Remembering prominent Aston Villa role during Football League's 137th anniversary | OneFootball

On April 17, 1888, Aston Villa played an immensely prominent role in the beautiful game that fans everywhere have come to love. Club director William McGregor had previously written a letter to a number of teams, a snippet of which is still on display, along with a statue of him at Villa Park, with his newfound idea.

The allowance and rise of professionalism by the Football Association provided the pathway for increased interest to create a more stable environment for clubs to compete against each other. While the FA Cup was serving as the prominent competition at the time, more lucrative friendlies and other fixtures would often prevent teams from being able to plan, with parties often failing to adhere to previously agreed upon fixtures for one reason or another.

This prompted McGregor to then write to established organizations, hoping to introduce his new innovation. In the letter, the words that can still be seen on a plaque at Aston Villa's grounds, "I beg to tender the following suggestion," suggested hosting a set amount of home and away fixtures. Invited parties convened at the Royal Hotel in Manchester to discuss.

Then, not knowing the exact nature of how the competition would be organized, on this day 137 years ago, McGregor, along with representatives from Derby County, Notts County, Stoke City, West Brom, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Accrington, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Everton, and Preston, then formed the Football League.

Being heavily involved as an executive, when McGregor wasn't busy with aspects pertaining directly to Villa, such as the lion rampant or color scheme that is now known as the claret and blue, he was pushing forward and spearheading the league's continued development.

First campaign for Aston Villa

During the inaugural season, the 1888 AVFC finished second, with wins equaling two points in the table and a draw a single point. PNE were the first champions. Similar to today's fortress at Villa Park, Wellington Road proved to be a tough place for opponents to play at, as George Ramsay's side only lost once to the 1888 winners at their home grounds. Outside of that narrow 2-0 defeat, Aston Villa would win by a combined 44 goals for and 14 against when hosting fixtures.

The role of Aston Villa through McGregor has a notable lasting impact on what fans experience to this day. Starting from an idea and a piece of correspondence, the team based in Birmingham proved to be essential pioneers in what many around the world continue to enjoy to this day.