Throwback: When West Brom ruled England

Yesterday marked 100 years since the Baggies won their first – and only – top-flight title to date.

It was on April 10, 1920, that Albion officially became the best team in the country.

They did it on home soil, beating Bradford Park Avenue 3-1 at The Hawthorns in front of a crowd of 29,500.

Claude Jephcott, Alf Bentley and Sid Bowser were on the men on target that day.

And that win helped bring to a close one of the most high profile seasons in English football history.

It’s fair to say the 1919/20 campaign was one fans had looked forward to like no other.

For the previous four years, football had been suspended following the outbreak of World War One.

Albion weren’t tipped to do overly well before a ball had been kicked, with the Baggies having built up a reputation as a cup team.

But in what was football’s first ever 42-game season, the team made up completely of Black Country men went on to play some truly irresistible football.

In total, Albion won 28 of their 42 games, scoring a league-record 104 goals as they racked up a record-breaking 60 points.

That meant they finished nine points ahead of eventual runners-up Burnley.

Chelsea, Liverpool and Sunderland completed the top five.

Some of Albion’s most entertaining encounters came against Villa – who finished ninth that year, but went on to win the FA Cup.

As was the case in those days, the teams played their two fixtures back-to-back.

Albion lost to their rivals at The Hawthorns on November 10, 1919 – with the Baggies slipping to a 2-1 defeat.

But they got their revenge just five days later when they secured a thumping 4-2 win at Villa Park.

After securing the title, striker Fred Morris later became the first player to score over 30 times in a single season for the club, his 37 goals all coming in the league.

Winning the First Division was particularly sweet for Baggies skipper Jesse Pennington.

Then in his 38th year, he was nearing the end of a career in which he played more than 500 senior games at full-back – and didn’t score a single goal.

A month after their league success, Albion went on to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at White Hart Lane to lift the Charity Shield.