 = History of Bradford City A.F.C. = 
 
 Bradford City Association Football Club — also known informally as Bradford City — are an English football club founded in Bradford in 1903 to introduce the sport to the West Riding of Yorkshire , which until then had been almost entirely inclined towards rugby league . Before they had even played their first game , City were elected to the Football League to replace Doncaster Rovers in Division Two , and took over the Valley Parade stadium , which has been their permanent home ground ever since . The club won the Division Two title in 1908 and the FA Cup in 1911 , both under the management of Peter O 'Rourke , before they were relegated from Division One in 1921 – 22 . 
 City were relegated again five seasons later , but when O 'Rourke was reappointed as manager before the 1928 – 29 season , they broke several club records to earn promotion back to Division Two . After eight seasons in Division Two , City returned to Division Three , and they remained in the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system until 1985 – 86 . During that time , they endured several periods of financial hardship , and in 1985 , their ground suffered a disastrous fire in which 56 people died , on a day the club and their fans were supposed to be celebrating promotion . 
 In 1987 – 88 , the club came close to returning to the top division when they missed out on promotion on the final day of the season . Following relegation back to Division Three , after Geoffrey Richmond became chairman in January 1994 the club 's fortunes were lifted . He helped to take them to their first appearance at Wembley and subsequently into the Premier League , where they played for two seasons . Following Richmond 's self @-@ proclaimed " six weeks of madness " and the collapse of television channel ITV Digital , the club suffered its first spell in administration . Another period under administration followed , and City dropped through the leagues of professional English football back to the bottom tier of The Football League , until promotion in 2012 – 13 brought them back up a division . In January 2013 , City became the first club from the fourth tier of English football since 1962 to reach the Football League Cup final , and the first fourth @-@ tier club ever to reach a major Wembley Cup Final . 
 
 = = Early successes ( 1903 – 19 ) = = 
 
 League football was established in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1894 when the West Yorkshire League was formed . A year later the Bradford Schools Football and Athletic Association abandoned its rugby roots to adopt the association football code . Several clubs across Bradford , including Bradford ( Park Avenue ) , also adopted the code during the latter years of the 19th century . By 1901 , a team called Bradford City had played in the leagues within the city , playing for two seasons , but disbanded at the end of the 1902 – 03 season . On 30 January 1903 , Scotsman James Whyte , a sub @-@ editor of the Bradford Observer , met with Football Association representative John Brunt at Valley Parade , the home of Manningham Football Club , to discuss establishing a Football League club within the city . Manningham FC were a rugby league club formed in 1880 and became a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895 . A series of meetings was held , and on 29 May 1903 , at the 23rd annual meeting of Manningham FC , the committee decided to leave the rugby code and switch to association football . The Football League , which saw the invitation as a chance to introduce football to the rugby league @-@ dominated area of the West Riding , elected the club , which had been renamed Bradford City , to the league with a total of 30 votes to replace Doncaster Rovers . 
 Bradford City became the first league football team from the county , before they even had a team or played a game . They and Chelsea , who were elected to the league two years later , share the distinction of being the only clubs to join the league without having played a competitive fixture . A summer archery contest , which had been organised to raise money for the rugby league club , was used to finance the new club , and Manningham 's colours of claret and amber were adopted as Bradford City 's kit , but with Manningham 's hoops changed to stripes . 
 Robert Campbell was appointed by a 13 @-@ man sub @-@ committee to be the club 's first secretary @-@ manager from a shortlist of 30 applicants . Secretarial duties were carried out by committee member Whyte , with Campbell 's role more on the playing side . The committee assembled a squad at the cost of £ 917 10s 0d . Their first game was a 2 – 0 defeat away at Grimsby Town on 1 September 1903 , and first home game was six days later against Gainsborough Trinity , played in front of a crowd of 11 @,@ 000 including the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Bradford . It was not until the third game against Burton United that the club recorded their first victory , on the way to a 10th @-@ place finish in Division Two . The club faced having to apply for re @-@ election in their second season , until five wins in the final six games lifted the club to eighth position . In November 1905 , Peter O 'Rourke , one of the club 's centre @-@ halves , was appointed manager , with his last game as a player coming the following month . He guided City to finishes of 11th and fifth and then earned promotion to Division One in 1907 – 08 . The season had started with an 8 – 1 victory over Chesterfield and included another six victories when City scored five goals or more , before promotion and then the title were assured with successive victories over Derby County and Burnley in April . 
 Ahead of their first campaign in Division One , Bradford City embarked upon their first continental tour ; despite victories over German side Aachen and Belgian club Verviers , the club 's first league victory in the top division did not come until the fifth attempt with a 4 – 1 defeat of Bury . It was their only win in the first 14 games . Results improved in the second half of the season but it was not until a 1 – 0 win on the final game of the season against Manchester United with a goal from Frank O 'Rourke that City prevented an immediate relegation back to Division Two . The following season included a ten @-@ game undefeated spell as Bradford finished seventh , but this was bettered in the 1910 – 11 season , which is Bradford City 's most successful campaign . Their league finish of fifth remains the club 's highest position , and an FA Cup triumph , with a 1 – 0 win over Newcastle United in the 1911 final is the club 's only major honour . The first- and third @-@ round victories were secured with solitary goals from Dicky Bond , but he missed the final four games of the run because of club suspension , the first of which was a 1 – 0 defeat of Burnley in the fourth round in front of 39 @,@ 146 fans , a crowd which remains Valley Parade 's highest attendance . The biggest win of the run came in the semi @-@ finals with a 3 – 0 victory over Blackburn Rovers . City 's supporters were taken to the final in London on 11 special trains , but the game with Newcastle at Crystal Palace ended in a goalless draw and was even described as a " decidedly dull and uneventful game " . The draw meant a replay was necessary . It took place four days later on 26 April 1911 at Old Trafford , Manchester , when a single goal from Jimmy Speirs in the 15th minute gave Bradford a 1 – 0 victory . They were the first winners of a new trophy , appropriately made by Bradford jewellers Fattorini 's . 
 Bradford 's defence of the FA Cup was ended in the fourth round by Barnsley , who went on to succeed Bradford as the holders . The 3 – 2 defeat , played at Bramall Lane , Sheffield , following two draws , brought an end to 11 consecutive clean sheets in the FA Cup — a competition record . The sequence also included a 12th clean sheet in the second replay against Barnsley which was abandoned because of crowd trouble . The cup run had included the first Bradford derby between City and cross @-@ city rivals Bradford ( Park Avenue ) . In the league , City finished 11th , the first of four consecutive mid @-@ table finishes before league football was suspended because of the First World War . City 's FA Cup hero Speirs , who had joined Leeds City , was one of many footballers to lose his life during the war . Bradford City players who died included Bob Torrance , another FA Cup winner , and Evelyn Lintott , as well as several reserve team players . Frank Buckley and Jock Ewart were seriously wounded , and Dicky Bond was taken prisoner @-@ of @-@ war . In 1921 , Bond laid a commemorative wreath on the Cenotaph in memory of his fallen colleagues prior to a league game at Arsenal . 
 
 = = Inter @-@ war years ( 1919 – 38 ) = = 
 
 With several retirements during the war , it was a new @-@ look side that took to the field for the 1919 – 20 season , when league football resumed . The 15th @-@ place finish in the league was City 's lowest since their first season in Division One , and a fourth @-@ round FA Cup exit away at Bristol City was blamed on a pre @-@ game trip to Fry 's chocolate works . It was a position replicated the following season . After ten campaigns in Division One , City were relegated back to Division Two , when they lost all of their final five games of the 1921 – 22 season . It would be 77 years until Bradford City again competed in the top division of English football . 
 Having lost O 'Rourke as manager in 1921 , after he had struggled to cope with the death of his son two years earlier , Bradford 's results suffered back in Division Two . Both Bradford City and Bradford ( Park Avenue ) had been relegated in 1922 , and with the rise of fellow West Yorkshire side Huddersfield Town , attendances in Bradford dropped . City 's average attendance fell from a record high of 22 @,@ 585 in 1920 – 21 to between 12 @,@ 000 and 14 @,@ 000 in Division Two . Five consecutive bottom half finishes culminated in relegation to Division Three ( North ) in 1926 – 27 , when they finished bottom of the table following a then record 8 – 0 defeat to Manchester City on the final day of the season . New manager Colin Veitch missed out on guiding the club to an immediate promotion when they finished sixth , but at the end of the season the players had not been paid and the bank was unable to advance any more money because of the club 's overdraft . Had it not been for donations by fans , Bradford City would not have started the following campaign . A new board was appointed , and they reinstated Peter O 'Rourke as manager . Success was immediate , when the 1928 – 29 season started with a record 11 – 1 victory over Rotherham United , as the side scored a club record 128 goals to earn promotion by just one point . City 's successful team had also brought the fans back and the average attendance of 18 @,@ 551 is the highest average recorded by the club , since 1925 , when The Football League started to keep official records . 
 O 'Rourke left for a second time in May 1930 , after he resigned because he was not allowed to sign a player he wanted . City spent eight seasons back in Division Two but the nearest they came to stepping up to the top flight was in 1933 – 34 when at one point they topped the division . Their sixth @-@ place finish was the highest position since the club had been in Division One and would not be bettered until the 1980s . Relegation back to Division Three ( North ) came in 1936 – 37 . City were runners @-@ up in the Division Three North Challenge Cup a year later before they won the same competition in the last year before league football was again suspended because of war . 
 
 = = Lower divisions ( 1946 – 81 ) = = 
 
 New manager Jack Barker lasted just eight months until he was replaced by former Leeds United player Jack Milburn upon the resumption of league football in 1946 . Milburn led City to fifth position in his first season but only lasted another season himself . With only one team promoted from Division Three ( North ) each season , City remained at that level until they were placed in Division Three in 1958 – 59 after a league re @-@ organisation , following a 20 @-@ year high position of third the previous season . In 1960 , eight years after part of the ground 's Midland Road stand had been closed following examinations of the foundations ordered as a result of the 1946 Burnden Park disaster , the entire stand was closed , leaving the ground with just three stands . After just three years in Division Three , City dropped into Division Four in 1960 – 61 , although that season they did defeat Division One side Manchester United in City 's first ever League Cup tie . United , like many other top flight clubs , would not enter the competition again until six years later . 
 Despite a club record 9 – 1 defeat to Colchester United on 30 December 1961 , City came fifth in 1961 – 62 , thanks to David Layne 's 34 league goals — his total remains a club record for a season — but missed out on promotion by just one point . Layne left for Sheffield Wednesday and City finished 23rd the following season , forcing them to apply for re @-@ election . In 1966 , the club directors moved the pitch 2 @.@ 74 metres ( 3 @.@ 00 yd ) closer to the main stand , creating enough space for them to add a new safe standing area on the Midland Road side of the ground and open all four stands for the first time since 1960 . Attendances continued to drop and a new record low of 1 @,@ 353 was set on 12 May 1966 against Wrexham . It prompted chairman Stafford Heginbotham to hold a crisis meeting in the city 's St George 's Hall to raise new funds and safeguard the future of the club . The club 's indifferent form on the field continued , with another re @-@ election and two narrow promotion failures , before promotion was gained in 1968 – 69 . Only the previous season , City had had three managers , when Grenville Hair , who had replaced Willie Watson , died just two months into his reign , after he collapsed at the end of a training session . 
 Striker Bobby Ham , whose 18 goals had helped City into Division Three , was again top goalscorer the following season , but the club 's stint in Division Three was short @-@ lived . Once Ham , and fellow Bradford @-@ born striker Bruce Bannister , who scored 60 goals during seven seasons with the club , both left , City were relegated back into the bottom division in 1971 – 72 . The spell in Division Three had also been notable for the debut of Ces Podd , who went on to play a record 502 league games during 14 seasons with the club . City spent five seasons back in Division Four . In 1975 – 76 they had their best FA Cup run in more than 50 years after defeating Norwich City , before they were knocked out in the quarter @-@ finals by eventual winners Southampton 1 – 0 . A year later more than 40 goals from the trio of Dominican striker Joe Cooke , Terry Dolan and Don Hutchins helped City to another promotion when they finished in fourth position . The club 's board failed to strengthen the squad the following season , resulting in an instant return to Division Four . Under new manager George Mulhall , City spent three seasons in mid @-@ table , although a late spell of form nearly earned promotion in 1979 – 80 . 
 
 = = Bantam progressivism ( 1981 – 90 ) = = 
 
 In May 1981 , City appointed former England international defender Roy McFarland as their new manager . After starting the 1981 – 82 season with a defeat and a draw , City went top of the table during a run of nine successive league victories , equalling a 30 @-@ year club record . The run came to an end against Sheffield United in front of 13 @,@ 711 fans at Valley Parade , producing then club record gate receipts of £ 17 @,@ 938 . Arctic conditions across Britain meant City played only once during December , but they went back to the top of the Division Four table in January . City finished the season second , five points behind Sheffield United , and were promoted back to Division Three . Three months into the following campaign , McFarland and his assistant Mick Jones handed in their resignation and left for Derby County . Derby had to pay a large fine and compensation to City for poaching the pair . Chairman Bob Martin turned to another England centre @-@ back and appointed Trevor Cherry as McFarland 's replacement from West Yorkshire rivals Leeds United . Cherry and assistant Terry Yorath continued to build on McFarland 's start to the period which would later be called " Bantam Progressivism " by fanzine The City Gent . Despite not recording their first win for more than two months , the pair guided City to 12th position . 
 The club were again in financial difficulties , and in June 1983 , Martin called in the receivers and the club was put up for sale . A Save Bradford City Fund was launched on 24 July , and former chairman Stafford Heginbotham and former board member Jack Tordoff bought the club , forming a new company , and enabling the team to start the new league campaign . Centre forward Bobby Campbell was sold to Derby County to balance the books and John Hawley brought in as his replacement . City struggled on the pitch and won just one of their first 15 games leaving them in the relegation zone . Campbell had played just 11 games during four months with Derby and so he returned to Bradford initially on a loan transfer . His return coincided with a club record ten successive league victories . Campbell finished the season with nine goals , Hawley with 22 , but City finished seventh and missed out on promotion . 
 The good form continued the following season , and from October to mid @-@ December 1984 , City embarked on a 13 @-@ match unbeaten run , during which time Campbell became the club 's all @-@ time leading goalscorer , beating Frank O 'Rourke 's 70 @-@ year @-@ old record . City went top of the division and held onto their lead , opening an 11 @-@ point cushion by February . Promotion was secured in April and the club 's first championship title since 1929 after a 2 – 0 win over Bolton Wanderers . The success was overshadowed when fire ripped through Valley Parade 's main stand 40 minutes into the final game of the season on 11 May 1985 against Lincoln City . A total of 56 people died and the club did not play another game at Valley Parade for nearly 20 months . 
 City instead played home games at Elland Road , Leeds Road and Odsal during the 1985 – 86 season , when they came 13th , and for the first half of the 1986 – 87 campaign . They returned to Valley Parade , which had undergone a £ 2.6m redevelopment , on Boxing Day 1986 against Derby County . After managing the side during the financial hardship and time away from their home ground , Cherry was dismissed only ten days after the return to Valley Parade . Club coach Terry Dolan was appointed as manager and he led the side away from relegation and to a finish of 10th place . By September 1987 , Dolan 's side topped Division Two for the first time in 54 years . They finished fourth after a final day defeat to Ipswich Town and missed out on promotion after they lost to Middlesbrough in the play @-@ offs . Leading players Stuart McCall and John Hendrie , who had both stayed for another season in a bid to take City into Division One , both left , and within two seasons City again dropped into Division Three . In January 1988 Stafford Heginbotham resigned as the Club 's Chairman due to ill health . 
 
 = = Richmond era and administration ( 1990 onwards ) = = 
 
 For three seasons , City finished in mid @-@ table in Division Three and the new Division Two , when the leagues were renamed following the formation of the Premier League . In January 1994 , Geoffrey Richmond took over as chairman . He cleared the debts , loaned the club £ 2 @.@ 3 million , and promised the fans he would take the club to the Premier League within five years . In his first season as chairman , the club finished in seventh place with Frank Stapleton as manager . Stapleton was sacked and was replaced by Lennie Lawrence . Lawrence could only finish 14th in his first season , before he left for Luton Town in November 1995 to be replaced by his assistant Chris Kamara . 
 Kamara secured a play @-@ off spot with a final day victory over Hull City , before City defeated Blackpool in the play @-@ off semi @-@ finals . The final against Notts County was City 's first game at Wembley . Goals from Des Hamilton and Mark Stallard gave them a 2 – 0 win , which secured promotion to Division One . Kamara used 42 players in 1996 – 97 when City avoided relegation with a 3 – 0 victory in the final game against Queens Park Rangers . Kamara was sacked in January 1998 after an FA Cup defeat to Manchester City , when Richmond claimed the manager had taken the club as far as he could . Richmond again elevated from within and Paul Jewell , who had been at the club since 1988 , was installed as manager , originally on a caretaker basis . He was appointed full @-@ time in May 1998 and Richmond backed his new appointment with a multi @-@ million transfer budget . Jewell signed strikers Lee Mills , from Port Vale and Isaiah Rankin , from Arsenal , for £ 1 million and £ 1 @.@ 3 million respectively , and signed former captain Stuart McCall from Rangers on a free transfer to lead the side . Despite a poor start , the club secured promotion to the top division for the first time in 77 years with a 3 – 2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final game of the 1998 – 99 season . 
 City 's success meant that Dean Windass , who had signed from Oxford United in March , became the club 's third £ 1 million signing of the season . Windass had originally been signed for £ 950 @,@ 000 , but an additional fee of £ 50 @,@ 000 was paid to Oxford because of City 's promotion . Jewell broke the club 's transfer record to add a fourth seven @-@ figure signing when he paid £ 1 @.@ 4 million to Leeds United for David Wetherall . Jewell added other senior players including Neil Redfearn and Dean Saunders , prompting the media to call his team " Dad 's Army " . When City defeated Middlesbrough 1 – 0 with a late goal from Saunders , his goal celebration mocked the critics ' comments . City failed to win another game until their eighth game of the season , and Sky Sports pundit Rodney Marsh said they would be relegated and promised to shave off his hair at a home game if they avoided such a fate . A run of nine home games without defeat and consecutive victories in April gave City hope of avoiding relegation on the final day of the season . A final day 1 – 0 victory over Liverpool , with a goal from Wetherall , who had played every minute of the season , and Wimbledon 's defeat , meant City survived with a record low of 36 points . 
 Less than two months after City stayed up , Jewell left to join Sheffield Wednesday , to be replaced by his assistant , Chris Hutchings . The club entered the Intertoto Cup , the first time they had competed in a European competition , in which they were defeated by FC Zenit Saint Petersburg in the semi @-@ finals . Richmond gave Hutchings more money than Jewell to spend in the transfer market , and Bradford paid a club record £ 2 @.@ 5 million for David Hopkin and £ 1 @.@ 5 million for Ashley Ward , and signed Italian striker Benito Carbone on wages of £ 40 @,@ 000 per week . Richmond also continued to re @-@ develop the ground , which increased the capacity to 25 @,@ 136 , but later referred to his spending as his " six weeks of madness " . In their second season in the Premier League , City struggled for form and Hutchings was sacked after a start to the season in which he recorded just one victory from 12 league games . Under new manager Jim Jefferies , the club were unable to avoid relegation , which was confirmed with a 2 – 1 defeat at Everton , when they missed two penalties , before finishing the season with just 26 points . 
 Jefferies was sacked in December 2001 following a training ground rift with captain McCall . Nicky Law was appointed his successor , and the club finished the season in 15th place . During the summer , with debts of nearly £ 13 million — as a result of the collapse of ITV Digital and the fall @-@ out from Richmond 's self @-@ proclaimed " six weeks of madness " — the club were forced into administration . The players were all released , but Carbone waived much of the money owed to him , to help the club survive under new owners Julian Rhodes and Gordon Gibb . City fulfilled their fixtures during the 2002 – 03 season but finished 19th . 
 Former England captain Bryan Robson took over as new manager during the following season , but , under his management , City won only seven games from 28 and were relegated in 23rd place . Robson left and was replaced by his assistant Colin Todd . The club went into administration for a second time , but Todd led them to 11th in each of the following two seasons . Following fan pressure and a poor run of results , Rhodes sacked Todd on 12 February 2007 , with City just three points above the relegation zone . Wetherall was appointed player @-@ manager on a temporary basis and then for the rest of the season , but City were relegated following a 3 – 0 defeat to Chesterfield . During the summer of 2007 , former midfielder Stuart McCall returned as manager with City in the bottom tier for the first time in 25 years . He set himself a target of earning promotion back to League One in his first season , but twice missed out on promotion before he left the club in February 2010 with City lying 16th in League Two . 
 In January 2013 , City became the first club from the fourth tier of English football since Rochdale in 1962 to reach the Football League Cup final , and the first fourth tier club ever to reach a major Wembley Cup Final . They defeated three Premier League sides en route to the final – Wigan Athletic 4 – 2 on penalties in the fourth round , Arsenal 3 – 2 on penalties in the quarter @-@ finals and Aston Villa 4 – 3 on aggregate over the two legs of the semi @-@ final . They met Premier League side Swansea City in the final at Wembley , but lost 0 – 5 . On 18 May 2013 , the club returned to Wembley where they defeated Northampton Town 3 – 0 in the League Two Playoff Final to secure a place in League One for 2013 – 14 . On 24 January 2015 , Bradford City caused an upset by beating Premier League leaders Chelsea 4 – 2 away in the FA Cup . The victory sent Bradford through to the fifth round for the first time in 18 years . There , they defeated another top @-@ flight team , Sunderland , to reach their first FA Cup semi @-@ final since 1976 , in front of their biggest home crowd for 50 years . 
 
 