West Bromwich Albion FC

West Bromwich Albion 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - Football League, Division One

West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands. Historically in Staffordshire, it is situated 5 miles north-west of Birmingham on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road, and is part of the Black Country. West Bromwich was first mentioned as Bromwich ('broom village') in the Doomsday Book of 1086. It is believed that it may have originally been part of the Handsworth parish. A Benedictine priory existed in West Bromwich from the 12th century around which the settlement of Broomwich Heath grew. In 1727, the town became a stop on the coaching road between London and Shrewsbury and its growth began. In the 19th century, coal deposits were discovered, ensuring that the town grew rapidly as an industrial centre, with industries such as spring, gun and nail making developing. Most of the coal deposits were found below the ground a mile or so west of Broomwich Heath, and so the "new" town adopted the name West Bromwich. Well before the end of the 19th century, West Bromwich had established itself as a prominent area to match older neighbouring towns including Dudley and Walsall. Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant was born in West Bromwich.

The Hawthorns c1970

West Bromwich Albion FC was formed in 1878 and has played at its home ground, The Hawthorns, since 1900. Albion was one of the founding members of The Football League in 1888 and has spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of English football. 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. 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. 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 the club turned professional and 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. In 1888 the team won the trophy for the first time, beating strong favourites Preston North End 2–1 in the final. They have been champions of England once, in 1919–20, but have had more success in the FA Cup, with five wins. They also won the Football League Cup at the first attempt in 1966. The club's longest consecutive period in the top division was between 1949 and 1973.

West Bromwich Albion FC 1978/79

This Pieman travelled to the match by football charter train from London Euston to Smethwick Rolfe Street around ten minutes walk from the ground. Tottenham Hotspur took a very early lead and then defended for the remainder of the match to cling on for a victory against a very good West Brom side.

Attendance: 33,068
Programme: 20p

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Subsequent visits to The Hawthorns

09 February 1980 - West Bromwich Albion 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 26319
02 May 1981 - West Bromwich Albion 4 Tottenham Hotspur 2 - League Division One - Attendance: 20549
03 February 1982 - West Bromwich Albion 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0 - League Cup, Semi-Final 1st Leg - Attendance: 32238
27 March 1982 - West Bromwich Albion 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0 - League Division One - Attendance: 20151
23 April 1983 - West Bromwich Albion 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 14879
07 September 1983 - West Bromwich Albion 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 14830
23 February 1985 - West Bromwich Albion 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 15418
05 October 1985 - West Bromwich Albion 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 12040
19 February 1988 - West Bromwich Albion 4 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - Friendly - Attendance: tbc
03 August 1992 - West Bromwich Albion 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2 - Friendly - Attendance: 8078
21 April 2003 - West Bromwich Albion 2 Tottenham Hotspur 3 - Premier League - Attendance: 26899
25 August 2004 - West Bromwich Albion 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - Premier League - Attendance: 27191
29 January 2005 - West Bromwich Albion 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - FA Cup, 4th Round - Attendance: 22441
28 December 2005 - West Bromwich Albion 2 Tottenham Hotspur 0 - Premier League - Attendance: 27510
28 December 2008 - West Bromwich Albion 2 Tottenham Hotspur 0 - Premier League - Attendance: 26344
11 September 2010 - West Bromwich Albion 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - Premier League - Attendance: 23642
26 November 2011 - West Bromwich Albion 1 Tottenham Hotspur 3 - Premier League - Attendance: 24801
03 February 2013 - West Bromwich Albion 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - Premier League - Attendance: 24978
12 April 2014 - West Bromwich Albion 3 Tottenham Hotspur 3 - Premier League - Attendance: 25398
31 January 2015 - West Bromwich Albion 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3 - Premier League - Attendance: 25079
05 December 2015 - West Bromwich Albion 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - Premier League - Attendance: 23,602