Burnley Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire. It was founded on 18 May 1882 by members of rugby club Burnley Rovers, who voted for a change from rugby to association football. The suffix "Rovers" was dropped in the following days. Burnley became professional in 1883—one of the first to do so—putting pressure on the Football Association (FA) to permit payments to players. In 1885, the FA legalised professionalism, so the team entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1885–86, and were one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888–89, the world's first league football competition.
The team remained in the top tier until they were relegated to the Second Division at the end of the 1896–97 season. They won promotion the following season, but were relegated again in 1899–1900. Burnley achieved promotion back to the First Division in 1912–13 under manager John Haworth, and the following year, the side won the FA Cup for the first—and to date only—time, after they defeated Liverpool in the final. In the 1920–21 campaign, Burnley were crowned champions of England for the first time. During that season they embarked on a 30-match unbeaten run, setting an English record. Burnley remained in the top tier of English football until 1929–30, when they sank to the second tier. The team gained promotion back to the first tier in 1946–47 and stayed there for 24 consecutive seasons.
From the 1950s until the 1970s, under chairman Bob Lord, the club became renowned for its youth policy and scouting system, and was one of the first to set up a purpose-built training ground. With a squad primarily composed of players developed through the club's youth academy, Burnley won their second First Division title in 1959–60 under manager Harry Potts. The championship was secured with a final-day victory over Manchester City, making Burnley—home to just 80,000 residents—one of the smallest towns to have an English top-flight champion. Between 1971 and 1983, Burnley yo-yoed between the first and third tiers, and in 1985, they were relegated to the Fourth Division, amid financial hardship. In 1986–87, a last-day win against Orient prevented relegation to the Football Conference, the highest level of non-League football. Burnley recovered and won the fourth-tier title in 1991–92 to become the second team to win all four professional divisions of the English football league system. They were promoted to the second tier in 1999–2000, and to the first-tier Premier League in 2008–09. Since then, the team have played in the top two tiers.
Early years (1882–1888) On 18 May 1882, members of rugby club Burnley Rovers gathered at the Bull Hotel in Burnley to vote on switching from rugby to association football, which was gaining prominence in the area.Simpson (2007), p. 12 A large majority voted in favour of the change. The club secretary George Waddington met with his committee a few days later and put forward a proposal to drop "Rovers" from the club's name, giving Burnley a perceived advantage over other local clubs by carrying the name of the town, to which the committee members unanimously agreed. Burnley played several trial matches with local sides during the following weeks "to select the best possible elevens for the coming season"; the new team was a combination of the former rugby players and arrivals with association football experience.
On 10 August, Burnley won their first recorded game as an association football club, described by a local newspaper as "a trial match", against Burnley Wanderers by a scoreline of 4–0. They played the game in a blue and white kit—the colours of the former rugby club—at their home ground Calder Vale, which was also inherited from their predecessor.Simpson (2007), p. 586 Tom Midgley, who had previously captained Burnley Rovers, served as the club's skipper."Good reason for his interest". North Wales Weekly News. 12 January 1956. p. 4. The team's first competitive fixture followed in October 1882, when they were defeated 8–0 by Astley Bridge in the Lancashire Cup.Simpson (2007), pp. 18–19 In February 1883, Burnley Cricket Club invited Burnley to move to a pitch adjacent to the cricket field at Turf Moor; both clubs have remained there since and Lancashire rivals Preston North End are the only professional football team worldwide to have continuously occupied the same ground for a longer period.Simpson (2007), pp. 574–575 The cricket club also made a donation of £65 (the equivalent of £ as of ) toward the setup costs,Bennett (1951), p. 227 and Burnley played their first match at Turf Moor on 17 February, losing 6–3 against Rawtenstall.
Thomas Dean, Burnley's medical officer of health, had launched a football tournament a month earlier to raise funds for the town's proposed new Victoria Hospital—a knockout competition between amateur clubs in the Burnley area, with the final played at Turf Moor. In June 1883, Burnley won the Dr Dean's Cup outright, defeating Burnley Ramblers 2–1 in the final to claim their first trophy. They also won the new Hospital Cup in 1884 and on multiple occasions in later years.Simpson (2007), pp. 20–24
By the end of 1883, the club turned professional and signed many Scottish players, who were regarded as the best footballers by the Burnley committee. One of these, Dan Friel, soon assumed the roles of captain and coach.Simpson (2007), p. 119 As a result of the move to professionalism, Burnley refused to join the Football Association (FA) and its FA Cup because the association barred professional players. In 1884, Burnley led a group of 35 clubs in the formation of the breakaway British Football Association (BFA) to challenge the supremacy of the FA.Butler (1991), p. 30 The threat of secession led to the FA changing its rule in July 1885, allowing professionalism, and the BFA subsequently ceased to exist. Burnley made their first appearance in the FA Cup in 1885–86, but with most professionals still barred from the competition under the FA rules of the period, they fielded their reserve side and lost 11–0 to Darwen Old Wanderers, their record defeat. In October 1886, Turf Moor became the first ground to be visited by a member of the Royal Family when Queen Victoria's grandson Prince Albert Victor attended a match between Burnley and Bolton Wanderers after he opened the town's new Victoria Hospital. To commemorate the visit, Burnley received a set of white jerseys featured with a blue sash and embellished with the coat of arms of the Prince of Wales. The crest was regularly worn on the Burnley shirts until 1894–95.
Football League founder members (1888–1912) In 1888, Aston Villa director William McGregor founded the Football League, the world's first league football competition. Burnley were among the twelve founder members and one of the six Lancashire-based sides. They lost their first league match 5–2 to Preston North End, with Pat Gallocher scoring Burnley's first league goal. In the following fixture, William Tait became the first player in league history to score a hat-trick, netting three times in a 4–3 victory over Bolton Wanderers—Burnley’s first win in the competition.Simpson (2007), pp. 28–30 The club finished ninth in its first league season and was re-elected. In March 1889, Jack Yates became the first Burnley player to appear in a full international match, representing England against Ireland. He scored a hat-trick in a 6–1 win for England, but was never called up again. Burnley finished only one place from bottom in 1889–90, following a run of 17 winless games at the start of the season, although they claimed their first Lancashire Cup after beating local rivals Blackburn Rovers 2–0 in the final.Simpson (2007), pp. 31–36 Burnley's nicknames at this point were "Turfites", "Moorites" or "Royalites", as a result of their ground's name and the royal connection.
On 1 September 1890, the first penalty kick in history was possibly taken at Turf Moor during a friendly match between Burnley and Darwen. The away side were awarded the penalty by the referee but it was saved by Burnley goalkeeper Archibald Kaye, who helped his team record a 3–2 win."Burnley v. Darwen". Lancashire Evening Post. 2 September 1890. p. 4. In 1891–92, Burnley recorded the largest league victory in their history with a 9–0 win over Darwen. The team finished the season in the top half of the table for the first time, placing 7th out of 14 teams. After finishing 6th in 1892–93 and 5th in 1893–94, Burnley appointed a team manager for the first time during the off-season in 1894. Previously, the team had been selected by the board of directors or a committee whose secretary held powers equivalent to those of a modern manager. The club appointed Burnley-born Harry Bradshaw, who had been involved with Burnley since its foundation and had served as a committee member since 1887. Bradshaw finished his first season with a mid-table finish, although he lost his captain, Burnley native Jimmy Crabtree, who transferred to Aston Villa.Simpson (2007), pp. 54–55Lee & Simpson (1991), pp. 13, 80 A utility player, Crabtree had featured for Burnley in every position, from goalkeeper to centre-forward. The Northern Whig wrote after his death in 1908 that he was "considered by many good judges of the game to be the greatest association football player of all time"."Death of a famous footballer". Northern Whig. 19 June 1908. p. 2. This view was later echoed by both Charles Clegg and Howard Spencer in the 1930s."Leaves from my notebook". Star Green 'un. 26 November 1932. p. 1."The greatest cup final ever". Athletic News. 14 July 1930. p. 5.
Following a 10th-place finish in 1895–96, Burnley were relegated to the Second Division for the first time in the next campaign, after finishing third in the four-team play-off series—known as the test matches—between the bottom two First Division sides and the top two from the Second Division.Simpson (2007), pp. 62–68 Burnley won the second-tier title in 1897–98, losing only two of thirty matches before securing promotion via the test matches. The final game, against First Division club Stoke, was controversial as it finished 0–0 because both clubs needed only a draw to secure a place in the first tier. The game was later named "the match without a shot at goal". The Football League immediately withdrew the test match system in favour of automatic promotion and relegation.Inglis (1988), p. 107 They also decided to expand the First Division from 16 clubs to 18 after a motion by Burnley, which meant that the other two teams—Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United—also went into the first tier. Burnley finished in third place in their first season back in the top flight, their then highest league finish. During the off-season in 1899, Bradshaw resigned as manager and left for Woolwich Arsenal of the Second Division. First-team affairs were overseen by the directors until Ernest Mangnall was appointed in March 1900.