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1900 A crowd of 20,104 attend the official
opening of the stadium on
Monday 3rd September
1900 as
Albion play out a 1-1 draw in a First Division match
with Derby
County.
Derby's Steve Bloomer scores the first ever goal on the ground whilst Charles 'Chippy'
Simmons scores the equaliser, becoming the first ever Albion goalscorer at the
venue.
Teamsheet from the first ever game at The Hawthorns, Albion v Derby
County, September 3, 1900
Five days after the ground's initial game, a new
attendance record of 35,417 is set with the visit of Aston Villa.
1901
Just 1,050 fans turn up for the First Division match between
Albion and Sheffield United on
the last day of the season. The attendance is the lowest crowd to ever assemble
for a first team game at The Hawthorns.
1902
The ground hosts the FA Cup semi-final between
Derby County and Sheffield
United. A crowd of 33,603 watch a 1-1 draw between the two sides.
1904 The 'Noah's
Ark' stand which had been
transferred from Stoney Lane burnt down on Bonfire Night. The official cause of the
fire is unknown but a stray firework, or a discarded match or cigar dropped at
the game against Manchester United earlier in the day, is reportedly the most
likely cause.
The 'Noah's Ark' Stand 1904
1905
A half-time
scoreboard is installed at the ground for the first time. It is located at
the Birmingham Road End.
1906
A new stand is constructed at the Smethwick End.
1907
The ground's previous record attendance is broken when 35,529 watch the FA Cup
tie with Derby County in February.
1908
A new record attendance of 36,727 is set in January for the visit of Birmingham
in the FA Cup. The record is broken again in December when 38,049 turn up to
watch the league game between the same two teams.
A two day athletics meeting
is held at the ground in May.
1910
The lease of the ground is
extended for another eleven years.
1911
The league game with Aston
Villa in September attracts the first 40,000 plus gate (46,203) to the stadium
creating a new attendance record.
Improvements are made to the
Halfords Lane Stand.
1912
A stand is
erected over the Handsworth side, paid for with the club's share of prize money
from the 1912 FA Cup final.
The pitch is dug up and
completely relaid.
1913
The freehold of The Hawthorns is purchased for £5,350.
A new record attendance of
48,057 is set in October. Aston Villa are once again the visitors.
A two day boxing tournament
takes place at the ground.
1914
The Halfords
Lane Stand is extended and tip up seats are installed.
The Football League take on
the Irish League in a representative match at the ground.
1919
Wolverhampton Wanderers play two 'home' league games at The Hawthorns (versus
Barnsley and Stockport County) after Molineux is closed following crowd
disturbances.
1920
The
wooden fence surrounding the playing area is replaced with a concrete wall and
the first sections of terracing are constructed.
England and The South meet in a representative match at The
Hawthorns.
1921
On Boxing Day, 49,488 spectators watch the local derby with
Birmingham,
a new crowd record.
1922
England beat Ireland 2-0 in the first full international match to be staged at
The Hawthorns.
Two sets of turnstiles are
incorporated into the Birmingham Road End.
1923
The embankment on the Handsworth side of the ground is extended further back and
the stand also heightened.
The first 50,000-plus crowd
assemble at The Hawthorns when 56,474 fans watch the FA Cup 2nd round tie with
Sunderland.
1924 In
the second full international game to be played at the ground England beat
Belgium 4-0.
A new block of turnstiles are
built at the Smethwick End / Halfords Lane corner.
1925
A new ground attendance record of 64,612 is set with the visit of Aston Villa in
the FA Cup 3rd round.
Programme for the FA Cup match against Aston Villa in 1925
1928
England beat The Rest
6-3 in the third major representative game to take place at the ground.
1931 The
Hawthorns Halt railway station is opened on Christmas Day.
A then record
league gate of 52,415 attend the final game of the 1930/31 season against
Charlton Athletic. The game sees Albion clinch promotion back into the First
Division and complete the historic promotion / FA Cup double.
1932
A new scoreboard is installed at
the corner of the Handsworth Stand / Smethwick End. The old one had stood at the
back of the Birmingham Road End terrace.
1934
A new stand is built at the Smethwick End / Halfords Lane corner which increases
the capacity of the ground by an extra 750 seats.
A record
crowd for a reserve game of 22,372 is set for the visit of Aston Villa in the
Central League.
1935
England once again take on The Rest in a representative match at The Hawthorns,
the game ending all square at 2-2.
1937
The
present day record attendance of 64,815 is set for the FA Cup quarter final tie
versus Arsenal on 6 March.
1939
The wooden roof of the Halfords Lane stand is replaced by asbestos sheeting.
1940
All major work at the
ground is halted owing to World War 2.
1944
A baseball game between the US Army and Canadian Army takes place in front of
5,000 spectators.
1945 Loud
speakers are installed at the ground.
England lose 1-0 to
Wales in a Victory International
in front of a crowd of 54,610.
'Pirate' Programme for the Victory International between England and Wales
in 1945
1947 A new block of twelve turnstiles open on the Handsworth side
of ground.
1949 The first electronic turnstile aggregator
to be used in a British football ground is installed at The Hawthorns.
The front of the Halfords Lane
Stand is extended to give a further 750 seats. The old wooden 'terraces' at the
front of the stand are replaced with concrete.
1950 The
present day record league attendance of 60,945 is set for a First Division game
against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Hawthorns celebrates its
Golden Jubilee.
Booklet issued to celebrate The Hawthorns' Golden Jubilee
1951
Eight new turnstiles are opened at the Smethwick End.
1954
The last 60,000-plus attendance at the ground assembles for the FA
Cup game with Newcastle United. 61,088 fans turn up to watch Albion - the
eventual cup winners - progress to the quarter finals with a 3-2 victory.
1956
The scoreboard is moved to the Woodman Corner, where it would
remain until demolition in 1994.
1957 Floodlights
are installed at a cost of £18,000. The first game under the lights sees Albion
and Chelsea play out a 1-1 draw on September 18. The official opening of the
lights takes place on October 29 when the Russian Red Army Team (CDSA) are
beaten 6-5 in a friendly game held before a crowd of 52,805.
1958
A new wing is added to the
Halfords Lane Stand at the Birmingham Road End corner which increases the
capacity by an extra 1,200 seats.
1960
The FA Cup semi-final between
Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers takes place at The Hawthorns in front of
a crowd of 55,596.
1962
The last 50,000-plus
attendance (54,992) at the ground assembles for the FA Cup game against
Tottenham Hotspur in February.
1964
The original East Stand, containing 4,300 seats, is built at a cost of £40,000.
The new stand reduces the overall capacity of the stadium to around 50,000. The
stand would become known as the Rainbow Stand. The roof off the old stand is
transferred to cover the Birmingham Road End.
1965
A crowd of 41,188 watch the League Cup round 2 clash with Walsall. The
attendance is Albion's record home gate for the competition.
The first Throstle Club,
located next to The Hawthorns behind the Rainbow Stand, is officially opened by
Graham Williams and Jesse Pennington.
The Hawthorns hosts the FA
Amateur Cup semi-final between Hendon and Skelmersdale.
1968 The
Hawthorns Halt Railway Station closes.
The Football League Cup
semi-final replay between Burnley and Swindon takes place at the ground.
1969
The club holds it's first
ever Open Day for the fans. Over 6,000 attend.
1970
Floodlighting at the ground
is upgraded for colour television.
Walsall use The Hawthorns as
their home venue for the league game against Brighton because of waterlogging at
Fellows Park.
1971
The Hawthorns plays host to
the FA Trophy semi-final between Telford United and Yeovil Town.
Programme for the FA Trophy semi-final replay between Yeovil Town and
Telford United, April 3, 1971
1976 Fourteen executive boxes are installed into the Rainbow
Stand. A further 1,600 seats are installed in front of the boxes taking
the overall seating capacity of the ground to 12,500.
1977 New crush barriers are erected and the terraces are
reconstructed at the
Smethwick and
Birmingham Road ends
of the ground.
An Indian X1 and
Pakistan
X1 clash in the first cricket game to take place at the stadium. All proceeds
from the limited overs match go towards a children's charity and Imran Khan's
benefit.
1980 Work starts on a new Halfords Lane Stand.
A Warwickshire X1
take on an Ian Botham X1 in a 30 overs a side floodlit cricket match at The
Hawthorns. The proceeds go towards Ally Robertson's testimonial fund.
1981 The
Halfords Lane
stand is completed at a cost of £2.5million.
1983 The Hawthorns Throstle Club is closed down.
An
electronic scoreboard is added onto the front of the Smethwick End roof.
The
Smethwick End electronic scoreboard, 1983
1985
The Smethwick End roof is replaced and the
electronic scoreboard removed.
1987 The FA Trophy Final replay between Burton Albion and
Kidderminster Harriers is held at the ground.
1988
For the second successive season, The Hawthorns plays host to
the FA Trophy Final replay.
Enfield and Telford
are the finalists.
1989
A new sponsors lounge is opened in the
Halfords Lane /
Birmingham Road End corner.
1990 The pitch is completely dug up and relaid for only the
second time in the club's history. Supporters get the chance to buy sections of
the old pitch at a cost of £3.95 per square foot. Over 1,000 fans take up the
offer.
1991 The FA Cup 2nd round tie at Leyton Orient is shown live on a
big screen at The Hawthorns.
1992 The Smethwick End roof is removed.
The
Smethwick End, Open Day 1992
1994
The Smethwick End terrace is used for the very
last time in a League Division One game against
Luton Town on
New Year's Day.
The Birmingham Road End and
Woodman Corner terraces are used for the last time on April 30 for the League
Division One game against Grimsby Town. The end of the game sees a number of
fans taking home their own mementos of the soon to be demolished terraces,
including the throstle off the top of the Woodman Corner scoreboard. After an
appeal the throstle is returned to the club.
Postcard issued by Xtra Am radio station
Work starts on
turning The Hawthorns into an all-seater stadium, the new Smethwick
End Stand is completed first in September followed by the new Birmingham
Road End Stand in December.
The pitch is dug up and relaid for the third time.
1995 The last remaining section of terracing, located
in the Rainbow Stand / Smethwick End corner, is used at the ground for the last
ever time for the FA Cup tie with Coventry City on January 18.
The Hawthorns railway station is reopened.
The
Albion museum, located in the Halfords Lane Stand, is
officially opened by manager Alan Buckley.
1997 The FA Cup 3rd round tie at
Chelsea is beamed
back live to a big screen at The Hawthorns.
Record ground receipts of £264,167 are taken from
the League Cup game with
Liverpool in October. It is the first time the £250,000
mark is broken.
1998 The Hawthorns pitch is dug up and relaid for the fourth
time with undersoil heating also installed.
In February, The Hawthorns hosts the 'B'
International game between
England
and Chile whilst in April the ground hosts a women's international between
England and Italy.
2000
The Hawthorns celebrates its centenary in September.
Programme from Albion v Crystal Palace, September 3, 2000
Aston Villa play two Inter-Toto Cup games at the
ground due to redevelopment work taking place at
Villa Park.
A Kabbadi tournament
is held at The Hawthorns during the summer.
2001 The Rainbow Stand is used for the last time on
New Years Day for the visit of
Barnsley.
Work on the new East Stand
starts soon after and the stand is used for the first time on August 1 when the
visitors are Athletic Bilbao in a Memorial Match for Albion legend Ronnie Allen.
The local Sikh
community once again hold their annual Kabbadi tournament at the stadium.
2002
The club introduce an automated stile card / ticket access
system.
The ground is the
first in the country to install big screens in the widescreen format.
A second Hawthorns
museum is opened in the East Stand.
The club beam back
live coverage to The Hawthorns of Albion's first ever Premier League match - at
Manchester United. 7,636 fans watch on two 'giant' screens. Later in the year
the game against
Liverpool
at Anfield is also beamed back live.
2003
The Jeff Astle memorial gates are erected. They are officially
unveiled on
July 11, 2003.
The
Jeff Astle Memorial Gates
2004 The Woodman pub is demolished enabling the club to extend
the ground in future if required.
The Hawthorns plays
host to a friendly international between Iraq and Trinidad and Tobago.
2005 The current all-seated record
attendance of 27,751 is set with the visit of
Portsmouth for the final Premier League game of the season. The game sees Albion
achieve the 'Great Escape', avoiding relegation despite being bottom of the
table at kick-off time.
2008 The Halfords Lane Stand is
modernised at a cost of £3million. The work includes new dressing rooms, dugouts
and executive boxes as well as much improved facilities for supporters. The
stand is renamed the West Stand. The overall stadium capacity is reduced to
26,500 as a result of the work.
2009 All seats in the Birmingham Road End and Smethwick End
stands are replaced to match the colour of the seats in the East and West
stands. The work means an end to the distinctive logos that had been in place
since the two stands were built.
England Under-20's take on their Montenegro counterparts in a friendly
international. |
