Many of us are aware of Nottingham Forest and Kaiserslautern’s famous league titles of 1978 & 1998 respectively but I thought I’d take some time to shed some light on 5 lesser-known campaigns where a newly-promoted team claimed the title.
Tottenham 1950/51
Tottenham’s first ever league title arrived immediately after winning promotion from the second division in 1949/50. Arthur Rowe, who began his playing career with Tottenham two decades prior, had been appointed manager the season of their promotion. Using his ‘push-and-go’ style of play (which would later develop into Total Football via Vic Buckingham and his Ajax stints), Rowe’s Tottenham took the first division by storm, finding themselves top of the league by December. They never relinquished the position.
Some notable names from this title-winning squad include Bill Nicholson, who would go on to manage the superb Tottenham side of the 1960s, along with Alf Ramsey, who, I’m told, won something, and Ron Burgess, who captained the team.
Ipswich Town 1961/62
Alf Ramsey, who featured in Tottenham’s back-to-back division wins as a player a decade prior was now manager of Ipswich Town as they accomplished the same feat. Remarkably, this was also Ipswich’s first season in top flight football. The Blues got off to an inauspicious start, with their first match in top-flight history finishing goalless against Bolton Wanderers (away). Three days later they lost 4–3 to title-contenders Burnley at Turf Moor.
But the performances soon improved, winning their first home match 4–2 against Manchester City. They were 2nd by the half-way point of the season. Ray Crawford and Ted Phillips, who spearheaded the team, became instrumental for Ipswich Town, scoring 61 league goals between them. Burnley’s form faltered in February/March and Ipswich Town took the initiative, pipping them to the title on the final day.
DWS 1963/64
Amsterdam-based DWS are currently competing in the sixth-tier of Dutch football, having become an amateur club in 1972. In 1963/64 DWS became the 3rd team in the Netherlands to achieve the feat of winning the first division immediately after promotion (although the first since professionalisation in 1954).
A large part of DWS’s success was down to Frans Geurtsen who they signed that summer from Velox. In his first season in top-flight football, he finished top-scorer (28 goals) while leading DWS to their first and only league title in 1963/64. DWS’s away form during their title winning-campaign was spectacular, picking up wins against Feyenoord and PSV and drawing to Ajax.
The following season they went on to compete in the European Cup, reaching the quarter-finals but ultimately losing out to Hungarian outfit Vasas ETO Győr. DWS are the most recent team to have won the Eredivisie without playing in a red and white home kit (DWS wore blue and black stripes).
St Etienne 1963/64
The same feat was accomplished the same year in France. Manager Jean Snella and Striker Rachid Mekhloufi, who had spent much of the past 6 years playing international football for Algeria, campaigning for its independence from France, were both present for their maiden 1956/57 league title win. Both returned immediately having spent a brief period together in Switzerland after St Etienne achieved promotion from the second division. Mekhloufi and André Guy combined to score 44 goals (from St Etienne’s total of 71) as Les Verts romped to the title with ease.
The team, which included future World Cup-winning manager Aimé Jacquet, went on to establish a dynasty of sorts, winning eight league title from the next 13 years. Players like Hervé Revelli and Salif Keïta played no small role in continuing the initial success of 1963/64.
Monaco 1977/78
Monaco had suffered relegation in the 1975/76 campaign but much like St Etienne, they were buoyed by the return of former manager Lucien Leduc, who had come out of retirement to again coach his beloved team. Leduc had led Monaco to their first ever league title in 1960/61 and picked up a second in 1962/63. After suffering relegation in 1975/76, they were promptly promoted back to the first division where they claimed the title on the first attempt. Prolific striker Delio Onnis had an incredible campaign, netting 29 goals in 35 appearances, with help from right-winger Christian Dalger (18 goals) and midfielder Raúl Nogués (10 goals).
Notably, Strasbourg, who were also promoted with Monaco, finished 3rd that season, 3 points off 1st placed Monaco. They would go on to win the title the following season.
Special Mention
A special mention of the Senegalese league where, for 3 consecutive years (2014–2017), they witnessed a newly-promoted team win the first division! During this same period, 2 of those champions were relegated the following season. US Gorée, for example, were promoted in 2015, champions in 2016, and relegated in 2017.
