The Western League, which currently has two divisions at Step 5 & 6 of the pyramid, started life as the Bristol & District League back in 1892. In those days there was just one division and, in the first season, only 9 clubs competed for the title. The league was won by Warmley who went on to almost dominate the league for the first 5 seasons, winning it four times with just a break in 1895 when Hereford Thistle took the title with Warmley finishing third. Their reserves also won the newly formed Division Two in its first two seasons.
In 1898 the league took in some clubs from the Southern League and for ten years the league champions reads like a who's who of future Football League and Premier League clubs. Swindon Town, Bristol Rovers (founder members of the Western League as Eastville Rovers), Portsmouth on three occasions, Tottenham Hotspur (more about them later), Plymouth Argyle, QPR, Fulham, Southampton and Brighton all won the Western League between 1899 and 1909.
In all 59 different teams have won the Western League top division to date. Of that 59 only one team has managed to reach double figures when it comes to league titles and that team is Bideford (10), currently of the Southern League Division One South. Other notable numbers of titles are Bristol City Reserves with 7 (two more than Rovers Reserves), Taunton Town with 6 (all in the space of a decade), and Welton Rovers who have 5.
Eleven Western League champions have gone on to play in the Football League, Yeovil & Petters United (4) (Yeovil Town), Portsmouth (3), Millwall (2), Bristol City (1), Bristol Rovers (1), Cardiff City (1), Plymouth Argyle (1), Queens Park Rangers (1), Swindon Town (1), Tottenham Hotspur (1). Merthyr Town did it the other way around. They won the Western League in 2012, 82 years after losing their Football League place. Tottenham Hotspur's title came in 1904, three years after famously becoming the first (and currently only) non-league team to win the FA Cup. Although the club was officially a member of the Southern League at the time, they also played in the Western League at the same time.
In 1898 the league took in some clubs from the Southern League and for ten years the league champions reads like a who's who of future Football League and Premier League clubs. Swindon Town, Bristol Rovers (founder members of the Western League as Eastville Rovers), Portsmouth on three occasions, Tottenham Hotspur (more about them later), Plymouth Argyle, QPR, Fulham, Southampton and Brighton all won the Western League between 1899 and 1909.
In all 59 different teams have won the Western League top division to date. Of that 59 only one team has managed to reach double figures when it comes to league titles and that team is Bideford (10), currently of the Southern League Division One South. Other notable numbers of titles are Bristol City Reserves with 7 (two more than Rovers Reserves), Taunton Town with 6 (all in the space of a decade), and Welton Rovers who have 5.
Eleven Western League champions have gone on to play in the Football League, Yeovil & Petters United (4) (Yeovil Town), Portsmouth (3), Millwall (2), Bristol City (1), Bristol Rovers (1), Cardiff City (1), Plymouth Argyle (1), Queens Park Rangers (1), Swindon Town (1), Tottenham Hotspur (1). Merthyr Town did it the other way around. They won the Western League in 2012, 82 years after losing their Football League place. Tottenham Hotspur's title came in 1904, three years after famously becoming the first (and currently only) non-league team to win the FA Cup. Although the club was officially a member of the Southern League at the time, they also played in the Western League at the same time.