History of Aston Villa F.C. (1874–1961)

{{Short description|History of an English football club}}  {{for|an account of the club's history since 1961|History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}  [[File:Aston Villa 1899 - 01.jpg|thumb|The very successful Aston Villa team of the late 19th century, here pictured in 1899]]

[[File:AstonVillaFC League Performance.svg|thumb|right|Chart showing the progress of [[Aston Villa F.C.]] through the [[English football league system]] from the inaugural season in [[1888–89 Football League|1888–89]] to the present]]

[[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa Football Club]] are an English association football club based in [[Aston, Birmingham]]. They were formed in 1874, and played nine years in the [[FA Cup]] and local cup competitions before becoming a founder member of [[the Football League]] in [[1888–89 Aston Villa F.C. season|the 1888–89 season]]. Aston Villa were one of the dozen teams that competed in the inaugural Football League in [[1888 in association football|1888]] with the club's vice-president [[William McGregor (football)|William McGregor]] being the league's founder. They played in the [[Football League First Division|top league]] in England until the [[1935–36 Aston Villa F.C. season|1935–56 season]] when they were relegated into the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]. They have won the [[English football champions|English League championship]] seven times: in [[1893–94 Aston Villa F.C. season|1894]], [[1895–96 Aston Villa F.C. season|1896]], [[1896–97 Aston Villa F.C. season|1897]], [[1898–99 Aston Villa F.C. season|1899]], [[1899–00 Aston Villa F.C. season|1900]], [[1909–10 Aston Villa F.C. season|1910]] and, most recently, in [[1980–81 Aston Villa F.C. season|1981]]. They have also been runners-up on a further nine occasions: in [[1888–89 Aston Villa F.C. season|1889]], [[1902–03 Aston Villa F.C. season|1903]], [[1907–08 Aston Villa F.C. season|1908]], [[1910–11 Aston Villa F.C. season|1911]], [[1912–13 Aston Villa F.C. season|1913]], [[1913–14 Aston Villa F.C. season|1914]], [[1930–31 Aston Villa F.C. season|1931]], [[1932–33 Aston Villa F.C. season|1933]] and [[1989–90 Aston Villa F.C. season|1990]].

Aston Villa emerged as the most successful English club of the Victorian era. By the end of Villa's "Golden Age" at the start of the [[World War I|First World War]], the club had won six of their seven League Championships and the [[FA Cup]] five times ([[1887 FA Cup Final|1887]], [[1895 FA Cup Final|1895]], [[1897 FA Cup Final|1897]], [[1905 FA Cup Final|1905]], [[1913 FA Cup Final|1913]]).<ref name="Club Honours">{{cite web|url=http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/HistoryHonours|title=Club Honours|publisher=AVFC.co.uk|access-date=2011-04-18}}</ref>

Aston Villa won their sixth [[FA Cup]] in [[1920 FA Cup Final|1920]].<ref name="Club Honours"/> For the remainder of the inter-war years though, Villa were on a slow decline. They returned to the top-tier of English football by the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]]. As with many clubs, the war brought much change to Villa Park and remainder of the 1940s were spent rebuilding the team. By 1957, Villa were a Cup winning side once again with the club's seventh FA Cup win. Even though Villa won the inaugural [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] in 1960, the club were to enter into a very unsuccessful period. The 1960s saw much change at Villa Park. By the end of the 1960s, Villa were languishing in the Second Division and fan pressure led to the resignation of the Board and the introduction of [[Doug Ellis]] as Villa Chairman.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4135083.stm |title=Ellis awarded New Year accolade |work=BBC Sport |date=2004-12-31 |access-date=2007-10-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/6160413.stm |title=Doug Ellis reveals |work=BBC Sport |date=2006-11-30 |access-date=2007-10-02}}</ref>

==Villa Cross== [[File:Aston Villa Wesleyan Chapel.jpg|thumb|right|Aston Villa Wesleyan Chapel, Villa Cross]] The club ultimately derives its name from the house of dialmaker and factor, Richard Blood. In the early 1800s Blood moved to Handsworth, at the time a village in Staffordshire. He was the earliest known owner of the large Georgian house <ref name=AVI>https://www.avfc.co.uk/News/2017/03/28/villa-flashback-the-name-aston-villa</ref> named ''Aston Villa'', first mapped in 1818 and located at a [[Three-way junction|fork in the road]] near the border with [[Aston]] in Warwickshire.<ref name=SH>https://www.sportingheritage.org.uk/content/news/blog/original-aston-villa</ref> Around 1825 when the surrounding areas were sold off as building plots, the roads to Bristnall's End and to [[Aston Park, Birmingham|Aston Park]] were named Heathfield Road and Lozells Road, the third road from [[Soho Manufactory]] became Aston Villa Road.<ref>{{cite news |title=Freehold Building Land|journal=The Birmingham Journal|date=8 October 1825 |page=2}}</ref> In July 1825 John Skally moved his school to the building from Caroline Street.<ref name=SH/> Skally's daughter Eliza continued the Aston Villa Boarding School at the house, marrying the banker [[Charles Geach]]. The Aston School Board agreed for the school to close in September 1879.<ref>{{cite news |title= Aston School Board|journal=Birmingham Evening Mail|date=28 May 1879 |page=1}}</ref>

Now a crossroads following the recent cutting of Barker Street, the road junction was documented as ''Villa Cross'' by 1851. By 1848 Villa Road was becoming the common name while the Aston Villa Tavern/Villa Cross Inn had been built beside the school nearer the junction<ref>{{cite news |title=To Let|journal=The Birmingham Journal |date=6 September 1851 |page=1}}</ref> The original [[public house]] was replaced in 1937.<ref name=AVI/> In 1985, a police raid on the pub sparked [[1985 Handsworth riots|the Handsworth riots]].

In 1850 <ref name=AVI/> a Methodist chapel was established adjacent to the pub on the corner of George Street and Lozells Road on the Aston side of the boundary.<ref>https://billdargue.jimdofree.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-v/villa-cross/</ref> The New Testament Church of God now occupies the site.<ref>https://ntcghandsworth.org/#location</ref> Officially the Aston Villa Wesleyan Chapel,<ref>https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/directory_record/102137/aston_villa_wesleyan_chapel</ref> it was informally known as the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel due to its location beside the pub at the crossroads. A more substantive chapel was opened in 1865.<ref name=AVI/><ref>[[The Times]] ''Marriages'' 4 January 1867</ref>

By a process of [[toponymic transfer]] the local neighbourhood had come to be known as ''Aston Villa'' and,<ref>{{cite news |title=Died|journal=Aris's Birmingham Gazette |date=2 March 1836|page=3}}</ref> when the young men of the chapel Bible Class formed the Aston Villa Cricket Club they were not the only team to carry the name. In 1874 and 1875 the newspapers carried reports covering an unrelated cricket team, ''Aston Villa United''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Aston Villa United v Browne's Green College|journal=Birmingham Evening Mail |date=2 June 1874|page=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Aston Villa United v Carlton|journal=Birmingham Gazette |date=16 August 1875 |page=8}}</ref>

==Early years== [[Association football]] had been slow to take off in Birmingham in comparison to [[rugby football]].<ref>https://trevorfisherhistorian.com/villas-murky-early-years/?print=print</ref> [[Calthorpe F.C.]] claimed to be the first club in Birmingham and for one season the only association club,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Charles |title=Football Annual |date=1876}}</ref> and its only matches were between club members.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Telegraph Challenge Cup |journal=Midland Daily Telegraph |date=30 September 1893 |page=3}}</ref> In November 1873, club secretary [[John Campbell Orr]] published a letter in the local press,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Correspondence |journal=Birmingham Daily Post |date=12 November 1873 |page=5}}</ref> following which a number of other clubs were founded in and around the city.

In 1874 Villa's founders were members of the Wesleyan Chapel at Villa Cross. According to one, [[Jack Hughes (umpire)|Jack Hughes]], their Bible meetings consisted around 200 young men some of whom had set up a cricket team.<ref name=SM1>''A Football Jubilee'', John Hughes, [[Sunday Mercury & Sunday News]] 9 March 1924</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000644/18831024/041/0002|title=Birmingham Mail - Wednesday 24 October 1883|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|access-date=2020-03-17}}</ref> The cricketers were keen to find an outlet for their energy in the [[off-season]], they were initially undecided between [[Rugby football|rugby]] and [[association football]] but one member, [[Billy Mason (footballer)|Billy Mason]], was playing with the [[Adderley Park]] Grasshoppers rugby team and four members, Hughes, [[William Scattergood]], [[W.H. Price|Walter Price]] and George Matthews, were tasked with watching him play.<ref name=SM1/> Grasshoppers were due to play the Handsworth rugby club at [[Heathfield Park, Handsworth|Heathfield Park]] so the four attended the match.<ref name=SM1/><ref name="OffHist7488">{{cite web|url=http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ClubHistory/0,,10265~422987,00.html |title=Villa History 1874 – 1887 |publisher=AVFC.co.uk |access-date=2007-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060405185232/http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ClubHistory/0%2C%2C10265~422987%2C00.html |archive-date=5 April 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Having seen the game, the four men returned along Heathfield Road. They adjourned beneath a dim [[gas light]] near [[Villa Cross]] and between themselves agreed rugby was a little too rough and that they would play association football.<ref name=SM1/> The gas lamp meeting is traditionally held as the birth of [[Aston Villa Football Club]].<ref>https://www.avfc.co.uk/News/2019/09/04/the-gas-lamp-set-to-open</ref>

Co-founder Hughes' view was that Aston Villa Football Club was really formed later by the players who attended the first kick-about on waste ground on Westminster Road, now the [[RCCG]] Salvation Theatre.<ref name=SM1/><ref>Report by the Sports Argus on a talk by co-founder Jack Hughes, 1899</ref> They hired a football for 1s 6d (roughly 1⁄3 the daily wage) from Clapshaw & Cleave. The sixteen then each contributed a shilling and elected Price as their first captain and Charlie H. Midgley as club secretary.<ref name=SM1/> H H Hartshorne president of the chapel's bible class was the football club's first President.<ref name=AVFCH1874>[https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/1874 1874] AVFC History</ref> In January 1875 Aston Villa played their first recorded game against [[Aston Park Unity]]. Matthews was captain and Price, Hughes and Scattergood also played.<ref name=AVFCH1874/> German [[Defender (association football)#Full-back|full-back]], Billy Weis became the club's first foreign player.<ref>''Aston Villa'' [[Sports Argus]], 14 September 1901</ref> Only two of the players, [[Ted Lee (footballer)|Ted Lee]] and [[Billy Mason (footballer)|Billy Mason]], would go on to represent Villa in [[1879-80 avfc|their first FA Cup campaign]].<ref name=AVFCH1874/> Aston Park Unity won 1-0.<ref> https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005826/18750112/121/0008</ref>

The second match, Aston Villa's first-ever victory, was arranged against the members' friends and cricket opponents at [[Aston, St Mary's]].<ref name=SM2>''Aston Villa's first milestone'', John Hughes, [[Sunday Mercury & Sunday News]] 30 March 1924</ref> James Wilson <ref>[https://stmartinsguild.org/wp-content/uploads/2020_09-Inventory-of-Birmingham-Bells-F-Y.pdf Bells in and around Birmingham: a survey and history]</ref> allowed the game to be played at his building plots on Wilson Road, [[Birchfield, Birmingham|Birchfield]].<ref name=SM2/> Aston Villa Football Club played in [[Scarlet (color)|scarlet]] and [[royal blue]] hooped shirts, white [[shorts]] and [[royal blue]] [[Football caps|caps]] and stockings.<ref name=SM2/> The club rules stated "No member can take place in a match unless in the above uniform".<ref name=SM1/> St Mary's played rugby so a compromise was reached whereby, using the round ball, Villa played rugby in the first half and soccer in the second. Under the [[Sheffield Rules]] up to fifteen players were allowed at the time.<ref name=SM2/> St Mary's rugby football club had been founded by future Villa player & director, [[Charlie Johnstone]].<ref>''The Schoolmaster in Sport'', [[Birmingham Evening Mail]] 16 Dec 1903</ref> In later years he reminisced "''Hack him down - sit on his head,'' was the cry for one half the game, and ''You must not collar-charge him,'' was yelled for the other".<ref name=AVSA>''Aston Villa'', [[Sports Argus]], 14 September 1901</ref> Scattergood kept goal; the [[full-backs]] were Price, Weis and Fred J. Knight; [[half-backs]] were Midgely, [[Ted Lee (footballer)|Ted Lee]], Harry and George Matthews; [[Forward (association football)|forwards]]: Hughes, Mason, William Sothers, Wiiliam Such, [[Harry Whately]], George Page, and Alfred Robbins. After a goalless first-half, Hughes scored the only goal off the rebound when the goal-keeper spilled his first effort.<ref name=SM2/> In a newspaper article, almost fifty years later, in March 1924, Hughes was insistent that this was Villa's first match and had occurred on the third Saturday of March 1874.<ref name=SM2/> However a report of the event was published in Birmingham Morning News on 16 March 1875.<ref name=VM>''The Aston Villa Miscellany'' David Woodhall, 2007. {{ISBN|1-905326-17-3}}</ref>

Aston Villa were active within the [[Birmingham & District Football Association]], being founder members in late 1875. One of the first games for Villa was against [[Birmingham St George's F.C.|St George's F.C.]] in December 1875. [[1876–77 Birmingham Senior Cup|In November 1876]], Aston Villa lost 0–1 at home to [[Tipton#Sport|Tipton]] in the [[Birmingham Senior Cup]].<ref name=Carr>{{cite book |last1=Carr |first1=Steve |title=History of the Birmingham Senior Cup |date=2000 |publisher=Grorty Dick |location=West Bromwich}}</ref> At the time Villa were in the shadow of [[The Birmingham Club]] of the [[Aston Lower Grounds]] who were able to commandeer the best men in the district for the important matches.<ref name=AVSA/>

[[George Ramsay (footballer, born 1855)|George Ramsay]] came to join in 1876 when the 21-year-old came across the Villa players in Aston Park and was asked to make up the numbers. They were amazed by his display of close ball control and very soon he was appointed team captain.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.avfc.co.uk/players/g/r/george-ramsay |title = Mens {{!}} AVFC}}</ref> Ramsay later described the old approach, the "[[dribbling game]]", as 'a dash at the man and a big kick at the ball'.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://spartacus-educational.com/ASTONramsayG.htm |title = George Ramsay}}</ref> Word spread and spectators began turning up to watch the little man nicknamed 'Scotty'. He also took charge of training, introducing short, quick passing -<ref>[[William McGregor (football)|William McGregor]], ''C.B Fry's Magazine 1904''</ref> the "[[passing game]]" - leading to a dramatic improvement in results.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grant|first1=Michael|last2=Robertson|first2=Rob|title=The Management: Scotland's Great Football Managers|date=2011|publisher=Birlinn|location=Edinburgh|isbn=978-1-78027016-6}}</ref>

Aston Park became available to the public for recreation, and this led to several new clubs being founded in the district, sharing the footballing areas. In addition to St George's, Villa competed for space with [[Birmingham Excelsior|Excelsior]] and other short lived outfits.<ref>{{cite journal |title=St George's 2-3 Walsall Swifts |journal=Birmingham Daily Post |date=12 January 1885 |page=7}}</ref> Villa moved0 to their first official home, [[Wellington Road (Perry Barr)|Wellington Road]] in [[Perry Barr]], in 1876 after their recently appointed captain, [[George Ramsay (footballer, born 1855)|George Ramsay]], noted that in order to progress, Villa would need to move into an enclosed ground to be able to collect gate money.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://jackallen.net/the-history-of-football-supporters-in-birmingham/ |title=Growth of Football Supporters in 19th Century Birmingham |access-date=8 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304140210/http://jackallen.net/the-history-of-football-supporters-in-birmingham/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The site was taken on a three-year lease at a rent of [[Pound sterling|£]]7,10 [[shilling]]s for the first year, rising to £15 and £20 in subsequent years. By the late 1870s, Villa were improving greatly and by 1880, Villa won their first senior honour when they won the [[Birmingham Senior Cup]] under the captaincy of Scotsman Ramsay.<ref name="Hayes p.135">Hayes p. 135.</ref>

== Rise to prominence == {{main|1886-87 Aston Villa F.C. season}} [[File:Aston villa 1887.jpg|thumb|right|Aston Villa players posing with the 1887 FA Cup trophy]] The club won its first [[FA Cup]] in 1887, under the captaincy of another Scotsman, [[Archie Hunter]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-english-football-archive.com/domestic_competitions/results/fa_cup/1887.htm|title=FA Cup results – 1887|publisher=English Football Archives|access-date=2007-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060511072252/http://www.the-english-football-archive.com/domestic_competitions/results/fa_cup/1887.htm|archive-date=2006-05-11}}</ref> They beat [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] 2–0 in the final held at [[The Oval]].<ref name="OffHist7488"/> Up until 1885, football had remained an amateur sport. It turned [[Professional sports|professional]] in 1885, when the FA legalized professional football, but with a national wage limit. However, the Scottish draper and director of Aston Villa, [[William McGregor (football)|William McGregor]] had become frustrated with watching his team in one-sided friendly matches and low attendances for all games but [[FA Cup]] ties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iea.org.uk/record.jsp?type=pressArticle&ID=217|title=The Old Firm: give them a profitable dose of competition in England|publisher=IEA|access-date=2007-09-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203337/http://www.iea.org.uk/record.jsp?type=pressArticle&ID=217|archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref> He saw that in order to keep interest in the game alive, the top teams needed to play each other in a league much like American [[baseball]] teams did. McGregor wrote to the twelve leading clubs in England proposing the formation of a league, what would later be known as the [[English Football League]]. Aston Villa were one of the dozen teams that competed in the inaugural Football League in 1888. Villa's first League game came on 8 September 1888, when they drew 1–1 [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] as [[Tommy Green (footballer born 1863)|Tom Green]] scored the club's first League goal. Villa finished runners-up to [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]] in that inaugural season.<ref name="OffHist8899">{{cite web|url=http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ClubHistory/0,,10265~423093,00.html |title=Club History 1888 – 1899 |publisher=AVFC.co.uk |access-date=2007-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824120501/http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ClubHistory/0%2C%2C10265~423093%2C00.html |archive-date=24 August 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Victorian and Edwardian eras == [[File:Thomas Hemy Sunderland v Aston Villa 1895 A Corner Kick.jpg|thumbnail|left|One of the earliest football paintings in the world, Thomas MM Hemy's "[[Sunderland AFC|Sunderland]] v. Aston Villa 1895", depicts a match between the two most successful English teams of the decade.]] Despite Villa founding the league, by 1893 they had yet to win it. Villa Committee Member [[Frederick Rinder]] was the instigator of a club meeting at Barwick Street [[Aston Villa 1892-93 season|in February 1893]] that removed the committee running the club at the time. All fourteen committee members resigned and were replaced by a committee of five led by Rinder after he gave a speech criticising the board's tolerance of ill discipline and players' drinking. The following season saw Villa win their first League Championship, the season after that they won their second FA Cup in 1894–95. This was followed by back-to-back League titles in 1895-96 and 1896–97.<ref name=Goldstein>{{cite book|last=Goldstein|first=Dan|title=The Rough Guide to English Football: A fans' handbook 1999–2000|year=1999|publisher=[[Rough Guides|Rough Guides Ltd]]|pages=17–21|isbn=1-85828-455-4}}</ref>

[[File:AstonVilla1896-97.jpg|thumb|right|The Aston Villa team of 1896–97 with the [[Football League First Division|First Division Championship]] and the [[1897 FA Cup final|FA Cup]]]] Villa were attracting large crowds; the club could regularly expect 25,000 people to attend home games at a time when the [[FA Cup Final]] would attract only about 20,000. With poor spectator facilities and an uneven pitch, the [[Wellington Road (Perry Barr)|Wellington Road]] ground was increasingly unsuitable,<ref name=UD>Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p143, {{ISBN|0954783042}}</ref> and in 1897, the year the club won the League and FA Cup [[Double (association football)|Double]], Villa's financial secretary Rinder negotiated the purchase of their current home ground, the Aston Lower Grounds.<ref name=AlmVilPrk>{{cite web |url=http://astonvilla.blogfootball.com/theAlmanac/park |title=Villa Park History |publisher=Villa fans Almanac |access-date=2007-07-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929101911/http://astonvilla.blogfootball.com/theAlmanac/park |archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref> Villa achieved back-to-back league titles again in 1898-99 and 1899–1900, in the latter season [[Billy Garraty]] became the top goalscorer in world football scoring a total 30 goals in 39 league and cup games. The name of [[Villa Park]] was not used until about 1900. It came about through fan usage and no official declaration was made that listed the name as Villa Park.<ref name=AlmVilPrk/> The ground was not purchased outright until 1911.<ref name="OffHist0039"/>

[[File:FACupFinal1905NewcastleVilla.jpg|thumb|left|[[Harry Hampton (footballer born 1885)|Harry Hampton]] scores in the [[1905 FA Cup final]].]] Villa began the 20th century as champions but the gap that distinguished them from their competitors was diminishing. Football in England was becoming more competitive as more teams formed. Villa did remain a significant force in the game though. Despite a run of four victories at the start of the [[1900–01 in English football|1900–01 season]], Villa finished fourth from bottom. In the [[1902–03 in English football|1902–03 season]] Villa won 12 of their last 15 games to finish only one point behind champions [[Sheffield Wednesday F.C.|Sheffield Wednesday]]. In [[1904–05 in English football|1905]], Villa won the FA Cup for the fourth time with a then record crowd of 101,117 watching the match at [[Crystal Palace National Sports Centre|Crystal Palace]], where Villa beat [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] 2–0.<ref name="OffHist0039"/> In the same season, Villa finished fourth and this helped to boost the coffers at the club. After the success of 1905, Villa went through a barren patch and it was not until the [[1909–10 in English football|1909–10 season]] that Villa threatened to regain the title. In that season, they beat the reigning champions [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] 7–1. Villa won the championship for the first time in 10 years to take a then record, sixth title.<ref name="OffHist0039"/> The [[1910–11 in English football|1910–11 season]] was very close and the title was decided on the last day of the season when Villa lost to Liverpool and Manchester United beat Sunderland to take the title. The following season, Villa finished sixth. Yet in [[1912–13 in English football|1913]], Villa won the FA Cup for a then record-equalling fifth time.<ref name="OffHist0039"/> By the end of what was to be called Villa's golden era,<ref name="OffHist0039">{{cite news|url=http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ClubHistory/0,,10265~423103,00.html |title=Aston Villa Club History 1900 – 1939 |publisher=AVFC.co.uk |access-date=2007-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824144935/http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ClubHistory/0%2C%2C10265~423103%2C00.html |archive-date=24 August 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> when the [[World War I|First World War]] began, the club had won the League Championship six times and the [[FA Cup]] five times.<ref name="Club Honours"/> This included the League and Cup [[Double (association football)#League & League Cup Double|Double]] in [[1896–97 in English football|1896–97]], a feat which would not be repeated for more than 60 years.

== Inter-war years == Football resumed after the war for the [[1919–20 AVFC season|1919–20 season]] and Villa won their sixth FA Cup at the end of season, beating [[Huddersfield Town F.C.|Huddersfield Town]] 1–0 at [[Stamford Bridge (stadium)|Stamford Bridge]]. In November 1923, Villa's centre-half [[Tommy Ball]] was killed by his neighbour, thus becoming the only active Football League player to have been murdered.<ref name=Cowan>{{cite web|last=Cowan |first=Mark |title=The star Villa player shot dead by neighbour |url=http://www.birminghammail.net/news/crime-news/2010/05/06/from-the-archives-the-star-villa-player-shot-dead-by-neighbour-97319-26389654/ |work=Birmingham Mail|access-date=3 November 2011 |date=6 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100508230037/http://www.birminghammail.net/news/crime-news/2010/05/06/from-the-archives-the-star-villa-player-shot-dead-by-neighbour-97319-26389654/ |archive-date=8 May 2010}}</ref> In their [[Golden Jubilee]] season of [[1923–24 in English football|1923–24]], Villa got through to the second [[FA Cup Final|final]] to be held at the then new [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], where they lost 2–0 to [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]]. This Cup final was to be something of a pinnacle though as Villa then had League finishes of sixth and tenth in the following seasons. The Directors attempted to stop the slump with transfer dealings. In 1927, they bought both [[Jimmy Gibson (footballer born 1901)|Jimmy Gibson]] and [[Eric Houghton]]. In 1928, they bought in one of the most prolific goalscorers to have ever played in the English football league. When Villa signed [[Tranmere Rovers F.C.|Tranmere Rovers]] striker [[Tom Waring]] for [[Pound sterling|£]]4,700, he was relatively unknown. Waring scored a record 49 league goals in the [[1930–31 Aston Villa F.C. season|1930–31 season]] as Villa finished runners-up to [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]. One of the other purchases, Eric Houghton, scored 30 goals.<ref name="OffHist0039"/>

The team were playing well and scoring many goals. In the [[1933–34 in English football|1933–34 season]], Villa had no fewer than fourteen full internationals and they continued to challenge for honours being second in the League in 1933. Yet this success did not last and the complacency at Villa Park led to a slump in form.<ref name="OffHist0039"/> This slump culminated in their relegation from the first tier of English football for the first time in their history in the [[1935–36 in English football|1935–36 season]]. The relegation coincided with the decision to appoint their first manager. Before the 1935–36 season, the team had been appointed by a committee and the team was coached by a "secretary" to the committee.<ref name="Hayes p.135"/> The relegation though was largely due a dismal defensive record, they conceded 110 goals, 7 of them coming from Arsenal's [[Ted Drake]] in a 1–7 defeat at Villa Park. Villa came ninth in their first season in the Second tier of English football but they were crowned Second Division Champions in [[1937–38 in English football|1937–38]] under the guidance of [[Jimmy Hogan]]. By the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]], Aston Villa were back in the top-flight of English football.<ref>Hayes p. 144–145.</ref>

Their Aston Villa reserves (or seconds) team enlisted in the army and were captured at the [[Dunkirk evacuation]] in June 1940. In December in an Eastern German camp, a German Guard regiment challenged British prisoners of war to a game of football; the guards were being defeated 27–0 when they stopped the game, only then learning these prisoners were Aston Villa's second team.<ref>Associated Press, [http://airminded.org/2010/12/31/tuesday-31-december-1940/ "The city's ordeal by fire" (page 5)], ''The Times'', 31 December 1940. Retrieved 3 May 2015.</ref>

== Post-war rebuilding == For Villa, as with all English clubs, the [[World War II|Second World War]] brought about the loss of seven seasons, and several careers were brought to a premature end by the conflict. The first game played at Villa Park after the cessation of hostilities was against [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]] and Villa lost 1–0 in front of a crowd of 50,000.<ref name="OffHist4667">{{cite web|url=http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ClubHistory/0,,10265~423136,00.html |title=Villa History 1946 – 1949 |publisher=AVFC.co.uk |access-date=2007-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824144935/http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ClubHistory/0%2C%2C10265~423103%2C00.html |archive-date=24 August 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Aston Villa went about rebuilding the team, under the guidance of former player [[Alex Massie (footballer)|Alex Massie]] for the remainder of the 1940s. Massie made some bold signings in his time with the club, the first of which was 23-year-old Wales international [[Trevor Ford]], who was bought from Swansea for £9,500 in 1946, when Villa finished eighth in the League. Ford would go on to score 60 times in his four seasons at Villa Park, before he was sold in the [[1950–51 in English football|1950–51 season]] to [[History of Sunderland FC|Sunderland]] for a then British record of £30,000 (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|30000|1950|r=-5}}|0}} today).<ref>Days, p 169.</ref><ref>Hayes p. 67.</ref>

For the remainder of the 1940s and early 1950s, Massie continued to bring in new players whilst the team regularly had mid-table finishes. One of the more influential signings was [[Danny Blanchflower]] in 1951 for £15,000. Villa had a good start to the [[1951–52 in English football|1951–52 season]] when, after eight games, Villa were second behind Manchester United. This was their best start of the last 19 years, and they eventually finished in sixth place. After a mid-table finish in the [[1952–53 in English football|1952–53 season]], the following season, saw the return of Eric Houghton, this time in a managerial capacity. One of his first actions was to introduce 19–year–old [[Peter McParland]] to the first team. His first season in charge ended with Villa in 13th place. Nevertheless, "Houghton had done well to guide a transitional Villa team to a respectable position in the top flight."<ref name="OffHist4667"/> Under Houghton's stewardship, Villa won the [[1957 FA Cup Final]] against [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]'s celebrated [[Busby Babes]]. Peter McParland scored both goals in a 2–1 victory, in a record-equalling ninth FA Cup final.<ref name="OffHist4667"/> It was Aston Villa's first trophy for 37 years.<ref name="Club Honours"/>

== Fluctuating fortunes == The success of the previous season proved to be something of a false dawn though, with the team finishing 14th, seven points above relegation. After refusing to resign, [[Eric Houghton]] was sacked when relegation seemed imminent in [[1958–59 in English football|1958–59]]. His successor [[Joe Mercer]] was unable to prevent the club being relegated in 1959, for only the second time in its history. The fact that Villa reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup only served to highlight the complacency that had set in at the club that led to Villa being relegated. Villa only spent one season in the Second Division, returning as Champions in 1960. The [[1960–61 in English football|1960–61 season]] was a successful one; it saw Villa reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, finish ninth in the League, and win the inaugural [[Football League Cup|League Cup]].<ref name="OffHist4667"/> This was helped by the emergence of an exciting group of youth players, who became known as "Mercer's Minors".<ref name=Lerwill5664>{{cite web |url=http://www.lerwill-life.org.uk/astonvilla/a_villan2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012212037/http://www.lerwill-life.org.uk/astonvilla/a_villan2.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=12 October 2007 |title=A Villa Fan's Memoirs |publisher=John Lerwill |access-date=2007-09-29}}</ref>

==References== ;Specific {{reflist}}

;General * {{cite book |last=Hayes |first=Dean |title=The Villa Park Encyclopedia: A-Z of Aston Villa |publisher=Mainstream Publishing |date=2 October 1997 |isbn=978-1-85158-959-3}} * {{cite book |last1=Holt |first1=Frank Lee |last2=Bishop |first2=Rob |title=Aston Villa: The Complete Record |publisher=Derby Books Publishing |location=Derby |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-85983-805-1}} * {{cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Adam |last2=Griffin |first2=Jeremy |title=The essential history of Aston Villa |publisher=Headline book publishing |year=2002 |isbn=0-7553-1140-X}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History of Aston Villa F.C. (1874-1961)}} [[Category:Aston Villa F.C.|History 1874-1961]] [[Category:History of football clubs in England|Aston Villa 1874-1961]]