BLACK COUNTRY DERBY (not the club)

Prior to the foundation of the Football League, Wolves and West Bromich Albion competed in the first ever Black Country Derby on 20th January 1883, in the third round of the Birmingham Senior Cup. This is the oldest county cup competition still in existence and one that the two teams still compete in today, although using their under-21 or under-18 players – with the Albion recently running out 4-2 winners. 

The first two ‘official’ Derbies came in the English FA Cup, with West Brom at home, winning in both the 1885/86  (Round 4) and 1887/88 (Round 3) competitions. The first, on 2nd January 1886 saw Albion earn a 3-1 win before another victory, this time by 2-0 on 26th November 1887. Both matches took place at their old Stoney Lane ground. Following these triumphs over Wolves, the Baggies went on to reach the FA Cup Final in both seasons. In 1887-8 The Baggies beat Wolves 2-0 in Round 3 and beat the Old Carthusians 4-2 in Round 6 (Quarter-Final), before beating Preston NE 2-1 in the Final at The Oval.

The Wolves' club was founded in 1877 as St Luke's FC, by John Baynton and John Brodie, two pupils at St Luke's Church School in Blakenhall. Their headmaster, Harry Barcroft, presented them with a football and the first ever match was played on January 13th against a reserve team associated with the local railway works from Stafford Road, later merging with Blakenhall Wanderers in August 1889, moved from Dudley Road to the Molineux Stadium. The club had been founder members of the Football League in 1888.

On 24 January 1912, Wolverhampton beat Watford 10-0 in a first-round FA Cup replay after being held scoreless in the first meeting.

And the previous match, played on 13 January at Watford, truly was the first meeting between the two teams, who at the time played in different leagues (Wolves were in Division Two of the Football League while Watford were members of the Southern League). It ended as a scoreless draw, forcing a replay at Molineux eleven days later.

The return to home made a world of difference for Wolves, who rolled to a 10-0 victory with goals from Halligan (3), Needham (2), Brooks (2), Harrison, Hedley, and Young. Despite the impressive scoreline, it fell short of the club record of 14-0, set against Crosswell's Brewery in the FA Cup in November 1886.

Wolves, who had already won the tournament twice (1893 and 1908), advanced to the second round, where they beat Lincoln City before falling to Blackburn Rovers in the third. Since then, they've reached the final four times, winning it in 1949 and 1960. Below Wolves 1893