The
origins of Preston North End can be
traced to the early 1860's, when it
utilized land also
used by
various other sports clubs on the Ribble estuary, known as the Marsh. Preston remained there until 1867, when it moved to a new field on Moor Park. In 1875, Preston
acquired a
lease of the
ground at
Deepdale, where it
settled and which remains the
club's home today.
From its
beginnings as a
cricket and
rugby club, Preston finally adopted
association football in the late 1870s, playing its first game against Eagley in the 1878-79 season.
The
club's
stature grew significantly in the 1880s; by 1887 it was
recognized as being the
best football team in
England, despite only having the Lancashire Cup to show for the
acclaim. In 1888 it became one of the twelve
founder members of the English
Football League. In that season Preston won the inaugural
League Championship (without
losing a
game) and also the
FA Cup (without
conceding a
goal), defeating
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 in the final, thereby becoming the
first club to win the "
Double". The club won the
League Championship the following year, and such was the
club's
dominance in
English football at this time that it was
dubbed "the
Invincibles".
On 31st August 1893, Preston North End Football Club was incorporated to acquire the
club's
business. During the early decades of the twentieth century the
club enjoyed
little success but the late 1930s, the 1940s and the 1950s saw the
golden era in Preston's history. During this
period, the
club fielded some of
Britain's best known players of the time - Bill Shankly, Tom Finney (the club's current President) and Tommy Docherty - attracting
attendances of over 30,000 for games at Deepdale.
The
club enjoyed Old
First Division status for the last time in 1961 and there then followed a
period of
decline with the club dropping into the Old
Second Division. The
club's lack of
success on the
field continued through to the 1990s.
In its
history the
club has provided over 30 players to the four national teams of
England,
Scotland,
Wales and
Northern Ireland. In recent years, it has also produced
Republic of Ireland internationals such as Mark Lawrenson and
Alan Kelly.
Recent
success started with the
appointment of John Beck as
manager.
Attendances have
risen to an
average of nearly 9,000 per
game at
home. The
development of
Deepdale has been underway since mid-1995 resulting with the
opening of the 8000 all-seater Tom Finney stand in March 1996. The remaining stands are all due for replacement over the coming seasons, to provide the Club with one of the most modern
grounds in
England.
Historical league table:
Place Year and League GP W D L GF GA PTS
1st 1888-89 Football League 22 18 4 0 74 15 40
1st 1889-90 Football League 22 15 3 4 71 30 33
2nd 1890-91 Football League 22 12 3 7 44 23 27
2nd 1891-92 Football League 26 18 1 7 61 31 37
2nd 1892-93 Old First Division 30 17 3 10 57 39 37
14th 1893-94 Old First Division 30 10 3 17 44 56 23
***Retained status after Test Match (Preston North End 4, Notts County 0)***
4th 1894-95 Old First Division 30 15 5 10 62 46 35
9th 1895-96 Old First Division 30 11 6 13 44 48 28
4th 1896-97 Old First Division 30 11 12 7 55 40 34
12th 1897-98 Old First Division 30 8 8 14 35 43 43
15th 1898-99 Old First Division 34 10 9 15 44 47 29
16th 1899-00 Old First Division 34 12 4 18 38 48 28
17th 1900-01 Old First Division 34 9 7 18 49 75 25
***Relegated to Old Second Division***
3rd 1901-02 Old Second Division 34 18 6 10 71 32 42
7th 1902-03 Old Second Division 34 13 10 11 56 40 36
1st 1903-04 Old Second Division 34 20 10 4 62 24 50
***Promoted to Old First Division***
8th 1904-05 Old First Division 34 13 10 11 42 37 36
2nd 1905-06 Old First Division 38 17 13 8 54 39 47
14th 1906-07 Old First Division 38 14 7 17 44 57 35
12th 1907-08 Old First Division 38 12 12 14 47 53 36
10th 1908-09 Old First Division 38 13 11 14 48 44 37
12th 1909-10 Old First Division 38 15 5 18 52 58 35
14th 1910-11 Old First Division 38 12 11 15 40 49 35
19th 1911-12 Old First Division 38 13 7 18 40 57 33
***Relegated to Old Second Division***
1st 1912-13 Old Second Division 38 19 15 4 56 33 53
***Promoted to Old First Division***
19th 1913-14 Old First Division 38 12 6 20 52 69 30
***Relegated to Old Second Division***
2nd 1914-15 Old Second Division 38 20 10 8 61 42 50
***League cancelled due to WWI***
19th 1919-20 Old First Division 42 14 10 18 57 73 38
16th 1920-21 Old First Division 42 15 9 18 61 65 39
16th 1921-22 Old First Division 42 13 12 17 42 65 38
16th 1922-23 Old First Division 42 13 11 18 60 64 37
18th 1923-24 Old First Division 42 12 10 20 52 67 34
21st 1924-25 Old First Division 42 10 6 26 37 74 26
***Relegated to Old Second Division***
12th 1925-26 Old Second Division 42 18 7 17 71 84 43
6th 1926-27 Old Second Division 42 20 9 13 74 72 49
4th 1927-28 Old Second Division 42 22 9 11 100 66 53
13th 1928-29 Old Second Division 42 15 9 18 78 79 39
16th 1929-30 Old Second Division 42 13 11 18 65 80 37
7th 1930-31 Old Second Division 42 17 11 14 83 64 45
13th 1931-32 Old Second Division 42 16 10 16 75 77 42
9th 1932-33 Old Second Division 42 16 10 16 74 70 42
2nd 1933-34 Old Second Division 42 23 6 13 71 52 52
***Promoted to Old First Division***
11th 1934-35 Old First Division 42 15 12 15 62 67 42
7th 1935-36 Old First Division 42 18 8 16 67 64 44
14th 1936-37 Old First Division 42 14 13 15 56 67 41
3rd 1937-38 Old First Division 42 16 17 9 64 44 49
9th 1938-39 Old First Division 42 16 12 14 63 59 44
***League abandoned due to WWII***
7th 1946-47 Old First Division 42 18 11 13 76 74 47
7th 1947-48 Old First Division 42 20 7 15 67 68 47
21st 1948-49 Old First Division 42 11 11 20 62 75 33
***Relegated to Old Second Division***
6th 1949-50 Old Second Division 42 18 9 15 60 49 45
1st 1950-51 Old Second Division 42 26 5 11 91 49 57
***Promoted to Old First Division***
7th 1951-52 Old First Division 42 17 12 13 74 54 46
2nd 1952-53 Old First Division 42 21 12 9 85 60 54
***Lost title on goal average***
11th 1953-54 Old First Division 42 19 5 18 87 58 43
14th 1954-55 Old First Division 42 16 8 18 83 64 40
19th 1955-56 Old First Division 42 14 8 20 73 72 36
3rd 1956-57 Old First Division 42 23 10 9 84 56 56
2nd 1957-58 Old First Division 42 26 7 9 100 51 59
12th 1958-59 Old First Division 42 17 7 18 70 77 41
9th 1959-60 Old First Division 42 16 12 14 79 76 44
22nd 1960-61 Old First Division 42 10 10 22 43 71 30
***Relegated to Old Second Division***
10th 1961-62 Old Second Division 42 15 10 17 55 57 40
17th 1962-63 Old Second Division 42 13 11 18 59 74 37
3rd 1963-64 Old Second Division 42 23 10 9 79 54 56
12th 1964-65 Old Second Division 42 14 13 15 76 81 41
17th 1965-66 Old Second Division 42 11 15 16 62 70 37
13th 1966-67 Old Second Division 42 16 7 19 65 67 39
20th 1967-68 Old Second Division 42 12 11 19 43 65 35
14th 1968-69 Old Second Division 42 12 15 15 38 44 39
22nd 1969-70 Old Second Division 42 8 12 22 43 63 28
***Relegated to Old Third Division***
1st 1970-71 Old Third Division 46 22 17 7 63 39 61
***Promoted to Old Second Division
18th 1971-72 Old Second Division 42 12 12 18 52 58 36
19th 1972-73 Old Second Division 42 11 12 19 37 64 34
21st 1973-74 Old Second Division 42 9 14 19 40 62 31
***Relegated to Old Third Division, one point deducted for fielding an ineligible
player***
9th 1974-75 Old Third Division 46 19 11 16 63 56 49
8th 1975-76 Old Third Division 46 19 10 17 62 57 48
6th 1976-77 Old Third Division 46 21 12 13 64 43 54
3rd 1977-78 Old Third Division 46 20 16 10 63 38 56
***Promoted to Old Second Division on goal average***
7th 1978-79 Old Second Division 42 12 18 12 59 57 42
10th 1979-80 Old Second Division 42 12 19 11 56 52 43
20th 1980-81 Old Second Division 42 11 14 17 41 62 36
***Relegated to Old Third Division on goal difference, wins count for three points
instead of two***
14th 1981-82 Old Third Division 46 16 13 17 50 56 61
16th 1982-83 Old Third Division 46 15 13 18 60 69 58
16th 1983-84 Old Third Division 46 15 11 20 66 66 56
23rd 1984-85 Old Third Division 46 13 7 26 51 100 46
***Relegated to Old Fourth Division***
23rd 1985-86 Old Fourth Division 46 11 10 25 54 89 43
2nd 1986-87 Old Fourth Division 46 26 12 8 72 47 90
***Promoted to Old Third Division***
16th 1987-88 Old Third Division 46 15 13 18 48 59 58
6th 1988-89 Old Third Division 46 19 15 12 79 60 72
***Lose to Port Vale in Promotion Playoff Semifinal***
19th 1989-90 Old Third Division 46 14 10 22 65 79 52
17th 1990-91 Old Third Division 46 15 11 20 54 67 56
17th 1991-92 Old Third Division 46 15 12 19 61 72 57
***Old Third Division renamed to Second Division upon creation of English Premier
League***
21st 1992-93 Second Division 46 13 8 25 65 94 47
***Relegated to Third Division***
5th 1993-94 Third Division 42 18 13 11 79 60 67
***Lose to Wycombe Wanderers in Promotion Playoff Final***
5th 1994-95 Third Division 42 19 10 13 58 41 67
***Lose to Bury in Promotion Playoff Semifinal***
1st 1995-96 Third Division 46 23 17 6 78 38 86
***Promoted to Second Division***
15th 1996-97 Second Division 46 18 7 21 49 55 61
15th 1997-98 Second Division 46 15 14 17 56 56 59
5th 1998-99 Second Division 46 22 13 11 78 50 79
***Lose to Gillingham in Promotion Playoff Semifinal***
1st 1999-00 Second Division 46 28 11 7 74 37 95
***Promoted to First Division***
4th 2000-01 First Division 46 23 9 14 64 52 78
***Lose to Bolton Wanderers in Promotion Playoff Final***
8th 2001-02 First Division 46 20 12 14 71 59 72
12th 2002-03 First Division 46 16 13 17 68 70 61
15th 2003-04 First Division 46 15 14 17 69 71 59
***First Division renamed Championship]
5th 2004-05 Championship 46 21 12 13 67 58 75
***Lose to West Ham United in Promotion Playoff Final***
4th 2005-06 Championship 46 20 20 6 59 30 80
***Lose to Leeds United in Promotion Playoff Semifinal***
7th 2006-07 Championship 46 22 8 16 64 53 74