History of Blackburn Rovers
The Rovers were founded on the 5th November 1875 by John Lewis and Arthur Constantine - the meeting in a town centre pub being attended by seventeen local men, virtually all with links to the local business community. The first match was in Church, near Accrington, a month later.
In the early days, the Club would play at numerous venues in Blackburn before moving permanently to their current home at Ewood Park in 1890. In the meantime, they were founders of the Lancashire Football Association in 1878 and ten years later become one of dozen clubs forming The Football League, seeing them win that competition twice prior to the First World War. In 1992, the Rovers would be founder members of the F.A. Premier League, winning it three seasons later – the only “town” team to do so, to date. In Victorian times the Club would win the F.A. Cup five times and again in 1928. By winning the Football League Cup in 2002, the Rovers can proudly claim to have won major trophies in three centuries.
The Rovers have had their ups and downs over the years, producing many heroes and legends on and off the pitch - from player and later manager Bob Crompton, owner Lawrence Cotton (1905 to 1921), F.A. Cup winning Captain Harry Healless (1928), stalwarts Ronnie Clayton and Bryan Douglas in the 1950s and 60s and loyal club servant Tony Parkes as player, coach and caretaker manager from 1970 to 2004. However, the purchase of the Club by local businessman Jack Walker in 1991 would see the ground rebuilt and the Premiership title coming to Ewood Park in the 1994-95 season, elevating him and many of those in and associated with the team to hero and legend status. His death in August 2001 was a shock and blow to the club and its fans.
The Club lost its Premiership status in 2012 and, with a short stay in Division One in 2016, have been in the Football League Championship since 2017.
Blackburn Rovers Archive
