Yorkshire's number one - a look back

[Revolution]

Amidst all the angst, arguing and negative comments about Ched Evans' dribbling in the other Yorkshire's number 1 thread a good thought has been sadly neglected - who will be Yorkshire's number 1 next season? This year, Hull City, being the only team from our fair County in the Premier League, won the title by default. Next year, my money's on Doncaster....

Anyway, I've done some checking up and here's a historical list of who's been Yorkshire's number one since Yorkshire teams first entered the league, plus some smart alec remarks here and there. Enjoy.

A note on Geography: Like it or not, the open sewer that is Hull is back in Yorkshire now, so they fairly took the title last year. Middlesbrough, which like Hull is a place I try not to think about, was definitely in Yorkshire until 1974 until its surrounding area was renamed "Cleveland" by a government presumably ignorant of the fact that there was already another post-industrial rust belt dump with the same name in the US. It now appears to be back in Yorkshire again, so what the hell, I'm going to treat Boro as a Yorkshire team throughout. If you don't like it, get your own chart.

A note on seasons - 1893 means 1892-3 season, and so on, you pedants.

1893 Wednesday
1894-5 United
1896 Wednesday
1897-1900 United (Champions in 1898)
1901-04 Wednesday (Champions in latter 2 years, marking the end of Sheffield football's golden years)
1905 United
1906 Wednesday
1907 United
1908-09 Wednesday
1910 United
1911 Bradford City (who also won the FA Cup, their best season ever by miles)
1912-3 Wednesday
1914 Middlesbrough
1915 United
1920 Bradford Park Avenue (look them up if you've never heard of them)
1921-22 Middlesbrough
1923-28 Huddersfield (Champions 3 years in a row, Herbert Chapman best British manager ever)
1929-33 Wednesday (Champions twice)
1934 Huddersfield (United relegated: 15 post WWI years in top flight but never the best Yorkshire team)
1935 Wednesday
1936 Huddersfield
1937-39 Middlesbrough
1947-48 United
1949-53 Middlesbrough
1954-56 Huddersfield (relegated one place ahead of United in 1956)
1957-59 Leeds
1960-61 Wednesday
1962 United (a post war best of 5th)
1963-64 Wednesday
1965-74 Leeds (as anyone who watches the regional news will know: Champions twice)
1975 United
1976-79 Leeds
1980 Middlesbrough
1981-82 Leeds
1983-90 Wednesday (No Yorkshire teams in top flight in 1983 and 1984, for first time since 1892)
1991-92 Leeds (Champions in latter season)
1993 Wednesday
1994-95 Leeds
1996 Middlesbrough
1997 Wednesday
1998-2002 Leeds (at least the aftermath of this glorious era has been entertaining)
2003-08 Middlesbrough
2009-10 Hull

The scores on the doors:

30 times - Wednesday, last time in 1997
27 times - Leeds, last time in 2002
19 times - Middlesbrough, last time in 2008
14 times - United, last time in 1975
11 times - Huddersfield, last time in 1956
twice - Hull, last time in 2010
once - the Bradford clubs, in 1911 (City) and 1920 (Park Avenue)

Never: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and the departed Middlesbrough Ironopolis (seriously), York, Halifax, Scarborough and Leeds City (look them up too - they make the current Leeds administration look models of probity, if such a thing can be believed)

To conclude: it's a hell of a long time since United were really good, isn't it?

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Just out of curiosity if Middlesbrough were taken out of the equation what difference would it make as Wednesday and Leeds are quite close score wise? Can't see Hull's two having much impact.

 

[Sensiblade]

Someone at work (A Wendy fan) looked into the Average position in the League of United v's Weds since the league started and upto the beginning of last season.
I can't remember the exact position (19th springs to mind), but both teams had exactly the same average position.

So after this last season we have crept ahead slightly.

 

[Worksop_Blade]

We don't need no stats to know we are better than that shower from S6.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

To conclude: it's a hell of a long time since United were really good, isn't it?

Sheffield United have never been really good.