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Blackburn Rovers
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Blackburn Rovers were founded by John Lewis and Arthur Constantine at a public meeting held at the St Leger Hotel in November 1875. In its early years the club had the backing of many wealthy and well-connected Blackburn residents which allowed it to rise above the many clubs plying their trade in the area.
In 1882, Rovers reached the FA Cup Final for the first time, but lost 0-1 to Old Etonians. Local rivals Blackburn Olympic became the first northern club to win the Cup in 1882, and thereafter Rovers won it three times in succession (1884, 1885, 1886). For this feat the club was allowed the unique privilege of displaying the club crest on its corner flags. Rovers were founder members of the Football League in 1888, and although the club seemed to enjoy an ongoing love affair with the F.A. Cup (winning the competition in 1890 and 1891) they remained a formidable league side and won the First Division Championship in 1912 and again in 1914. After a further FA Cup success in 1928 Rovers entered a period of decline. They were relegated in 1936 and, although they bounced back in 1939, they dropped back into Division Two in 1948, and spent much of the Fifties languishing in the Second Division. The Sixties brought a return to Division One and another FA Cup Final in 1960, but the club were now in a downward spiral, which took them down to Division Three by 1971. Promotion in to the Second Division in 1975 was followed by another relegation in 1979, and although the club bounced back to Division Two in 1980, they struggled in the lower reaches of that division until the late Eighties. Following three successive failures in the playoffs in 1988, 1989 and 1990, the club was bought by millionaire and life long fan Jack Walker. Walker recruited Liverpool legend Kenny Dalgleish and he took Rovers back to the top flight in 1992 via the play-offs. Walker also invested millions to secure leading players, such as Alan Shearer. In 1995, Rovers won the Premier League title, their first trophy for 81 years. This success however proved to be unsustainable and, just four years after being champions, Rovers were back in the second tier. Jack Walker died in August 2000, and at the end of that season Blackburn Rovers returned to the Premiership. They were League Cup winners in 2002.
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