12 Sep 08 Norman Edwards cartooons on early history. 07 Sep 08 Villa in the 'Big Five' Table and new Roll of Honour and Timeline plus corrections to the history
on Villa Park. 05 Sep 08 Updates to players' match appearances, 2007-08 and other detailed updates. 14 Mar 08 1981 Match Programme to View (this page). 24 Jun 07 Updates to players' match appearances, 2006-07. 8 Dec 06 Reorganisation of menus and links 31 Aug 06 New links: Articles section. 29 Aug 06 New link: Notable Published Histories of the Villa. 27 Aug 06 Navigation Re-vamp 11 Mar 06 New link, to The Aston Villa Chronicles. 30 Jan 06 Old Team Pictures 26 Jan 06 Main Page re-design 24 Jan 06 1983, The Supercup 08 Jan 06 Additional Great Matches at VP. 26 Nov 05 Additional Great Matches at VP (since 2002/03). 22 Jul 05 1982, in Rotterdam 1998 My first Villa Page - entitled 'Memoirs of a Villa Supporter'. From 2003, that page (and site) was massively re-developed. The 'Memoirs' page is now a link page from this main page.
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Roll of Honour and Timeline (use right-hand scrollbar)
1982 : European Cup Winners;
1983 : European Super Cup Winners;
League Champions 7 times (10 times runners-up);
Runners-up in inaugural Football League (1888/9)
and Premiership (1992/3) seasons;
F.A. Cup Winners 7 times (3 times finalists);
League & Cup 'Double' Winners in 1896/97
(not repeated until 1960/61);
F.L. Cup Winners 5 times (2 times finalists);
F.A. Youth Cup Winners 3 Times (1972,1980,2002);
Finalists 1978, 2004.
More England Internationals than any other club.
1874 Club Formed.
First game played with 15 players
and one half of the game using
rugby rules.
1876 First permanent ground (Perry Barr).
1880 First entered F.A. Cup.
First won Birmingham Senior Cup.
1885 The club turned professional
1886 William McGregor leads a re-organisation
of the club's administration.
George Ramsay appointed first full-time
club secretary.
1886-87 F.A. Cup Winners
1888 Villa's William McGregor founder of the
Football League and its first
chairman.
1888-89 Founder member of Football League
Football League runner-up
1891-92 F.A. Cup Finalists
1892 Fred Rinder leads a re-organisation
of the club's administration
1893 Joe Grierson trainer.
He oversees Villa's
first 6 championship wins
1893-94 Football League Champions1894-95 F.A. Cup Winners (2nd time)1895-96 Football League Champions (2nd time)
1896 (Jan) Limited company formed.
Share capital raised for Villa Park.
1896-97 Football League Champions (3rd time)
F.A. Cup Winners (3rd time)
[Second winners of the 'Double'
& the last till 1960/61]
1897 Villa Park opened
Villa's John Devey first (co-)chairman
of the PFA
1898 Fred Rinder Chairman of Aston Villa.
1898-99 Football League Champions (4th time)1899-00 Football League Champions (5th time)
1900-01 F.A. Cup semi-finalists
1902-03 Football League runner-up
F.A. Cup semi-finalists
1904-05 F.A. Cup Winners (4th time)
1906 (Sep) the Villa News
& Record is launched.
1907-08 Football League runner-up
1909-10 Football League Champions (6th time)
1910-11 Football League runner-up
1912-13 F.A. Cup Winners (5th time)
Football League runner-up
1913-14 Football League runner-up
F.A. Cup semi-finalists
1915-19 No competition1919-20 F.A. Cup Winners (6th time)
1923-24 F.A. Cup Finalists
1925 Fred Rinder de-selected from the Board,
ending 33 years in office.
1926 George Ramsay retires after 40 years.
1928-29 F.A. Cup semi-finalists
1930-31 Football League runner-up
Record number of league goals: 128
(still the record for the top division)
1932-33 Football League runner-up
1933-34 F.A. Cup semi-finalists
1934 First Professional Team Manager appointed.
1935 (Nov) Death of George Ramsay.
1935-36 Relegated to Division Two (1st relegation)
1936 Board of Directors replaced, with
Fred Rinder returning after 11 years.
1937-38 Football League Division Two Champions
Promoted to Division One
F.A. Cup semi-finalists
1938 (Dec) Death of Fred Rinder.
1939-45 No competition
1946 Gate record of 76,588 against Derby
in the F.A. Cup
1956-57 F.A. Cup Winners (7th time)
1958-59 F.A. Cup semi-finalists
Relegated to Division Two
1959-60 Football League Division Two Champions
Promoted to Division One
F.A. Cup semi-finalists
1960-61 Inaugural Football League Cup winners
1962-63 Football League Cup Finalists
1964-65 Football League Cup semi-finalists
1966 A host ground for World Cup finals
1966-67 Relegated to Division Two
1969 The club is saved from financial ruin in
a takeover. The reign of Doug Ellis begins,
interrupted only by a short period at
the end of the 70s, and when (without him)
the club won the championship for the
only time since 1910 (in 1981).
1969-70 Relegated to Division Three
1970-71 Football League Cup Finalists
1971-72 Football League Division Three Champions
Promoted to Division Two
1974-75 Football League Cup Winners (2nd time)
Football League Division Two runner-up
Promoted to Division One
1975-76 First Entry to European Competition (UEFA Cup)
1976-77 Football League Cup Winners (3rd time)
1977-78 UEFA Cup quarter finalists
1980-81 Football League Champions (7th time)1981-82 European Cup Winners1982-83 European Super Cup Winners
European Cup quarter finalists
1983-84 Football League Cup semi-finalists
1985-86 Football League Cup semi-finalists
1986-87 Relegated to Division Two
1987-88 Football League Division Two runner-up
Promoted to Division One
1989-90 Football League runner-up
1992-93 Founder member of F.A. Premiership
F.A. Premiership runner-up
1993-94 Football League Cup Winners (4th time)
1994 Villa Park becomes all-seater
1995-96 Football League Cup Winners (5th time)
F.A. Cup semi-finalists
1996 A host ground for European Nations Cup
1997-98 UEFA Cup quarter finalists
1999-00 F.A. Cup Finalists
Football League Cup semi-finalists
2003-04 Football League Cup semi-finalists
2006 Mr. Ellis' reign as chairman at end
after 24 years, and at Villa since
1968, except 1979-82. American
Mr. Lerner takes over.
- perhaps the history...
The Players and the Teams
For more about Nick Oldham, and his other caricatures,
please see the websites
here
and
here.
For in-depth information about past players, teams and managers, and also team pictures,
please click here.
Events & Memories
I count myself very lucky when I think back and see
myself having been present when the great club lifted itself into the
newspaper headlines so many times after 20+ years in the doldrums (1935-1956)...
I can still see the BBC's Kenneth Wolstenholme's look of astonishment when he made
the announcement to the UK that Villa had scored 21 goals in 3 games (back
in that November of '59); I can now re-live the '57 final as I am lucky to
have the DVD of that occasion, and remind myself of the old Busby Babes and
the games I saw Villa playing on getting to Wembley that year - at Turf
Moor and Molineaux, as well as Villa Park. David Colman's face is there
too, when he told us all that Villa had won their first championship in 71
years, and then seeing that famous European Cup win, albeit on TV. And
before and since, 5 League Cup wins, and those really great wins in '77
(final replay), '94 and '96.
And in-between, being at Wembley for the '71 League Cup Final, when it only
seemed logical that we - then as a third division side - would beat Spurs having
dumped Man U in the semis; and we should have done. And other sideshows,
like whipping Leicester 8-3 one Easter Saturday, and Notts Forest 5-1 on
the Monday; whipping Blues 6-2; Johnny Dixon's final game at the end of 1960/61,
and that glorious 4-0 win over Man U, when Law was sent off.
And having seen some really lovely players at Villa Park - many of them
playing for the opposition, granted, but still worth relishing: Matthews,
Finney, Haynes, Blanchflower, Greaves, MacKay, Johnny White, Edwards, R.
Charlton, Best, Moore, Peters ... And our own McParland, Sims, Hitchens,
Woosnam, Rioch, Little, Cowans, Gray, Shaw, Withe, Platt, McGrath...
Having seen all that (and more), anything else will be a bonus to me.
But a very welcome bonus! more...
Villa were 4 points clear at the top of the table and only had 2 games
left - 'Boro at home - which we won, and Arsenal away - which of course
we lost - but by then it didn't matter. The program notes are excellent
- full of expectation, and it gives a fascinating look back - season
tickets in the Holte were £28 and £2 in on matchday!
Click on the Image to download a PDF copy of the programme.
It is 25mb in size - so it will take time.
(by Courtesy of Mark Phillips)
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