Huddersfield Town were in dire straits at the dawn of the 1920’s. Their attendances had sunk to a low of 7,000, their pitch had deteriorated and they were a whopping 25,000 pounds in debt. Plans were put in place for a move to Elland Road, previously the home of Leeds City, following the selling off of Huddersfield’s ground Leeds Road for redevelopment. Reports of these plans galvanised the clubs supporters, who organised a fund-raising drive to stave off the move. This action was the catalyst that Huddersfield Town needed, and in 1920 they managed to reach the FA Cup final, where they were defeated by a single Aston Villa goal. This was the first FA Cup final since the conclusion of WWI hostilities and the first requiring extra time to be played. In addition, The Terriers achieved promotion to the promised land of Division One, English footballs top flight.

 

Things were looking good at first, Town winning 5 of their first 6 games. Sadly, it quickly turned into a baptism of fire as the club finished in 17th place. Earlier that season, a man named Herbert Chapman was brought to the club as secretary. He replaced Ambrose Langley as manager and pulled the club out of the relegation battle.  Two years later, Huddersfield finally obtained FA Cup glory, beating Preston North End in the 1922 final just two days after thrashing them 6-0 in the league.  It was a hard fought battle to get there, with replays needed to defeat Burton, Brighton and Hove, and Blackburn Rovers along the way. Billy Smith converted the winning penalty, and The Terriers returned home to a hero’s welcome following their first, and only, FA Cup victory.

 

The following season saw Town achieve their highest finish since their inception. In only their third season in Division One, they reached third place behind Liverpool and Sunderland. Towns charge up the table following a poor start was largely thanks to new signing Charlie Wilsons 13 goals. Finally, in 1924, Huddersfield reached the pinnacle of English football by becoming league champions by the skin of their teeth. The title race came down to the last game of the season against Nottingham Forest, a 3-0 win pipping Cardiff City to the Division One trophy on goal average. Miraculously, Town retained the title the following season, this time by two clear points, mainly thanks to their impressive defensive line which conceded only 28 goals all season. But the club went from elation to bewilderment when Herbert Chapman suddenly resigned and left for Arsenal.  

 

Every cloud has a silver lining however, and Huddersfield managed to complete a hat-trick of titles in 1926 under the guidance of Cecil Potter, finishing 5 points clear of Arsenal, who were now managed by Herbert Chapman. During these successful years, Huddersfields support base skyrocketed, necessitating additional capacity at their home on Leeds Road.  This was increased to 47,000 for their cup match against Liverpool, and later work increased the ground to a capacity of 60,000.

Achievments: English First Division – Champions x 3 Runners up x2 Third place x1
                       English Second Division – Runners up x2
                       FA Cup – Winners x1 Runners up x2 Semi finalists x1
                       FA Charity Shield – Winners x1

Star player: Charlie Wilson DOB 30 March 1895, Atherton, England

Wilsons career began with his local team, non-lrague side Atherton Town. He the joined Coventry City just before the outbreak of World War 1. He didn’t actually make any appearances for City although he was on their books for four years. Unsurprisingly, he left to join Tottenham Hotspur in 1918, however for unknown reasons, he decided to hide his identity. He initially played for Spurs under the guise of “C.Williams”, being described as “a clot from the Midlands”, before altering his pseudonym to “C.Forshaw”. He only took to the field as Charlie Wilson in his last game before the war. When the Football League returned, he helped Tottenham win the Second Division title with 11 goals. With 9 and 11 goals in the following two seasons, he attracted the eye of Herbert Chapman and was lured to Huddersfield Town, becoming a key member of the side and scoring 16, 20 and 24 goals over the next three seasons. However, Wilson picked up and injury and was unceremoniously sold to Stoke City. He couldn’t save them from relegation, but his 26 goals in 1926/27 gained them promotion. He eventually became the first Stoke player to reach 100 league goals. Post retirement, Wilson ran the Noah’s Ark Pub in Stafford.