85 Years of Football and Fortune

A lot can happen in 85 years - and in the case of The Football Pools more than a lot can happens. Here's the highlights from both The Pools and the beautiful game itself.

1923

John Moores, Colin Askham and Bill Hughes set up Littlewoods Football Pools .

The first FA Cup Final was played at Wembley with Bolton Wanderers beating West Ham 2-0. The first Wembley goal was scored by David Jack but the most famous name from the final is 'Billy' - the police horse ridden by PC George Storey that helped clear the invading crowd from the pitch before the game.

1925

John Moores buys out Colin and Bill as a result of the business near collapse.

1928

Littlewoods Pools passes the £10,000 mark in the weekly stakes.

Dixie Dean scores a hat trick against Arsenal in his last game for Everton in the 1927-28 season and in doing so sets a new record of 60 League goals in a season.

1934

The Pools Promoters Association is founded.

Stanley Matthews wins his first international cap for England aged 19.

1950

The first ever £100,000 dividend is paid out by Littlewoods to Mrs E Knowlson of Manchester.

New Brighton, who joined the Football League in 1923 play their last League match.

1951

Australian matches are introduced on the Littlewoods Pools coupons in the summer.

At 15 years and 158 days, Wrexham's Ken Roberts plays against Bradford Park Avenue and equals the record as youngest player to appear in the Football League.

1957

Mrs Nellie McGrail of Stockport scoops the first ever £200,000 jackpot and Littlewoods introduces its first coupon collectors.

Manchester United's 'Busby Babes' won their second successive First Division championship. Nine months later came the air disaster in Munich which claimed 23 lives including those 8 players.

1963

The Pools Panel was introduced.

After the 'Big Freeze' wipes out almost all football matches in Britain for 10 weeks, Tottenham become the first English club to win a European trophy, lifting the European Cup Winners Cup in Rotterdam with a 5-1 hammering of Atletico Madrid. Jimmy Greaves and Terry Dyson bag two goals apiece.

1972

The first £500,000 jackpot is paid out to Mr K. Grimes of Liss, Hampshire.

Stoke City, one of the Football League's "Gang of 12" founding members won their first major trophy, the League Cup, with a 2-1 win against Chelsea. (England goalkeeper and current Pool Panel member Gordon Banks played for Stoke that day).

1973

Spot the Ball becomes a weekly, year-round competition.

Second Division Sunderland achieve the greatest upset in FA Cup history by beating Leeds United 1-0 at Wembley.

1980

Dave Preston of Burton on Trent wins almost £954,000 after hitting the jackpot on both Littlewoods and Vernons coupons.

In the same week John Robertson scores the only goal of the game at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid to give Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest their second successive European Cup crown at the expense of Germany's Hamburg SV whose side included Kevin Keegan.

1986

Nursing Sister Margaret Francis and 10 of her colleagues from Devizes, Wiltshire, becames the first pools millionaires sharing £1,017,890.

Liverpool complete a League and FA Cup double - the first since Arsenal in 1971 - and Kenny Dalglish becames the first player-manager to guide a side to the title.

1991

Romanian-born Rodi Woodcock from South London becomes the first person to win more than £2 million on Littlewoods Pools - with just a 54p stake.

Arsenal suffer just one League defeat (1-2 at Chelsea) on their way to the First Division championship - the fewest defeats since the division was expanded to 20 clubs in 1905.

1994

The biggest-ever Littlewoods payout - £2,924,622 - goes to a syndicate of regulars from the Yew Tree public house in Worsley, Manchester.

Another record is set in Manchester as United achieve the highest points haul (92) in a 42-game season since three points for a win was introduced in 1981.

1998

Littlewoods Pools celebrates its 75th anniversary with a promotion giving customers the chance to win one of 75 Rover cars.

Arsenal win the last Littlewoods-sponsored FA Cup with a win over Newcastle United.

2000

A new chapter in the life of Littlewoods Pools as it is bought by Sportech Plc.

Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper playes just 13 seconds of a First Division match at Wolves before being sent off - the fastest sending off in Football League's history.

2003

As part of its 80th birthday celebrations, one Littlewoods Pools punter wins a free £20,000 bet - the biggest single stake ever placed on the pools.

Sunderland's tally of just 21 goals in 38 Premiership matches is a new record low for any league season.

2007

Littlewoods, Vernons and Zetters Football Pools are all owned and operated by Sportech Plc.

2008

The rebrand and relaunch of "The New Football Pools" and the introduction of a the new Footy 15 game whereby predicting 15 correct match results could win a basic jackpot of £100,000 .