The WBA Quiz Book: 1,000 Questions on all Things Baggies

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ALBION’S EUROPEAN ADVENTURES

Between 1966 and 1981, West Bromwich Albion competed in Europe in five seasons. They had three outings in the UEFA Cup and one each in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

1. Between 1966 and 1981, Albion participated in 11 two-legged ties. What was statistically unusual about all of them?

2. Who scored West Brom’s first goal in Europe when they drew 1-1 away to DOS Utrecht of the Netherlands in the first leg of the Fairs Cup on 2 November 1966?

A. Jeff Astle B. Bobby Hope C. John Kaye D. Graham Lovett

3. Who is the only player to score in three successive European matches for West Bromwich Albion when he did so at home and away to Bruges and away to Dinamo Bucharest in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in the autumn of 1968?

4. When Albion beat Galatasaray of Turkey in the 1978-79 UEFA Cup, it provided the only occasion in their European exploits when the home and away scores were the same. By what score did they win both matches?

A. 1-0 B. 2-0 C. 2-1 D. 3-1

5. Who were the only two players to score from the penalty spot for West Brom in Europe?

6. Which Scottish club knocked Albion out of the European Cup Winners’ Cup at the quarter-final stage in 1968-69?

7. In that tie one surname could be found on both teams. What was it?

8. Who scored the Baggies’ last goal in Europe when they lost 3-1 at home to Grasshoppers of Zurich in the UEFA Cup on 30 September 1981?

A. David Mills B. Gary Owen C. Cyrille Regis D. Alistair Robertson

9. Who was responsible for Albion’s only European hat-trick when they beat DOS Utrecht 5-2 at the Hawthorns in the Fairs Cup on 9 November 1966?

10. Apart from reaching that European Winners’ Cup quarter-final in 1968-69, the only other time Albion got that far was in the UEFA Cup of 1978-79, when they lost 2-1 on aggregate to which club from eastern Europe?

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ALBION V ASTON VILLA: CUP COMPETITIONS

11. West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa have met each other in the FA Cup on seven grounds. The Hawthorns and Villa Park obviously constitute two of them. What are the other five?

12. Who is the only Albion player to score in two FA Cup ties against Aston Villa, doing so in the successive seasons of 1924-25 and 1925-26?

13. Who was the last man to score against Aston Villa in an FA Cup tie between the clubs?

14. In 1895, West Brom and Aston Villa made history by becoming the first two clubs to play against each other in three FA Cup finals. That record lasted over 100 years, but now four finals have occurred that number of times. Which ones were they?

15. Albion have done much better against Villa in the League Cup than in the FA Cup, claiming twice Villa’s total of ties won. They met each other for the first time in the competition on 17 November 1965, when Albion won 3-1 in front of a 40,000-plus crowd at the Hawthorns. Which player got two of their three that night?

A. Jeff Astle B. Tony Brown C. Clive Clark D. John Kaye

16. The following season it must have given Albion’s players, as reigning League Cup holders, great pleasure to meet Villa again and register a 6-1 win at the Hawthorns in their first game in defence of the trophy. Who scored the only West Bromwich Albion hat-trick in a cup tie against Aston Villa that night?

17. On 3 September 1969, Albion made it a trio of League Cup victories over Aston Villa when they won at Villa Park for the first time in the competition, by 2-1. Who scored their goals that night?

A. Astle and Brown B. Hartford and Suggett C. Astle and Suggett D. Hartford and Brown

18. On 20 December 1981, Albion went to Villa Park again in the same competition and made it four wins out of four since the League Cup started in 1960 by winning 1-0. Which defender’s goal was the difference between the teams that night?

19. West Brom won the FA Cup in 1888, 1892, 1931, 1954 and 1968. After which one of those FA Cup victories did Aston Villa beat the Albion in the first game of the following year’s competition?

20. There have been three replays between the clubs in cup competitions.

They came in the FA Cup in 1924-25 and 1956-57 and in the League Cup in 1985-86. Which one of the three did Albion win?

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ALBION V ASTON VILLA: LEAGUE

21. As founder members of the Football League, these two clubs played each other for the first time in the League in the 1888-89 season. Albion drew 3-3 at home that season and beat Villa 3-2 in 1892-93. Which prolific goalscorer, who was also the first player to score a League hat-trick for Albion, scored twice in both matches?

22. Who scored the last 20th century goal registered by Albion in the League against Aston Villa?

A. Steve Hunt B. Steve MacKenzie C. Andy Thompson D. Imre Varadi

23. What have Bob Pailor and George James done that nobody else in Albion’s colours has done?

24. Villa were relegated for the first time in their history in 1935-36 and, although Albion contrived to lose 3-0 to them at the Hawthorns on, appropriately, April Fool’s Day, they had already recorded their biggest win over them at Villa Park on 19 October 1935 – by what score?

25. Before the return to normality after the Second World War, Albion and Villa played in the Football League South in 1945-46. West Brom’s 1-0 home win over Villa on 29 August 1945 came courtesy of a player who would go on to lift the FA Cup with the club in 1954. Who was he?

26. West Brom and Aston Villa met each other outside the top flight for the first time in 1973-74 with Albion enjoying the better of the exchanges, winning 2-0 at the Hawthorns on Boxing Day and 3-1 at Villa Park on 2 March 1974. Who scored four of Albion’s five goals in those games?

27. What is the longest number of seasons in a row in which there has been no league match between the Baggies and Aston Villa?

A. 10 B. 12 C. 14 D. 16

28. When Villa beat West Brom 4-3 at Villa Park in the Premier League on 29 January 2014, which Villa midfielder scored for both sides?

29. There were a couple of battles between the clubs in the late 1950s when relegation hinged on the outcome, but perhaps their most important meeting was in the Championship play-off semi-final, played over two legs in May 2019. After being unfortunate to lose the first leg, Albion squared things with a 1-0 win in the second leg at the Hawthorns, before losing the eventual penalty shoot-out 4-1. Who scored Albion’s winner on the night, and which two players who share the first letter of their surnames were unsuccessful in the shoot-out?

30. Who had lifted supporters’ hopes by giving Albion the lead at Villa Park in the first game?

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ALBION V BIRMINGHAM CITY: CUP COMPETITIONS

31. Whether as Small Heath, Birmingham or Birmingham City, their local rivals have contested eight FA Cup ties with Albion, who have lost just once when, in front of a crowd of 57,213 at the Hawthorns, City won 1-0 on their road to Wembley. In which season?

32. In all cup meetings between Albion and the Blues, the only time a particular scoreline appeared was in the League Cup on 30 October 1984 at St Andrew’s. What was it?

33. It doesn’t get much sweeter than beating Birmingham City in an FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park, and it has happened just once. In which season?

34. The usual suspects grabbed the goals in Albion’s 2-0 win that day. Who were they?

35. The most recent meeting between the clubs in the FA Cup, in fact the only one this century, came at St Andrew’s in the fourth round of the 2014-15 competition. How did the game end up?

36. Which front man scored twice for the Baggies that day?

37. Who was the last West Bromwich Albion player to find the Birmingham net twice in the FA Cup before that 2014-15 tie, and in what season?

38. The only time that the clubs have met each other in a cup replay was a successful occasion for West Brom, who won through 3-1 – in which competition and in what season?

39. In which competition did the clubs draw 2-2 at St Andrew’s on 30 January 1996, with Albion coming out 4-1 winners on penalties?

40. Two players with surnames beginning with R got Albion’s goals in that match. Who were they?

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ALBION V BIRMINGHAM CITY: LEAGUE

41. After a few meetings, some of them rather bitter affairs to say the least, when Birmingham still went under the name of Small Heath, the clubs played each other for the first time as West Bromwich Albion v Birmingham in Division Two on Boxing Day of 1908, in a game that finished 1-1 at the Hawthorns. Albion’s first goal against Birmingham came from the penalty spot. Who scored it?

A. Fred Buck B. Bill Garraty C. Charlie Hewitt D. Jesse Pennington

42. Who was responsible for the first West Brom hat-trick against Birmingham, in a 5-1 win at the Hawthorns on 6 February 1926?

A. Joe Carter B. Stan Davies C. George James D. Charlie Wilson

43. What was unique about the 1923-24 season where the Albion v Birmingham derby was concerned?

44. Albion fans were in dreamland when they visited St Andrew’s in the successive seasons of 1957-58, 1958-59 and 1959-60, because the scorelines were unbelievable and got progressively better. By what three scores did they win?

45. Which West Brom player scored six of the 18 registered at the home of the enemy?

46. Which Albion player scored in both games when they did the Football League double over Birmingham City (1-0 away and 3-1 at home) in the 1963-64 season, and then for good measure scored Albion’s goal in a 1-1 St Andrew’s draw the following season, all three matches taking place in September? A. Clive Clark B. Ronnie Fenton C. Ken Foggo D. John Kaye

47. In 1985-86 the clubs were relegated together from Division One, but West Brom did have the silver lining of a league double over their rivals, winning 1-0 away and 2-1 at home. At the Hawthorns on 19 October 1985, the two Albion scorers shared the first letter of their names. Who were they?

48. In the 1990s the clubs met each other for the first time in the third tier of English football, while in the next century they played against each other in the Premier League for the first time. Which two seasons were they?

49. West Brom and Birmingham City’s experience of each other in the new century was often like ships passing in the night as they went up and down the leagues. In 2010-11, Albion’s two wins by the same scoreline helped to relegate their rivals from the Premier League. By what score did they win both matches?

50. The clubs met again in the Championship in 2018-19 and 2019-20, with Albion winning 3-2 at home in the first of those seasons and 3-2 away in the latter. Who scored their 74th-minute winner in the home game, and which player turned the second game on its head with goals in the 73rd and 81st minutes?

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ALBION V WOLVES: CUP COMPETITIONS

51. Which surname can be found twice among West Brom goalscorers in FA Cup ties against Wolves, first in the 1880s and then again in the 1920s?

52. Amazingly, Albion and Wolves have managed to avoid each other in over 60 years of the League Cup, but Albion have a superb record against their great Black Country rivals in the FA Cup. What is the win, lose, draw situation in their ten meetings in that competition?

53. In their ten FA Cup meetings, the clubs have played on three grounds. What are they and can you place them in order on the basis of the number of games they have hosted?

54. In a record that still stands, who became the only West