The history of Nottingham Forest Football Club covers the complete history of the club since its formation in 1865. Forest have won 11 major honours during their history: one league title, two FA Cups, four League Cups, one FA Charity Shield, two European Cups and one UEFA Super Cup.
History Formation and early years In 1865 a group of shinty players met at the Clinton Arms on Nottingham's Shakespeare Street. J. S. Scrimshaw's proposal to play football instead was agreed and Nottingham Forest Football Club was formed. It was agreed at the same meeting that the club would purchase twelve tasselled caps coloured 'Garibaldi Red' (named after the leader of the Italian 'Redshirts' freedom fighters). Thus the club's official colours were established. Forest's first ever official game was played against Notts County taking place on 22 March 1866."History of Nottingham Forest" nottinghamforest.co.uk 16 August 2014
In their early years Forest were a multi-sports club. As well as their roots in bandy and shinty, Forest's baseball club were British champions in 1899. Forest's charitable approach helped clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to form. In 1886, Forest donated a set of football kits to help Arsenal establish themselves – the then South London team still wear red. Forest also donated shirts to Everton and helped secure a site to play on for Brighton.
In 1878–79 season they were part of the experiment with playing under floodlighting, at an away match against the Birmingham Club, Aston Lower Grounds. Illuminated by "Jablockoff Electric Lights", the experiment was not a success owing to the weather - a pre-match storm destroyed a number of lights, and another storm during the match caused its abandonment. Forest entered the FA Cup for the first time. Forest beat Notts County 3–1 in the first round at Beeston Cricket Ground before eventually losing 2–1 to Old Etonians in the semi-final.
Forest's application was rejected to join the Football League at its formation in 1888. Forest instead joined the Football Alliance in 1889. They won the competition in 1892 before then entering the Football League. That season they reached and lost in an FA Cup semi final for the fourth time to date. This time it was to West Bromwich Albion after a replay.
Forest's first FA Cup semi-final win was at the fifth attempt, the 1897–98 FA Cup 2–0 replay win against Southampton. The first game was drawn 1–1. Derby County beat Forest 5–0 five days before the final. Six of the cup final side were rested in that league game. In that 1898 FA Cup Final at Crystal Palace before 62,000 fans, Willie Wragg passed a 19th minute free kick to Arthur Capes. Capes shot through the defensive wall to score. Derby equalised with a free kick headed home by Steve Bloomer off the underside of the cross bar after 31 minutes. In the 42nd minute Jack Fryer was unable to hold a Charlie Richards shot giving Capes a tap in for his second goal. Wragg's injury meant Forest had to change their line up with Capes dropping back to midfield. In the 86th minute John Boag headed away a corner by Forest. John McPherson moved in to collect shooting low into the goal to win 3–1.
Into the 20th century
Forest lost FA Cup semi finals in 1900 and 1902. They finished fourth in the 1900–01 Football League followed with fifth place the season after. The club then started to slide down the table. Forest were relegated for the first time in 1905–06. Grenville Morris had his first of five seasons as the club's highest scorer en route to becoming the all-time club highest goalscorer with 213 goals.
In 1905, Nottingham Forest toured South America to play a series of friendly matches in Argentina and Uruguay. They would be followed for other English and Scottish clubs that visited the region, contributing to the spread and development of football in South America during the first years of the 20th century.British and Irish Clubs - Overseas Tours 1890-1939 by Javier García on RSSSF
Promotion as champions was immediate in 1906–07. They were relegated a second time to the Second Division in 1911 and had to seek re-election in 1914 after finishing bottom of that tier. As World War I approached they were in serious financial trouble. The outbreak of the Great War along with the benevolence of the committee members mitigated the club going under.
In 1919, the Football League First Division was to be expanded from twenty clubs to twenty-two in time for the 1919–20 Football League: Forest were one of eight clubs to campaign for entry but received only three votes. Arsenal and Chelsea gained the two additional top tier slots.
In a turnaround from the first six seasons struggling back in the Second Division, Forest were promoted as champions in 1921–22. They survived each of the first two seasons back in the top flight by one position. In the third season after promotion they were relegated as the division's bottom club in 1924–25. They remained in the second tier until relegation in 1949 to the Football League Third Division South.
On the up and down again (1950–74)
They were quickly promoted back two years later as Third Division South champions having scored a record 110 goals in the 1950–51 season. They regained First Division status in 1957.
After Johnny Quigley's solitary 1958–59 FA Cup semi final goal beat Aston Villa, Billy Walker's Forest then defeated Luton Town 2–1 in the 1959 FA Cup Final. Like in 1898 Forest had lost heavily to their opponents only weeks earlier in the league. Stewart Imlach crossed for a 10th-minute opener by Roy Dwight (the cousin of Reg Dwight better known as Elton John). Tommy Wilson had Forest 2–0 up after 14 minutes. The game had an unusually large number of stoppages due to injury, particularly to Forest players. This was put down to the lush nature of the Wembley turf. The most notable of these stoppages was Dwight breaking his leg in a 33rd minute tackle with Brendan McNally. Forest had been on top until that point, but with the reds down to ten men(no substitutes were allowed at this time) Luton gradually took control of the match with Dave Pacey scoring midway through the second half. Forest were reduced to nine fit men with ten minutes remaining when Bill Whare crippled with cramp became little more than a spectator. Despite late Allan Brown and Billy Bingham chances Chick Thomson conceded no further goals for Forest to beat the Wembley 1950s 'hoodoo' (where one team was hampered by losing a player through injury). Club record appearance holder Bobby McKinlay played in the final winning team captained by Jack Burkitt.
By this time Forest had replaced Notts County as the biggest club in Nottingham. Johnny Carey assembled a team including Joe Baker and Ian Storey-Moore that for a long spell went largely unchanged in challenging for the 1966–67 Football League title. They beat title rivals Manchester United 4–1 at the City Ground on 1 October. The 3–0 win against Aston Villa on 15 April had Forest second in the table a point behind United. Injuries eventually took effect meaning Forest had to settle for being League Runners-up and losing in the FA Cup semi final to Dave Mackay's Tottenham Hotspur.
The 1966/67 season's success seemed an opportunity to build upon with crowds of 40,000 virtually guaranteed at the time. Instead a mixture at the club of poor football management, the unique committee structure and proud amateurism meant decline after the 66/67 peak. Despite Peter Cormack being in the team Forest were relegated from the top flight in 1972. Matt Gillies' October 1972 managerial departure was followed by short managerial reigns by Dave Mackay and Allan Brown. A 0–2 Boxing Day home defeat by Notts County prompted the committee (Forest had no board of directors then) to sack Brown.
Brian Clough and Peter Taylor glory years (1975–82)
Brian Clough was appointed manager of Nottingham Forest on 6 January 1975, twelve weeks after the end of his 44-day tenure as manager of Leeds United. Clough brought Jimmy Gordon to be his club trainer as Gordon had been for him at Derby County and Leeds United. Scottish centre-forward Neil Martin scored the only goal beating Tottenham Hotspur in Clough's FA Cup third round replay first game in charge.
Forest were 13th in English football's second tier when Clough joined. They finished that 1974–75 season 16th. Nevertheless, Clough did inherit some talented players, including five who would go on to win the European Cup with the club. Midfielder Ian Bowyer had won domestic and European trophies with Manchester City. John Robertson and Martin O'Neill were in the reserves after requesting transfers under Brown, but Clough brought both back into the first team. The young Tony Woodcock was at Forest but was then unrated by Clough and was to be loaned to Lincoln City. Viv Anderson had previously debuted for the first team and became a regular under Clough.
Clough quickly signed Scottish duo John McGovern and John O'Hare from Leeds United. Both players had been part of Clough's 1971–72 Football League-winning side at Derby County and had also been signed by him during his brief reign at Leeds. Forest signed Frank Clark in July of that close season on a free transfer. In Clough's first full season in charge Forest finished eighth in the Second Division. It was in this season McGovern became long standing club captain taking over from a game in which Bob 'Sammy' Chapman and Liam O'Kane were both injured.
On 16 July 1976, Peter Taylor, who had been Clough's assistant at Hartlepools, Derby and Brighton, re-joined him at Forest. Taylor included being the club's talent spotter in his role. After assessing the players Taylor told Clough "that was a feat by you to finish eighth in the Second Division because some of them are only Third Division players". Taylor berated John Robertson for allowing himself to become overweight and disillusioned. He got Robertson on a diet and training regime that would help him become a European Cup winner. Taylor turned Woodcock from a reserve midfielder into a 42 cap England striker. In September 1976 he bought striker Peter Withe to Forest for £43,000, selling him to Newcastle United for £250,000 two years later. Withe was replaced in the starting team by Garry Birtles who Taylor had scouted playing for non-league Long Eaton United. Birtles also went on to represent England. In October 1976 Clough, acting on Taylor's advice, signed centre-half Larry Lloyd from Coventry for £60,000 after an initial loan period. Lloyd had previously won the First Division, FA Cup and UEFA Cup under Bill Shankly at Liverpool.
The first trophy of the Clough and Taylor reign was the 1976–77 Anglo-Scottish Cup. Forest beat Orient 5–1 on aggregate in the two-legged final played in December 1976. Clough valued winning a derided trophy as the club's first silverware since 1959. He said, "Those who said it was a nothing trophy were absolutely crackers. We'd won something, and it made all the difference.""Old Big 'Ead ignites Forest fire" ESPN 22 March 2012
Forest challenged for promotion during the 1976–77 season. On 7 May 1977 Forest beat Millwall 1–0 at the City Ground in their final league match of the season. This left Forest second in the table in the fight for the three promotion places, but reliant on Bolton Wanderers dropping points in their three games in hand. Ultimately, Wolves' 1–0 win at Bolton thanks to Kenny Hibbitt's goal from his rehearsed free kick routine with Willie Carr meant that Bolton could not overtake Forest, leaving Forest 3rd in the final standings. Bolton's defeat reached the Forest team mid-air en route to an end of season break in Mallorca. Forest's third place promotion from the 1976–77 Football League Second Division was the fifth-lowest points tally of any promoted team in history, 52 (two points for a win in England until 1981).