Hotspur Football Club was founded on September 5 1882. In April 1884 they were renamed Tottenham Hotspur.
They took part in the Southern Alliance League and in 1896 were included in Division One of the Southern League.
In 1900 they won the Southern League and in 1901 won the FA Cup (Sheffield United 3-1), the first non-National First Division club to do so.
In 1908 they turned professional and in 1908-09 were promoted to the national top flight.
In 1914-15 they were relegated but were promoted in 1919-20. They then won the FA Cup for the second time (Wolves 1-0) and the Charity Shield and finished 2nd in the league.
Things then went downhill and in 1929 Spurs were relegated again and only came up in 1933, then finishing 2nd but getting relegated once more in 1935.
Between playing in the Second Division and the interruption due to World War Two the Londoners only made their way back to Division 1 in 1950, winning the second flight.
The year later however, the Lillywhites won their first league title. The manager was Arthur Rowe and top scorer was Sonny Walters with 15 league goals. The squad also included greats such as Alf Ramsey, Harry Clarke, Ron Burgess, Tony Marchi (later to play in Italy), Les Medley, Bill Nicholson, Les Bennett, Len Duquemin and Eddie Bailey.
In 1951-52 Tottenham finished 2nd but won the Charity Shield. Spurs then struggled with 10th, 16th, 16th, 18th places until they were competitive again in the late 1950's with a 2nd place and two 3rd places.
In 1960-61 Tottenham won the league for the second time and the FA Cup, the famous double (beating Leicester City 2-0). The manager was former player Bill Nicholson and top scorer was Bobby Smith with 33 goals (28 in league). The squad also included legendary captain Danny Blanchflower, Ron Henry, Dave Mackay, John White, Les Allen, Terry Dyson and Welshmen Cliff Jones and Terry Medwin.
The 1960's were Spurs' glory years. They won two more FA Cups (1962, 1967), a European Cup Winners Cup (Atlético Madrid 5-1, 1963) and three Charity Shields (1962, 1963, 1968). In the 1960's the main star was striker Jimmy Greaves who scored 220 league goals and a total of 266 between 1961 and 1970. Other stars included keeper Pat Jennings, Joe Kinnear, Cyril Knowles, Alan Mullery, Mike England and Alan Gilzean. There was also however a tragedy when 27-year old star player John White was killed by a lightning bolt while playing golf in Middlesex on July 21 1964.
The 1970's started well with two League Cups (1971, 1973), a UEFA Cup (Wolves 3-2 on aggregate, 1972) and a 3rd place in the league in 1971 but then deteriorated. After 8th, 11th, 19th and 9th places, in 1977 Tottenham were relegated but won immediate promotion with the arrival of two Argentines, Ossie Ardiles and Ricardo Villa.
The 1980's started well too. With the two Argentines and the likes of Steve Perryman, Glenn Hoddle, Garth Crooks, Spurs won two consecutive FA Cups (Man City 3-2 in 1981 and QPR 1-0 in 1982) under manager Keith Burkinshaw. In 1984 they won a second UEFA Cup (Anderlecht on penalties), with players such as Steve Archibald and Gary Stevens. They never challenged for the title but finished 3rd twice, in 1987 and 1990, helped by the arrival in 1988 of Paul Gascoigne who teamed up with Gary Lineker, under manager Terry Venables.
The 1990's again started well as Tottenham won the FA Cup in 1991, under Venables. It was in the victorious 2-1 final against Nottingham Forest that Paul Gascoigne, who had already signed for Lazio, broke his leg. In 1992 Spurs won the Charity Shield but then finished 8th, 15th, 7th, 8th,10th, 14th, 11th and 10th in the league. In 1999 however, they won their 3rd League Cup (Leicester City 1-0), under manager George Graham. This remains their most recent silverware. In this period the club owner was Alan Sugar (1991-2001).
In 2001 Daniel Levy took over the ownership of the club (he is still there today). The 2000's saw little glory apart from another League Cup in 2008 (Chelsea 2-1) under manager Juande Ramos. In the league they finished 12th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 9th, 5th, 5th, 11th, 8th and 4th.
Since 2010 Spurs have been more competitive despite not winning any silverware. They have finished 2nd (2017), 3rd (2016, 2018), 4th (2012, 2019, 2022) and 5th (2011, 2013, 2015). In 2019 they reached the final of the Champions League, under Mauricio Pochettino, but lost 0-2 to Liverpool and have also been runners up twice in the League Cup (Chelsea 0-2 in 2015 and Manchester City 0-1 in 2021). So, it is 16 years since Tottenham won a trophy.
Tottenham this year finished 5th in the Premier League, under manager Ange Postecoglou. They missed out on a Champions League qualification by two points but qualified for the Europa League where they could play Lazio again.
Tottenham have had an up and down history but are considered one of the big six of English football and are the 5th most successful club.
Until 2019 they played their games at White Hart Lane built in 1889 but then moved to the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Their symbol is a fighting Cockerel and the club colours are white and dark blue. Their main rivals are fellow North Londoners, Arsenal but also, albeit to a lesser degree, Chelsea and West Ham United.
The fan base has a Jewish connection as the club was founded in the Jewish areas of London, Tottenham and Haringey. In the 1930's up to a third of their fans were thought to be Jewish, as were Tottenham's first three chairmen. This led to some racist abuse especially in the 1960's and 70's. In response Tottenham fans started calling themselves "Yids" and "Yids Army". Nowadays Tottenham have no more Jewish fans than other clubs but the association has stuck.
Tottenham's main song from 1960-61 is "Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur" and the official song is by Chas and Dave. Another popular song is "Glory Glory Hallelujah".
Famous Tottenham fans include philosopher A. J. Ayer, singers Phil Collins and Adele and actor Tom Holland.
Tottenham's player with the most appearances is Steve Perryman with 854 while top goal scorer is Harry Kane with 280 ahead of Greaves 268 and Bobby Smith 208.
Tottenham greats from the modern era who have not been mentioned include: Martin Chivers, Keith Osgood, Peter Taylor, Gary Mabbutt, Clive Allen, Paul Allen, Erik Thorstvedt, Jürgen Klinsmann, David Ginola, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Christian Eriksen up to current players Son Heung -min and Ben Davies.
On a personal note my grandfather, who played for Cardiff City and Bristol City in the 1930's, is alleged to have got a call from Tottenham (so family legend has it) but turned them down following his father's advice who told him there was more money and stability in the family milk business…. different times.
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