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

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 the 1888–89 season. Aston Villa were one of the dozen teams that competed in the inaugural Football League in 1888 with the club's vice-president William McGregor being the league's founder. They played in the top league in England until the 1935–56 season when they were relegated into the Second Division. They have won the English League championship seven times: in 1894, 1896, 1897, 1899, 1900, 1910 and, most recently, in 1981. They have also been runners-up on a further nine occasions: in 1889, 1903, 1908, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1931, 1933 and 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 First World War, the club had won five of their six League Championships and the FA Cup five times (1887, 1895, 1897, 1905, 1913).

Aston Villa won their sixth FA Cup in 1920. 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 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 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.