West Bromwich Albion F.C.

{{main|History of West Bromwich Albion F.C.}}

{{for|a statistical breakdown by season|List of West Bromwich Albion F.C. seasons}}

{{for|the club's record in Europe|West Bromwich Albion F.C. in European football}}

File:Aston villa west bromwich 1887 final.jpg

The club was founded as West Bromwich Strollers in 1878 by workers from George Salter's Spring Works in West Bromwich, in the Black Country.{{Ref label|FormationDate|A|}}McOwan pp. 7–10. They were renamed West Bromwich Albion in 1880, becoming the first team to adopt the Albion suffix; Albion was a district of West Bromwich where some of the players lived or worked, close to what is today Greets Green. 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.McOwan pp. 13–14. In 1885 the club turned professional,{{cite web |title=In the record book |url=http://www.wba.co.uk/stats/in_the_record_book/ |url-status=dead |publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C. |date=2 February 2012 |access-date=7 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606052353/https://www.wba.co.uk/stats/in_the_record_book/ |archive-date=6 June 2017}} and in 1886 the team 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 won the trophy for the first time, beating strong favourites Preston North End 2–1 in the final.McOwan p. 20. As FA Cup winners, they qualified to play in a Football World Championship game against Scottish Cup winners Renton, which ended in a 4–1 defeat.{{cite web |title=A Sporting Nation – Renton Crowned World Champions |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0008/ |url-status=live |publisher=BBC |access-date=25 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804214053/http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0008/ |archive-date=4 August 2020}}

File:West Bromwich Albion team 1888.jpg

In March 1888, William McGregor wrote to what he considered to be the top five English teams, including Albion, informing them of his intention to form an association of clubs that would play each other home and away each season. Thus when the Football League started later that year, Albion became one of the twelve founder members.McOwan pp. 19–21. Albion's second FA Cup success came in 1892, beating Aston Villa 3–0. They met Villa again in the 1895 final, but lost 1–0. The team suffered relegation to Division Two in 1900–01, their first season at The Hawthorns.McOwan p. 30. They were promoted as champions the following season but relegated again in 1903–04.McOwan p. 32. The club won the Division Two championship once more in 1910–11, and the following season reached another FA Cup Final, where they were defeated by Second Division Barnsley in a replay.McOwan pp. 36–37.

Albion won the Football League title in 1919–20 for the only time in their history following the end of World War I, their totals of 104 goals and 60 points both breaking the previous league records.McOwan p. 42. The team finished as Division One runners-up in 1924–25, narrowly losing out to Huddersfield Town, but were relegated in 1926–27.McOwan p. 45. In 1930–31, they won promotion as well as the FA Cup, beating Birmingham 2–1 in the final.McOwan pp. 50–51. The "double" of winning the FA Cup and promotion has not been achieved before or since.Matthews (2007) p. 23. Albion reached the final again in 1935, losing to Sheffield Wednesday, but were relegated three years later.McOwan pp. 53–55. They gained promotion in 1948–49,McOwan p. 58. and there followed the club's longest unbroken spell in the top flight of English football, a total of 24 years.{{cite web

| title = West Bromwich Albion Football Club History

| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/sport/clubs/baggies/history.shtml

| publisher = BBC

| access-date = 18 November 2007

| archive-date = 9 April 2006

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060409080924/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/sport/clubs/baggies/history.shtml

| url-status = live

}}{{cite web

| title = West Bromwich Albion

| url = https://www.fchd.info/W-BROMWA.HTM

| publisher = Football Club History Database

| access-date = 19 November 2007

| archive-date = 12 January 2018

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180112214800/http://fchd.info/W-BROMWA.HTM

| url-status = live

}}

File:1954 FA Cup memorabilia.jpg]]

In 1953–54, Albion came close to being the first team in the 20th century to win the League and Cup double. They succeeded in winning the FA Cup, beating Preston North End 3–2, but injuries and a loss of form towards the end of the season meant that they finished as runners-up to fierce rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league.McOwan pp. 67–68. Nonetheless, Albion became known for their brand of fluent, attacking football, with the 1953–54 side being hailed as the "Team of the Century". One national newspaper went so far as to suggest that the team be chosen en masse to represent England at the 1954 FIFA World Cup finals.{{Cite news

| last=Wilson

| first=Peter

| title=Let 'Team of Century' play for England in World Cup

| newspaper=Daily Mirror

| date = 17 March 1954

| page = 15

}} They remained one of the top English sides for the remainder of the decade, reaching the semi-final of the 1957 FA Cup and achieving three consecutive top five finishes in Division One between 1957–58 and 1959–60.

Although their league form was less impressive during the 1960s, the second half of the decade saw West Brom establish a reputation as a successful cup side. Albion entered the Football League Cup for the first time in 1965–66 and, under manager Jimmy Hagan, won the final by defeating West Ham United 5–3 on aggregate. That was the last two-legged final and, the following year, Albion reached the final again, the first played at Wembley. They lost 3–2 to Third Division Queens Park Rangers after being 2–0 up at half-time.McOwan pp. 87–88. Albion's cup form continued under Hagan's successor Alan Ashman. He guided the club to their last major trophy to date, the 1968 FA Cup, when they beat Everton in extra time thanks to a single goal from Jeff Astle.McOwan pp. 94–96. Albion reached the FA Cup semi-final and European Cup Winners Cup quarter-final in 1969, and were defeated 2–1 by Manchester City in the 1970 League Cup Final.McOwan pp. 97–99. File:The Three Degrees statue - New Square, West Bromwich (48488490306).jpg, in West Bromwich]]

The club were less successful during the reign of Don Howe, and were relegated to Division Two at the end of 1972–73,McOwan p. 105. but gained promotion three years later under the guidance of player-manager Johnny Giles.McOwan pp. 113–114. Under Ron Atkinson, Albion reached the 1978 FA Cup semi-final but lost to Ipswich Town.McOwan p. 120. In May of that year, Albion became the first English professional team to play in China, going unbeaten on their five-game trip.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCvLrMQHLJ8 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211116/HCvLrMQHLJ8| archive-date=2021-11-16 | url-status=live|title=West Bromwich Albion in China 1978 | date=17 March 2011|publisher=YouTube |access-date=17 August 2012}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite news|url=https://wildeastfootball.net/2017/01/football-diplomacy-west-broms-1978-tour-of-china/|title=A trumpet-playing panda and half-time ice cream: West Brom's 1978 tour of China|date=13 January 2017|newspaper=Wild East Football|language=en-GB|access-date=25 January 2017|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202104518/https://wildeastfootball.net/2017/01/football-diplomacy-west-broms-1978-tour-of-china/|url-status=live}} In 1978–79, the team finished third in Division One, their highest placing for over 20 years, and also reached the UEFA Cup quarter-final, where they were defeated by Red Star Belgrade.McOwan pp. 124–127. The team around this time was notable for simultaneously fielding three black players: Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson; and is considered to be an integral part of the acceptance of black footballers in the English leagues.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-19077873|title=West Brom's 'Three Degrees' to be honoured by statue|work=BBC News |date=August 2012 |access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=21 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921165219/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-19077873|url-status=live}} In his second spell as manager, Ronnie Allen guided the team to both domestic cup semi-finals in 1981–82.McOwan pp. 136–138. The mid-1980s saw the start of Albion's longest and deepest decline. They were relegated in 1985–86 with the worst record in the club's history,McOwan p. 144. beginning a period of 16 years outside the top flight. Five years later, the club were relegated to the Third Division for the first and only time.McOwan p. 154.

File:WestBromwichAlbionFC League Performance.svg

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. In 1992–93, Albion finished fourth and entered the play-offs for the first time. Albion's first appearance at Wembley for over 20 years – and their last at the original stadium – saw them beat Port Vale 3–0 to return to the second level – now renamed the First Division.McOwan pp. 158–159. Manager Ossie Ardiles then joined Tottenham Hotspur, however, and a succession of managers over the next few seasons saw Albion consolidate their Division One status without mounting a serious promotion challenge.

File:WBA The Great Escape.jpg. Fans enter the pitch after the club survived relegation having been in last place on the final day of the season.]]

The appointment of Gary Megson in March 2000 heralded an upturn in the club's fortunes. Megson guided Albion to Division One safety in 1999–2000, and to the play-offs a year later. He went on to lead the club to promotion to the Premier League in 2001–02.{{cite news

| title = Baggies back in big time

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/1935828.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 21 April 2002

| access-date = 4 February 2009

| archive-date = 15 December 2003

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031215051413/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/1935828.stm

| url-status = live

}} After being relegated in their first Premier League season,{{cite news

| title = Baggies relegated despite win

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2936479.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 19 April 2003

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 20 April 2003

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030420173321/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2936479.stm

| url-status = live

}} they made an immediate return to the top flight in 2003–04.{{cite news

| title = West Brom 2–0 Bradford

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3634667.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 24 April 2004

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 12 January 2016

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160112233419/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/3634667.stm

| url-status = live

}} In 2004–05, Megson's successor, former Albion midfielder Bryan Robson, led the team to a last-day "Great Escape", when Albion became the first Premier League club to avoid relegation having been bottom of the table at Christmas, as well as bottom on the final day of the season.{{Ref label|GreatEscape|G|}}{{cite news

| title = West Brom 2–0 Portsmouth

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/4525119.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 15 May 2005

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 12 August 2022

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220812184914/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/4525119.stm

| url-status = live

}} They failed to avoid the drop the following season,{{cite web

|title=Albion suffer relegation

|url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~823497,00.html

|publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.

|access-date=11 November 2007

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511092615/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~823497%2C00.html

|archive-date=11 May 2008

}} and Robson was replaced by Tony Mowbray in October 2006.{{cite news

| title = Mowbray leaves Hibs for West Brom

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/6043410.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 13 October 2006

| access-date = 1 December 2007

| archive-date = 15 February 2008

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| url-status = live

}} The club competed in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2007, but lost 1–0 to Derby County.{{cite news

| last = Ahmad

| first = Arsalan

| title = Derby 1–0 West Brom

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/6689971.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 28 May 2007

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 21 May 2018

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180521013841/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/6689971.stm

| url-status = live

}} The following season, Mowbray led the Baggies to Wembley again, this time in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they lost 1–0 to Portsmouth.{{cite news

| last = McKenzie

| first = Andrew

| title = West Brom 0–1 Portsmouth

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7320356.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 5 April 2008

| access-date = 9 April 2008

| archive-date = 12 January 2016

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160112233420/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7320356.stm

| url-status = live

}} One month later, Albion were promoted to the Premier League as winners of the Championship,{{cite news

| title = QPR 0–2 West Brom

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7368623.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 4 May 2008

| access-date = 4 May 2008

| archive-date = 13 May 2008

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080513230555/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7368623.stm

| url-status = live

}} but were relegated at the end of the 2008–09 campaign.{{cite news

| title = West Brom 0–2 Liverpool

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8038300.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 17 May 2008

| access-date = 17 May 2008

| archive-date = 17 May 2009

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090517222200/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8038300.stm

| url-status = live

}} Mowbray left the club and was replaced by Roberto Di Matteo,{{cite news

| title = Di Matteo is new Albion boss

| url = https://www.expressandstar.com/2009/06/30/di-matteo-is-new-albion-boss/

| newspaper = Express & Star

| date = 30 June 2009

| access-date = 30 June 2009

| archive-date = 4 July 2009

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090704024500/http://www.expressandstar.com/2009/06/30/di-matteo-is-new-albion-boss/

| url-status = dead

}} who led the club back to the Premier League at the first attempt,{{cite news

| first = Marc

| last = Vesty

| title = Doncaster 2 – 3 West Brom

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/8607467.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 10 April 2010

| access-date = 10 April 2010

| archive-date = 20 June 2017

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170620112329/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/8607467.stm

| url-status = live

}} but was dismissed in February 2011 and replaced by Roy Hodgson.{{cite news

| title = Roy Hodgson named new manager of West Brom

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/9391291.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 11 February 2011

| access-date = 25 April 2011

| archive-date = 12 January 2016

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160112211926/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/9391291.stm

| url-status = live

}}

Hodgson guided Albion to an 11th-place finish for the 2010–11 season.{{cite web|url=https://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=1|title=Premier League 2010/11|publisher=Soccerbase|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=31 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731183311/http://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=1|url-status=live}} Then followed an eight-season continuous run in the Premier League. It included an 8th-place finish in 2012–13 under Steve Clarke,{{cite web|url=https://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=1159|title=Premier League 2012/13|publisher=Soccerbase|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=22 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422014820/https://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=1159|url-status=live}} and 10th-place finishes under Roy Hodgson in 2011–12{{cite web|url=https://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=939|title=Premier League 2011/12|publisher=Soccerbase|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=21 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421184716/https://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=939|url-status=live}} and Tony Pulis in 2016–17.{{cite web |url=https://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=1501 |title=Premier League 2016/17 |publisher=Soccerbase |access-date=21 September 2019 |archive-date=28 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828050827/http://www.soccerbase.com/tournaments/tournament.sd?tourn_id=1501 |url-status=live }} In August 2016, it was announced that long-term owner Jeremy Peace had sold the club to a Chinese investment group headed up by Lai Guochuan.{{cite news|title=West Bromwich Albion to be sold to Chinese investment group|work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36983933|access-date=5 August 2016|archive-date=5 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805080322/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36983933|url-status=live}} By this time, the club had begun to fall into a state of torpor, and were relegated at the end of the 2017–18 season, ending their eight-year Premier League stay.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44046183 |title=West Brom relegated from Premier League after Southampton beat Swanea |work=BBC Sport |date=8 May 2018 |access-date=9 May 2018 |archive-date=8 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508210824/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44046183 |url-status=live }} Pulis{{cite news|title=West Brom sack Tony Pulis as manager after owner joins fans in losing patience|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/nov/20/west-brom-sack-tony-pulis-manager|access-date=20 November 2017|work=The Guardian|date=20 November 2017|archive-date=20 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120102116/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/nov/20/west-brom-sack-tony-pulis-manager|url-status=live}} and his replacement Alan Pardew were both dismissed during the season. Albion finished fourth in their first season back in the Championship under the management of Darren Moore, losing the Championship play-off semi-final on penalties.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48182254|title=Aston Villa beat West Bromwich Albion to reach Championship play-off final|work=BBC Sport|date=14 May 2019|access-date=25 December 2019|archive-date=14 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514220300/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48182254|url-status=live}}

Slaven Bilić took over as manager in June 2019,{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48621629|title=Slaven Bilic: West Bromwich Albion name ex-West Ham manager as head coach|work=BBC Sport |date=13 June 2019|access-date=18 June 2019|archive-date=26 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126060114/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48621629|url-status=live}} and led Albion to automatic promotion back to the Premier League during the 2019–20 season.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/53412768 |title=West Bromwich Albion 2–2 Queens Park Rangers |website=BBC Sport |date=22 July 2020 |access-date=23 July 2020 |archive-date=23 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723151806/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/53412768 |url-status=live }} Back in the Premier League, Bilić was controversially sacked on 16 December 2020,{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/55253670 |title=Slaven Bilic: West Brom manager sacked after 18 months in charge |website=BBC Sport |date=16 December 2020 |access-date=16 December 2020 |archive-date=13 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513100421/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/55253670 |url-status=live }} with Sam Allardyce named as his replacement the same day.{{Cite web|date=16 December 2020|title=Sam Allardyce: West Brom appoint former England boss to replace Slaven Bilic|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/55330288|access-date=16 December 2020|website=BBC Sport|archive-date=9 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209100101/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/55330288|url-status=live}} After Albion were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2020–21 season, Allardyce resigned from his position.{{cite news |title=A statement from Sam Allardyce |url=https://www.wba.co.uk/news/statement-sam-allardyce |publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C. |date=19 May 2021 |access-date=24 June 2021 |archive-date=19 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519213553/https://www.wba.co.uk/news/statement-sam-allardyce |url-status=live }} The club endured disappointing results back in the Championship during the tenures of Valérien Ismaël{{cite news |title=Albion appoint Valérien Ismaël as Head Coach |url=https://www.wba.co.uk/news/albion-appoint-valerien-ismael-head-coach |publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C. |date=24 June 2021 |access-date=24 June 2021 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624153208/https://www.wba.co.uk/news/albion-appoint-valerien-ismael-head-coach |url-status=live }}{{Cite news|title=West Brom part company with boss Ismael|language=en-GB|work=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60149753|access-date=4 February 2022|archive-date=3 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203220940/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60149753|url-status=live}} and Steve Bruce, who left the club in the relegation places in the 2022–23 season.{{Cite news|title=West Brom appoint Bruce as manager|language=en-GB|work=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60238539|access-date=4 February 2022|archive-date=3 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203163229/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60238539|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=West Brom sack Steve Bruce after poor start to the season|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/oct/10/steve-bruce-sacked-by-west-brom-after-poor-start-to-the-season|access-date=10 October 2022|archive-date=10 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010094001/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/oct/10/steve-bruce-sacked-by-west-brom-after-poor-start-to-the-season|url-status=live}} Carlos Corberán was named as successor on 25 October 2022.{{cite news|title=Carlos Corberán Appointed Albion Head Coach|url=https://www.wba.co.uk/news/carlos-corberan-appointed-albion-head-coach|access-date=26 October 2022|publisher=West Bromwich Albion FC|date=25 October 2022|archive-date=26 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026001027/https://www.wba.co.uk/news/carlos-corberan-appointed-albion-head-coach|url-status=live}} He guided Albion to a 5th-place finish and the play-off semi-finals at the end of the 2023–24 season.

In February 2024, the English Football League approved a takeover of the club by American entrepreneur Shilen Patel.

File:West-Bromwich-Albion-F.C.-old-logo.png

File:westbromcrest.jpg of West Bromwich has featured intermittently on Albion team shirts.]]

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.McOwan p. 15.{{Ref label|Throstle|B|}} The badge has been subject to various revisions since then.{{cite web

| title = Trademarks owned by West Bromwich Albion Football Club Limited

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| publisher = Intellectual Property Office

| access-date = 26 November 2018

| archive-date = 21 April 2023

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230421184717/https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmowner/page/search?id=51961&domain=1

| url-status = live

}} It has always featured a throstle, usually on a blue and white striped shield, although the crossbar was replaced with a hawthorn branch at some point after the club's move to the Hawthorns. The throstle was chosen because the public house in which the team used to change kept a pet thrush in a cage. It also gave rise to Albion's early nickname, the Throstles. The hawthorn bush is also a favourite bush of throstles, which were regularly seen on the pre-stadium estate and local area. As late as the 1930s, a caged throstle was placed beside the touchline during matches and it was said that it only used to sing if Albion were winning. In 1979, an effigy of a throstle was erected above the half-time scoreboard of the Woodman corner at the Hawthorns,Matthews (1987) p. 239. and was returned to the same area of the ground following redevelopment in the early 2000s.{{cite web

| title = West Bromwich Albion ground guide

| url = http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/park/yfh45/westbrom.htm

| publisher = Internet Football Ground Guide

| access-date = 1 December 2007

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071213091411/http://www.dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/park/yfh45/westbrom.htm

| archive-date = 13 December 2007

| df = dmy-all

}}

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. The badge was described in heraldic blazon as, "On a roundel paly of thirteen argent and azure a mistle thrush perched on a raspberry branch leaved and fructed proper." This is the only known occasion on which the branch has been described as a raspberry branch rather than a hawthorn branch: Rodney Dennys, the officer of arms responsible, may have been imperfectly briefed.{{cite journal |first=David Llewelyn |last=Phillips |title=Badges and 'Crests': the twentieth-century relationship between football and heraldry |journal=Coat of Arms |series=3rd ser. |volume=11 |issue=1 |year=2015 |pages=35–50 (43, and plate 4e)}}

The badge was re-designed in 2006, incorporating the name of the club for the first time. The new design aimed to safeguard and consolidate the club's identity.{{cite web

| title = Albion unveil new badge

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~777862,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 4 February 2006

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090112213028/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~777862%2C00.html

| archive-date = 12 January 2009

| df = dmy-all

}} Prior to this, the main club badge rarely coincided with that worn on the first team strip. No badge appeared on the kit for most of the club's history, although the Stafford knot featured on the team jerseys for part of the 1880s.Matthews (2007) p. 64. The West Bromwich town arms were worn on the players' shirts for the 1931, 1935 and 1954 FA Cup finals. The town's Latin motto, "Labor omnia vincit", translates as "labour conquers all things" or "work conquers all". The town arms were revived as the shirt badge from 1994 until 2000,{{Ref label|TownCrest|C|}} with the throstle moved to the collar of the shirts.

Albion's first regular shirt badge appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s where it was blue. Although it featured the throstle, it did not include the blue and white striped shield of the club badge. A similar design was also used during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the mid-1970s, a more abstract version of the throstle was used on the club's shirts, while in the late 1970s through to the mid-1980s, an embroidered WBA logo was displayed, a common abbreviation of the club's name in print. Not until the early 21st century did the full club badge appear on the team's shirts.

{{Commons|West Bromwich Albion F.C. kits}}

{{Football kit box

| align = left

| pattern_la = _redpinstripes

| pattern_b = _thinredhoops

| pattern_ra = _redpinstripes

| leftarm = FFFFFF

| body = FFFFFF

| rightarm = FFFFFF

| shorts = FFFFFF

| socks = FF0000

| title = Albion's strip from 1882 to 1883 was one of many variations worn during the 1880s. Note that the actual kit had long sleeves.

}}

{{Football kit box

| align = right

| pattern_la = _green_stripes

| pattern_b = _greenstripes

| pattern_ra = _green_stripes

| leftarm = FFFF00

| body = FFFF00

| rightarm = FFFF00

| shorts = 007700

| socks = FFFF00

| title = Albion's most common away colours during the late 20th and early 21st century.

}}

West Brom have played in navy blue and white striped shirts for the majority of their existence, usually with white shorts and white socks. The team is occasionally referred to as the Stripes by supporters.{{cite news

| first = Emma

| last = Cullwick

| author2 = Lepkowski, Chris

| title = Fans joy as Albion book Wembley trip

| url = http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/mail/news/tm_headline%3D%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D19118105%26siteid%3D50002-name_page.html

| newspaper = Birmingham Mail

| date = 17 May 2007

| access-date = 14 July 2008

| archive-date = 22 June 2011

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110622070844/http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/mail/news/tm_headline%3D%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D19118105%26siteid%3D50002-name_page.html

| url-status = live

}} A number of different colours were trialled during the club's formative years however, including cardinal red and blue quarters in 1880–81, yellow and white quarters in 1881–82, chocolate and blue halves in 1881–82 and 1882–83, red and white hoops in 1882–83, chocolate and white in 1883–84 and cardinal red and blue halves in 1884–85.McOwan p. 13. The blue and white stripes made their first appearance in the 1885–86 season, although at that time they were of a lighter shade of blue; the navy blue stripes did not appear until after the First World War.{{cite web

| title = Historical football kits – West Bromwich Albion

| url = http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/West_Bromwich_Albion/West_Bromwich_Albion.htm

| publisher = www.historicalkits.co.uk

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 6 August 2013

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130806204154/http://historicalkits.co.uk/West_Bromwich_Albion/West_Bromwich_Albion.htm

| url-status = live

}} For the regional leagues played during the Second World War, Albion were forced to switch to all-blue shirts, as rationing meant that striped material was considered a luxury.McOwan p. 56.

Like all football clubs, Albion sport a secondary or "change" strip when playing away from home against a team whose colours clash with their own. As long ago as the 1890s, and throughout much of the club's early history, a change strip of white jerseys with black shorts was worn.Matthews (1987) p. 241. The away shirt additionally featured a large 'V' during the First World War.Matthews (1987) p. 188. In the 1935 FA Cup Final, however, when both of Albion and Sheffield Wednesday's kits clashed, a switch was made to plain navy blue shirts. An all-red strip was adopted at the end of the 1950s, but was dropped following defeat in the 1967 League Cup Final, to be replaced by the all-white design that was worn during the club's FA Cup run of 1967–68. Since then the away strip has changed regularly, with yellow and green stripes the most common of a number of different designs used. In the 1990s and 2000s a third kit has occasionally been introduced.{{cite web

| title = West Bromwich Albion historic kits

| url = http://www.kitclassics.co.uk/kits/westbrom.gif

| publisher=www.kitclassics.co.uk

| access-date =11 November 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071031161637/http://www.kitclassics.co.uk/kits/westbrom.gif |archive-date = 31 October 2007}}

Albion players – along with those of other Football League teams – first wore numbers on the back of their shirts in the abandoned season of 1939–40,{{cite web

| last = Young

| first = Peter

| author2 = Goodwin, Chris

| title = England's Uniforms – Shirt Numbers and Names

| url = http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamUnif/UnifNosNames.html

| publisher = England Football Online

| date = 17 December 2003

| access-date = 15 July 2008

| archive-date = 30 July 2012

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120730082148/http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamUnif/UnifNosNames.html

| url-status = live

}} and names on the back of their shirts from 1999–2000.{{cite news|title=Put your shirt on squad numbers next season |url=http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/6127782.Put_your_shirt_on_squad_numbers_next_season/ |newspaper=Lancashire Evening Telegraph |date=9 April 1999 |access-date=12 January 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112221402/http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/6127782.Put_your_shirt_on_squad_numbers_next_season/|archive-date=12 January 2018}} Red numbers were added to the side of Albion players' shorts in 1969.

BSR Housewares became the club's first shirt sponsor during the 1981–82 season. The club's shirts have been sponsored for the majority of the time since then, although there was no shirt sponsor at the end of the 1993–94 season, after local solicitors Coucher & Shaw were closed down by the Law Society of England and Wales.{{cite news|last=Foster |first=Howard |author2=Lightfoot, Liz |title=Solicitors' image soiled by surge of complaints |url=http://corruptlawyers.co.uk/articles.aspx |publisher=Sunday Times (reproduced at CorruptLawyers.co.uk) |date=6 February 1994 |access-date=25 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928055214/http://corruptlawyers.co.uk/articles.aspx |archive-date=28 September 2008 }} Unusually for a Premier League club, Albion were again without a shirt sponsor for the start of the 2008–09 campaign, as negotiations with a new sponsor were still ongoing when the season began.{{cite news

| last = Atkinson

| first = Simon

| title = Does Baggies shirt saga signify Premiership slowdown?

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7563013.stm

| work = BBC News

| date = 15 August 2008

| access-date = 25 August 2008

| archive-date = 18 September 2008

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080918130144/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7563013.stm

| url-status = live

}} The longest-running shirt sponsorship deal agreed by the club ran for seven seasons between 1997 and 2004 with the West Bromwich Building Society.{{cite news

| title = Baggies shirt sponsorship up for grabs

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~485609,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 10 February 2004

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090113042513/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~485609%2C00.html

| archive-date = 13 January 2009

| df = dmy-all

}} Today the club's principal sponsor is Ideal Heating.{{cite news

| title = Albion announce new Principal Partner

| url = https://www.wba.co.uk/news/2018/may/ideal-boilers-become-albions-new-principal-partner/

| publisher= West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 24 May 2018

| access-date = 3 July 2018

}}

Since June 2024, West Brom's kit has been manufactured by Macron.{{cite news

| title = Albion join forces with Macron

| url = https://www.wba.co.uk/news/albion-join-forces-macron

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 11 June 2024

}} Previous manufacturers have included Scoreline, Influence, Pelada, Patrick, Diadora, Umbro, Adidas and Puma.

{{Main|The Hawthorns|Stoney Lane|West Bromwich Albion F.C. former grounds}}

File:West brom stadium.JPG, home of West Bromwich Albion F.C.]]

The speed with which the club became established following its foundation is illustrated by the fact that it outgrew four successive grounds in its first seven years. The first was Cooper's Hill, where they played from 1878 to 1879. From 1879 to 1881, they appear to have alternated between Cooper's Hill and Dartmouth Park.Full Throstle DVD 0:05:36 During the 1881–82 season, they played at Bunn's Field, also known as the Birches. This had a capacity of between 1,500 and 2,000,Full Throstle DVD 0:06:37 and was Albion's first enclosed ground, allowing the club to charge an entrance fee for the first time. From 1882 to 1885, as the popularity of football increased, Albion rented the Four Acres ground from the well-established West Bromwich Dartmouth Cricket Club. But they quickly outgrew this new home and soon needed to move again. From 1885 to 1900, Albion played at Stoney Lane; their tenure of this ground was arguably the most successful period in the club's history, as they won the FA Cup twice and were runners-up three times."Matthews (1987) pp.233-234"

File:Throstle at the Hawthorns.jpg

By 1900, when the lease on Stoney Lane expired, the club needed a bigger ground yet again and so made its last move to date. All of Albion's previous grounds had been close to the centre of West Bromwich, but on this occasion they took up a site on the town's border with Handsworth and Smethwick. The new ground was named The Hawthorns, after the hawthorn bushes that covered the area and were cleared to make way for it.Full Throstle DVD 0:15:16 Albion drew 1–1 with Derby County in the first match at the stadium, on 3 September 1900.Matthews (2007) p. 79. 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.Matthews (2007) pp. 83–84. The Hawthorns became an all-seater stadium in the 1990s, in order to comply with the recommendations of the Taylor Report.{{cite web

| title = The Hawthorns

| url = http://www.wba.co.uk/club/the_hawthorns.aspx

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 2 July 2012

| access-date = 7 January 2013

| archive-date = 16 January 2013

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130116060901/http://www.wba.co.uk/club/the_hawthorns.aspx

| url-status = dead

}} Its capacity today is 26,688, the four stands being known respectively as the Birmingham Road End, Smethwick End, East Stand and West Stand (Halfords Lane).{{cite web

| title = Stadium Plan

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/StadiumPlan/0,,10366,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 21 August 2008

| access-date = 13 December 2008

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081212175628/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/StadiumPlan/0%2C%2C10366%2C00.html

| archive-date = 12 December 2008

| df = dmy-all

}} At an altitude of 551 feet (168 m) above sea level, the Hawthorns is the highest of all the 92 Premier League and Football League grounds.Matthews (2007) p. 72.

File:Astle gates 02 (4748142515).jpg

The Hawthorns is certificated under the highest UEFA pitch surfaces which means it is ready to host almost any competition if required.{{cite web|url=https://www.wba.co.uk/club/the-hawthorns/history-of-the-hawthorns/|title=History of The Hawthorns|publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=29 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829001632/https://www.wba.co.uk/club/the-hawthorns/history-of-the-hawthorns/|url-status=dead}} The stadium's West Stand has the potential to be developed over the Halfords Lane at the back of the stand to allow for an upper tier, bringing the capacity of The Hawthorns to around 30,000.{{cite web|url=http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2011/05/17/west-brom-reveals-plan-to-expand-hawthorn-stadium/|title=Chairman reveals stadium plans|publisher=Construction Enquirer|date=7 June 2011|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=21 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921163516/http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2011/05/17/west-brom-reveals-plan-to-expand-hawthorn-stadium/|url-status=live}}

West Bromwich Albion own retail outlets around The Hawthorns, including its Stadium Megastore and seasonally a club store in West Bromwich town centre.{{cite web|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-news/2014/11/01/baggies-open-west-brom-store/|title=Baggies open West Brom town centre store|date=November 2014 |publisher=Express and Star|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=21 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921163516/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-news/2014/11/01/baggies-open-west-brom-store/|url-status=live}} They also own the former Hawthorns Pub, a Grade II listed building behind the West Stand on the corner of Halfords Lane and the Birmingham Road. This has served as the official club fanzone with licensed bars, live music, fan favourites – such as mascots and children activities – as well as being shared with a high street food outlet. The pub competes with The Vine pub in Roebuck Lane, a popular destination for visiting and home football fans year-round.

{{wide image|The Hawthorns 2013-12-21.jpg|900px|align-cap=center|Panoramic view of The Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion F.C.}}

{{Rquote|right|

The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want.

He makes me down to lie

In pastures green; he leadeth me

The quiet waters by.

|Lyrics to first verse of "The Lord's my Shepherd" from Psalm 23 {{cite web | title=Psalm 23: The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want | url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/anonymous/scotpsalter.p24.html | publisher=Christian Classics Ethereal Library | access-date=5 August 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116224839/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/anonymous/scotpsalter.p24.html | archive-date=16 November 2006 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}}}

File:WBA promotion 2003-04.jpg

The official West Bromwich Albion Supporters Club was founded on 4 October 1951.{{cite news|first=Joseph|last=Chapman|title=West Brom players to attend supporters' awards event|url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/west-brom-players-attend-supporters-9298740|newspaper=Birmingham Mail|date=20 May 2015|access-date=31 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831200631/http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/west-brom-players-attend-supporters-9298740|archive-date=31 August 2017|url-status=live}} In the years since then, over 30 branches have been established throughout the United Kingdom, and internationally in Jersey, Ireland, Spain, Malta, Croatia, USA, UAE, India, Thailand and Australia. There are also supporters groups for those with disabilities,{{Cite web|title=Supporters' Club Branches|url=https://www.wba.co.uk/club/fans/supporters-club/|publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.|access-date=31 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831194645/https://www.wba.co.uk/club/fans/supporters-club/|archive-date=31 August 2017|url-status=live}} for mental health support, Punjabi supporters,{{Cite web|title=Fans ready to launch Apna Albion|url=https://www.wba.co.uk/news/2017/april/fans-ready-to-launch-apna-albion/|publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.|date=26 April 2017|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904162603/https://www.wba.co.uk/news/2017/april/fans-ready-to-launch-apna-albion/|archive-date=4 September 2017|url-status=live}} supporters in the emergency services and armed forces,{{Cite web|title=Introducing Serving Albion|url=https://www.wba.co.uk/news/2018/november/introducing-serving-albion|date=7 November 2018|via=www.wba.co.uk}} and LGBT people.{{cite web

| title = Pride In Football: Members

| url = http://prideinfootball.co.uk/index.php/members/

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170316085007/http://prideinfootball.co.uk/index.php/members/

| url-status = dead

| archive-date = 16 March 2017

| publisher = Pride In Football

| access-date = 3 January 2018

}}

Albion's "club anthem" is The Lord's my Shepherd, a setting of Psalm 23. The song originated following a rare Sunday game in the 1970s and has been sung at matches ever since.{{cite web

| title = Hawthorns set for a tenor treat

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~480525,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 30 January 2004

| access-date = 23 November 2007

| url-status=dead

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509195528/https://www.wba.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~480525,00.html

| archive-date=9 May 2012

}} Supporters of the team celebrate goals by bouncing up and down and chanting "Boing Boing". This dates back to the 1992–93 season, when the team was promoted from the new Second Division, with the origin of the chant still unclear.{{cite web

| title = Lyttle things mean a lot

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~63609,00.html

| date = 12 May 2001

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090112213022/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~63609%2C00.html

| archive-date = 12 January 2009

| df = dmy-all

}} The Liquidator instrumental by the Harry J. Allstars has also been popularly played in the stadium and sung to since the late 1960s.{{cite web|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/west-brom-to-bring-back-6885818|title=Baggies may bring back fans' anthem The Liquidator for crucial relegation scrap|date=27 March 2014 |publisher=Birmingham Mail|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=21 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921163523/https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/west-brom-to-bring-back-6885818|url-status=live}} The reggae song "West Bromwich Albion" by Ray King is another club anthem popularly played before matches.{{cite web|title=BOWLERS DELIVERY: If football be the food of love|url=https://www.wba.co.uk/news/2016/july/bowlers-delivery-if-football-be-the-food-of-love/|publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.|date=27 July 2016|access-date=14 May 2020|archive-date=30 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130115709/https://www.wba.co.uk/news/2016/july/bowlers-delivery-if-football-be-the-food-of-love|url-status=live}} In recent years fans of the team have celebrated the end of each season by adopting a fancy dress theme for the final away match, including dressing as Vikings in 2004 in honour of Player of the Season Thomas Gaardsøe.{{cite news

| title = Gaardsoe hails fans

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~523574,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 11 May 2004

| access-date = 12 November 2007

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090113042217/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~523574%2C00.html

| archive-date = 13 January 2009

| df = dmy-all

}}

File:The Hawthorns - geograph.org.uk - 3851096.jpg match in May 1980 at The Hawthorns.]]

In 2002–03 Albion's fans were voted the best in the Premier League by their peers,{{cite web|title=Prove you're No.1 again |url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~551945,00.html |publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C. |date=13 August 2004 |access-date=11 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113023240/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~551945%2C00.html |archive-date=13 January 2009 }} while in the BBC's 2002 "national intelligence test" Test the Nation, they were found to be "more likely to be smarter than any other football supporters, registering an average score of 138".{{cite news

| title = IQ test is ratings hit

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1984648.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 13 May 2002

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 4 December 2003

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031204142918/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1984648.stm

| url-status = live

}}

Famous fans include goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale and Ben Foster, comedian Frank Skinner, TV presenter Adrian Chiles, One Direction singer Liam Payne, comedian Lenny Henry, actress Julie Walters, The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, tennis players Ann Jones and Goran Ivanišević, television presenter Cat Deeley, DJ Dave Haslam, boxers Richie Woodhall and Tommy Langford,{{cite web|first=Mike|last=Lockley|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/other-sport/tommy-langford-defend-british-middleweight-14495982|title=Tommy Langford to defend British middleweight title against Jason Welborn|date=5 April 2018|work=BirminghamLive|access-date=20 June 2018|archive-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621015640/https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/other-sport/tommy-langford-defend-british-middleweight-14495982|url-status=live}} and guitarist Eric Clapton.{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/revealed-west-bromwich-albions-most-7817282|title=REVEALED: West Bromwich Albion's most famous supporters|author=Steve Wollaston|date=23 June 2015|work=Birmingham Mail|access-date=14 April 2015|archive-date=14 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414155618/http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/revealed-west-bromwich-albions-most-7817282|url-status=live}}

The club has published an official matchday programme for supporters since 1905.{{Cite news

| last=Millichip

| first=Sir Bert

| title=Past glories and future hopes

| newspaper=Story of the Baggies – Birmingham Evening Mail souvenir

| date = 16 January 1995

| pages = 3

}} 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.{{cite web

| title = The Programmes : Over the Years: 2000–01 to 2005–06

| url = http://www.westbrom.com/0/programmes/overtheyears.html

| publisher=westbrom.com

| access-date =11 November 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071015122824/http://westbrom.com/0/programmes/overtheyears.html |archive-date = 15 October 2007}} It won Premier League Programme of the Year in 2002–03 and Third Division Programme of the Year in 1991–92.{{cite web

| title = Programme of the Year Awards

| url = http://www.pmfc.co.uk/awards_page.php

| publisher = Programme Monthly & Football Collectable

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 30 September 2007

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930051230/http://www.pmfc.co.uk/awards_page.php

| url-status = live

}} In 2007–08, it was awarded Championship Programme of the Year by both Programme Monthly and the Football Programme Directory.{{cite news

| title = Double up for 'ALBION'

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~1287194,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 11 April 2008

| access-date = 12 April 2008

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080413133113/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~1287194%2C00.html

| archive-date = 13 April 2008

| df = dmy-all

}} The programme has a circulation in excess of 8,000 copies.{{cite web|title=Programme Advertising |url=http://www.albionbusiness.co.uk/advertising-opportunities/programme_advertising.html |publisher=Albion Business |access-date=13 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228151300/http://www.albionbusiness.co.uk/advertising-opportunities/programme_advertising.html |archive-date=28 December 2008 }} The first West Bromwich Albion fanzine, Fingerpost, was published from 1983 until 1992, and was followed by several others, most notably Grorty Dick (1989–2005) and Last Train to Rolfe Street (1992–1995). Since Grorty Dick ceased publication in 2005, the club now only has one fanzine dedicated to it; 'Baggie Shorts' which is produced by the West Bromwich Albion Supporters' Club London Branch.{{cite web | title = Baggie Shorts | url = http://www.londonbaggies.co.uk/ | publisher = West Bromwich Albion Supporters Club London Branch | access-date = 5 February 2010 | archive-date = 3 May 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090503195710/http://www.londonbaggies.co.uk/ | url-status = live }}

File:BaggieBird.jpg

Although known in their early days as "the Throstles", the club's more popular nickname among supporters came to be the Baggies, a term which the club itself looked down upon for many years but later embraced. The phrase was first heard at the Hawthorns in the 1900s, but its exact origins are uncertain.McOwan pp. 38–40. One suggestion is that the name was bestowed on Albion supporters by their rivals at Aston Villa, because of the large baggy trousers that many Albion fans wore at work to protect themselves from molten iron in the factories and foundries of the Black Country.Full Throstle DVD 0:08:48 Club historian Tony Matthews, however, suggests that it derives from the "bagmen", who carried the club's matchday takings in big leather bags from the turnstiles to the cash office on the halfway line.{{cite web

| title = Why are we called The Baggies ?

| url = http://www.baggies.com/faq/#BAGGIES

| publisher = BOING

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 15 October 2007

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071015130354/http://baggies.com/faq/#BAGGIES

| url-status = live

}} Other theories relate to the baggy shorts worn by various players during the club's early years. The official club mascots are named Baggie Bird and Albi; both are based on the throstle depicted on the club crest.{{Cite news

| title = Baggie Birds need your support

| url = http://www.wba.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~2006780,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 27 March 2010

| access-date = 3 May 2010

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120913060804/http://www.wba.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~2006780%2C00.html

| archive-date = 13 September 2012

| df = dmy-all

}}

Historically, Albion's greatest rivals were Aston Villa from nearby Birmingham. The two clubs contested three FA Cup Finals between 1887 and 1895 (Villa winning two and Albion one). More recently, however, some Albion fans tend to see Wolverhampton Wanderers as their main rivals, particularly as between 1989 and 2002 Albion and Villa were never in the same division, but Albion were in the same division as Wolves for 11 out of 14 seasons. This had led to Aston Villa supporters now considering Birmingham City to be their fiercest rivals. A less-heated rivalry also exists with Birmingham City, with whom Albion contested the 1931 FA Cup final, as well as a semi-final in 1968.{{cite web|url=http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s120/st44186.htm|title=Football Rivalries: The Complete Results|publisher=Planetfootball.com|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=17 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617002220/http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s120/st44186.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite web

|title=Rivalry Uncovered!

|url=http://www.footballfanscensus.com/issueresults/Club_Rivalries_Uncovered_Results.pdf

|publisher=The Football Fans Census

|access-date=11 November 2007

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020074918/http://www.footballfanscensus.com/issueresults/Club_Rivalries_Uncovered_Results.pdf

|archive-date=20 October 2013

}}{{cite web|url=https://www.givemesport.com/1500300-the-top-five-rivals-of-english-footballs-top-92-clubs-revealed|title=The top five rivals of English football's top 92 clubs revealed|date=27 August 2019 |publisher=givemesport.com|access-date=29 September 2019|archive-date=29 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929205049/https://www.givemesport.com/1500300-the-top-five-rivals-of-english-footballs-top-92-clubs-revealed|url-status=live}}

A number of hooligan firms associate themselves with Albion, including Section 5, Clubhouse and the Smethwick Mob.{{cite news

| title = Oldbury man launches new WBA football hooligan book

| publisher = Halesowen News

| date = 10 November 2009

| url = http://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/4730190.Oldbury_man_launches_new_WBA_football_hooligan_book/

| access-date = 15 November 2013

| archive-date = 3 December 2013

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131203030608/http://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/4730190.Oldbury_man_launches_new_WBA_football_hooligan_book/

| url-status = live

}}

{{main|Black Country derby}}

Albion and Wolves contest the Black Country derby, one of the longest standing derbies in world football. It is considered one of the fiercest rivalries in English football.{{cite news| title=West Brom and Wolves top soccer rivalry list| url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/west-brom-and-wolves-top-soccer-rivalry-list-1-2492454| work=Yorkshire Post| access-date=13 July 2017| archive-date=4 December 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005647/https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/west-brom-and-wolves-top-soccer-rivalry-list-1-2492454| url-status=live}} A 2008 survey found it to be the most intense rivalry in the country, with one in four fans from both clubs claiming that their rivalry went much deeper than football.{{cite news| title=Wolves v Albion top derby list| url=https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2008/02/29/wolves-v-albion-top-derby-list/| work=Express & Star| access-date=21 September 2019| archive-date=3 December 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203202741/https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2008/02/29/wolves-v-albion-top-derby-list/| url-status=live}} The two sides have played each other 160 times, with their first major clash being an FA Cup tie in 1886.{{cite web|url=https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=2744&team2_id=2848&teamTabs=h2h|title=Head-to-head v Wolves|publisher=Soccerbase|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=2 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802002156/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=2744&team2_id=2848&teamTabs=h2h|url-status=live}} Both Albion and Wolves were founding members of the Football League in 1888, making the derby the joint oldest in English league football.

The rivalry came to prominence when the two clubs contested the league title in 1953–54, and during the 1990s it intensified to new heights among supporters, with both clubs languishing in Division One for much of the decade and only local pride at stake.McOwan p. 162. Moreover, in 2002 Albion came from being 11 points adrift to overhaul Wolves to gain promotion.{{cite news|title=West Brom take leap into the unknown|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/apr/22/match.sport5|work=The Guardian|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=21 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921163515/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/apr/22/match.sport5|url-status=live}} The rivalry was further heightened after the sides met in the play-offs in 2007. A 2004 survey by Planetfootball.com confirmed that the majority of both Albion and Wolves supporters consider the other to be their main rival. In February 2012 the Baggies beat Wolves 5–1 away from home, with Peter Odemwingie scoring a hat-trick. The game became known as the 'demolition derby', and remains the highest scoring Black Country derby of the 21st century.{{Cite web|title=Wolves v West Brom, 2011/12 {{!}} Premier League|url=https://www.premierleague.com/match/7716|access-date=2021-09-27|website=www.premierleague.com|language=en|archive-date=16 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016092244/https://www.premierleague.com/match/7716|url-status=live}} Despite their geographical location, fellow Black Country club Walsall are seen as lesser rivals, having played in a lower division than Albion for most of their history.

{{main|Aston Villa F.C.–West Bromwich Albion F.C. rivalry}}

Ranked by The Daily Telegraph in 2010 as the most fierce in the region, games between Aston Villa and West Brom are particularly ferocious.{{cite news|last1=Macaskill|first1=Sandy|title=West Midlands derbies: the hierarchy of hostility between Aston Villa, West Brom, Birmingham City and Wolves|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/8194127/West-Midlands-derbies-the-hierarchy-of-hostility-between-Aston-Villa-West-Brom-Birmingham-City-and-Wolves.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/8194127/West-Midlands-derbies-the-hierarchy-of-hostility-between-Aston-Villa-West-Brom-Birmingham-City-and-Wolves.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=24 January 2016|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=10 December 2010}}{{cbignore}} The two first met on 9 December 1882, in the second round of the Staffordshire Cup: Villa hosted a 3–3 draw in front of 13,900 fans, while in the replay West Brom won by a single goal with an attendance of 10,500. On 3 January 1885, they met for the first time in the third round of the FA Cup: a goalless draw at West Brom was followed by a 3–0 victory for them away at Villa.{{cite web|title=1882–1885|url=http://www.westbromwichalbionhistory.co.uk/page6.htm|website=West Bromwich Albion History|access-date=8 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112181933/http://www.westbromwichalbionhistory.co.uk/page6.htm|archive-date=12 November 2014}} The following year, both teams became founder members of the Football League. They met first in a league fixture on 19 January 1889, Villa winning 2–0 at home, before a draw the next week ending 3–3.{{cite web|title=Football League 1888/89|url=http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/match/index.html?event=3;page=2;season=1888%2F89|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150308183013/http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/match/index.html?event=3;page=2;season=1888/89|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 March 2015|publisher=ESPN|access-date=8 March 2015}} The two teams met in two further FA Cup finals in the 19th century, a 3–0 win for West Brom in 1892 and a 1–0 win for Aston Villa in 1895.

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. Without their respective main rivals{{cite news|title=Preview: Is West Brom-Villa the biggest rivalry?|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2013/11/25/preview-is-west-brom-villa-the-biggest-derby/|access-date=8 March 2015|work=Express & Star|date=25 November 2013|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402155127/http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2013/11/25/preview-is-west-brom-villa-the-biggest-derby/|url-status=live}} and with Albion finishing above their nearest rivals for the second season in a row, the historic rivalry was rekindled to pre-1990s competitiveness. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Aston Villa were relegated, leaving West Brom as the only West Midlands team in the top flight for the 2016–17 season. After Albion's relegation at the end of the 2017–18 Premier League, the teams faced each other in the Championship. In the 2018–19 EFL Championship play-off semi-finals, Villa controversially knocked out Albion on penalties, after the Albion had two men sent-off over both legs.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/may/14/west-brom-aston-villa-championship-play-off-match-report-penalty-shootout|title=Aston Villa beat West Brom on penalties to reach Championship play-off final|first=Stuart James at the|last=Hawthorns|newspaper=The Guardian |date=14 May 2019|via=www.theguardian.com|access-date=14 May 2019|archive-date=1 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101071605/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/may/14/west-brom-aston-villa-championship-play-off-match-report-penalty-shootout|url-status=live}}

{{See also|List of English football club owners}}

As of 1 September 2024: {{cite web | url=https://www.wba.co.uk/club/club-directory | title=Club Directory | West Bromwich Albion }}{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cy84ep5p04do | title=West Bromwich Albion: Andrew Nestor appointed in sporting director role | date=16 August 2024 }}

{{col-begin}}

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File:Billy Bassett chairman.jpg, Albion's chairman 1908–1937]]

In the club's formative years, West Bromwich Albion were run by a seven-man playing committee, and funded by each member contributing a weekly subscription of 6d (six pence) (2{{frac|1|2}}p).Matthews (2007) p. 10. Albion's first chairman was Henry Jackson, appointed in 1885, with the club becoming a limited company in June 1891.Matthews

(2005) pp. 267–269. Other early chairmen of Albion included Jem Bayliss and Billy Bassett, both of whom had earlier played for the club. Indeed, from 1878 to 1986 there was always an Albion player or ex-player on the club's committee or board of directors. Bassett became an Albion director in 1905, following the resignation of the previous board in its entirety. The club was in deep financial trouble and had had a writ served upon them by their bank, but Bassett and returning chairman Harry Keys rescued the club, aided by local fund-raising activities.McOwan pp. 33–34. Bassett became chairman in 1908, and helped the club to avoid bankruptcy once more in 1910 by paying the players' summer wages from his own pocket.McOwan pp. 34–35. He remains Albion's longest-serving chairman, having held the position until his death in 1937.Matthews (2005) pp. 25–26 & p. 267. The club's longest-serving director was Major H. Wilson Keys, during the period 1930–1965, including 15 years as chairman. He became vice-president of the Football Association in 1969.Matthews (2005) pp. 267–268. Sir Bert Millichip served as Albion chairman from 1974 to 1983, after which he chose to concentrate on his role as chairman of the Football Association.Matthews (1987) p. 309.

In 1996, the club became a public limited company, issuing shares to supporters at £500 and £3,000 each, under the Chairmanship of Paul Thompson.{{cite web

| title = Albion's timeline

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/History/0,,10366~1018329,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 10 September 2008

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071214090421/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/History/0%2C%2C10366~1018329%2C00.html

| archive-date = 14 December 2007

| df = dmy-all

}} The shares were quoted on the Alternative Investment Market, but the club withdrew from the stock exchange in order to become a private company again in 2004.{{cite news

| title = West Brom Go Private

| url = http://www.footballeconomy.com/archive/archive_2004_nov_11.htm

| publisher = The Political Economy of Football

| date = 21 November 2004

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 25 November 2007

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071125180915/http://www.footballeconomy.com/archive/archive_2004_nov_11.htm

| url-status = live

}} The name of the company thus reverted from West Bromwich Albion plc to West Bromwich Albion Limited, the latter becoming a subsidiary of West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited. Jeremy Peace took up the post in 2002, after a rift between previous chairman Paul Thompson and manager Gary Megson forced Thompson to quit the club.{{cite news

| title = Baggies chief quits over rift

| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/1960590.stm

| work = BBC Sport

| date = 1 May 2002

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 15 December 2003

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031215074327/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/1960590.stm

| url-status = live

}}

In September 2007, Peace acquired additional shares in West Bromwich Albion Holdings Limited, taking his total stake in the company to 50.56%. This triggered a requirement, under the Takeover Code, for him to make a mandatory cash offer for the remaining shares in both WBA Holdings Ltd and WBA Ltd.{{cite news

| title = Jeremy Peace statement

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~1113928,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 17 September 2007

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071122043640/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~1113928%2C00.html

| archive-date = 22 November 2007

| df = dmy-all

}} Later that year, Michelle Davies became Albion's first female director.{{cite news

| title = Official WBA Statement

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~1182978,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 5 December 2007

| access-date = 10 May 2008

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080418193934/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~1182978%2C00.html

| archive-date = 18 April 2008

| df = dmy-all

}} She stepped down in 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.wba.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~1925971,00.html |title=Davies to stand down |publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C. |date=8 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111033908/http://www.wba.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~1925971%2C00.html |archive-date=11 January 2010 }} Jeremy Peace announced in June 2008 that he was looking for a major new investor for the club,{{cite news

| title = Albion put deadline on investors search

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~1327630,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 13 June 2008

| access-date = 14 June 2008

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081015013602/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~1327630%2C00.html

| archive-date = 15 October 2008

| df = dmy-all

}} but no firm proposals were received by the 31 July deadline.{{cite news

| title = Peace: We've had no investment offers

| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~1357635,00.html

| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| date = 4 August 2008

| access-date = 5 August 2008

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080917121013/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~1357635%2C00.html

| archive-date = 17 September 2008

| df = dmy-all

}} On 24 July 2015, Jeremy Peace announced that his sale exclusivity deal was called off after a potential buyer was unable to fulfil the terms of sale.{{Cite web|url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/west-brom-chairman-jeremy-peace-9720095|title=West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace ends exclusivity agreement|first=Bill|last=Howell|date=24 July 2015|website=BirminghamLive|access-date=4 May 2021|archive-date=6 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506020630/https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/west-brom-chairman-jeremy-peace-9720095|url-status=live}}

In July 2016, Peace announced that he had found a buyer in the form of a Chinese investment group headed by Lai Guochuan. The figure agreed upon is believed to have been in the region of £175 million – £200 million. The takeover was successfully completed on 15 September the same year.{{Cite web |url=http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/club-statement-west-brom-albion-takeover-guochuan-lai-3308509.aspx |title=CLUB STATEMENT: Latest on West Bromwich Albion takeover |access-date=16 September 2016 |archive-date=15 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915214317/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/club-statement-west-brom-albion-takeover-guochuan-lai-3308509.aspx |url-status=dead }} John Williams was originally appointed Chairman of the club before Lai replaced him with associate Li Piyue after the club's relegation in the 2017–18 season.{{cite web|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-wba-li/relegated-west-brom-appoint-li-as-new-club-chairman-idUKKCN1IO0P0?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews |title=Relegated West Brom appoint Li as new club chairman |publisher=Reuters|access-date=21 September 2019}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Lai himself took over as Chairman on 2 February 2022.{{cite web |url=https://www.wba.co.uk/news/ron-gourlay-appointed-albion-ceo |title=Ron Gourlay Appointed Albion CEO |publisher=West BRomwich Albion |date=2 February 2022 |access-date=24 July 2022 |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702084212/https://www.wba.co.uk/news/ron-gourlay-appointed-albion-ceo |url-status=live }} The 2022–23 season saw increased scrutiny of the club's ownership, and the practices of majority shareholder Guochuan Lai.{{cite news|title=Furious West Brom shareholders demand to see club accounts after £20m loan|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/west-bromwich-albion/2022/12/29/furious-west-brom-shareholders-demand-to-see-club-accounts-after-20m-loan/|access-date=29 December 2022|publisher=Express & Star|date=29 December 2022|archive-date=29 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229123037/https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/west-bromwich-albion/2022/12/29/furious-west-brom-shareholders-demand-to-see-club-accounts-after-20m-loan/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=West Brom: Company owned by chairman Guchuan Lai misses deadline to repay £4.95m loan|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64134882|access-date=31 December 2022|publisher=BBC|date=31 December 2022|archive-date=31 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231170721/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64134882|url-status=live}} The club's financial situation began to receive national media attention, having already been commented on frequently in local press.{{cite news|title=How West Brom became a club in decline|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/12/16/how-west-brom-became-club-decline/|access-date=16 December 2022|publisher=The Telegraph|date=16 December 2022|archive-date=16 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216091240/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/12/16/how-west-brom-became-club-decline/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Fears for West Brom after owner's new £20m loan|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/fears-for-west-brom-after-owners-new-20m-loan-btjh7zsm3|access-date=3 January 2023|work=The Times|date=3 January 2023|archive-date=3 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103182816/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fears-for-west-brom-after-owners-new-20m-loan-btjh7zsm3|url-status=live}} Supporter action groups and in-stadium protests by fans to raise awareness of the club's off-field issues took shape during the season,{{cite news|title="West Brom board owe us answers," Action For Albion founder|url=https://sportsgazette.co.uk/west-brom-board-owe-us-answers-action-for-albion-founder-alistair-jones/|access-date=1 January 2023|publisher=Sports Gazette|date=1 January 2023|archive-date=1 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101104647/https://sportsgazette.co.uk/west-brom-board-owe-us-answers-action-for-albion-founder-alistair-jones/|url-status=live}} but were briefly paused in April 2023 as the club's fans supported the side's promotion push.{{cite news |title=West Bromwich Albion: Fan protest against owner Guochuan Lai 'paused' with club eyeing play-offs |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65336333 |access-date=21 April 2023 |work=BBC Sport |date=20 April 2023 |archive-date=21 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421104446/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65336333 |url-status=live }}

On 15 February 2024, it was announced that Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father, philanthropist Kiran C Patel had reached an agreement to acquire an 87.8% stake in the club, under the name Bilkul Football WBA. Shilen Patel would also be named as the Chairman of the club.{{cite news|title=Bilkul Football WBA Reaches Agreement for West Bromwich Albion Takeover|url=https://www.wba.co.uk/news/bilkul-football-wba-reaches-agreement-west-bromwich-albion-takeover|access-date=17 February 2024|publisher=West Bromwich Albion FC|date=15 February 2024}}{{cite news |title=West Bromwich Albion: Shilen Patel set to become chairman after takeover agreed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68313059 |access-date=19 February 2024 |work=BBC Sport |date=16 February 2024}}

{{redirect|WBA players|athletes affiliated with the World Boxing Association|World Boxing Association}}

{{updated|4 February 2025}}{{cite web|title=First Team|url=https://www.wba.co.uk/players/1053|publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.|access-date=5 October 2020|archive-date=25 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200825091533/https://www.wba.co.uk/players/1053|url-status=live}}

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{{fs player|no=2|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Darnell Furlong}}

{{fs player|no=3|nat=JAM|pos=DF|name=Mason Holgate|other=on loan from Everton}}

{{fs player|no=4|nat=HUN|pos=MF|name=Callum Styles}}

{{fs player|no=5|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Kyle Bartley|other=vice-captain}}

{{fs player|no=6|nat=NGA|pos=DF|name=Semi Ajayi}}

{{fs player|no=7|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Jed Wallace|other=captain}}

{{fs player|no=8|nat=IRL|pos=MF|name=Jayson Molumby}}

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{{fs player|no=18|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Karlan Grant}}

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{{fs player|no=20|nat=ENG|pos=GK|name=Josh Griffiths}}

{{fs player|no=21|nat=NIR|pos=MF|name=Isaac Price}}

{{fs player|no=22|nat=IRL|pos=MF|name=Mikey Johnston}}

{{fs player|no=23|nat=ENG|pos=GK|name=Joe Wildsmith}}

{{Fs player|no=24|nat=ITA|pos=DF|name=Gianluca Frabotta}}

{{fs player|no=26|nat=DEN|pos=FW|name=Tammer Bany}}

{{fs player|no=27|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Alex Mowatt}}

{{fs player|no=30|nat=ENG|pos=GK|name=Ted Cann}}

{{fs player|no=31|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Tom Fellows}}

{{fs player|no=32|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Adam Armstrong|other=on loan from Southampton}}

{{fs player|no=44|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Devante Cole}}

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{{main|West Bromwich Albion F.C. Reserves and Academy}}

As of 17 January 2025

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{main|West Bromwich Albion F.C. Reserves and Academy}}

{{col-end}}

{{See also|Category:West Bromwich Albion F.C. players}}

{{Further|List of West Bromwich Albion F.C. players}}

As part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations in 2004, a survey was commissioned via the official West Bromwich Albion website and the Express & Star newspaper to determine the greatest West Brom players of all time. A modern-day, 16-man squad was compiled from the results; all selected players are depicted on a commemorative mural displayed at The Hawthorns. Fourteen of the sixteen players are English-born, with a fifteenth, Cyrille Regis, a French Guiana-born full England international. The list of 16 is as follows:{{cite news|title=The wraps come off 125th anniversary mural |url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~547701,00.html |publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C. |date=4 August 2004 |access-date=11 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202125701/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~547701%2C00.html |archive-date= 2 February 2008

}}

File:Jeff Astle Gates.jpg gates at The Hawthorns]]

File:The Hawthorns - West Bromwich Albion FC - Birmingham Road - Tony Brown statue (15964584919).jpg statue outside The Hawthorns]]

Other notable honours bestowed upon West Brom players include the PFA Young Player of the Year award, which was presented to Cyrille Regis in 1979.{{cite web| title = Young Player of the Year 1974–2007| url = http://www.givemefootball.com/rolls_of_honour/youngplayerroll.html| work=GiveMeFootball.com| publisher=Professional Footballers' Association| access-date =11 November 2007

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005504/http://www.givemefootball.com/rolls_of_honour/youngplayerroll.html |archive-date = 27 September 2007}} In 1998, Billy Bassett and Bryan Robson were named among the list of Football League 100 Legends, along with Arthur Rowley, Geoff Hurst and Johnny Giles.{{cite news| title = Football Legends list in full| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/144986.stm| work = BBC News| date = 5 August 1998| access-date = 11 November 2007| archive-date = 12 January 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160112220804/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/144986.stm| url-status = live}} Bryan Robson was also an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002,{{cite web| title = 2002 Inaugural Inductees| url = http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/pages/fame/2002.htm| publisher=National Football Museum| access-date =11 November 2007| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181548/http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/pages/fame/2002.htm | archive-date =30 September 2007}} to be joined two years later by Geoff Hurst.{{cite web| title = 2004 Inductees| url = http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/pages/fame/2004.htm| publisher=National Football Museum| access-date =11 November 2007| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071116015241/http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/pages/fame/2004.htm | archive-date =16 November 2007

}} Bobby Robson, a player with Albion, has also been inducted, although this was for his achievements as a manager.{{cite web| title = 2003 Inductees| url = http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/pages/fame/2003.htm| publisher=National Football Museum| access-date =11 November 2007| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071116015236/http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/pages/fame/2003.htm | archive-date =16 November 2007

}} In 1919–20, Fred Morris became the first Albion player to finish as top goalscorer in Division One, a feat which has since been repeated by Ronnie Allen, Derek Kevan, Jeff Astle and Tony Brown.{{Ref label|DerekKevan|D|}}{{cite web| title = English League Leading Goalscorers 1889–2007| url = https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engtops.html| date = 14 June 2007| website = RSSSF| access-date = 11 November 2007| archive-date = 28 June 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110628202228/http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engtops.html| url-status = live}} Brown, who holds the club records for goals and appearances, was voted into the PFA Centenary Hall of Fame in July 2007.{{cite news| title = 'Bomber' enters Centenary Hall of Fame| url = http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~1068413,00.html| publisher = West Bromwich Albion F.C.| date = 9 July 2007| access-date = 11 November 2007| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081010235635/http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0%2C%2C10366~1068413%2C00.html| archive-date = 10 October 2008| df = dmy-all}}

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File:Fred Everiss.jpg, secretary-manager 1902–1948. The longest serving manager in English football history.]]

File:Vic Buckingham (1960).jpg, manager 1953–1959. Narrowly missed out on a double in the 1953-54 season, winning the FA Cup and finishing as league runners-up. His tactical philosophy was a precursor to Total Football.]]

{{further|List of West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers}}

The following managers have all led West Bromwich Albion to at least one of the following achievements while in charge of the club: winning a major trophy or reaching the final, achieving a top three league finish in the top flight, winning promotion or reaching the quarter-finals of a major European competition.

|{{flagicon|England}}

|{{nowrap|1890–92}}

|align=center|58

|align=center|18

|align=center|10

|align=center|30

|FA Cup winners 1892

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Edward|Stephenson|Edward Stephenson (footballer)}}{{Ref label|Secretary-manager|E|}}

|{{flagicon|England}}

|1894–95

|align=center|36

|align=center|14

|align=center|5

|align=center|17

|FA Cup runners-up 1895

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Frank|Heaven}}{{Ref label|Secretary-manager|E|}}

|{{flagicon|England}}

|1896–02

|align=center|214

|align=center|86

|align=center|45

|align=center|83

|Division Two champions 1901–02

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Fred|Everiss}}{{Ref label|Secretary-manager|E|}}

|{{flagicon|England}}

|1902–48

|align=center|1520

|align=center|656

|align=center|331

|align=center|533

|Promotion as Division Two winners 1910–11, FA Cup runners-up 1912, 1935, Division One winners 1919–20, Division One runners-up 1924–25, Promotion as Division Two runners-up 1930–31, FA Cup winners 1931

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Jack|Smith|Jack Smith (footballer born 1911)}}

|{{flagicon|Wales}}

|1948–52

|align=center|179

|align=center|70

|align=center|46

|align=center|63

|Promotion as Division Two runners-up 1948–49

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Vic|Buckingham}}

|{{flagicon|England}}

|1953–59

|align=center|301

|align=center|130

|align=center|78

|align=center|93

|Division One runners-up 1953–54, FA Cup winners 1954

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Jimmy|Hagan}}

|{{flagicon|England}}

|1963–67

|align=center|201

|align=center|78

|align=center|49

|align=center|74

|League Cup winners 1966, League Cup runners-up 1967

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Alan|Ashman}}

|{{flagicon|England}}

|1967–71

|align=center|182

|align=center|64

|align=center|49

|align=center|69

|FA Cup winners 1968, European Cup Winners Cup quarter-finalists 1968–69, League Cup runners-up 1970

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Johnny|Giles}}

|{{flagicon|Ireland}}

|{{nowrap|1975–77,}}
1984–85

|align=center|159

|align=center|60

|align=center|42

|align=center|57

|Promotion from Division Two 1975–76

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Ron|Atkinson}}

|{{flagicon|England}}

|1978–81,
1987–88

|align=center|212

|align=center|85

|align=center|68

|align=center|59

|Division One 3rd place 1978–79, UEFA Cup quarter-finalists 1978–79

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Osvaldo|Ardiles}}

|{{flagicon|Argentina}}

|1992–93

|align=center|55

|align=center|30

|align=center|11

|align=center|14

|Promotion as Division Two play-off winners 1992–93

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Gary|Megson}}

|{{flagicon|England}}

|2000–04

|align=center|221

|align=center|94

|align=center|50

|align=center|77

|Promotion as Division One runners-up 2001–02, 2003–04

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Tony|Mowbray}}

|{{flagicon|England}}

|2006–09

|align=center|140

|align=center|57

|align=center|32

|align=center|51

|Promotion as Championship winners 2007–08

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Roberto|Di Matteo}}

|{{flagicon|Italy}}

|2009–11

|align=center|82

|align=center|40

|align=center|19

|align=center|23

|Promotion as Championship runners-up 2009–10

|-

| style="white-space:nowrap;"|{{sortname|Slaven|Bilić}}

|{{flagicon|Croatia}}

|2019–20

|align=center|65

|align=center|26

|align=center|22

|align=center|17

|Promotion as Championship runners-up 2019–20

|}

{{Main|List of West Bromwich Albion F.C. records and statistics}}

File:Jesse Pennington 1912.jpg, Albion's most capped England international (in terms of caps won whilst at the club). He represented his country 25 times, serving as captain on two occasions.]]

West Bromwich Albion's record victory was their 12–0 league win against Darwen on 4 April 1892.{{cite web

| title = Club Records

| url = https://www.wba.co.uk/club/history/records/

| publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.

| access-date =12 January 2018

| url-status=live

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112214617/https://www.wba.co.uk/club/history/records/

| archive-date=12 January 2018}} This is still the widest margin of victory for a game in the top-flight of English football, although the record was equalled by Nottingham Forest when they beat Leicester Fosse by the same scoreline in 1909.{{cite web

| title = Nottingham Forest 12 Leicester Fosse 0

| url = https://www.footballsite.co.uk/History/Nottingham%20Forest%2012%20Leicester.htm

| work = footballsite.co.uk

| access-date = 11 November 2007

| archive-date = 21 April 2020

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200421191605/http://footballsite.co.uk/History/Nottingham%20Forest%2012%20Leicester.htm

| url-status = live

}} Albion's biggest FA Cup victory came when they beat Chatham 10–1 on 2 March 1889. The club's record league defeat was a 3–10 loss against Stoke City on 4 February 1937, while a 0–5 defeat to Leeds United on 18 February 1967 represents Albion's heaviest FA Cup loss.

Tony Brown holds a number of Albion's club records. He has made the most appearances overall for the club (720), as well as most appearances in the league (574), FA Cup (54) and in European competition (17). Brown is the club's top scorer in the league (218), the FA Cup (27) and in Europe (8). He is also the club's record scorer overall, with 279 goals. W. G. Richardson scored 328 goals for the club, but this includes 100 during World War II, which are not normally counted towards competitive totals. Richardson holds the club record for most league goals in a single season, scoring 39 times in 1935–36.McOwan p. 319.

Albion's most capped international player, taking into account only those caps won whilst at the club, is Chris Brunt. He appeared 55 times for Northern Ireland as an Albion player, earning 65 caps in total before retiring from international football in 2017.{{cite news

| url = http://www.irishfa.com/international/squad-profiles/profile/2008/christopher-brunt/

| title = Profile of Christopher Brunt

| publisher = Irish Football Association

| date = 2 December 2014

| access-date = 9 March 2014

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140626142246/http://irishfa.com/international/squad-profiles/profile/2008/christopher-brunt/

| archive-date = 26 June 2014

| df = dmy-all

}}{{cite web

| url = https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/west-bromwich-albion-fc/2014/03/05/chris-brunt-set-to-become-west-broms-most-capped-player/

| title = Chris Brunt set to become West Brom's most capped player

| work = Express & Star

| date = 5 March 2014

| access-date = 9 March 2015

| archive-date = 2 April 2015

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092307/http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/west-bromwich-albion-fc/2014/03/05/chris-brunt-set-to-become-west-broms-most-capped-player/

| url-status = live

}} Jesse Pennington is the club's most capped England international, with 25 caps.Matthews (2007) pp. 404–405. The highest transfer fee paid by the club is £15 million to RB Leipzig for Oliver Burke on 25 August 2017.{{cite news

| title = Oliver Burke: West Brom sign winger on a five-year deal

| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41048242

| work = BBC

| date = 25 August 2017

| access-date = 3 June 2018

| archive-date = 22 December 2017

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171222015957/https://www.wba.co.uk/club/the-hawthorns/general-information/

| url-status = live

}} The record transfer fee received by Albion from another club was for the transfer of Salomón Rondón to Dalian Yifang in July 2019 for £16.5 million.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/19/salomon-rondon-leaves-west-brom-rafael-benitez-dalian-yifang-china|title=Salomón Rondón leaves West Brom to rejoin Rafael Benítez at Dalian Yifang|newspaper=The Guardian|date=19 July 2019|access-date=21 September 2019|archive-date=20 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920204607/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/19/salomon-rondon-leaves-west-brom-rafael-benitez-dalian-yifang-china|url-status=live}}

Reference:{{cite web|url=http://www.wba.co.uk/stats/club_honours/|title=Club Honours|work=wba.co.uk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320162358/http://www.wba.co.uk/stats/club_honours/|archive-date=20 March 2014|df=dmy-all}}

File:West Bromwich Albion team 1920.jpg

File:WBACup1931 crop.jpg

League

• First Division (level 1)
• Champions: 1919–20
• Runners-up: 1924–25, 1953–54
• Second Division / First Division / Championship (level 2)
• Champions: 1901–02, 1910–11, 2007–08
• Runners-up: 1930–31, 1948–49, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2009–10, 2019–20
• Second Division (level 3)
• Play-off winners: 1993

Cup

• FA Cup
• Winners: 1887–88, 1891–92, 1930–31, 1953–54, 1967–68
• Runners-up: 1885–86, 1886–87, 1894–95, 1911–12, 1934–35
• Football League Cup
• Winners: 1965–66
• Runners-up: 1966–67, 1969–70
• FA Charity Shield
• Winners: 1920, 1954 (shared)
• Runners-up: 1931, 1968
• Tennent Caledonian CupMcOwan p. 269.
• Winners: 1977

{{refbegin}}

:A. {{note|FormationDate}}: Older sources quote the year of formation as 1879, as evidence of a Strollers match from 1878 came to light only as recently as 1993.

:B. {{note|Throstle}}: Throstle is a colloquial Black Country name for the song thrush.

:C. {{note|TownCrest}}: The town crest remained on the away strip until 2001.

:D. {{note|DerekKevan}}: Kevan was joint-top scorer with Ray Crawford of Ipswich Town.

:E. {{note|Secretary-manager}}: Secretary-manager. Albion did not appoint a full-time manager until 1949.

:F. {{note|DivisionChanges}}: The Football League First Division was the top division of English football until 1992, when the Premier League became the top division. At the same time, the second, third and fourth tiers of English football became known as the Football League First Division, Second Division and Third Division respectively. These three divisions were renamed again in 2004 as part of a Football League re-branding exercise, becoming known as the Football League Championship, League One and League Two respectively.

:G. {{note|GreatEscape}}: This feat was repeated by Sunderland in the 2013–14 season and Leicester the following year.

{{refend}}

;General

• {{Cite book| last=McOwan | first=Gavin | title=The Essential History of West Bromwich Albion | publisher=Headline | year=2002 | isbn=0-7553-1146-9 }}
• {{Cite book| last=Matthews | first=Tony |author2=Mackenzie, Colin | title=Albion! A Complete Record of West Bromwich Albion 1879–1987 | publisher=Breedon Books | year=1987 | isbn=0-907969-23-2}}
• {{Cite book | last = Matthews | first = Tony | title = The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion | publisher=Breedon Books | year = 2005 | isbn = 1-85983-474-4}}
• {{Cite book | last=Matthews | first=Tony | title=West Bromwich Albion: The Complete Record | publisher=Breedon Books | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-85983-565-4}}
• {{Cite video

| people = Adrian Chiles (presenter)

|year=2005

| title = Full Throstle: The Official History of West Bromwich Albion

| url = http://www.pdimedia.co.uk/

| medium = DVD

| publisher=Paul Doherty International

| location = Manchester, England

| access-date =3 December 2007

| id = Cat No. WBADVD05}}

;Specific

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

{{portal bar|English football}}

• {{official website|https://www.wba.co.uk/}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160316104503/http://www.wbascofficial.co.uk/ Official Supporters Club] (archived)
• [http://www.oldbaggies.com Former Players Association]
• [https://wbawomen.wordpress.com/ Women's team]
• [https://www.wbacommercial.co.uk West Bromwich Albion F.C. – Official Hospitality website]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820210018/https://www.wbacommercial.co.uk/ |date=20 August 2016 }}.

{{West Bromwich Albion F.C.}}

{{West Bromwich Albion F.C. seasons}}

{{Original Football League clubs}}

{{EFL Championship}}

{{Premier League}}

{{Men's Football in the West Midlands}}

{{Good article}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Football clubs in the West Midlands (county)

Category:The Football League founder members

Category:Association football clubs established in 1878

Category:English Football League clubs

Category:West Bromwich

Category:FA Cup winners

Category:EFL Cup winners

Category:1878 establishments in England

Category:Football clubs in England

Category:Premier League clubs