History of Football League in England
The top flight of football in England started in 1888 when it was called Football League four years later they renamed it to Football League First Division. It stayed that way for exactly a century until 1992 when it was termed as Premier League.
Football League (1888–1892)
The first ever Football League was won by Preston North End who currently are in the Championships (Second layer after Premier League) with John Goodall scoring 21 goals for the Lilywhites. They won it the following season as well where as Everton and Sunderland won it the following years respectively with Preston North End being runners up in all occasions.
Football League First Division (1892–1992)
(1892–1902) - Aston Villa with 5 titles
In 1982 the Football League was renamed to Football League First Division and Sunderland were the winners of the opening season. But in a decade Aston Villa immerged as a super power winning it five times in 10 seasons. Liverpool won their first title in the 1900-01 season. John Campbell who helped Sunderland to achieve two consecutive titles signed for Aston Villa and he continued his form as Villa won five titles within that period of time.
(1902–1912) - Newcastle United with 3 titles
Manchester United won their first League title during this era. They clinched it during 1907-08 season where as Villa added one more title to their trophy cabinet. The Wednesday who are now called Sheffield Wednesday won two titles in a row but Newcastle United went one better in securing three.
(1912–1922) - Liverpool with 2 titles
Sunderland won their 5th League title whereas West Bromwich Albion and Burnley were crowned champions for the first time. After Everton won the title in 1914 the Football League First Division had to be suspended due to the First World War.
(1922–1932) - HuddersfieldTown with 3 titles
The Terriers stormed into the League by winning it three times. HuddersfieldTown was the very first team in history to win the Football League First Division title three times in succession. It was during this era Arsenal were crowned champions for the first time in 1930.
(1932–1942) – Arsenal with 4 titles
Arsenal were the second club in England to win the title three times in a row. During the 1936-37 season ManchesterCity managed to overcome second place Charlton Athletic and Arsenal to win the league for the first time. The League had to be suspended again due to the Second World War
(1942–1952) – Portsmouth with 2 titles
After a break of six years due to the second world war, the League was back on track in the year 1964 when Liverpool were crowned champions whereas Portsmouth won two consecutive times but London club Tottenham Hotspur got a debut title during the 1950-51 season which denied Pompey the third.
(1952–1962) – Wolverhampton Wanderers with 3 titles
By this time 50 years had passed since the Football League First Division was formed. Aston Villa and Arsenal were both stuck on six titles but in 1952 the Gunners won their seventh title to be highest in England. Wolverhampton Wanderers were crowned champions three times during this period whereas Manchester United got their tally to five. Chelsea won their first title in the 1954-55 season.
(1962–1972) – Everton, Manchester United and Liverpool all with 2 titles each
So far the top four for England was becoming clearer and clearer with each season gone by. Arsenal were leading the pack with eight titles and Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton were just one behind with seven.
(1972–1982) – Liverpool dominated this era with 6 titles
Bill Shankly who was the manager of Liverpool for 15 whole years gave way to Bob Paisley. It was a great career for Bill Shankly as he guided Liverpool to Six Division One Championships, Five Charity Shields, Three Football League Cups, Three European Cups, One European Super Cup and 1 UEFA Cup.
New manager Bob Paisley took over on 26 July 1974 from Bill Shankly. After coming runners-up to Leeds United and Derby County, he guided Liverpool to two consecutive Division One Championships and 6 in all which took the Liverpool tally to thirteen.
(1982–1992) – Liverpool stamped their authority with 5 more titles
Bob Paisley had set the foundation right for the Reds as new manager Joe Fagan won his first title with Liverpool. Kenny Dalglish took over on 30 May 1985 and Liverpool kept on winning silverware as they won Three Division One championships, Two FA Cup and Four Charity Shields.
(1888–1992) – The Top Four So Far
Liverpool were undoubtedly the kings of England with 18 Division One championships, followed by Arsenal with 10, Everton with 8 titles and Aston Villa/Manchester United with 7 each but Chelsea had won just one title so far.
Barclays Premier League (1992-2002) – The Red Devils on the offensive
At this point of time the Football League First Division was termed as Barclays Premier League and with this change came a new Manchester United. On the 6th of November 1986, Sir Alex Ferguson took over from Ron Atkinson as the manager of Manchester United but failed to win the League but came close on two occasions. The Scot won his first League with Manchester United during the 1992-93 season and defended it successfully the following year. He guided United to three consecutive titles in a row for the first time in this new format (Third overall after Huddersfield Town and Arsenal). Liverpool were already feeling the pressure as Manchester United swooped seven titles in ten season.
Barclays Premier League (2002-Present) – Manchester United crowned champions for the 18th time
The modern era seen foreign players dominating headlines all over England. Many changes took place at this point of time but Manchester United were focused and kept on winning. They equaled Liverpool’s record of 18 titles and they were crowned champions four times with winning it three times in a row for the second time.
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