1966. Since the early 1980s the club has been less successful. From 1986 to 2002 they spent their longest ever period out of the top division, although there has been something of a revival in recent years, with three seasons spent in the Premiership between 2002 and 2006.

Contents

History

Colours

Crest

Grounds

Supporters

Ownership and governance

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable Former Players

Notable former managers

Honours

Records

Footnotes

Further reading

External links

History

Main articles: History of West Bromwich Albion F.C.


The club was founded as 'West Bromwich Strollers' in 1878^[1] by workers from George Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich (then in Staffordshire, but now part of the West Midlands administrative county).^[2] 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. The club joined the Birmingham & District Football Association in 1881, and became eligible for their first competition, the Birmingham Cup. They reached the quarter finals, beating several longer-established clubs on the way. In 1883, Albion won their first trophy, the Staffordshire Cup.
In the same year, Albion joined the Football Association, which enabled them, in the 1883–84 season, to enter the FA Cup for the first time.^[3] In 1886 they reached the FA Cup final for the first time, losing 2–0 to Blackburn Rovers in a replay. They reached the final again in 1887, but lost 2–0 to Aston Villa.

The West Bromwich Albion team of 1888, FA Cup winners and Football League founder members

In 1888 the team went one better and won the trophy for the first time, beating firm favourites Preston North End 2–1 in the final. This made Albion virtually an automatic choice to be one of the twelve founders of the Football League, which started in the same year.^[4] Albion's second FA Cup success came in 1892, beating Aston Villa 3–0. However, from then until the start of World War I, the club was sorely stretched financially; the team struggled, and suffered relegation to Division Two in 1901 and 1904. They also finished as FA Cup runners-up in 1895 and 1912: in 1895 they lost 1–0 to Aston Villa and in 1912 Albion were humbled (in a replay) by Second Division Barnsley. Following the end of the war, however, Albion won the Football League title in 1920 for the only time in their history. In doing so they became the first team to win the title and score over 100 goals in the same season.
Albion finished as Division One runners-up in 1925, narrowly losing out to Huddersfield, but were relegated in 1927. This led though to a unique "''Double''" however, when in 1930–31 they became the first club to win the FA Cup (beating Birmingham City 2–1) and promotion (from the Second Division) in the same season. As of 2007, this feat has yet to be repeated. Once again relegation followed a few years later, and Albion found themselves in the Second Division once more at the start of World War II. They gained promotion in 1948–49 however, and there followed the club's longest ever continuous run in the top flight of English football: a total of 24 years.
In 1953–54 Albion came close to being the first team in the 20th century to win the elusive League and Cup double. They succeeded in winning the FA Cup, beating Preston 3–2, but their league form was affected by a series of injuries towards the end of the season and they finished as runners-up to fierce rivals Wolves. Nonetheless, Albion became known for their fluent, attacking football, with the 53–54 side being hailed as "The Team of the Century".^[5] They remained one of the top sides for the remainder of the decade, reaching the semi-final of the 1957 FA Cup, and achieving three consecutive top 5 finishes in Division One between 1958 and 1960.

The Jeff Astle gates at The Hawthorns

The late 1960s was a time of great cup success for the Albion. 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 were humiliated by QPR, losing 3–2 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. In 1969 Albion again reached the FA Cup semi-finals but narrowly lost out to Leicester City. The following year Albion reached the League Cup final again but lost out to Manchester City 2–1. Another highlight of the decade was when Albion defeated the newly crowned European Champions Manchester United 6–3 at the Hawthorns.
Albion were less successful during the reign of Don Howe, and were relegated to Division Two in 1973, but gained promotion three years later under the guidance of player-manager Johnny Giles. This was followed by another golden era in which the team, under manager Ron Atkinson, won many friends for its open, attacking style of play, and also for its pioneering selection of players of Afro-Caribbean origins. In 1978 Albion reached the FA Cup semi-final again but lost to Ipswich Town. Albion should arguably have won the league in 1978–79, but a huge pile up of fixtures and an end of season slump meant that Albion slipped to third, losing the title to Liverpool. Albion also reached the UEFA Cup quarter-final, where they were defeated by Red Star Belgrade. Many Albion fans consider the highlight of the season to have been the 5–3 victory away at Manchester United, the last time, to date, that an away team scored five goals at Old Trafford.
Atkinson was lured away to Manchester United in 1981. His successor Ronnie Allen guided the team to both domestic cup semi-finals in 1981–82, which was the last time the club has reached that stage in a cup competition. At the time, although the record has now been surpassed by Manchester United, Albion had reached the semi-finals more times than any other club. The team then went into the longest and deepest decline in its history. They were relegated in 1985–86 (with the worst record in the club's history) and five years later worse was to follow when they were relegated to the Third Division for the first time.
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. A 3–2 aggregate win over Swansea City set Albion up for their first appearance at Wembley for over twenty years (and their last ever at the original stadium), when they beat Port Vale 3–0 to return to the second level - now renamed the First Division. Manager Ossie Ardiles became an instant hero, but was immediately lured away to manage Tottenham Hotspur. 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 a turnaround in the club’s fortunes. Megson guided Albion to Division One safety in 1999–2000, and to the playoffs a year later. He went on to lead the club to promotion to the Premiership in 2002 and 2004. In 2004–05 his successor, former Albion midfielder Bryan Robson, engineered a dramatic and improbable last-day “Great Escape”, with Albion becoming the first Premiership club to stave off relegation having been bottom of the table at Christmas.^[6] However they failed to avoid the drop the following season,^[7] and currently play in the Football League Championship. Now managed by Tony Mowbray, the club competed in the promotion playoff final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2007, but lost 1–0 to Derby County.^[8]

Colours

West Bromwich Albion play in navy blue and white striped shirts, and have done so for the majority of their existence, usually with white shorts and white socks. The team is occasionally referred to as '''The Stripes''' by supporters. During the club's formative years however, a number of different colours were trialled, including cardinal red and blue quarters (1880–81), yellow and white quarters (1881–82), chocolate and blue halves (1881–82 & 1882–83), red and white hoops (1882–83), chocolate and white (1883–84) and cardinal red and blue halves (1884–85).^[9] The blue and white stripes made their first appearance in the 1885–86 season, although at that time they were of a lighter shade of blue; the navy blue stripes did not appear until after World War I.^[10] For the regional leagues played during World War II, Albion were forced to switch to all-blue shirts, as rationing meant that striped material was considered a luxury.^[11]
Like all football clubs, Albion sport a secondary ("change") strip when playing away from home against a team whose colours clash with their own. A wide variety of different away colours have been worn over the years, but yellow and green striped shirts have been the most common choice since the early 1970s.^[12] A number of other change strips have come to be associated with particular matches. For example in the 1935 FA Cup final, the players wore plain blue shirts, in the 1967 League Cup final an all-red strip was used, while the 1968 FA Cup winning team sported white shirts and shorts, with red socks.
Albion's shirts have been sponsored since the 1981–82 season, when BSR Housewares became their first kit sponsor. Since then the club has agreed a number of shirt sponsorship deals, the longest of which was with the West Bromwich Building Society for seven seasons between 1997 and 2004. They were succeeded by current shirt sponsor T-Mobile. Albion's kit is manufactured by Umbro.

Crest

West Bromwich Albion's previous club crest, retired in 2006

The town crest of West Bromwich, displayed on WBA shirts 1994–2001

Albion's main club crest dates back to the late 1880s, when then club secretary Tom Smith suggested that a throstle (song thrush) sitting on a crossbar be adopted for the crest.^[13] Since then, the club crest has always featured a throstle, usually on a blue and white striped shield, although the crossbar was replaced with a hawthorn branch at some point after the club's move to The Hawthorns. The throstle was chosen because the public house in which the team used to change kept a pet thrush in a cage. It also gave rise to Albion's early nickname, '''The Throstles'''. Well into the twentieth century, a caged throstle used to be placed beside the touchline during matches, and it was said that it only used to sing if Albion were winning. An effigy of a throstle has sat perched above the Woodman corner at The Hawthorns for much of the club's time there.
The crest has been subject to various revisions through the years, meaning that the club were unable to register it as a trademark. As a result of this, the crest was re-designed in 2006, incorporating the name of the club for the first time. The new crest gave Albion the legal protection they sought.^[14]
The main club crest should be distinguished from the badge displayed on the first team strip, as the two have rarely co-incided. Historically, no badge appeared on the kit, although the West Bromwich town crest was worn on the players' shirts for the 1931, 1935 and 1954 FA Cup finals. The crest's Latin motto, "Labor omnia vincit", translates as "labour conquers all things" or "work conquers all". The town crest was revived as the shirt badge from 1994 until 2000 (2001 on the away strip), with the throstle moved to the collar of the shirts. Albion's first regular shirt crest appeared in the late 1960s and featured the familiar throstle, but without the blue and white striped shield of the club crest. This continued until the early 1970s, with a similar design used during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the mid 1970s, a more abstract version of the throstle was used on the club's shirts, while in the late 1970s through to the mid-1980s, an embroidered 'WBA' logo was displayed, a common abbreviation of the club's name in print. Only in the 21st century has the actual club crest come to be worn on the shirts.

Grounds

The Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion F.C.

Main articles: The Hawthorns

During the early years of the club, West Bromwich Albion led something of a nomadic existence, playing at five different grounds in a 22-year period. Their first ground was Coopers Hill, which the club occupied from 1878 to 1879. From 1879 to 1881 they played at Dartmouth Park, although they may also have alternated between there and Coopers Hill during this period.^[15][16]
Albion's third ground was Bunns Field, also known as The Birches, where they played for a single season in 1881–82. With a capacity of 1500–2000, it was their first ground that actually resembled a football stadium, and allowed the club to charge an entrance fee for the first time.^[17] The increasing popularity of football led the well-established West Bromwich Dartmouth Cricket Club to rent their Four Acres ground to Albion from 1882 to 1885, but they quickly outgrew their new home and soon needed to move again. Albion's tenure of Stoney Lane, from 1885 to 1900, was arguably the most successful period in the club's history, as the club won the FA Cup twice and were runners-up three times.
All of Albion's previous grounds had been close to the centre of West Bromwich, but in 1900 the club's desire for a more spacious location saw them take up an "out of town" site on the borders of Handsworth. The site was covered in hawthorn bushes, which were cleared to make way for Albion's current ground, The Hawthorns. Albion drew 1–1 with Derby County in the first match at the stadium, on September 3, 1900. The Hawthorns experienced its record attendance on March 6, 1937, when 64,815 spectators saw Albion beat Arsenal 3–1 in the FA Cup quarter-final. In the 1990s, following the Taylor Report, the ground became all-seated. Today, it is a 28,003 capacity all-seater stadium, comprising the Birmingham Road End, Smethwick End, East Stand and Halfords Lane Stand. At an altitude of 551 feet (168 metres), The Hawthorns is the highest ground among those of all 92 Premier League and Football League clubs.

Supporters

The official West Bromwich Albion supporters club has branches throughout the United Kingdom, as well as in Ireland, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Malta and Thailand.^[18] The supporters of West Bromwich Albion are famous for the "Boing Boing", a goal celebration that involves fans bouncing up and down when the team scores a goal and which dates back to 1992,^[19] while the preferred song is ''The Lord's my Shepherd'' (Psalm 23), of which only the first verse is sung. Albion fans are also noted for their "End of season parties", where a fancy-dress theme is adopted for the last away match of the season. Themes in previous years have included suits, beachwear and even dressing as vikings. Fans of the club adopted an Irish theme - in honour of players Paul McShane and Dean Kiely - for the match against Coventry City on 28 April, 2007. The 6,411 away following was believed to be Albion's largest travelling support for 13 years.^[20] In 2002–03, Albion's fans were voted the best in the Premiership.^[21] In the BBC's "national intelligence test", ''Test the Nation'' (broadcast in 2002), fans of West Bromwich Albion were found to be "more likely to be smarter than any other football supporters, registering an average score of 138".^[22]
The club have published an official matchday programme since 1905.^[5] Currently entitled ''Albion'' (formerly ''Albion News''), the publication was awarded Premiership Programme of the Year in 2002–03 and Third Division Programme of the Year in 1991–92.^[24] An unofficial newspaper, ''The Baggies'', is also produced, while a fanzine entitled ''Grorty Dick'', named after a Black Country dish, was published from 1989 to 2005.^[25]

Albion mascot ''Baggie Bird''

Despite being known in their early days as "The Throstles", the club's more popular nickname soon came to be '''The Baggies'''. There are several theories for how this name may have originated.^[26] One suggestion is that the name was bestowed on Albion supporters by their rivals at Aston Villa, because of the characteristic baggy moleskin trousers that many Albion fans wore at work to protect themselves from molten iron in the foundries of the Black Country, West Bromwich being a centre of the 'puddling industry'. Club historian Tony Matthews however suggests that it originated with the turnstile operators who carried their takings, in big leather bags, from the turnstiles to the cash office which was located on the halfway line. As they emerged during the first half the crowd would say "here come the bagmen"; this soon evolved into "baggies", and this name eventually became associated with the team. Another frequently-quoted theory, which has little evidence to support it, is that Albion were one of the last teams to change from the old-fashioned baggy shorts to the sleeker modern style. The official club mascot is named ''Baggie Bird'', and is based on the throstle depicted on the club crest.
Despite the club's proximity to Birmingham, most Albion fans see Wolverhampton Wanderers as their main rivals. The two teams have so far contested the Black Country derby more than 150 times. Their first major clash was an FA Cup tie in 1886, although the rivalry really came to prominence when the two clubs contested the league title in 1953–54. During the 1990s the rivalry intensified to new heights among supporters, with both clubs languishing in Division One for much of the decade and only local pride at stake.^[27] A 2004 survey by Planetfootball.com confirmed that the majority of both Albion and Wolves supporters consider the other to be their main rival, with Baggies fans naming Aston Villa (Albion's great rivals historically) and Birmingham City as their second and third rivals respectively.^[28][29] Walsall are seen as lesser rivals, due to playing in a lower division than Albion for most of their history. Albion fans' nicknames for the supporters of rival teams include "Dingles" for Wolverhampton Wanderers, whilst generally referring to Aston Villa as "The Seals" or "The Vile", although the latter nickname is given to Villa by many other clubs. The hooligan firm who associate themselves with Albion are known as Section 5.^[30]

Ownership and governance

Albion's first chairman was Henry Jackson, appointed in 1885.^[31] The club became a Limited company in June 1891. Chairmen of Albion have included Sir Bert Millichip and Billy Bassett, the latter of which also played for the club. Indeed, from 1878 to 1986 there was always an ex-Albion player on the club's committee or board of directors. In 1986 the club became a Public Limited Company, issuing shares to supporters at £500 and £3000 each.^[32] The shares were quoted on the Alternative Investment Market. The club withdrew from the stock exchange in order to become a private company again in 2004.^[33] The current chairman is Jeremy Peace, who took up the post in 2002.

Players

:''As of 6 September, 2007.''^[34][35]

Current squad

Out on loan

''For recent transfers, see List of English football transfers 2007-08.''

Notable Former Players

In 2004, as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations, a survey was commissioned via the official Albion website and the Express & Star newspaper to determine the greatest West Bromwich Albion players of all time. From the results, a modern-day 16-man squad was compiled, with all the players to be depicted on a special mural displayed at The Hawthorns. Fourteen of the sixteen players are English-born, with a fifteenth (Cyrille Regis) being a full England international. The full list of sixteen is as follows:^[36]

Name	Nat.	Years	Apps	Goals	Position
Billy Bassett		1886–1899	311	77	Outside-right
Jesse Pennington		1903–1922	496	0	Left-back
W. G. Richardson		1929–1945	354	228	Centre-forward
Ray Barlow		1944–1960	482	48	Left-half
Ronnie Allen		1950–1961	458	234	Centre-forward
Don Howe		1952–1964	379	19	Right-back
Tony Brown		1963–1981	720	279	Wing-half/inside forward
Jeff Astle		1964–1974	361	174	Centre-forward
John Osborne		1967–1972, 1973–1978	312	0	Goalkeeper
John Wile		1970–1983	619	29	Centre-half
Willie Johnston		1972–1979	261	28	Outside-left
Bryan Robson		1974–1981	249	46	Central midfielder
Derek Statham		1976–1987	373	11	Left-back
Laurie Cunningham		1977–1979	114	30	Winger
Cyrille Regis		1977–1984	302	112	Centre-forward
Russell Hoult		2001–2007	213	0	Goalkeeper

Notable honours bestowed upon West Bromwich Albion players include the PFA Young Player of the Year award, which was presented to Cyrille Regis in 1979. In 1998 Billy Bassett and Bryan Robson were named among the list of Football League 100 Legends, along with Arthur Rowley, Geoff Hurst and Johnny Giles. Bryan Robson was also an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002, to be joined two years later by Geoff Hurst. Bobby Robson, a player with Albion, has also been inducted, although this was for his career as a manager.

Notable former managers

The following managers have all led West Bromwich Albion to at least one of the following achievements whilst in charge of the club: winning a major trophy, achieving a top three league finish in the top flight, winning promotion or reaching the quarter-finals of a major European competition.

Name	Nat	Years	P	W	D	L
Louis Ford[37]		1890–1892	58	18	10	30
Frank Heaven		1896–1902	214	86	45	83
Fred Everiss		1902–1948	1520	656	331	533
Jack Smith		1948–1952	179	70	46	63
Vic Buckingham		1953–1959	301	130	78	93
Jimmy Hagan		1963–1967	201	78	49	74
Alan Ashman		1967–1971	182	64	49	69
Johnny Giles		1975–1977 & 1984–1985	159	60	42	57
Ron Atkinson		1978–1981 & 1987–1988	212	85	68	59
Osvaldo Ardiles		1992–1993	55	30	11	14
Gary Megson		2000–2004	221	94	50	77

Honours

Main articles: West Bromwich Albion F.C. seasons


★ 'Football League First Division' (old),^[38]

★
★ Champions: 1919–20

★
★ Runners-up: 1924–25, 1953–54

★ 'Football League Second Division' (old),^[39] 'Division One' (modern)

★
★ Champions: 1901–02, 1910–11

★
★ Runners-up: 1930–31, 1948–49, 2001–02, 2003–04

★ 'Division Two' (modern)^[40]

★
★ Play-off Winners: 1992–93

★ 'FA Cup'

★
★ Winners: 1888, 1892, 1931, 1954, 1968

★
★ Runners-up: 1886, 1887, 1895, 1912, 1935

★ 'Football League Cup'

★
★ Winners:1966

★
★ Runners-up: 1967, 1970

★ 'FA Charity Shield'

★
★ Winners: 1920, 1954 (shared with Wolves)

★
★ Runners-up: 1931, 1968

★ 'Victories in minor cup competitions'

★
★ FA Youth Cup: 1976

★
★ Tennent-Caledonian Cup: 1977

★
★ Birmingham Senior Cup: 1886, 1895, 1988, 1990, 1991

★
★ Staffordshire Senior Cup: 13 wins (including one shared with Stoke City)

Records

All-time club records:^[41]

★ 'Record League victory' — 12–0 ''v.'' Darwen (April 4, 1892) - Top-flight record

★ 'Record FA Cup victory' — 10–1 ''v.'' Chatham (March 2, 1889)

★ 'Record League defeat' — 3–10 ''v.'' Stoke City (February 4, 1937)

★ 'Record FA Cup defeat' — 0–5 ''v.'' Leeds United (February 18, 1967)

★ 'Highest attendance' — 64,815 ''v.'' Arsenal (March 6, 1937, FA Cup Sixth Round)

★ 'Most League appearances' — 561 + 13 sub, Tony Brown 1963–81

★ 'Most appearances overall' — 706 + 14 sub, Tony Brown 1963–81

★ 'Most goals scored overall' — 279, Tony Brown 1963–81^[42]

★ 'Most league goals scored in a season' — 39, W. G. Richardson 1935–36

★ 'Record transfer fee paid' — £3.5 million to Cardiff City for Robert Earnshaw, August 2004

★ 'Record transfer fee received' — £6 million from Fulham for Diomansy Kamara, July 2007

Footnotes

1. Older sources quote the year of formation as 1879, as evidence of a Strollers match from 1878 only came to light in 1993.
2.
★ The Essential History of West Bromwich Albion, , Gavin, McOwan, Headline, 2002,
3. McOwan (2002) , pp. 13–14.
4. McOwan (2002) , pp. 19–21.
5.
6. West Brom 2-0 Portsmouth
7. Albion suffer relegation
8. Derby 1-0 West Brom
9. McOwan (2002), p. 13.
10. Historical football kits - West Bromwich Albion
11. McOwan (2002) , p. 56.
12. West Bromwich Albion historic kits
13. McOwan (2002), p. 15
14. Albion unveil new badge
15.
16.
17. McOwan (2002), p. 11.
18. Albion Supporters' Clubs Directory
19. Boing Boing - The Albion Chant
20. Mowbray: fan power can see us home
21. Prove you're No.1 again
22. IQ test is ratings hit
23.
24. Programme of the Year Awards
25. The end of Grorty Dick
26. Why are we called The Baggies ?
27. McOwan (2002), p. 162.
28. Football Rivalries: The Complete Results
29. The Football Fans Census Rivalry uncovered (PDF)
30. Hooligan Firms
31. The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion, , Tony, Matthews, Breedon Books, ,
32. Albion's timeline
33. West Brom Go Private
34. West Bromwich Albion 1st team
35. Think of a number!
36. The wraps come off 125th anniversary mural
37. Secretary-manager. Albion did not appoint a full-time manager until 1948.
38. Up until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division; since then, it has been the FA Premier League.
39. Up until 1992, the second division of English football was the Football League Second Division; it was then renamed the First Division, and in 2004 renamed again as the Football League Championship.
40. Up until 1992, the third division of English football was the Football League Third Division; it was then renamed the Second Division, and in 2004 renamed again as Football League One.
41. In the record book
42. W. G. Richardson scored 328 goals for the club, but this included 100 during World War II; these are not normally counted towards competitive totals.

Further reading

★ The Official Encyclopaedia of West Bromwich Albion, Matthews, T., , , Britespot, 2002,

External links

★ Official site

★ Official Supporters Club

★ Albion news from expressandstar.com

★ Premierleague.com - West Bromwich Albion