The history of Norwich City F.C. stretches back to 1902. After a brief period in amateur football, Norwich City F.C. spent 15 years as a semi-professional team in the Southern League before admission to English Football League in 1920. For most of the next 50 years, Norwich City F.C. played in Division Three (South), then the joint lowest tier of the football league, a period that was distinguished by "a thrilling giant-killing sequence which took them to the FA Cup semi-finals" in 1959. Shortly afterwards, the club won its first major trophy, the 1962 League Cup. Norwich finally reached the pinnacle of the league structure in 1972, with their first promotion to the top tier.
Since then, Norwich City has acquired a reputation as a "yo-yo club", with, to the end of the 2017–18 season, 25 seasons in the top league and 19 in the second tier. This period also includes one season in the third tier. It is during this period that the club has achieved most of its greatest distinctions, claiming its second major trophy, the League Cup in 1985, reaching two more FA Cup semi finals,1989 and 1992, finishing fifth, fourth and third in the top division and beating Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup.
In the course of its history, Norwich City has survived incidents that threatened its survival, including ousting from amateur football, the need to be re-elected to The Football League and financial crises. Geoffrey Watling, who was to become club chairman and after whom a stand at the club's stadium, Carrow Road is named, was instrumental in saving the club from bankruptcy, both in the 1950s and 1990s; his father had played a similar role in 1919.
Early years: 1902–1930
Norwich City F.C. was formed following a meeting at the Criterion Cafe in Norwich on 17 June 1902 by a group of friends led by two former Norwich CEYMS players, and played their first competitive match against Harwich & Parkeston, at Newmarket Road on 6 September 1902. They also joined the Norfolk & Suffolk League for the 1902–03 season.Norfolk & Suffol League 1897–1939 Non-League Matters Originally, the club was nicknamed the Citizens, and played in light blue and white halved shirts. The popular pastime of canary rearing had given rise to the team's nickname of "The Canaries" by April 1905, and by February 1907 this moniker had been adopted by the national press. The following season, inspired by the nickname, City played for the first time in Canary livery; yellow shirts with green collars and cuffs. A local paper reported that "The Cits are dead but the Canaries are very much alive".
Norwich played for just over two seasons as an amateur club under The Football Association (FA). Following an FA Commission of inquiry, the club was informed on the last day of 1904 that they had been deemed a professional organisation and hence ineligible to compete in amateur football. The main allegations were: fees ... paid for the use of a gymnasium and also for the training and massage of players. The sum of £8 was also paid to a player when he left the club. Payments were made to players without a receipt being taken. The club advertised for players ... [the] secretary ... spent considerable sums of money in travelling to other towns in East Anglia ... complete outfits ... were bought for players out of club funds ... there was no adequate system for checking gate money ... travelling expenses were ... excessive. The club officials, including founding chairman Robert Webster, had to be removed from office and Norwich were to be ousted from the amateur game at the end of the season. The response was swift: at a meeting, just two days later, Wilfrid Lawson Burgess became the first chairman of the professional club and it was resolved to find a place in the professional game. The decision was endorsed at a public meeting in March 1905, a meeting that, significantly, was attended by Nat Whitaker, secretary of the Southern League. He seconded a motion proposed by a local businessman that endorsed the club's "... determination to run a first class professional team". Whitaker actively supported Norwich, as he wanted the league's influence to spread eastwards. On 30 May 1905, they were elected to play in the Southern League, in place of Wellingborough.
With increasing attendances at matches and strict new clauses included in a proposed lease extension, Norwich were forced to leave Newmarket Road and move to a converted disused chalk pit in Rosary Road which became known as "The Nest". Works at The Nest, which included dismantling and moving the stands from Newmarket Road, were complete in time for the start of the 1908–09 season. On 10 December 1917, with football suspended during the First World War and the club facing spiralling debts, City went into voluntary liquidation. The club was officially reformed on 15 February 1919; a key figure in the events was a Mr C Watling, father of future club chairman, Geoffrey Watling. In May 1920, the Football League formed a Third Division, to which Norwich was admitted for the following season. Their first league fixture, against Plymouth, on 28 August 1920, ended in a 1–1 draw. The club endured a mediocre first decade in the league, finishing no higher than eighth but no lower than 18th. It was during this period that the players began to wear a canary emblem on their shirts. A simple canary badge was first adopted in 1922; a variation is used to this day.
Striving to reach the top level: 1930–1972 The 1930s began with a brush with disaster – the side finished bottom of the league in 1931, but were successful in their bid for re-election. The rest of the decade proved more successful for Norwich, with a club-record victory, 10–2, over Coventry City and promotion to the Second Division as champions in the 1933–34 season under the management of Tom Parker.
With rising crowds and the Football Association raising concerns over the suitability of The Nest, the club considered renovation, but ultimately decided on a move to Carrow Road. The original stadium was terraced on three sides, with only one stand (along Carrow Road) having wooden bench seating and a roof. Construction took 82 days and the inaugural match at the new ground, held on 31 August 1935, against West Ham United, ended in a 4–3 victory for the home team and set a new record attendance of 29,779. A highlight of the fourth season at Carrow Road was the visit of King George VI on 29 October 1938; this was the first occasion a reigning monarch attended a second-tier football match. The club was relegated back to the Third Division at the end of the season. Norwich's anguish was exacerbated by the closeness of the relegation fight; having finished second from bottom of Division Two, they were demoted on a goal average difference of just 0.05.
The league was suspended the following season as a result of the outbreak of the Second World War, and professional play did not resume until the 1946–47 season. City finished this and the following season in 21st place, the poor results forcing the club to apply for re-election to the league. The lacklustre performances did not deter the crowds, and, in 1948, Carrow Road attracted its record attendance; 37,863 spectators watched City play Notts County. The club narrowly missed out on promotion under the guidance of manager Norman Low in the early 1950s, but following the return of Tom Parker as manager, Norwich finished bottom of the football league in the 1956–57 season. Events off the field were to overshadow the team's performances as the club faced financial difficulties severe enough to render them non-viable. With debts amounting to more than £20,000, the club was rescued by the formation of a new board, chaired by Geoffrey Watling and the creation of an appeal fund chaired by the Lord Mayor of Norwich, Arthur South, which raised more than £20,000. For these and other services to the club, both men (now deceased) were later honoured by having stands named after them at Carrow Road.
Archie Macaulay became manager when the club was reformed and he oversaw one of the club's greatest achievements, its run to the semi-final of the 1958–59 FA Cup. Competing as a Third Division side, Norwich defeated two First Division opponents along the way, notably a 3–0 win against the Manchester United "Busby Babes". City lost the semi-final only after a replay against another First Division side, Luton Town. The team of 1958–59 – including Terry Bly who scored seven goals in the run, and Ken Nethercott who played most of the second half of one match in goal despite a dislocated shoulder – is today well represented in the club Hall of Fame. The "59 Cup Run" as it is now known locally, "remains as one of the truly great periods in Norwich City's history". Norwich were the third-ever Third Division team to reach the FA Cup semi-final. In the 1959–60 season, Norwich were promoted to the Second Division after finishing second to Southampton, and achieved a fourth-place finish in the 1960–61 season. From 1960, Norwich spent the next 12 seasons in the second tier, with finishes of fourth in 1961 and sixth in 1965 being among the most notable.
In 1962, Ron Ashman guided Norwich to their first trophy, defeating Rochdale 4–0 on aggregate in a two-legged final to win the League Cup. Norwich finally achieved promotion from Division Two when they finished as champions in the 1971–72 season under manager Ron Saunders; Norwich City had reached the highest level of English football for the first time.
First division yo-yo: 1972–1992
Norwich made their first appearance at Wembley Stadium in 1973, losing the League Cup final 1–0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Relegation to the Second Division in 1974 resulted in the resignation of Saunders and the appointment of John Bond. A highly successful first season saw promotion back to the First Division and another visit to Wembley, again in the League Cup final, this time losing 1–0 to Aston Villa. They remained in the top-tier of English football for another six seasons. The club finished tenth in the 1975–76 season; at the time their highest ever finish. Off the field, during Bond's tenure, a new River End stand was constructed at Carrow Road. Bond resigned during the 1980–81 season and the club were relegated, but bounced back the following season after finishing third.
The 1984–85 season was one of mixed fortunes for the club; a fire gutted the old Main Stand on 25 October 1984 but on the pitch, under Ken Brown's management, they reached the final of the Milk Cup at Wembley Stadium. They defeated local rivals Ipswich Town in the semi-final. In the final, they beat Sunderland 1–0, but in the league both Norwich and Sunderland were relegated to the second tier of English football. Norwich had qualified for a place in the UEFA Cup, but were denied their first foray into European competition when English club sides were banned, following the Heysel Stadium disaster. City made an immediate return to the top flight by winning the Second Division championship in the 1985–86 season. High league placing in the First Division in 1988–89 would have been enough for UEFA Cup qualification, but the ban on English clubs was still in place. They also had good cup runs during his period, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 1989 and again in 1992.
Europe, rise and fall: 1992–1999