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The 1885–86 season was the eighth season in the history of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. In what was their inaugural season as a professional club, Albion moved to the Stoney Lane ground after leaving their previous home at Four Acres. The team also changed the colour of its kit, wearing blue and white striped jerseys for the first time. As league football had not been introduced in England at the time,〔 the team competed solely in cup competitions and friendly matches throughout the season, playing 52 matches in total. West Bromwich Albion won two regional cup competitions in 1885–86. They defeated Walsall Swifts by a single goal in the replayed final of the Birmingham Senior Cup, while in the Staffordshire Senior Cup a replay was again required as Stoke were beaten 4–2 following a goalless draw in the original tie. Albion also progressed through seven rounds to reach the FA Cup Final for the first time, becoming the first Midlands team to do so. However, after initially drawing 0–0 with Blackburn Rovers, they lost 2–0 in the replay. ==Off the field== Football was an amateur game until July 1885, when the Football Association decided to legalise payments to players. West Bromwich Albion held a committee meeting the following month, at which it was decided that the club should become professional. Albion's first professionals earned 10 shillings (50 pence) per week, with no training allowance provided.〔Matthews (1987) p. 11.〕 After deciding not to renew the lease on the Four Acres, Albion moved to their fifth ground, Stoney Lane, in time for the 1885–86 season. The ground was located close to the Plough and Harrow public house, which served as the club's headquarters at the time.〔Inglis p. 173.〕 Albion took out an initial seven-year lease on the Stoney Lane site, paying an annual rent of £28 to its owner, a local undertaker named Mr Webb.〔 The pitch was returfed and levelled, with ashes spread around the perimeter, and a wooden grandstand was built that came to be known as 'Noah's Ark'.〔Matthews (2007) p. 66.〕 The ground cost £370 to build, a sum that was offset by a number of friendly matches that took place early in the season.〔 During their early years, West Bromwich Albion had played in whatever coloured kit was available locally. However, at a committee meeting held in September 1885, the club decreed that blue and white striped jerseys should be adopted on a permanent basis. With the exception of a brief trial of scarlet and blue broad stripes early in the 1889–90 season, the team have worn these colours ever since,〔Matthews (1987) p. 241.〕 although initially the blue was of a lighter shade; the navy blue stripes were not introduced until after the First World War.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/West_Bromwich_Albion/West_Bromwich_Albion.htm )〕〔Morris p. 12.〕 Due to the club's financial situation, the reserve team had their wages halved early on in the season, and by January 1886 the payments made to reserve players were withdrawn altogether, although there was a possibility of them receiving a bonus at the end of the season if funds permitted. This resulted in Albion's second team refusing to play against Small Heath Alliance and the game was cancelled. Some of the players were suspended as a result of their actions, but were later re-instated.〔Matthews (1987) p. 243.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1885–86 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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