Things were to get worse rather than better, for three seasons later, in 1980/81, they were to be relegated again, this time to Division Four for the first time in their history.

To add insult to injury, the spectre of financial hardship was also coming to the surface yet again. In February 1982 the club was placed in administration. Harold Needler had died some years before and whilst his son had taken over the mantle of his father and continued to underwrite the vast bulk of the Club’s finances, he did not appear to have his father’s passion for the club. His decision, taken on the advice of his own financial advisers, meant the possibility of bankruptcy and extinction was rapidly turning into a reality.

It is ironic, bearing in mind the club’s uneasy relationship with its Rugby League neighbours at the start of its history, that it was an ex Rugby League player, Don Robinson, who was to rescue them. In doing so, he set in motion another chapter in the club’s history that was to provide the supporters with a much needed period of success. Robinson, who had previously been chairman of non-league Scarborough, appointed Colin Appleton (a former manager of Scarborough) as manager. In his first season in charge Appleton guided the club to promotion.

The following season, further success came agonisingly close, with the club missing out on a second promotion by one goal. The subsequent departure of Appleton to Swansea City set alarm bells ringing once again but another astute appointment, this time of Brian Horton as player-manager, saw the club finally return to Division Two in 1985/86. They again came close to joining the elite but eventually had to settle for sixth place. The following two seasons saw the Tigers reside in the lower half of the table. The departure of Horton was followed by a succession of managers who failed to provide the club with the desperately needed place in the top flight of English football. A second spell as manager for Colin Appleton was short lived and unsuccessful, winning only one game (and that in a Football League Cup-tie) in his fifteen-match reign. When Robinson announced his own departure as Chairman, Appleton was swiftly replaced by the new Chairman, Richard Chetham, who then appointed Stan Ternent, a man with no previous managerial experience to revive the club’s fortunes. This proved to be unsuccessful and Ternent’s dismissal in January 1991 saw the appointment of Terry Dolan.

During the next six years the club were relegated twice to find themselves once again in the basement division of the league. In addition to the problems on the field, they also faced a constant battle to stay afloat against the rising financial tide that threatened to engulf them. Martin Fish, who had replaced Chetham as chairman, spent a lot of his time in the High Court defending numerous ‘winding up’ orders against the Club, whilst Dolan fought a losing battle against the dwindling band of loyal supporters whose patience had worn thin with the lack of success and the style of play he adopted.

Although not having the same immediate impact as Raich Carter, Cliff Britton steadily built a team that was capable of resurrecting the Tigers’ flagging fortunes.

During the 1964/65 season, Harold Needler again provided money that allowed Britton to acquire a young forward who was to become a legend in the club’s history to rival, if not surpass, Raich Carter.

Ken Wagstaff, or ‘Waggy’ as he came to be christened, arrived from Mansfield Town for the princely sum of £40,000. His goalscoring ability and the partnership he forged with the locally born Chris Chilton, struck fear into the hearts of defenders everywhere. They were commonly regarded as the most potent strikeforce outside of the First Division. In addition, Britton brought to the club two other attack minded players in the shape of Ken Houghton and Ian Butler. The club narrowly missed out on promotion but the following season saw them storm back into the Second Division as champions, scoring 109 goals. Waggy’s contribution of 31 in all competitions for the season set a new post-war record previously held by Bill Bradbury. They also enjoyed another fine FA Cup run, holding Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge in the quarter-final, losing the replay 3-1 at Boothferry Park before a gate of 45,328.

Season 1966/67 saw the Tigers anticipating another surge towards Division One, but whilst Britton had bought wisely in the past, he failed to strengthen the squad sufficiently for this new campaign, choosing to remain loyal to the players who had already achieved so much. Whilst the squad he had at his disposal was good enough to head the table by the end of September, it was not strong enough to maintain that position or withstand the serious injuries that affected key players. Eventually they finished in mid-table, a position that they were to make their own for the next twelve seasons.

Despite the arrival of Terry Neil as player manager in 1970, their role as promotion contenders was never one they could sustain and any flirtation with relegation was eventually overcome. The 1977/78 season saw their luck run out however and they once more returned to the Third Division. The Promised Land seemed further away than ever. The prospect of better times ahead seemed a possibility.

When the League was abandoned in September 1939, they faced an uncertain future since the financial troubles that had plagued them in the previous decade returned with a vengeance.

There were many who doubted whether the Club would be able to continue. But in one of the darkest periods of the clubs history a glimmer of light appeared in the shape of Harold Needler and by the end of the Second World War a new era in the history of Hull City had dawned. When league football recommenced in 1946, the Tigers faced it with a new Board of Directors led by Harold Needler, a new Manager, Major Frank Buckley, and equally as important a new ground, Boothferry Park, which had been built on the site of an old golf course.

On 31st August 1946, in their first match of the season, the Tigers drew 0-0 with Lincoln City at their new home in front of a crowd of 25,586, thus setting a record for the highest home attendance in their history up to that point. The season did not start well for them and it was not until the 12th October that the home supporters were able to cheer a victory on their new ground. The after-effects of the war continued to hit the club and this, combined with a substantial list of injuries which saw the Tigers use 43 players, meant they did well to finish in a respectable mid table position.

The following season started quietly but its importance lay not so much in the results, rather in the arrival of one of the greatest players ever to wear the Tigers colours, Horatio Stratton Carter. His debut, on 3rd April 1948, came too late to assist the club in their faltering promotion bid and they eventually finished in fifth place. It was in the following season when the full impact of Raich Carter’s influence was to be felt. Although coming to the end of his playing career, Raich still possessed an abundance of talent and experience, which he used to influence events on the field to such an extent that the Tigers had the best season in their history, winning the Third Division (North) championship and setting new records along the way. They won their first nine matches (a league record) and the attendance of 49,655 for their top of the table clash at home to Rotherham on Christmas Day, was a League record that still stands. Coupled with this success in the league, the Tigers also enjoyed one of their best cup runs, culminating in 55,019 spectators packing into Boothferry Park to see Manchester United defeat the Tigers 1-0 in a closely fought battle. This attendance still remains the highest ever recorded at Boothferry Park and one that will never be beaten.

Expectation was high that the ‘Holy Grail’ of First Division football would be achieved under the guidance of Raich as the Tigers started life in Division Two. Alas it was not to be. Despite the acquisition of players with experience and the purchase of promising youngsters such as Don Revie, the club could only finish seventh. By September 1951, Raich Carter had resigned as Manager. The momentum was lost and despite retaining their Second Division status for a further six years, the Tigers found themselves back in Division Three (North) at the start of the 1956/57 season. They managed to gain promotion in 1958/59, but their return to Division Two was brief. They were immediately relegated the following season and it wasn’t until the arrival of Cliff Britton as manager in July 1961, that the prospect of better times ahead seemed a possibility.

Football League Competition returned in August 1919 and City continued their mid table existence in the Second Division.

As they moved into the 1920s there emerged a thread, namely finance, that was to run throughout the remainder of the club’s history with varying consequences. To survive, the directors had pursued a policy of selling their better players to meet the costs of running the club in an area of the country still dominated by Rugby League. Whilst the likes of Mercer, Gilhooley, Stevens, Lee and others were allowed to leave – often attracting substantial transfer fees for their times – one player who did emerge, and yet managed to stay with the Tigers for over 14 years, was George ‘Geordie’ Maddison. A brilliant goalkeeper, he was to establish the tradition of good keepers that has remained with the club to this day. Whilst they retained their Second Division status throughout the whole of the decade, they never finished higher than fifth. Their flirtation with success was brief, often restricted to the odd success in the cup and the occasional journey into the promotion zone. Each time they only flattered to deceive. The potential remained, but its fulfilment was never achieved.

The 1929/30 season was a classic example of the rollercoaster that is Hull City. Success in the FA Cup saw the club reach the semi-final for the first (and only) time in their history. Only after a replay did they finally succumb to Arsenal (the eventual winners). If this disappointment was not enough, more was to arrive in the shape of relegation for the first time in their brief history. The long cup run had taken its toll on the club and a combination of injuries and a closing programme of nine games in 28 days saw the Tigers finish in their lowest league position to date, with only Notts County below them. Relegation to the Third Division (North) was the only reward for their endeavours.

Whilst their relegation partners gained promotion at the first time of asking, the Tigers took a little longer to adjust to their new life in Division Three (North). It wasn’t until the 1932/33 season that Manager Haydn Green steered the Tigers to promotion as Champions, having remained unbeaten at home. Their return to the Second Division was to last only three seasons. In 1935/36, having been decimated by injuries and forced to use 32 players, they finished bottom of the Division winning only five games out of a possible 42 and conceding 111 goals in the process. The Tigers therefore spent the remaining years before the Second World War in Division Three (North), coming close to promotion on each occasion.

Hull City was formed as a professional football club in June 1904 after previous attempts to establish a football club in a city dominated by Rugby League had floundered.

The timing of its formation did not allow the club sufficient time to apply for membership of the Football League, so its first season in existence consisted of friendly games against clubs from the North of the country as well as the East Midlands. These were played at the Boulevard, home of Hull F.C. (one of the City’s professional Rugby League clubs). The Club also entered the F.A. Challenge Cup but they were eliminated, after a replay, in the preliminary round against Stockton.

Hull City’s First Game in 1904
Hull City in white against Notts County in stripes. The final result was a 2-2 draw.

The relationship with their landlords was an uneasy one and having encountered a number of problems during the first season, the club’s directors looked elsewhere for a permanent home. Eventually a deal was struck enabling them to make use of the Anlaby Road Cricket Ground. Having successfully gained admission to the Football League, they commenced their 1905/06 season home matches on this site and later moved to a new site adjacent to the Cricket Ground. This became their permanent abode until after the Second World War, when they took up residence in their current home, Boothferry Park.

Under the management of Ambrose Langley, the club quickly established themselves as a competent team, always finishing in the top half of the Second Division and coming agonisingly close to achieving that elusive goal of First Division status in 1909/10. An inferior goal average meant missing out on promotion by the narrowest of margins to Oldham Athletic. In the remaining seasons before the outbreak of the First World War, they confirmed their status as a solid Second Division team but never threatened to breach that Division One barrier. Although the Football League continued in the early part of the war, this was against a rising swell of opposition nationally. At the start of the 1915/16 campaign the League closed down its formal competition and replaced it with a regionalised structure, the Tigers playing in the Midland Section for the next four seasons. They enjoyed no major success during this time as many of their established players were fighting in France. As with many other teams, they relied heavily on ‘guest’ appearances to enable them to fulfil their fixtures.