The Peacocks

Lore & Background

Leeds United have won three top-flight league titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, two Charity Shields and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups. The club had their most successful period under the management of Don Revie in the 1960s and 1970s. The club have also been runners-up five times in the top flight, three times in the FA Cup, once each in the League Cup, the Charity Shield, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the Cup Winners' Cup and the European Cup. Leeds United share rivalries with Manchester United and Chelsea. The team's traditional kit colours are white shirts, white shorts and white socks. Their badge features the White Rose of York, which is a symbol of Yorkshire.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at Elland Road hum to life on a cold November evening, the kind of Yorkshire night where the air tastes of wet stone and distant coal smoke. In the away end, a handful of visitors stand with their arms crossed, watching the home supporters pour into the main stand in a slow, blue-and-white tide. Someone in the lower tier starts a single line — "March of the Peacocks" — and within seconds the song has swallowed the whole terrace, a wall of voices that makes the concrete vibrate underfoot. A young boy in a size-too-large replica shirt, his face painted white with a single blue stripe, presses his forehead against the railing. He does not know the name of every player who ever wore the badge, but he knows the sound. He knows the way the crowd inhales before a corner, the way the roar swells when the ball swings toward the near post. He knows that tonight, in this stadium, in this city, the peacock is not a metaphor. It is the roar itself, the colour, the unbroken line of blue and white stretching back to 1919. The whistle blows. The feathers spread.

Reader's Guide

Leeds United's predecessor, Leeds City, was formed in 1904 and elected to League membership in 1905. In 1919, Leeds City were forcibly disbanded by the Football League. At Salem Chapel in 1919, Leeds United was formed, and they received an invitation to enter the Midland League, being voted into it on 31 October 1919. Yorkshire Amateurs bought Elland Road and then sold it to Leeds United for £250. On 31 May 1920, Leeds United were elected to the Football League. They won the Second Division title in 1923–24 and promotion to the First Division. They were relegated in 1926–27. After World War II, Leeds were relegated again in 1946–47. They remained in the Second Division until 1955–56, when they won promotion to the First Division. They were relegated to the Second Division in 1959–60. Don Revie was appointed manager on 17 March 1961. He implemented a youth policy and a change of kit colour to an all-white strip. Leeds won promotion to the First Division in 1963–64. They won their first major trophy, the League Cup, in 1967–68. They won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1967–68 and again in 1970–71. They won their first league title in 1968–69. They won the FA Cup for the first time in 1971–72. They won the league title for the second time in 1973–74. Don Revie left at the end of that season. Brian Clough was appointed as his successor but was dismissed after 44 days. Jimmy Armfield replaced Clough and took the team to the final of the European Cup, where they were defeated by Bayern Munich.

Did You Know?

• Leeds United's all-white kit was inspired by Real Madrid.
• The club's record unbeaten run of 34 matches extended into the 1969–70 season.
• Don Revie's Leeds were voted one of the 50 greatest football teams of all time by Total Sport magazine.