Sunday, March 6, 2011

Football League commences

Blackburn Rovers were founder members of the Football League in 1888.

Blackburn Rovers again reached the F.A. Cup final on 29 March 1890 at the Kennington Oval. The club claimed the trophy for the fourth time, by beating Sheffield Wednesday a hefty 6–1—with left forward William Townley scoring three goals and becoming the first player to achieve a hat-trick in the F.A. Cup final.
F.A. Cup winning side of the 1890–91 season

The 1890–91 season saw Blackburn Rovers win the F.A. Cup for fifth time against Notts County F.C. with a 3–1 victory. During the 1897–98 season the club stayed in the first division only as the result of a decision to increase the number of teams from 16 to 18. The season did, however, mark the beginning of Bob Crompton's 45-year association with the club, both as a player and eventually as an F.A. Cup winning manager.

Early years

The club was founded following a meeting at the Leger Hotel, Blackburn on 5 November 1875. The first match played by Blackburn Rovers took place in Church, Lancashire on 18 December 1875 and was a 1–1 draw.

On 28 September 1878, Blackburn Rovers became one of 23 clubs to form the Lancashire Football Association. On 1 November 1879 the club played in the F.A. Cup for the first time, beating the Tyne Association Football Club 5–1. Rovers were eventually put out of the competition in the third round after suffering a heavy 6–0 defeat by Nottingham Forest.
Blackburn Rovers cup winners in 1883–84. The first FA Cup win for the team. The photograph includes the East Lancashire Charity Cup; the FA Cup and the Lancashire Cup. Back row (left to right): J. M. Lofthouse, H. McIntrye, J. Beverly, Kurt Edwards, F. Suter, J. Forrest, R. Birtwistle (umpire) Front row (left to right): J. Douglas, J. E. Sowerbutts, J. Brown, G. Avery, J. Hargreaves.

On 25 March 1882 the club won through to the final of the F.A. Cup against the Old Etonians. Blackburn Rovers was the first provincial team to reach the final, but the result was a 1–0 defeat by the Old Etonians.

Rovers finally won the F.A. Cup on 29 March 1884 with a 2–1 victory over the Scottish team Queen's Park F.C.. The same teams played the F.A. Cup final again the next season, with Blackburn Rovers again emerging victorious, with a 2–0 score. Rovers repeated this success yet again the next season, winning the final against West Bromwich Albion. For this three-in-a-row of F.A. Cup victories, the club was awarded a specially commissioned silver shield and given the unique privilege of displaying the club crest on its corner flags.

The 1885–86 season was the birth of the legal professional footballer, and Blackburn Rovers spent £615 on player wages for the season.

Blackburn Rovers




Blackburn Rovers Football Club (pronounced /ˈblækbɜrn ˈroʊvərz/) is a professional English Football league club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.

The club was established in 1875, becoming a founding member of The Football League in 1888. It is one of only three clubs to have been both a founder member of the Football League and the Premier League (the others being Aston Villa and Everton). In 1890 Rovers moved to its permanent home at Ewood Park. Prior to the formation of the Premier League in 1992, most of the club's successes were before 1930, when it had gained league and FA Cup trophies on several occasions. Relegation in 1966 was followed by 26 successive seasons of football outside the top flight.

In 1992, Blackburn was promoted to the new Premier League a year after being taken over by local steel baron Jack Walker, who installed Kenny Dalglish as manager. In 1995, Blackburn became league champions, having spent millions of pounds on players like Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton. However, the title-winning team was quickly split up and, in 1999, the club was relegated. It was promoted back to the Premier League two years later, just after Walker's death, and has been in the top flight ever since. During this time it has qualified for the UEFA Cup four times: once as League Cup winners, twice as the Premier League's sixth-placed team and once via the Intertoto Cup. The 2009–10 season marks the club's 70th nonconsecutive year in the top flight.

The club's Latin motto is "Arte et labore", the club's translation of which is "By Skill & Hard Work".