Overview
Wigan Athletic was formed in 1932 in the town of Wigan, which is situated in Greater Manchester, Lancashire. This was the fifth attempt to create a stable football club in the town following the demise of Wigan County , Wigan United, Wigan Town and Wigan Borough. The clubs first stadium was known as Springfield Park, which was originally the stadium of Wigan Borough and was purchased by Wigan Athletic after Borough was disbanded.
Wigan Athletic were finally elected to the football league in 1978, after many unsuccessful attempts of joining the league. One such attempt grabbed headlines in 1972, in which they attempted to join the Scottish League Second Division.
Wigan's greatest spell of success arrived when Dave Whelan bought the club 1995 (who at the time were in the English Third Division) and announced his plans of getting Wigan Athletic into the Premier League. After 10 years of ownership the goal of Premier League football in Wigan was accomplished under the management of Paul Jewell after finishing second in the Coca Cola Championship. Wigan are still in the Premier League at this time (2009-2010 season) and are also the youngest club to be playing the Premier League for this season.
Wigan Athletic moved stadiums in 1999 to the JJB stadium which had just finished construction. In 2009 the JJB stadium had its name changed to the DW stadium after Wigan Athletic owner Dave Whelan sold the rest of his shares in JJB sports.
Highlights
In the 1934-1935 season Wigan Athletic set the record for the biggest win by a non-league team over a league team, by beating Carlisle United 6-1 in the FA cup.
In the 2005-2006 season Wigan Athletic reached their first major cup final beating Arsenal in the semi-finals. Wigan played Manchester Untied in the final and lost 4-0.
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