page_title: Burnley F.C.
section_title: Early beginnings and glory either side of the First World War (1882–1946)
hierarchical_section_title: Burnley F.C. / History / Early beginnings and glory either side of the First World War (1882–1946)
caption_attribution_description: English: English Burnley F.C. team in 1890. Image found on the Historical Kits website and in The Clarets Chronicles (ISBN&#160;978-0-9557468-0-2). Both give no details of the author's and photographer's identity, so it must be presumed to be unknown. This, and the age of the image mean it is in the PD per the template shown.
context_page_description: Burnley Football Club is an English association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Founded on 18 May 1882, it was one of the first to become professional, and subsequently put pressure on the Football Association to permit payments to players. The club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1885–86 and was one of the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888–89. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.
  Burnley have been champions of England twice, in 1920–21 and 1959–60, have won the FA Cup once, in 1913–14, and have won the FA Charity Shield twice, in 1960 and 1973. They have been runners-up in the First Division twice, in 1919–20 and 1961–62, and FA Cup runners-up twice, in 1946–47 and 1961–62. The team also reached the quarter-finals of the 1960–61 European Cup. Burnley are one of only five sides to have won all four professional divisions of English football, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Portsmouth.
  The team have played home games at Turf Moor since 1883, after they had moved from their original premises at Calder Vale.
context_section_description: The club was founded on 18 May 1882 by members of rugby team Burnley Rovers, who voted for a shift to association football, since other sports clubs in the area had changed their codes to football. The suffix "Rovers" was dropped a short time later. The team played their first-ever match on 10 August against local side Burnley Wanderers at home ground Calder Vale and won 4–0. In February 1883, the club was invited by Burnley Cricket Club to a pitch adjacent to the cricket field at Turf Moor, where it has remained since. That same year saw them win their first silverware; the Dr Dean Trophy, a knockout competition between amateur clubs in the Burnley area.
  By the end of 1883, the club turned professional and signed many Scottish players, who were regarded as the best footballers. As a result, Burnley refused to join the Football Association (FA) and its FA Cup, since the association barred professional players. In 1884, they led a group of 35 other clubs in the formation of the breakaway British Football Association to challenge the supremacy of the FA. This threat of secession led to an FA rule change in July 1885 allowing professionalism, which made the new body redundant.
  Burnley made their first appearance in the FA Cup in 1885–86; however, most professionals were prohibited entry due to FA rules that year, so they fielded their reserve side and lost 11–0 to Darwen Old Wanderers. In October 1886, Turf Moor became the first professional ground to be visited by a member of the Royal Family, when Prince Albert Victor attended a match between Burnley and Bolton Wanderers. The club was among the 12 founders of the Football League in 1888–89 and one of the six based in Lancashire. William Tait became the first player to score a league hat-trick in the second match, when his three goals gave Burnley their inaugural win in the competition. In 1889–90, they claimed their first Lancashire Cup, after beating local rivals Blackburn Rovers in the final. Nicknames at this point were "Turfites", "Moorites" or "Royalites", as a result of their ground's name and the royal connection.
  Burnley were relegated to the Second Division for the first time in 1896–97. The team won the division the next season; only two of 30 matches were lost before promotion was gained through a four-team play-off series called test matches, although the last game against First Division club Stoke was controversial. The tie finished 0–0 as both needed only a draw for a top flight place; it was later named "The match without a shot at goal". The Football League soon withdrew the test match system in favour of automatic promotion and relegation and expanded both divisions from 16 to 18 clubs after a motion by Burnley. They were relegated again in 1899–1900 and found themselves at the centre of controversy when their goalkeeper, Jack Hillman, attempted to bribe opponents Nottingham Forest in the last match of the season. It is possibly the earliest recorded case of match fixing in football. The side continued to play in the Second Division and even finished in bottom place in 1902–03 (but were re-elected), as the club got into financial difficulties.
  Harry Windle was named chairman in 1909, after which the club's finances turned around. He appointed manager John Haworth in 1910, who changed the club's colours from green to the claret and blue of Aston Villa, the then First Division champions, as Haworth and the Burnley committee believed it might bring a change of fortune. In 1912–13, they won promotion to the first tier and reached the FA Cup semi-final. Burnley won their first major honour the following year, beating Liverpool in the 1914 FA Cup Final. Bert Freeman scored the only goal, as Burnley became the first club to defeat five top tier sides in one cup season. Tommy Boyle became the first captain to receive the trophy from a reigning monarch (King George V).
  The team finished second to West Bromwich Albion in 1919–20, before winning their first ever First Division championship in 1920–21. Burnley lost the opening three games, but went unbeaten in the fo
caption: One of the earliest photographed Burnley sides, with the Lancashire Cup in the middle of the photo
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