West Bromwich AlbionNo season in the history of West Bromwich Albion has an equal in English football: 1930–31. That year the club from the Black Country won promotion from the Second Division to the First and also won the FA Cup, beating local rivals Birmingham City 2–1 in the final. No other club has since achieved promotion and the FA Cup in the same season. W. G. Richardson scored both Albion goals in that final. The achievement reflects the character of a club that for decades was known for exceptional performances in the cups.
The club was founded in 1878 as West Bromwich Strollers by workers at George Salter's spring works in West Bromwich. According to tradition the name arose because no footballs were sold in the town, and someone had to walk to nearby Wednesbury to buy one. In 1880 the team took the name West Bromwich Albion, becoming the first club to adopt the Albion suffix, after a district of the town where some of the players lived and worked. It turned professional in 1885, and in 1888 was one of the twelve founder members of the Football League.
Albion won their first FA Cup in 1888, beating Preston North End 2–1, and in 1892 beat Aston Villa 3–0. In 1920 they won their only English league title. The further cups came in 1931, in 1954, when a 3–2 final win over Preston North End capped a season in which the side was dubbed the "Team of the Century", and in 1968. In that final Albion beat Everton 1–0 after extra time, with the only goal scored by Jeff Astle. In total the club reached ten FA Cup finals and won five. The 1968 win remains the club's last major trophy to date; earlier, in 1966, the team had also won the League Cup. In 1970 they lost the final of that competition 2–1 to Manchester City.
In European competition Albion twice reached the quarter-finals. They played in the Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final in 1968–69, but the most memorable campaign was 1978–79. The team finished third in the First Division and reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, knocking out Valencia, who had Mario Kempes, along the way. That side is also associated with the trio of Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson, known as the Three Degrees, who broke down racial barriers in English football.
Since 1900 Albion have played at The Hawthorns, the first Football League ground built in the twentieth century. Before that the club had changed grounds several times, the best known being Stoney Lane. The Hawthorns is where the supporters, known as the Baggies, sing their club anthem and the "boing boing" chant. The navy-and-white stripes are a symbol of the Black Country, the industrial region the club comes from.
A place in the modern story is held by the 2004–05 season, known as the "Great Escape", when the team stayed in the Premier League after a dramatic finish to the campaign. West Bromwich Albion remains a club with a rich tradition that, despite changing fortunes, has kept a strong local identity and a loyal supporter base.