Huddersfield Town A.F.C.

Chart showing the progress of Huddersfield Town A.F.C. through the English football league system.

In 1910, just three years after being founded, Huddersfield entered the Football League for the first time. In November 1919 a fund-raising campaign was needed to avoid a move to Leeds. Citizens of Huddersfield were asked to buy shares in the club for £1 each, and the club staved off the proposed merger. The team went on to reach the 1920 FA Cup Final and win promotion to Division One.

Huddersfield became the first English team to win three successive English League titles in 1926 – a feat that only three other clubs (Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United) have been able to match – and was achieved under the leadership of legendary manager and pioneer Herbert Chapman and his successor Cecil Potter. Huddersfield Town also won the FA Cup in 1922 and the Charity Shield the same year and have been runners-up on four other occasions in the FA Cup. During the club's heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, they achieved a record attendance of 67,037 on 27 February 1932 during their FA Cup 6th round tie against Arsenal at Leeds Road. This attendance has been bettered by only 13 other clubs in the history of the Football League.

After the Second World War, the club began a gradual decline, losing its First Division status in 1952. They came straight back up, but were relegated again three seasons later. Before the start of the 1969–70 season, Huddersfield Town adopted the nickname "The Terriers". They won the Second Division title that season, spending the next two seasons in the top flight. After that they moved up and down through the lower three divisions for 45 years.

In 1998, the club attracted the attention of local businessman Barry Rubery and, after protracted takeover talks, he took over the running of the club, promising significant investment as the club sought Premiership status. However, the club did not make it back to the top flight and fell two divisions. The club was sold by Rubery to David Taylor and under Taylor's ownership, slipped into administration. In the summer of 2003, the Terriers came out of administration under the new ownership of Ken Davy.

In 2010–11, Huddersfield went 43 games unbeaten, the second-highest in the league after Arsenal's 49-match run of 2003–04.[2]

On 26 May 2012, following a penalty shoot-out in the 2012 Football League One play-off Final victory over Sheffield United, Huddersfield were promoted to the Championship. The shoot-out was the longest contested in the current League One play-offs format. After eleven rounds, the final score was 8–7 to Huddersfield, with the winning goal being scored by goalkeeper Alex Smithies. Huddersfield missed the first three penalties became the first team to win an football league play-off penalty shootout after doing so.

In November 2015, German-born ex-US international David Wagner was appointed head coach, becoming the first person born outside the British Isles to manage the club in their 107-year history.[3]

On 29 May 2017, the club successfully earned promotion to the Premier League for the first time (since the rebranding in 1992) and the English top flight for the first time since 1972, beating Reading 4–3 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time in the Championship play-off Final.[4]

On 9 May 2018, the club secured safety from relegation, earning another season in the Premier League, following a 1–1 draw against Chelsea and went on to place 16th.[5] However, the club suffered a very poor start to the 2018-19 season, taking just 2 wins in their first 22 matches. With the team rooted to the bottom of the table with just 11 points on the board, Wagner left the club by mutual consent on 14 January 2019.[6] He was replaced with former Borussia Dortmund II manager Jan Siewert on a 2 year deal.[7] However, he couldn't prevent Huddersfield suffering relegation from the Premier League on 30 March 2019 following a defeat to Crystal Palace, with the club joining Derby County and Ipswich Town as the only clubs in the league's history to be relegated with six matches left to play.[8]

After failing to win any of the first 3 matches of the 2019–20 season, Siewert was sacked in August after just 7 months in charge.[9] He was replaced by Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley on 9 September.[10]

The club spent over five years debating what colour the kit should be. It ranged from salmon pink to plain white or all-blue to white with blue yoke. Eventually in 1913, the club adopted the blue-and-white jersey that remains to this day.

The club badge is based on the coat of arms of Huddersfield. Town first used a badge on its shirts for the 1920 FA Cup Final based on the local Huddersfield Corporation coat of arms. It appeared again with a Yorkshire Rose for the 1922 FA Cup Final and again for the finals of 1928, 1930 and 1938. The club's main colours (blue and white) are evident throughout the badge both in the mantling and in the shield, in the form of stripes. Two Yorkshire White Roses and Castle Hill form part of the history of the club and the area.

Town stuck with the same principal design (blue and white stripes) until 1966, when Scottish manager Tom Johnston introduced all-blue shirts. The next badge did not feature until the 1966–67 season, when the simple "HTFC" adorned the Town's all-blue shirts.

When the club adopted the nickname "The Terriers" for the 1969–70 season, the blue and white stripes returned and with it a red terrier with the words "The Terriers", just in time for their promotion to the big time, the First Division. The terrier sits on top of the crest with a ball on a blanket of blue and white stripes. The Terriers was introduced to the badge shortly after "The Terriers" was adopted as the nickname and mascot of the club.

After relegation to the Fourth Division, Town returned to all-blue shirts with the return of Tom Johnston in 1975. This time they only lasted two seasons and the return of simply "HTFC" badge. This lasted from 1975–1977. Stripes returned from the 1977–78 season and has been the club's home kit ever since. The red Terrier returned to the shirt for the 1978–79 season. In 1980, Town adopted what remains their badge today based on the coat of arms of Huddersfield. This is both the club badge and playing shirt badge and is held in high esteem by Town fans.

In 2000, Town changed badge to a circular design, but that was never popular and following a change of board, returned to the heraldic-style badge. The badge was further redeveloped with a small but significant adaptation in February 2005. The club took the decision to remove "A.F.C." from the text leaving only the wording 'Huddersfield Town'. The current board said that this was in keeping with the time and to make merchandise easier to produce and to make slicker looking promotional material.

To mark Town's promotion to the Premier League in 2017-18, the club adopted a Terriers logo to replace the historic crest on the shirts.[11]

To mark Town's relegation from the Premier League in 2019, the club agreed to have Paddy Power shirt sponsorship in a striking beauty queen style diagonal sash design.[12] Within days, the club were contacted by The Football Association for their 'observations' about the kit.[13] Shortly it was revealed that the "sash" shirt was a prank envisioned by Paddy Power, and that the club would play in shirts without a sponsor.[14]

• Leeds Road (1908–1994)

Kirklees Stadium

• Kirklees Stadium (1994–present)
  • Named "Alfred McAlpine Stadium" (1994–2004)
  • Named "Galpharm Stadium" (2004–2012)
  • Named "John Smith's Stadium" (2012–present)

Huddersfield are the only team to have played at each of the top four levels of English football at two different grounds.[15][16]

Leeds United are considered to be the club's main rivals, with Huddersfield having the better head-to-head record of the two teams. Including games against United's predecessor club Leeds City, Huddersfield have won 36 of the 88 derbies between the two sides with 20 draws and 32 Leeds wins.[17] Huddersfield's other fierce local rivals are Bradford City; this is due to both clubs having had roughly the same league status for the last couple of decades and therefore it could be argued that they are closest rivals out of the three West Yorkshire teams. Huddersfield also have the better head-to-head record between the two, winning 21 derbies with 17 draws and 14 Bradford wins.

There are smaller rivalries with Barnsley (31 wins, 15 draws, 26 defeats), Roses rivals Oldham Athletic (20 wins, 15 draws, 12 defeats) and formerly with near neighbours Halifax Town (8 wins, 5 draws, 4 defeats). Manchester City were also once considered rivals during the time that the two clubs were competing in the old First Division - Manchester City lead in the head-to-heads, however, with 28 victories to Huddersfield's 22, with 30 drawn games between them. [18]

A survey conducted as recently as August 2019 showed that Huddersfield supporters consider Leeds United, Bradford City and Oldham Athletic to be their fiercest rivals, with Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday following.[19]

• Huddersfield Town Women F.C.
• Yorkshire County Cricket Club

The following have been included in the PFA Team of the Year whilst playing for Huddersfield Town:

• 1975–76: Geoff Hutt (Fourth Division)
• 1976–77: Terry Poole (Fourth Division)
• 1979–80: Malcolm Brown, Ian Robins (Fourth Division)
• 1980–81: Malcolm Brown (Third Division)
• 1981–82: Malcolm Brown (Third Division)
• 1982–83: Malcolm Brown (Third Division)
• 1991–92: Simon Charlton, Chris Marsden, Iwan Roberts (Third Division)
• 1992–93: Simon Charlton (Division Two)
• 1994–95: Tom Cowan, Andy Booth (Division Two)
• 2003–04: Efe Sodje (Division Three)
• 2010–11: Anthony Pilkington (League One)
• 2011–12: Jack Hunt, Jordan Rhodes (League One)
• 2016–17: Aaron Mooy (Championship)

• Division 2: 1910–11 – 1919–20
• Division 1: 1920–21 – 1951–52
• Division 2: 1952–53
• Division 1: 1953–54 – 1955–56
• Division 2: 1956–57 – 1969–70
• Division 1: 1970–71 – 1971–72
• Division 2: 1972–73
• Division 3: 1973–74 – 1974–75
• Division 4: 1975–76 – 1979–80
• Division 3: 1980–81 – 1982–83
• Division 2: 1983–84 – 1987–88
• Division 3: 1988–89 – 1991–92
• Division 2 (Third Tier): 1992–93 – 1994–95
• Division 1 (Second Tier): 1995–96 – 2000–01
• Division 2 (Third Tier): 2001–02 – 2002–03
• Division 3 (Fourth Tier): 2003–04
• League One (Third Tier): 2004–05 – 2011–12
• Championship (Second Tier): 2012–13 – 2016–17
• Premier League (First Tier): 2017–18 – 2018–19
• Championship (Second Tier): 2019–20 –

• "Huddersfield Town – 75 years on – A History of Huddersfield Town" by George S. Binns
• "Huddersfield Town – A Complete Record 1910–1990" ISBN 0-907969-64-X
• "Huddersfield Town – Champions of England 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26" by Jim Brown (published in 2003 by Desert Island Books)

• Official website
• Supporters Trust
• HTAFC Patrons
• Huddersfield Town Blog