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Burnley FC started life as a rugby club called Burnley Rovers.

In 1882 the members decided to switch codes and dropped "Rovers" from their name. Six years later, in 1888, the club were invited to join the newly formed Football League.

A Poor Start

They made a poor start to their league career, and had to apply for re-election in their first two seasons. In 1897, they were relegated and although they bounced back the following year, they were relegated again in 1900.

FA Cup Winners and League Champions

In 1913, they returned to the First Division, and in 1914, they won the FA Cup. Then, in 1921, they were Division One champions for the first time.

Unfortunately, the club was unable to build on this success and in 1930, they were relegated to Division Two where they stayed until after the Second World War.

The first post-war season saw the club achieve promotion back to Division One and reach the FA Cup final where they lost 1-0 to Charlton Athletic.

A Second League Title

Throughout the Fifties, Burnley were a leading Division One side, and in 1960, they won their second League title.

In 1962 they came close to achieving the double, finishing as runners-up to Ipswich Town in the league and losing 3-1 to Spurs in the FA Cup Final.

Burnley FC in Europe

They continued to do well as a Division One side throughout the Sixties, and in 1967 reached the quarter-final of the Inter Cities Fairs Cup (forerunner of the UEFA Cup).

In 1968, they were League Cup semi-finalists, but in 1971 the club was relegated to Division Two.

In 1973 the "Clarets" were Second Division champions and the following year they finished a respectable 6th in Division One and reached the FA Cup semi-final.

An Alarming Slide through the Divisions

They were relegated again in 1976 and this time fell into a steep decline. By 1986, they were in Division Four and in 1987 the former League Champions only avoided relegation to the Conference on the final day of the season.

1992 saw them finish as Division Four champions and in 1994 they were promoted to Division One (second tier). Relegation followed in 1996, but in 2000 they were back in Division One.

Top Flight Cameo

In 2009, Burnley secured promotion to the Premier League via a 1-0 defeat of Sheffield United in the play-off final. However, their top flight stay was to be a brief one, and they were relegated at the end of the 2009/2010 season.

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