West Bromwich Albion Merchandise

West Bromwich Albion Football Club is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands. The club was formed in 1878 and has played at its home ground, The Hawthorns, since 1900. Albion were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888 and have spent the majority of their existence in the top flight of English football. They have been champions of England once, in 1919–20, and have been runners-up twice. The club has had more success in the FA Cup, winning it five times. West Bromwich Albion were formed in 1878 by workers from George Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich, in Staffordshire. The club joined the Birmingham & District Football Association in 1881 and became eligible for their first competition, the Birmingham Cup. They reached the quarter-finals, beating several longer-established clubs on the way. In 1883, Albion won their first trophy, the Staffordshire Cup. Albion joined the Football Association in the same year; this enabled them to enter the FA Cup for the first time in the 1883–84 season. In 1885 the club turned professional, and in 1886 they reached the FA Cup final for the first time, losing 2–0 to Blackburn Rovers in a replay. They reached the final again in 1887, but lost 2–0 to Aston Villa. In 1888 the team competed in the Football League for the first time, finishing as runners-up in their inaugural season. They reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1890 and lost to Blackburn Rovers. The following season saw them finish as runners-up in the league again. In 1892 they won the FA Cup, beating Aston Villa 3–0. They won the cup again in 1895, beating tenants Aston Villa 1–0 in the final. The club made their first serious attempt to win the league championship in the 1896–97 season, finishing as runners-up to Aston Villa. They finished as runners-up again in 1897–98 and 1898–99, before winning the title in 1899–1900, their first championship triumph.