";s:4:"text";s:2779:"Albion had spent the majority of their history in the top-flight of English football, but when the Premier League was founded in 1992 the club found themselves in the third tier, which had been renamed Division Two. The Club would like to thank new Principal Partners Ideal Boilers for their support in the design of all of this year’s kits. The first win came in 1888, the year the league was founded, and the most recent in 1968, the club's last major trophy. The story is that they walked to nearby Wednesbury to buy a ball and took the name West Bromwich Strollers as a result. Socks cost £10. [83] The record attendance at the Hawthorns was on 6 March 1937, when 64,815 spectators saw Albion beat Arsenal 3–1 in the FA Cup quarter-final.
[125] Birmingham City were relegated from the Premier League in 2011 and Wolverhampton Wanderers a season later, leaving Aston Villa and West Brom as the only West Midlands teams in England's top division. [40] The club competed in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2007, but lost 1–0 to Derby County.
[61], In 1975, a version of the badge (on a roundel rather than a shield) was granted by the College of Arms to the Football League for licensing to the club. Please use #AlbionFamily on social media. [108] The programme has a circulation in excess of 8,000 copies. [160] Bobby Robson, a player with Albion, has also been inducted, although this was for his achievements as a manager. [77] Other sponsors have included T-Mobile (2004–08), Homeserve (2010–11), Bodog (2011–12), Zoopla (2012–14), Intuit Quickbooks (2014–15), Tlcbet (2015–16), K8 group (2016–2017), and Palm Eco-Town Development (2017–18). [57], Albion's main club badge dates back to the late 1880s, when club secretary Tom Smith suggested that a throstle (song thrush) sitting on a crossbar be adopted for the badge. [105] The publication was entitled Albion News for many years, but was renamed Albion from the 2002–03 season until the close season of 2013, when it was renamed back to Albion News. “I love that strip,” he said, with the kit out of sight.
Albion's first appearance at Wembley for over 20 years – and their last ever at the original stadium – saw them beat Port Vale 3–0 to return to the second level – now renamed the First Division. Fourteen of the sixteen players are English-born, with a fifteenth, Cyrille Regis, despite being born in French Guiana also a full England international. In 1992–93, Albion finished fourth and entered the play-offs for the first time.