For 15 years, between 1986 and 2001, the Terriers were regular opponents for Albion. During our 16 years out of the top flight, they spent eight years in the second tier; and they were also in the third during our two seasons there.
Previously, we were regular opponents in the old First Division between 1920 and 1956.
Here's the summary:
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | |
| Home | 33 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 57 | 43 | 14 |
| Away | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 36 | 56 | -20 |
| Total |
66 |
24 | 16 | 26 | 93 | 99 | -6 |
The last time we played them was in 2000-1 - Gary Megson's first full season in charge, when we made the play-offs. It was also Huddersfield's most recent season in the second tier - they finished in 22nd place and were relegated. We won 2-0 at the McAlpine on 11th November, with goals from Jordao and Lee Hughes. The Hawthorns meeting was the penultimate game of that season (except for the play-offs, obviously); Albion had little to play for as our play-off place was assured and automatic promotion was out of reach. Huddersfield, on the other hand, were in 20th place and fighting for their First Division place. The game ended in a 1-1 draw - Andy Booth scoring for the Terriers after seven minutes, and Jason Roberts equalising ten minutes later.
Here's the record going back to the most recent top-flight games:
| 2000-1 | Division 1 |
Albion |
1 | 1 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
0 | 2 | Albion |
D |
W |
| 1999-2000 | Division 1 | Albion | 0 | 1 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
1 | 0 | Albion | L | L |
| 1998-9 | Division 1 | Albion | 3 | 1 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
0 | 3 | Albion | W | W |
| 1997-8 | Division 1 | Albion | 0 | 2 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
1 | 0 | Albion | L | L |
| 1996-7 | Division 1 | Albion | 0 | 1 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
0 | 0 | Albion | D | D |
| 1995-6 | Division 1 | Albion | 1 | 2 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
4 | 1 | Albion | L | L |
| 1992-3 | Division 1 | Albion | 2 | 2 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
0 | 1 | Albion | D | W |
| 1991-2 | Division 2 | Albion | 2 | 1 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
3 | 0 | Albion | W | L |
| 1987-8 | Division 2 | Albion | 3 | 2 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
1 | 3 | Albion | W | W |
| 1986-7 | Division 2 | Albion | 1 | 0 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
2 | 1 | Albion | W | L |
| 1971-2 | Division 1 | Albion | 1 | 1 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
1 | 0 | Albion | D | L |
| 1970-1 | Division 1 | Albion | 2 | 1 | Huddersfield |
Huddersfield |
2 | 1 | Albion | W | L |
Those who like to look for patterns might spot that since 1986 we've lost every other game at Huddersfield - and it's time for a defeat.
Huddersfield Town: club historyHuddersfield Town FC was founded in 1908, and elected to Division 2 of the Football League two years later. They'd been in the League for only five years when the First World War interrupted proceedings, and in the season after the restart (1919-20) they won promotion to the First Division as runners-up to Tottenham Hotspur. They also reached the FA Cup final that year, but lost 1-0 to Aston Villa (after extra time). The 'Cup and Promotion' double thus remained unclaimed, leaving Albion eleven years later to become the first and so far the only club to achieve it.
This was the year incidentally in which Albion won their only League championship to date (not counting 2008 obviously). But Huddersfield went on to become one of England's most successful clubs over the next few years. Under the managerial guidance of the great Herbert Chapman they won the Cup in 1922, and in 1926 they became the first team to win the League Championship three times in succession. Albion were runners-up on the second of those three occasions - two points behind.
In the following two seasons, 1927 and 1928, Huddersfield finished as runners-up. They also reached the FA Cup final in 1928, 1930 and 1938.
(Herbert Chapman went on to win another three consecutive League titles, this time with Arsenal, from 1933 to 1935. Only Alex Ferguson has done it since, and he of course has done it twice with the same club. Liverpool also won the League three times in succession, from 1982 to 1984, but under two different managers: Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan.)
Outside the 1920s and to a lesser extent the 1930s, Huddersfield's record is very ordinary. They were eventually relegated from the First Division in 1952, and although they bounced back at the first attempt (1953) they were relegated again in 1956 and have since spent only two years in the top flight - from 1970 to 1972. The great Denis Law made his professional debut with Huddersfield in 1956, and made 81 League appearances before joining Manchester City in 1960 for a British record fee of £55,000.
Equally notable in his own way was Frank Worthington, who made 171 appearances for the Terriers between 1966 and 1972. He moved to Leicester City in 1972 and made 210 appearances for the Foxes, going on to play for nine League clubs, eight non-league clubs and five overseas (including Philadelphia Fury and Tampa Bay Rowdies) before finishing in 1992 as player-coach of Halifax Town.
In 1973, after losing their place in the top flight for the last time (to date), they finished 21st (out of 22) in the Second Division and were relegated to the Third for the first time. Two years later they went down to the Fourth, where they stayed for five years. They've been in the two middle divisions ever since, except for one season (2003/4) when they slipped to Division Three.
It was in 1994 that they moved from Leeds Road to the McAlpine Stadium, and their new home was renamed the Galpharm ten years later.
The new stadium has so far only seen League One football under its new name. Huddersfield were promoted to that level in 2004 - the year the latest restructure took place - via the play-offs. Their best performance since then was in 2005-6, when they finished fourth; they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Barnsley in the play-off semi-final.
Last season they finished in ninth place, eight points outside the play-offs. Lee Clark was appointed as manager in December 2008 - the latest in a long line, since Peter Jackson left 18 months earlier. His changes have been unspectacular, the biggest signing being Robbie Simpson for £300,000 from Coventry City who has only made three starts in the League so far. But Huddersfield have a strong youth development set-up and their side is rich with local products. This season, coming up to our third round FA Cup tie - with exactly half of their League season gone - they are doing rather better: they're currently in fifth place. They won their last game, at home to MK Dons, but had previously gone four games without a win.
They reached the third round of the Cup by beating Dagenham & Redbridge 6-1 in the first round, and Port Vale 1-0 (away from home) in the second. They followed up the 6-1 victory in the first round with a 6-0 defeat of Wycombe Wanderers. So far this season they are unbeaten at home; they've scored 34 goals in twelve League games at the Galpharm, of which they've won nine and drawn three. Away from home it's a different story: they've won only two of their eleven games, scoring only twelve goals.
Head to HeadAlbion's first League game against Huddersfield was on Christmas Eve 1910, and it ended in a 2-0 win for the Baggies. The Hawthorns game was the last of the season, and Albion needed to win to guarantee promotion; we won 1-0 thanks to a penalty from Freddie Buck. Since then we've played them 64 times in the League - most of those coming in the First Division between 1920 and 1956. We also spent ten seasons in the same division as Huddersfield between 1986 and 2001 - eight in the second tier and two in the third. Albion's biggest win in that period was at the McAlpine in 1998-9, when James Quinn replaced Fabian deFreitas with twenty minutes left and the game scoreless, and scored two goals within nine minutes; Lee Hughes added the third a minute later. This was also Enzo Maresca's first start for Albion.
Equally memorable but for the wrong reasons was a 3-0 defeat at Leeds Road in March 1992, one of the goals being a stunning header from Gary Strodder. Albion had gone into this game in third place, with eight games left, but this was the first of a run of six games without a win that meant we missed out on the play-offs. Huddersfield on the other hand were in eighth before this game, but went on to win seven of their last eight games, and draw the other; they finished in third place, but lost 4-3 on aggregate to Peterborough United in the play-off semi-final.
We have met them only once before in the FA Cup. It was the quarter final, and unluckily for Albion it was in the 1920s. 1928/9, to be precise, when we were in the Second Division and they were in the First. Huddersfield won 2-1 in a replay at Leeds Road, after a 1-1 draw at The Hawthorns. They went on to lose to Bolton Wanderers in the semi-final - and Bolton beat Portsmouth in the final.
We have never played Huddersfield in any other competiton.