"It's been my life, Tottenham Hotspur, and I love the club." - Bill Nicholson
" I would run through brick walls for Spurs " - Graham Roberts
The history of tottenham hotspur
1882 - What was to become the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club was formed by boys from Hotspur cricket club and from St. John's Presbyterian local grammar school, who used to meet under a street lamp on Tottenham High street close to the site of the current ground. The first name used was 'Hotspur FC' , named after the Duke of Northumberland's son Percy, who went by the nickname "Harry Hotspur" and who's fearless heroics would come to symbolize the character of the club. The above picture is the only remnant left from the symbolic year , the Hotspur Club Book
1898 - The club changed its colours for the last time to the lilywhite shirts used by the team of the day Preston North End, but retained the Navy blue shorts. The club also became a limited company and a record attendance of 15,000 saw the match against Woolwich Arsenal. Typically enough, boring Arsenal spoilt the day by grinding out a 0-0 on 8th April 1898.
1900 - Spurs become Champions of the Southern League.
1909 - Spurs win their first ever league match 3-0 against Wolves and take the division by storm finishing runners up and gaining promotion to First Division at the first attempt.
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1899 - The Club moved to present site which had a capacity of 35,000. The ground was almost named 'Gilpin Park' but, having never been officially named, gradually became known as 'White Hart Lane'. The first match was a friendly vs Notts County, and after taking gross receipts £115 , Spurs ran out 4-1 winners with an opener from Pratt, followed by a hatrick for Copeland.
1901 - After victories against Preston 4-2 after a replay 1-1, Bury 2-1, Reading 3-0 after a replay 1-1 and West Brom 4-0 in the Semi's, Spurs won the FA Challenge Cup by beating Sheffield United 3-1 after a replay at Burnden Park, Bolton to become the only non-League club, ever to achieve this honour.
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1909 - The cockerel and ball first appeared in 1909 when a former player W J Scott cast a copper centerpiece to perch on the new west stand. Our world-famous ball-and-cockerel emblem is believed to have its origins in cock-fighting, because combative cocks were fitted with tiny spurs.
The origin of the cockerel symbol has never been satisfactorily been explained. Harry Hotspur after whom the club was named wore spurs while leading his troops into battle. The spurs which were attached to the legs of fighting cocks were similar and the club's badge in the nineteenth century was a simple spur. Somewhere along the line a link was made between the fighting cock and the cockspur and the cockerel took over as the symbol. It became firmly established as the symbol in 1910 when the cockerel and ball were erected on the roof of the main stand. The two lions rampant are taken from the crest of the northumberland family who feature heavily in the history of the local area. Our motto "Audere est Facere" is Latin inscription, the literal translation meaning "to dare is to do.
1951 - One of the greatest seasons in Spurs history, as the push and run side of Arthur Rowe claim the Football League Championship for the first time.
1962 - Spurs retain the FA Cup with a 3-1 win against Burnley.
1967 - FA Cup winners for the fifth time, with a 2-1 win over Chelsea.
1972 - Spurs won the UEFA cup for the first time with a 3-2 aggregate win over Wolves.
1981 - FA Cup winners for the sixth time
1991 - Batter Arsenal 3-1 on 14th Apr '91 in the unofficial North London Cup with Gazza's free kick and a brace from Lineker. FA Cup winners a month later with a 2-1 extra time win over Forest.
2008 - After 2 points from the first 8 games of the season, Ramos is sacked and Harry "Houdini" Redknapp takes charge. His first game in charges sees us battle our way from from 4-2 down to win 4-4 in added time at the Emirates. Harry eventually guided us to 6th place that season - a huge success considering where we were when he took over.
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1961 - The DOUBLE: Football League Champions and winners of the FA Cup, with a 2-0 win over Leicester City. The first team in the 20th Century to achieve this feat.
1963 - Winners of the European Cup-Winners' Cup. The first British club to win a major European competition.
1971 - Winners of the Football League Cup for the first time, with two goal from Martin Chivers enough to defeat Aston Villa.
1973 - A late goal from Sub Ralph Coates is enough to win the Football League Cup for the second time against Norwich City.
1984 - Winners of the UEFA Cup for the second time, after a penalty shoot out with Anderlecht.
2008 - Winners of the Football League Cup for the fourth time, coming from a goal down to beat Chelsea 2-1 after having beaten Arsenal 5-1 in the Semis.
2009 - If the previous season under Redknapp was impressive, this season was his crowning glory. Spurs famously beat Manchester City 1-0 at the Etihad and secured a place in next season's Champions League with a 4th place finish in the League.
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2010 - Spurs took the Champions League by storm, beating Italian giants and reigning champions Inter Milan to finish top of the group. They also knocked out AC Milan to reach the quarter finals. The dream run eventually ended at the hands of Real Madrid in the quarter finals. Gareth Bale announced himself to the world with a hat-trick at the San Siro against Inter and another devastating performance in the return leg at the Lane.
2012 - Harry Redknapp is sacked and replaced by highly-rated young Portuguese manager Andre Villas Boas who leads Spurs to a club-record haul of 72 points in the Premier League era.
