From the flock to the wolves
St. Luke's Football Club was formed in 1877 by a group of pupils from St Luke’s Church School in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton, led by John Baynton and John Brodie. It is said that the two boys were presented with a football by their headmaster, Harry Barcroft. The team played its first game on 13 January 1877 against a reserve side from Stafford Road Railway Works Football Club.
In August 1879, they merged with the football section of a local cricket club called The Blakenhall Wanderers, adopting the now-famous name Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wolves first played on two modest strips of land in Wolverhampton until the club moved to a more substantial ground on Dudley Road in 1881. Just three years later, in 1884, they celebrated their first silverware by winning the Wrekin Cup — in the same season that they made their debut in the FA Cup.
Wolves turned professional following the FA’s decision in July 1885 to legalise professionalism in football, allowing clubs to officially pay players. Wolves were among the early adopters, reflecting the club’s ambition and growing stature at the time. Their move toward professionalism helped them attract talented players and played a key role in their inclusion as one of the 12 founding members of the Football League in 1888.
Wolves featured in the very first round of Football League fixtures, playing out a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at Dudley Road on 8 September 1888. They finished a commendable third in that historic inaugural season and also reached their first FA Cup Final, though they were defeated 3–0 by Preston North End — the first team to complete the League and Cup ‘Double’. At the season’s end in 1889, the club made a final move to what would become their permanent home, Molineux, then a pleasure park known as the Molineux Grounds. It would become one of the most iconic football stadiums in England.
Early Cup Success (1888–1900)
Wolves quickly established themselves as a strong cup side. They were FA Cup finalists in 1889, losing to Preston North End, who were “The Invincibles” that season. Wolves claimed their first FA Cup victory in 1893, defeating Everton 1–0 at Fallowfield, Manchester.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers - FA Cup winners 1893.
Back row: Dickie Baugh, Billy Malpass, Harry Allen (Captain), William Rose, George Kinsey, George Swift
Front row: Robert Topham, David Wykes, Joe Butcher, Harry Wood, Alf Griffin
They reached the final again in 1896 and 1898, but lost on both occasions, to Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Wolves added a second FA Cup triumph to their 1893 success in 1908, defeating Newcastle United 3–1 in the final — a remarkable achievement just two years after suffering their first relegation to the Second Division.
Wolves FA Cup winning team 1908
Decline, wartime and monkey glands
The club spent much of the early 20th century fluctuating between the First and Second Divisions. The First World War and later Second World War interrupted footballing progress, and like many clubs, Wolves struggled with consistency during the interwar years. However, they developed a youth system and a resilient identity.
Wolves endured a challenging spell during the years surrounding the First World War, struggling to reclaim their place in the top flight. This period was not without highlights, however — notably an FA Cup Final appearance in 1921, though they were narrowly beaten. In 1923, the club suffered another setback with relegation to the Third Division (North), but they bounced back immediately, winning the division at the first attempt.
After eight seasons back in the Second Division, Wolves finally returned to the top tier in 1932 as Second Division champions under the charismatic and innovative manager Major Frank Buckley. Under Buckley’s leadership, the club quickly rose to prominence, becoming one of the strongest sides in English football in the late 1930s. They finished runners-up in the First Division in both the 1937–38 and 1938–39 seasons, and also reached the last FA Cup Final before the outbreak of war, though they were surprisingly beaten by Portsmouth.
The 1937–38 season was particularly heartbreaking: Wolves needed just a win in their final match away to Sunderland to secure the league title, but a 1–0 defeat saw them finish just one point behind champions Arsenal.
Off the pitch, Buckley’s methods drew widespread attention — and controversy. He famously introduced a regimen in which players were injected with ‘monkey gland’ extract, a supposed stamina booster. While the Football League disapproved, there were no rules to prevent it, and the practice only added to the mystique surrounding his formidable Wolves side.
Major Frank Buckley
Wolves 1937/38 season
Stan Cullis
The Golden Era – Stan Cullis & Billy Wright (1945–1965)
The most glorious period in Wolves’ history came under legendary manager Stan Cullis, who took charge in 1948. Cullis had been a player at the club and was a strict disciplinarian with progressive tactics. With captain Billy Wright, England’s first 100-cap international, leading the side, Wolves became a dominant force in English football.
Major Honours:
- First Division Champions: 1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59
- FA Cup Winners: 1949
- Charity Shield: 1949 (shared), 1954, 1959
Wolves also gained international fame by playing a series of high-profile floodlit friendlies against top European clubs such as Honvéd (Hungary) and Spartak Moscow. The 1954 win over Honvéd, featuring Ferenc Puskás, led the British press to dub them “Champions of the World” — a claim that helped spark the creation of the European Cup.
Billy Wright
Decline and the 1980s Collapse (1965–1986)
Cullis’s departure in 1964 marked the end of the glory days. Wolves were relegated in 1965 but bounced back quickly. They reached the UEFA Cup final in 1972, losing narrowly to Tottenham Hotspur over two legs.
1974 League Cup Win
Under manager Bill McGarry, they won the League Cup in 1974, beating Manchester City 2–1.
However, by the early 1980s, the club entered a severe decline. A series of financial crises and mismanagement saw Wolves relegated three times in a row—from the First to the Fourth Division—by 1986, a catastrophic fall for a former giant.
Almost Oblivion – The Rebirth (1986–1990s)
In the mid-80s, the club was close to liquidation. The stadium fell into disrepair, and crowds dwindled. A crucial saviour came in the form of Sir Jack Hayward, a local-born millionaire and passionate Wolves fan, who bought the club in 1990.
He invested heavily in the club’s infrastructure, including a full redevelopment of Molineux Stadium, transforming it into one of the most modern grounds in the country.
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