West Bromwich Albion – Unreliable History, Club Records & Information

The early days of West Bromwich Albion were exemplified by the name that the club adopted on formation.  Their lackadaisical approach to the game brought them the name of West Bromwich Strollers and the opposition were always keen to “walk” around the Strollers.  However, the reason for this less than energetic style may have been the fact that there is a reduced oxygen content in the air at The Hawthorns, as it is the highest ground in the UK at 551 feet above sea level.  For many years this is the highest the Baggies had got in the game.

Many stories surround the various nicknames the Midlands side have.  One about “the Throstles” nickname is that the club used to have such big crowds that to get everyone in before kick-off, they had to introduce turnstiles to get the supporters into the ground and for season ticket holders, they had the first “fast-track” entrances, known as “through-stiles”, which became corrupted in common parlance in the Black Country accent to Throstles.”  The other one about the nickname “The Baggies” is said to come from the size of the shorts the team used to wear in the 1920s, but it actually originates from the sponsorship by a local sports shop, who became the first suppliers of kit bags to West Bromwich Albion and they were required to change their nickname to promote this sponsorship to “The Baggies”.

They are the proud holders of a couple of records, one of them created in 1930-31, when they became the only team to win promotion to the top flight and win the FA Cup in the same season and then in 2004-05, Albion became the first ever team to avoid relegation from the Premier League having been bottom at Christmas in 2004/05.  Since then it has been up and down for the Boing Boing Baggies, once more regaining their Premiership place with new boss Roberto Di Matteo in 2010, after going down the previous season.  When he moved on, Roy Hodgson took over and steered Albion to another safe placing, before he took over the England national side.  It was another former Chelsea man who took the helm at the start of 2012-13 and Steve Clarke’s first club management post tested him as it has done subsequent managers.

Back in the top flight in 2020 after the Covid interrupted season of 2019-20, the Baggies were hoping to become left luggage in the top flight.