Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club are a professional English football team. They currently (2003-2004) play in the Football League Championship
Their home ground is at Deepdale in the city of Preston, Lancashire, and they are nicknamed the 'Lilywhites'.
Formed in 1881 and one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888, Preston North End won the first league championship (1888-89). The club was also the first to achieve the 'double' of winning the FA Cup (1889, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0) and the Football League championship in the same season. This double was even more extraordinary in that the league was won without a single defeat, a feat which would not be repeated in the top division until 2003-04 (by Arsenal). Equally impressive was that the cup was won without conceding a single goal. During this period the team was nicknamed "The Invincibles" and featured a collection of local and Scottish players renowned for their eccentric behaviour. One centre forward used to walk his fox on the pitch during half time.
Preston North End played in the top two divisions of the League continuously until 1970. They also won the FA Cup in 1938 (beating Huddersfield Town 1-0). In 1970, however, they were relegated to Division 3 for the first time, but bounced back by winning the Division 3 championship 1970-71. The club did not maintain its position though, dropping eventually to Division 4 in 1985.
During the 1990s, however, Preston re-emerged under manager David Moyes.
Famous players
