Oldham Athletic Club Profile

Oldham Athletic Football Club was formed in 1895 by the landlord of the Featherstall and Junction Hotel and was originally called Pine Villa. The club became more prominent when it assumed the mantle of the professional team Oldham County, which went out of business in 1899, and the club then changed its name to Oldham Athletic and remained professional.

Oldham were elected to Division Two in 1907 and in 1910 they achieved promotion to the First Division. In 1913, the Latics reached the FA Cup semi-finals and in the following two seasons they finished in third and second place in Division One respectively.

Things took a turn for the worse in the years after the First World War and Oldham Athletic were relegated to Division Two in 1923 and by 1935 they were in Division Three North. When the north and south sections of Division Three merged in 1958 the club found themselves in the Fourth Division but gained promotion as runners-up behind Brentford in 1963.

Promotions and relegations followed over the next two decades but the arrival of Joe Royle as manager in 1982 led to an upturn in fortunes. In the 1989-90 season they reached the FA Cup semi-final and the League Cup final, only to lose to Nottingham Forest in the showpiece.

The very next season Oldham won promotion to the First Division (with a side that included legendary Oldham Athletic players Andy Goram, Dennis Irwin, Andy Ritchie, Rick Holden, Ian Marshall and Earl Barrett) and stayed there for three seasons before being relegated in 1994.

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