Spurs joined the league in 1908 and met the Albion that season in Division Two. Spurs lost both matches 0-3 (h) and 1-3 (a). Tottenham were promoted that season and Albion followed on in 1911. That season (1911-12) Spurs won at the Lane in September 1-0 and lost away 2-0 in March. There was also a cup tie in January which Albion won 3-0.
The clubs have the following record in head to heads:
Spurs won 58 Albion 55 Drawn 33 Goals for Spurs 224 Albion 220. (I tried four different references, each had a different set of statistics)
Not much between them then.
Well known players to have played or managed both clubs include:
Ossie Ardiles, Artuur Rowe, Graham Roberts, Gerry Armstrong, Keith Burkinshawn, Garth Crooks, Ruel Fox, John Gorman, Martin Jol, Tony Parks, Danny Thomas and Steve Walford.
The Baggies (WBA) were known thus possibly due to the size of shorts they wore in the 1920s though others say that a local sports' company supplied the players with logo-ed bags to carry their kit in, a form of early sponsorship.
The Albion also had a reputation for being rather lackadaisical in their pattern of play and became known as the West Bromwich Strollers. Though many thought this was due to the high altitude of the ground, the Hawthorns being the highest in the country at 551 ft asl and therefore with "rarified oxygen". As if!
The nickname "Throstles" is reputed to be a mispronounciation of "through stiles" which were employed in the early years when crowds were so large that there was a rapid entry procedure to get the crowd into the stadium before the kick off. Others may say it was because local thrushes sang tunefully on land around the ground.
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