The History of Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs Through the Years

Feb 11, 2011
Steve Rogerson

White Hart Lane, home of Tottenham Hotspur - Photo by Alain Swain

From a Bible class to one of the great teams of English football, Tottenham Hotspur have a glorious history and see signs that the good times are returning

North London’s Tottenham Hotspur, known colloquially as just Spurs, is one of the world’s most famous football clubs with a history that has involved some of the great players and some of the pivotal moments of the sport itself. Its origins date back to 1882 when it was formed as a combination of grammar school boys in a Bible class at All Hallows Church and the Hotspur Cricket Club. The name Hotspur comes from Sir Henry Percy (the Harry Hotspur in Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part One) who lived in the area in the fourteenth century.

The original name of the club was Hotspur Football Club but they changed their name to Tottenham Hotspur to avoid confusion with existing club London Hotspur.

The Early Days of Tottenham Hotspur

The club played its early games at Tottenham Marshes before moving to Northumberland Park in 1888. Seven years later, Spurs turned professional and joined the Southern League in 1895. Four years later, and they moved grounds again, this time to their present home at White Hart Lane.

In 1900, Spurs won the Southern League and the following year took their first major trophy – the FA Cup beating Sheffield United in the final in a replay at Burnden Park in Bolton after drawing the original match 2-2 at Crystal Palace.

Election to the Football League followed in 1908 with promotion to the first division achieved in their first season. Spurs though finished bottom in the last season before the First World War. In 1919, when the league resumed, Spurs were placed in the second division despite the first division increasing in numbers – one of the extra places was given to Arsenal and the bad feeling that generated is seen as the start of the rivalry between the two north London clubs that still exists today. Spurs though were soon to join Arsenal in the top division when they won promotion in 1920. This was followed by another FA Cup win, this time beating Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final at Stamford Bridge.

Relegation followed in 1928, promotion in 1933, relegation again in 1935 and promotion in 1950. A year later, they won the first division championship.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Glory Years

The 1960s and 1970s were to prove immense for the club, starting off with a Football League and FA Cup double in 1961. The club retained the FA Cup the following year and in 1963 they became the first British club to win a major European competition when they landed the European Cup Winners Cup with no small help from legend Jimmy Greaves, who netted 37 goals that season.

A fifth FA Cup final win was achieved in 1967, followed by the League Cup in 1971 and the Uefa Cup in 1972. The manager in those days was Bill Nicholson, who joined the club as an apprentice in 1936 and became manager in 1958. He resigned from the job in 1975 after Spurs lost in the Uefa Cup final to Feyenoord. Two years later, the club were relegated to the second division, but bounced straight back up the following season.

The glory years continued into the 1980s with back-to-back FA Cup wins in 1981 and 1982, and then another Uefa Cup win in 1984. The rest of the 1980s brought no more major trophies and in fact the club had to wait until 1999 for more silverware when they won the League Cup.

Tottenham Hotspur Today

Spurs spent most of the following years hanging around mid-table in the top flight but 2006 saw them narrowly miss out on a Champions League place but back in the Uefa Cup. In 2008, they again lifted the League Cup. After a bad start the following season, Harry Redknapp was poached as manager from Portsmouth; he elevated them from the relegation zone to eighth in the league. The following season – 2010 – saw Spurs break into the top four of the Premiership and earn a Champions League place for the first time.