Reading History

• 1871 – the club was formed at the meeting at the Bridge Street Rooms under the chairmanship of Mr JE Sydenham. He became the first Honorary Secretary of the club. The first name was The Biscuitmen. The first home ground was Reading Recreation Ground.
• 1877 – 1878 – the team defeated Marlow in the final and became the first winners of the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup.
• 1878 – Reading Cricket Ground became a new home of the team.
• September 5, 1896 – the team moved to Elm Park.
• 1882 – the new home ground was Coley Park.
• 1889 – they moved to Caversham Cricket Ground.
• 1894 – the Biscuitmen lost Preston North End in the first round of FA Cup with a record 18-0 score. This year they also became founder members of the Southern League.
• August 11, 1895 – the club turned professional. They registered as a limited liability company with a name Reading FC. Mr JB Messer was a chairman. The crest was a crown which in heraldry represents royal sovereignty for the County of Berkshire and a lion which is an image of Reading most famous landmark, the Forbury lion.
• September 5, 1896 – Reading built and moved to Elm Park.
• 1970 – the club changed its name to the Royals.
• 1998 – the Madejski Stadium became a new home ground.
• 1913 – in Italy the team defeated Genoa 4-2, A.C. Milan 5-0, Pro Vercelli 6-0, Italian national team 2-0 and lost to Casale 2-1.
• 1920 – Reading were elected to the Third Division of the Football League.
• 1925 – 1926 – they were champions of Division Three (South).
• 1926 – 1927 – the best run in the FA Cup took place, at Wolverhampton in the semi-final when Reading lost 3-0 to eventual winners Cardiff City. The record 33,042 attendance for Elm Park was set when people watched match against Brentford. Reading won 1-0.
• May, 1931 – the club was relegated to the Third Division.
• 1938 – Bristol City were defeated in the two-legged final. As a result the team won the Southern Section Cup.
• September, 1946 – the first victory after the war versus Crystal Palace. Reading scored 10 goals in this match.
• 1948 – 1949, 1951 – 1952 – the club finished runners-up in the Third Division (South).
• 1957 – 1958 – at the end of the season they were in 50 the place. Reading became founder members of the non-regional Division Three.
• 1970 – 1971 – the team was relegated to division four.
• 1975 – 1976 – the club became winners of Division Four and reached the Third Division status again.
• 1976 – 1977 – they slipped back into Division Four.
• 1978 – 1979 – back promotion to the Third Division.
• 1982 – 1983 – Reading were relegated again, but the club survived and Roger Smee became a chairman. Ian Branfoot took over a post of manager.
• 1983 – 1984 – the team finished third in Division Four.
• 1985 – 1986 – Reading became a champions of the Third Division and were promoted to the Second Division under the guidance of Ian Branfoot. It was the great success for the last 55 years.
• March 27, 1988 – the club won the Simod Cup, defeating Luton Town 4-1 at Wembley. This match had the record attendance of of 61,470.
• 1987 – 1988 – after two seasons they were relegated again.
• June, 1991 – Mark McGhee was appointed manager.
• 1993 – 1994 – Royals becoming Division Two Champions.
• 1994 – 1995 – this season in the First Division the club spent the majority of the campaign in the play-off positions.
• 1995 – 1996 – the Royals reached round five of the Football League Cup for the first time, and record receipts of £110,741 for a game at Elm Park were taken at the FA Cup tie against Manchester United.
• 1995 – Simon Osborn was sold to Queens Park Rangers for a record fee of £850,000. Than Shaka Hislop also was sold for a record fee of £1,575,000. Borislav 'Bobby' Mihaylov (for £300,000) and Darren Caskey (for £700,000) were brought in.
• 1995 -1996 – Wolves were defeated by the Reading with a 3-0 score. This win guaranteed the survival of the club.
• 1996 -1997 – the situation was repeated with a 2-1 home win over Wolves at the end of the season. Terry Bullivant appointed as manager.
• 1997 -1998 – the team spent the majority of the season campaign in the relegation places. Terry Bullivant couldn't prevent Reading from the relegation to the Second Division. He was replaced with Tommy Burns.
• 1999 – the club moved to the Madejski Stadium. At the new place they finished only tenth in Division Two. Alan Pardew the managerial reigns. Martin Allen became the assistant manager.
• 2001 – Reading became the first football club to register their fans as an official member of their squad.
• 2001 – 2002 – the team returned to the First Division, after finishing runners-up in Division Two.
• 2002 – 2003 – the Royals reached the play-offs in their first season back in Division One, but lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
• 2004 – 2005 – the club finished in the seventh place in Championship, only missing out on the play-offs on the final day of the season.
• 2005 -2006 – Leroy Lita was brought in for a record fee of £1million. At the end of the season the team got 106 points, recorded 31 wins, 13 draws and just two defeats, scoring 99 goals.
• March 25, 2006 – the Royals won promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history.
• 2006 – 2007 this season was prominent for the club's first ever appearance in the top flight of English football. They won a game against Middlesbrough 3-2.
• January 1, 2007 – the club defeat West Ham United 6-0. It was the highlight of the season.
• February 3, 2007 – Reading won a game over Manchester United 2-0 and got 40 points in the Premiership.
• 2007 – the Royals took part in Peace Cup in South Korea. At first they were defeated by River Plate, but than they won the games against Lyon and Shimizu S-Pulse.
• August 12, 2007 – the second season in Premier League. The match against Manchester United ended with 0-0 draw.
• August 15, 2007 – the team was defeated by chelsea 1-2.
• September 29, 2007 – Portsmouth beat the Royals 7-4. It is the highest aggregate score of 11 goals in one game and the Premiership record by now.