Newcastle United was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and have played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since then.
They have won four First Division titles and six FA Cups, as well as the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
Their most successful era was in the 1900s when they won the league on three occasions; 1904-05, 1906-07 and 1908-09. If it hadn't been for a defeat to Aston Villa in the 1905 final they would have completed a domestic double. Their fourth league title came in 1926-27.
In 1969 they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup under manager Joe Harvey. They dispatched Ujpest of Hungary 6-2 over two legs to earn the trophy.
Harvey bought striker Malcolm Macdonald in the summer of 1971, for a club record transfer fee of £180,000. He was a prolific goalscorer, who led United's attack to Wembley in their 1974 FA Cup Final defeat at the hands of Liverpool.
Having dropped into the second tier, Arthur Cox guided Newcastle back to the First Division at the end of the 1983-84 season, with players such as Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle, and ex-England captain Kevin Keegan the heartbeat of the team. However, with a lack of funds, Cox left for Derby County and Keegan retired. Paul Gascoigne emerged through the ranks shortly afterwards.
Sir John Hall became the club's chairman in 1992, and brought back Keegan, who managed to save the team from relegation to the Third Division. By 1993-94 they were back in the top flight and finished third.
Keegan took Newcastle to two consecutive runners-up finishes in the league in 1995-96 and 1996-97, playing a hugely entertaining brand of football. His side were studded with entertainers like David Ginola, Tino Asprilla, Peter Beardsley, Les Ferdinand and Keith Gillespie. He also signed Alan Shearer for a then world record £15 million.
