A Short History of The Football League: 1888-1992 Quiz

Answer: Preston North End

As the FA Cup was a knock-out competition, clubs were left to organise friendly matches for the remainder of the season. This lack of regular fixtures, and the onset of professionalism, led to the formation of The Football League in 1888. Preston North End completed the first season undefeated, with a W-D-L record of 18-4-0. They also won the FA Cup, and thus completed the first Double. They were again crowned champions of England in the following season. These were their two and only titles during the first 104 years of the Football League (the First Division left the FL in 1992 and formed the FA Premier League).

Eleven of these 12 foundation clubs were still in existence 104 years later. The club which disappeared was Accrington (no relation to Accrington Stanley, formed in 1891), who finished second last in 1892-93 and were relegated to the newly formed Second Division. They resigned from the FL rather than play "downstairs" and subsequently folded in January 1896. The eleven survivors were: Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Everton and Preston North End (all Lancashire); plus Aston Villa, Derby County, Notts County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers (all Midlands). There were no teams from London, or elsewhere in the south of England, invited to join the FL in its inaugural season.

Answer: 1st

The score at half-time was a 1-1 draw! At kick-off, Newcastle United were running second in the First Division behind Everton; and Sunderland were sixth. After this record-breaking loss, Newcastle United won 10 of their next 11 games and from there went on to be crowned champions for the third time (their first two were earlier in that decade: 1905 and 1907). Sunderland finished third behind Everton. Sunderland joined The Football League in 1891 when it expanded from 12 teams to 14 teams; and Newcastle United joined the Second Division in 1893 (added to the FL a year earlier).

Prior to this game, the record home loss in the First Division was 15 years earlier: 0-8 Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. West Bromwich Albion (27th December 1893). The game at Newcastle and the game at Cardiff on 3rd September 1955, were the only 1-9 losses at home in the First Division from 1888 to 1992, when the First Division ceased to exist (the 22 clubs in the First Division left the FL to form the FA Premier League).

Answer: Burnley

Their 1921 title was their first Division One title. Burnley lost their first three games that season, but were then undefeated for the next 30 games. This undefeated record stood for 48 years until Leeds United went undefeated for 34 games -- the last 28 games of 1968-69 (when they won their first title) plus the first 6 games of the following season (when they finished runners-up to Everton).

Aston Villa won their first title in 1893-94, Blackburn Rovers won their first in 1911-12, and Derby County had to wait until 1971-72 to win their first title.

Answer: Brentford

This unique record was still standing in 1992 when The Football League shrank from four to three divisions. They were the 6th and last team to finish the season with a 100% home record, but the only one to achieve it playing a 21 home-game season:

13 : 1891-92 : Division One : Sunderland
14 : 1893-94 : Division Two : Liverpool
15 : 1894-95 : Division Two : Bury
17 : 1899-00 : Division Two : Sheffield Wednesday
17 : 1902-03 : Division Two : Birmingham City
21 : 1929-30 : Division 3(S) : Brentford

Plymouth Argyle won their first title that season, and their first promotion to the Division Two. They were an original member of Division Three (South) upon its formation in 1920 and, during the 1920s, had finished runners-up in each of six consecutive seasons! [1921-22 to 1926-27 inclusive]

The most home wins in the First Division during those 104 years was 19, which was achieved three times (W-D-L):
19-2-0 : 1920-21 : Manchester City (finished 2nd behind Burnley)
19-1-1 : 1926-27 : Newcastle United (champions)
19-2-0 : 1978-79 : Liverpool (champions).

Answer: Aston Villa

During the 104 years the First Division existed, before it "disappeared" in 1992 and became the FA Premier League, these were the two and only occasions in which a team scored more than 120 goals in a season. The title win by Arsenal was the first-ever by a team from the south of England - all previous titles back to 1888-89 were won by teams from the Midlands and the north of England. Arsenal were the first team from the south of England to join The Football League, when they were elected to Division Two in 1893 (they won their first promotion to Division One in 1904). Seven other teams scored more than 120 goals in a season during those 104 years:

122 : 1926-27 : Division Two : Middlesbrough
127 : 1927-28 : Division 3(S) : Millwall
128 : 1928-29 : Division 3(N) : Bradford City
121 : 1930-31 : Division Two : Everton
123 : 1946-47 : Division 3(N) : Doncaster Rovers
121 : 1951-52*: Division 3(N) : Lincoln City
134 : 1960-61*: Division Four : Peterborough United
* these were 46-game seasons, the rest were 42 games.

The two regional divisions were reformed as national divisions in 1958. The top 12 teams in the two regionals became the original members of Division Three, and the bottom 12 in each became the original members of Division Four.

Answer: 1

Nelson lost all 21 of its away games in season 1930-31, to finish bottom of Division Three (North). This was their last season as a member of The Football League as they failed to gain re-election (automatic promotion and relegation between the FL and the lower divisions of English football didn't arrive until 1986-87).

The most away losses in the First Division during those 104 years was achieved in season 1946-47 when Leeds United lost 20 of their 21 away games, finished last, and were relegated to the Second Division. Their solitary away point came in a 1-1 draw at Brentford, who finished second last and were also relegated.

Answer: 11

Winning both titles was "hard enough" but, from 1919, it became "harder" to achieve as the First Division champions had to play 42 home-and-away games a season, compared to the campaigns of Preston North End in 1889 (22 league games) and Aston Villa in 1897 (30 league games). The fact that Spurs had put together a star-studded team also helped!

Spurs began the season with 11 straight wins and, after 16 games, their W-D-L record read 15-1-0. At the end of the season it read 31-4-7 (they lost two of their last three games). Their 31 wins in 42 games easily smashed the First Division record of 28 wins (established by Arsenal in 1930-31 and equalled by both Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers (twice) during the 1950s). Their league season ended on 29th April 1961 and, a week later on 6th May, they beat Leicester City 2-0 in the FA Cup Final to create history: the first Double of the 20th century.

This was their second league title (their first came in 1951) and their third FA Cup success (they won in 1901 and 1921). Their 1901 success was a unique achievement: the first and only time, post-1888, that a team outside The Football League had won the FA Cup. Spurs were a member of the Southern League at that time. They joined the Second Division of The Football League in 1908 and, after just one season, won promotion to the First Division.

The previous record start to a First Division season had stood for 67 years, being 8 straight wins by Everton in 1894-95 and by Sheffield United in 1903-04. However, neither team won the title - Everton lost six of the remaining 22 games (to finish runners-up behind Sunderland); and Sheffield United finished 7th, losing 11 of their remaining 24 games!

Answer: Ipswich Town

This championship was their one and only First Division title. The manager who brought them this success was Sir Alf Ramsay (manager for seven seasons from 1955 to 1963). Sir Alf went on to manage the England team to World Cup glory, when England won the FIFA World Cup in 1966 beating West Germany 4-2 aet at Wembley.

Portsmouth and Southampton were original members of Division Three (South) upon its formation in 1920. Portsmouth won their first promotion to Division One in 1927 and won two titles (1949 and 1950). Southampton's first promotion to Division One did not occur until 1966. They never won a First Division title; their best-ever finish was runner-up in 1983-84 behind Liverpool. Derby County never played in Division Three (South); they were a foundation member of The Football League in 1888.

Answer: Leeds United

Leeds United were beaten 3-2 in their 30th game by Stoke City, who were in 17th place at the time (they lost just two of their remaining games to finish the season in 5th place). For Leeds this was their second-ever title; the first came four years earlier in 1968-69. The record which Leeds shattered had stood for over 70 years, being the 22 game undefeated run of Sheffield United to start the 1899-1900 season. Despite that start, Sheffield Utd did not win the title (they lost four of the remaining 12 games to finish runners-up to Aston Villa).

Liverpool:
they were champions the year before (the 1973-74 season). This started a period of dominance by Liverpool -- they won 11 of the last 20 First Division titles from 1973 through to 1992 (when the First Division left the FL to form the FA Premier League).
Derby County:
a foundation club, they were champions the year before that (the 1971-72 season); it was their first-ever title.
Arsenal:
they were champions the year before that (the 1970-71 season), when they also won the FA Cup and thus achieved the fourth-ever Double in the history of The Football League (the first three came in 1889, 1897 and 1961).

This record-undefeated run of 29 games from the start of the season was equalled 14 years later in season 1987-88 by Liverpool (they also went on to win the First Division title).

Answer: Leeds United

Their win in 1992 was their third title - Leeds United had previously won the First Division title in 1969 and 1973. Arsenal were champions in the previous season (which was their 10th title; the first was in 1931). Liverpool were champions the season before that (which was their 18th title; their first was in 1901). Manchester United were the first winners of the FA Premier League (they had won seven First Division titles, their first was in 1908 and their seventh came in 1967).

Three FL foundation clubs were also founder members of the FA Premier League: Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Everton. Eight of the 12 foundation clubs won a First Division title during those 104 years - the four who failed to win a title were: Accrington (ceased to exist 1896), Bolton Wanderers, Notts County and Stoke City.

The last champions of the other three divisions were:
Division 2 - Ipswich Town
Division 3 - Brentford
Division 4 - Burnley.