West Midlands (Regional) League
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West Midlands (Regional) League |
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The Birmingham & District League was one of the pioneering football leagues that were formed shortly after the Football League in the late 19th Century.
In each of the first three seasons, the league fixtures were not completed by the end of the season, but from 1892 onwards the league gradually became the strongest league in the West Midlands area, including a mixture of smaller professional and semi-professional clubs and the reserve sides of Football League outfits.
The league started to decline in status after World War II, and the expansion of the Southern League in the late 1950s hit the Birmingham & District League hard. Since then, a succession of leagues and divisions have been formed at a higher level, and despite a change of name to the West Midlands (Regional) League, the league nowadays attracts clubs of a far lower stature than had been the case in it's heyday.
After operating a number of different divisional systems over the years, the league currently has a Premier Division at Step 6 of the National League System, fed by Divisions One (Step 7) and Two (outside scope of NLS) below.
In the early days of the league, Birmingham & District League clubs regularly made the competition proper of the FA Cup, led by Crewe Alexandra in both 1905-06 and 1906-07. At this time, the First Round was the last 64 of the competition. Crewe went one better in 1910-11 when they made the last 32. Since the re-organisation of the FA Cup in 1925, two clubs from Burton - Town (1931-32) and Albion (1955-56) made the Third Round (last 64) and after the re-naming of the league, Alvechurch achieved the same feat in 1973-74. In recent years, appearances of clubs from the league in the competition proper have become rarer, with the last such appearance being that of Tamworth in 1987-88.
The best runs from a WMRL club in the FA Trophy came from Bromsgrove Rovers (in 1968-69) and Kidderminster Harriers in the following season. After the various re-structures of the Non-League pyramid, no club from the league have competed in the Trophy since 1987. Clubs from the West Midlands (Regional) League had a fine spell of success in the FA Vase in the 1980s, highligted by the 1982-83 competition when V S Rugby beat Halesowen Town in an all-WMRL final. Halesowen went on to win the competition in both 1985 and 1986, while Willenhall Town and Gresley Rovers were both losing finalists.
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1889-90 | League Incomplete |
| 1890-91 | League Incomplete |
| 1891-92 | League Incomplete |
| 1892-93 | Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves |
| 1893-94 | Old Hill Wanderers |
| 1894-95 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1895-96 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1896-97 | Hereford Thistle |
| 1897-98 | Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves |
| 1898-99 | Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves |
| 1899-00 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1900-01 | Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves |
| 1901-02 | West Bromwich Albion reserves |
| 1902-03 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1903-04 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1904-05 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1905-06 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1906-07 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1907-08 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1908-09 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1909-10 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1910-11 | Stoke |
| 1911-12 | Aston Villa reserves |
| 1912-13 | West Bromwich Albion reserves |
| 1913-14 | Worcester City |
| 1914-15 | Birmingham reserves |
| 1915-19 | Suspended during World War I |
| 1919-20 | West Bromwich Albion reserves |
| 1920-21 | Wellington Town |
| 1921-22 | Willenhall |
| 1922-23 | Shrewsbury Town |
| 1923-24 | Stourbridge |
| 1924-25 | Worcester City |
| 1925-26 | Cradley Heath |
| 1926-27 | Stafford Rangers |
| 1927-28 | Burton Town |
| 1928-29 | Worcester City |
| 1929-30 | Worcester City |
| 1930-31 | Cradley Heath |
| 1931-32 | Cradley Heath |
| 1932-33 | Wrexham reserves |
| 1933-34 | Wrexham reserves |
| 1934-35 | Wellington Town |
| 1935-36 | Wellington Town |
| 1936-37 | Bristol Rovers reserves |
| 1937-38 | Kidderminster Harriers |
In 1938, to generate additional fixtures, the season was split into two halves, named the "Keys Cup" and the "League Cup"
| Season | Keys Cup | League Cup |
|---|---|---|
| 1938-39 | Kidderminster Harriers | Kidderminster Harriers |
The league returned to a simple format in 1939
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1939-40 | Wellington Town |
| 1940-41 | Hednesford |
| 1941-42 | Aston Villa |
| 1942-46 | Suspended during World War II |
| 1946-47 | Halesowen Town |
| 1947-48 | Kettering Town |
| 1948-49 | Worcester City reserves |
| 1949-50 | Hereford United reserves |
| 1950-51 | Brierley Hill Alliance |
| 1951-52 | Brierley Hill Alliance |
| 1952-53 | Oswestry Town |
| 1953-54 | Wolverhampton Wanderers "A" |
The league was split North/South in 1954.
| Season | North | South |
|---|---|---|
| 1954-55 | Nuneaton Town | Redditch |
In 1955, the North/South Divisions became Divisions One and Two.
| Season | One | Two |
|---|---|---|
| 1955-56 | Nuneaton Borough | Tamworth |
| 1956-57 | Walsall reserves | Bilston |
| 1957-58 | Wolverhampton Wanderers "A" | Oswestry Town |
| 1958-59 | Wolverhampton Wanderers "A" | Birmingham City "A" |
| 1959-60 | Bromsgrove Rovers | Aston Villa "A" |
The league contracted to a single section in 1960.
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1960-61 | Bilston |
| 1961-62 | Lockheed Leamington |
In 1962, the league changed name to the West Midlands (Regional) League
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1962-63 | Lockheed Leamington |
| 1963-64 | Tamworth |
| 1964-65 | Kidderminster Harriers |
The league again split to two divisions in 1965.
| Season | Premier | One |
|---|---|---|
| 1965-66 | Tamworth | Wrockwardine Wood |
| 1966-67 | Boston United | Tamworth reserves |
| 1967-68 | Boston United | Warley |
| 1968-69 | Kidderminster Harriers | Wrockwardine Wood |
| 1969-70 | Kidderminster Harriers | Warley County Borough |
| 1970-71 | Kidderminster Harriers | Brereton Social |
| 1971-72 | Tamworth | Warley County Borough |
| 1972-73 | Bilston | Tividale |
| 1973-74 | Alvechurch | Armitage |
| 1974-75 | Alvechurch | Staffordshire Police |
| 1975-76 | Alvechurch | Willenhall Town |
Division One was split into two parallel divisions, named A and B.
| Season | Premier | One A | One B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-77 | Alvechurch | Wednesfield Social | Wolverhampton United |
After a transitional season, the league adopted a three-tier system in 1977.
| Season | Premier | One | Two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-78 | Hednesford Town | Chasetown | Worcester City reserves |
| 1978-79 | Willenhall Town | Shifnal Town | Ludlow Town |
| 1979-80 | Sutton Coldfield Town | Rushall Olympic | Brewood |
| 1980-81 | Shifnal Town | Oldswinford | Bromsgrove Rovers reserves |
| 1981-82 | Shifnal Town | Atherstone United | GKN Sankeys (Wellington) |
| 1982-83 | Halesowen Town | Brewood | Great Wyrley |
| 1983-84 | Halesowen Town | Tipton Town | Halesowen Town reserves |
| 1984-85 | Halesowen Town | Harrisons | Halesowen Harriers |
| 1985-86 | Halesowen Town | Halesowen Harriers | Springvale-Tranco |
| 1986-87 | Atherstone United | Westfields | Donnington Wood |
| 1987-88 | Tamworth | Rocester | Hinton |
| 1988-89 | Blakenall | Newport Town | Broseley Athletic |
| 1989-90 | Hinckley Town | Darlaston | Hill Top Rangers |
| 1990-91 | Gresley Rovers | Cradley Town | Clancey Dudley |
| 1991-92 | Gresley Rovers | Ilkeston Town | K Chell |
| 1992-93 | Oldbury United | Knypersley Victoria | Rushall Olympic reserves |
In 1993, Division Two was dropped.
| Season | Premier | One |
|---|---|---|
| 1993-94 | Ilkeston Town | Stafford Town |
| 1994-95 | Pelsall Villa | Wolverhampton Casuals |
| 1995-96 | Wednesfield | Goodyear |
Division One was split North/South in 1996.
| Season | Premier | One North | One South |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | Wednesfield | Great Wyrley | Kington Town |
| 1997-98 | Lye Town | Bandon | Smethwick Rangers |
| 1998-99 | Kington Town | Heath Hayes | Wellington |
| 1999-00 | Stafford Town | Shawbury United | Bromyard Town |
| 2000-01 | Ludlow Town | Wolverhampton United | Ledbury Town |
| 2001-02 | Causeway United | Ounsdale | Sedgeley White Lions |
| 2002-03 | Westfields | Newport | Bewdley Town |
| 2003-04 | Malvern Town | Goodrich | Gornal Athletic |
In 2004, the league re-adopted a three-tier hierarchical structure.
| Season | Premier | One | Two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Tipton Town | Great Wyrley | Parkfield Leisure |
| 2005-06 | Market Drayton Town | Ellesmere Rangers | AFC Wulfrunians |
| 2006-07 | Shifnal Town | Darlaston Town | Heath Town Rangers |
| 2007-08 | Bridgnorth Town | Birchills United | Wellington Amateurs |
| 2008-09 | AFC Wulfrunians | Wellington Amateurs | Hanwood United |
| 2009-10 | Ellesmere Rangers | Wellington Amateurs | Black Country Rangers |
| 2010-11 | Tividale | Black Country Rangers | Malvern Rangers |
| 2011-12 | Gornal Athletic | Wellington Amateurs | Haughmond |
| 2012-13 | A F C Wulfrunians | A F C Smethwick | Gornal Athletic reserves |
| 2013-14 | Lye Town | A F C Bridgnorth | A F C Ludlow |
| 2014-15 | Sporting Khalsa | Bromyard Town | Kington Town |
| 2015-16 | Shawbury United | Shifnal Town | Newport Town |
| 2016-17 | Haughmond | Hereford Lads Club | Telford Juniors |
| 2017-18 | Wolverhampton Sporting Community | Wem Town | Sikh Hunters |
| 2018-19 | Tividale | Worcester Raiders | Gornal Colts |
| 2019-20 | Season declared null and void | ||
The F.C.H.D. has the complete final table information for this league. Tables since about 1985 were compiled from contemporary sources, those from before that date were originally sourced from the League's centenary book. Only two of the tables (1948-49 and 1978-79 Division One) do not balance properly.
Please acknowledge the F.C.H.D. when using this information elsewhere