Crystal Palace W

The Exhibition Palace and FA Cup Final venue (1854–1905)

In 1854, the Crystal Palace exhibition building had been relocated from Hyde Park, London, and rebuilt in an area of South London next to Sydenham Hill. The surrounding area was renamed Crystal Palace and included the Crystal Palace Park, where various sports facilities were built. In 1857, the Crystal Palace Cricket Club was established here using the cricket ground inside the park. Its members later lobbied for a continuation of sporting activities during the winter months and set up an amateur Crystal Palace football team, who became founder members of the Football Association in 1863. They competed in the first FA Cup competition in 1871–72, reaching the semi-finals and played in the FA Cup over the next four seasons, but disappeared from historical records around December 1875.

In 1895, the Football Association found a new permanent venue for the FA Cup final to be played at the sports stadium situated inside the exhibition building grounds. Some years later, the Crystal Palace Company who owned the Palace and its grounds and were reliant on tourist activity for their income, sought fresh attractions for the venue and decided to form a new professional football club to play at the stadium. The owners wanted a club to play there and tap into the vast crowd potential of the area.

Birth of the professional club and the Southern League (1905–1920)

The professional Crystal Palace Football Club was formed on 10 September 1905 under the guidance of Aston Villa assistant secretary Edmund Goodman, who later became Palace's longest ever serving manager. The club applied for election to the Football League, but were rejected and instead found itself in the Southern League Second Division for the 1905–06 season. Palace were successful in their inaugural campaign, achieving promotion to the Southern League First Division, after being crowned as champions. They also played in the mid-week United League, finishing runners-up to Watford, and it was in this competition that the club played their first match, winning 3–0 away to New Brompton.

In 1907, in a shock first round victory, Crystal Palace beat Newcastle United 1–0 in the FA Cup. An even greater upset occurred two years later, in 1909, when Palace defeated FA Cup holders Wolves in the first round of that year's competition, becoming the first non-league side to eliminate the cup holders. Palace remained in the Southern League until 1920, but were forced to leave the Cup final venue in 1915 due to the outbreak of the First World War, which led to the Admiralty requisitioning the Crystal Palace and its grounds. The club moved to the home of nearby West Norwood at the Herne Hill Velodrome. Three years later, they moved again to the Nest following the demise of Croydon Common F.C..

1913 FA Cup final bombing

The Palace stadium was almost destroyed in an attempted terrorist bombing of the 1913 FA Cup final, when the suffragettes of the Women's Social and Political Union, plotted to blow up the stands. This was part of the suffragette bombing and arson campaign, in which the suffragettes carried out a series of politically motivated bombing and arson attacks nationwide, as part of their campaign for women's suffrage.

Into the Football League (1920–1958)

The club became founder members of the new Football League Third Division in the 1920–21 season, finishing as champions and gaining promotion to the Second Division. This achievement meant they joined Preston North End, Small Heath, Liverpool, and Bury as the only clubs at that time to have won a championship in their first season as a league club. Palace then moved to a new stadium Selhurst Park in 1924, where the club still play their home games today.

The opening fixture at Selhurst Park was against The Wednesday, with Palace losing 0–1 in front of a crowd of 25,000. Finishing in twenty-first position, the club were relegated to the Third Division South. Before the Second World War, Palace made good efforts at promotion, mostly finishing in the top half of the table and were runners-up on three occasions. During the war years, the Football League was suspended, and the club won two Wartime Leagues. After the war, Palace were less successful in the league, their highest position being seventh, and conversely on three occasions the club had to apply for re-election.