 West Bromwich Albion Football Club / ˈbrɒmɪtʃ / , also known as West Brom , The Baggies , The Throstles , Albion or simply WBA , is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands . The club was formed in 1878 and has played at its home ground , The Hawthorns , since 1900 . Albion were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888 and have spent the majority of their history in the top flight of English football . They were Premier League champions in 1919 and 1920 , while they were champions of the Football League First Division in 192