Coventry City F.C. - History in Brief

History in Brief

• 1883 – The club is founded by employees of Singer, the cycle firm, with William Stanley one of the leading lights.
• 1898 – The club's name is changed from Singers F.C. to Coventry City.
• 1899 – The club move to Highfield Road following stints at Dowells Field and Stoke Road.
• 1901 – The club suffer their worst ever defeat with an 11–2 loss against Worcester-based Berwick Rangers in the qualifying round of the FA Cup.
• 1919 – The club are voted into the Football League, where they have remained ever since.
• 1928 – In the cold of February, and with Coventry struggling near the foot of Division Three South, the club's worst ever attendance is recorded. Only 2,059 turn up for the match against Crystal Palace.
• 1932 – Centre-forward Clarrie Bourton heads the Football League scoring lists with 49 goals. The following season he scored 40 goals.
• 1934 – City record their biggest ever victory a 9–0 league drubbing of Bristol City.
• 1936 – Coventry City win the Third Division South championship after a nail-biting final day 2–1 victory over Torquay United and return to Division Two after eleven years in the lower division.
• 1958 – Goalkeeper Alf Wood becomes the oldest player to start a game for the club, which this year was a founding member of Division Four (now Football League Two). He played against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup aged 43 years and 207 days.
• 1961 – Former Fulham player and PFA chairman Jimmy Hill is appointed manager following an embarrassing FA Cup defeat at home to non-league King's Lynn.
• 1964 – Jimmy Hill guides Coventry to promotion from Division Three (now Football League One) as champions after a final day 1–0 victory over Colchester United.
• 1967 – Coventry City promoted as Second Division champions to the top flight for the first time in their history. This made manager and BBC Sport presenter Jimmy Hill a legend at the club. Coventry's record attendance was also set in this year – officially recorded as 51,455, (although many people who were at that game suggest the attendance was a lot higher, possibly much over 60,000) against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the team that finished a close second to Coventry at the top of the table.
• 1969-70 – Under Noel Cantwell, Coventry finish 6th in the First Division, their highest League placing.
• 1970 – Coventry qualified for the European Fairs Cup (now the UEFA Europa League) but lost 7–3 on aggregate in the second round to Bayern Munich, despite winning the second leg 2–1 at Highfield Road.
• 1977 – Coventry City escaped relegation after drawing with Bristol City who also escaped relegation. The result of this game relegated Sunderland, which has caused many disuputes over the outcome of the match due to the result of the Sunderland game being relayed to Coventry City and Bristol City players for the remainder of the game.
• 1978 – The strike partnership of Ian Wallace and Mick Ferguson helped the Sky Blues finish in seventh position in the First Division, their second-highest ever final league placing, but fractionally missing out on a UEFA Cup place.
• 1981 – The club reaches the League Cup semi-final but are denied their first Wembley appearance by West Ham United, despite being 2–1 ahead after the first leg. Highfield Road becomes England's first all-seater stadium.
• 1987 – The Sky Blues won the FA Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur in the final. It is their only major trophy to date. They were runners-up to Everton in August in the Charity Shield. Coventry also won the FA Youth Cup in this year.
• 1989 – Coventry were defeated by non-league Sutton United in the FA Cup Third Round, only 19 months after lifting the trophy. However, their impressive league form meant they equalled their best ever end of season placing, finishing in the top seven once more.
• 1990 – Coventry reached the League Cup semi-final for the second time, but were defeated by eventual winners Nottingham Forest.
• 1998 – The club reached the FA Cup quarter-final but were denied a semi-final appearance as Sheffield United (a league below them) won the replay at Bramall Lane on penalties. They also attained their highest Premier League finish of 11th position. Dion Dublin earned the top scorer award, the only one for the club and the second of two players for clubs which never made the top three in the League.
• 2001 – Coventry relegated from the Premier League after 34 years in the first tier. At the time, only Liverpool, Everton and Arsenal could boast longer tenures in the top flight.
• 2004 – Their football academy, based in southeast Coventry at The Alan Higgs Centre, owned by the Alan Higgs Centre Trust, was opened in September 2004.
• 2005 – Coventry relocated to the 32,609 seater Ricoh Arena after 106 years at Highfield Road. The club's last game at Highfield Road stadium results in a scintillating 6–2 win over Midlands rivals Derby County in front of a sell-out 23,000 crowd.
• 2007 – Coventry narrowly avoided administration when Ray Ranson and hedge fund managers SISU took over the club with twenty minutes to spare.
• 2008 – The club celebrated its 125th anniversary. They avoided relegation to League One despite being beaten 4–1 at Charlton on the final day of the season.
• 2009 – The first ever complete sell-out of the Ricoh Arena was announced for the FA Cup quarter-final match against Chelsea on 7 March 2009 which Chelsea won 2–0.
• 2010 – The Ricoh Arena was selected to host matches of the London 2012 Olympics, in the football tournament. The ground will be renamed The City of Coventry Stadium.
• 2011 – Coventry unveil a statue of former manager and Sky Blues' legend Jimmy Hill next to the ground and attain the longest tenure (11 consecutive seasons) within the Championship division.
• 2012 – On 21 April, Coventry are relegated to League One (the third tier in English Football) for the first time in 48 years, following a 0–2 home defeat to bottom of the table Doncaster Rovers.