1878-1909
Manchester United Football Club was first formed in 1878, albeit under a different name -Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway).
Little suspecting the impact they were about to have on the national, even global game, the workers in the railway yard at Newton Heath indulged their passion for association football with games against other departments of the LYR or other railway companies.
Indeed, when the Football League was formed in 1888, Newton Heath did not consider themselves good enough to become founder members alongside the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End.
They waited instead until 1892 to make their entrance.
Financial problems plagued Newton Heath, and by the start of the twentieth century it seemed they were destined for extinction. The club was saved, however, by a local brewery owner, John Henry Davies.
Legend has it that he learned of the club's plight when he found a dog belonging to Newton Heath captain Harry Stafford.
Davies decided to invest in the club, in return for some interest in running it. This led to a change of name and, after several alternatives including Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were rejected, Manchester United was born in April/May 1902.
The next influential figure to arrive at United was Ernest Mangnall, who was appointed secretary in September 1903 but is widely acknowledged as being the club's first manager.
His side, including new signings like goalkeeper Harry Moger and forward Charlie Sagar, finished third in the Second Division in 1903/04 and again in 1904/05.
The following season, 1905/06, was to prove one of the greatest in the early life of Manchester United.
The half-back line of Dick Duckworth, Alex Bell and captain Charlie Roberts were instrumental in the side which reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, but more importantly finished as runners-up in the Second Division.
Twelve years after being relegated, United reclaimed their place in the top flight.
To celebrate, Mangnall signed Billy Meredith from rivals Manchester City.
Nicknamed the Welsh Wizard, Meredith had been implicated in a bribery scandal at City, and was due to be auctioned along with 17 other players.
Mangnall made his move early, and acquired Meredith's signature before the bidding began.
The winger's arrival proved to be inspirational - Meredith set up countless goals for Sandy Turnbull in 1907/08 when United won the Football League Championship for the first time.
As champions, United played in the first ever Charity Shield in 1908.
They duly won the trophy, beating FA Cup winners QPR 4-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Sandy's namesake, Jimmy Turnbull.
The third trophy to be added to the club's honours board was the FA Cup, at the end of a tremendous run in 1909.
United beat Bristol City 1-0 in the final, thanks to Sandy Turnbull's goal.
And so the first chapter in the club's history ended on a high note, with the promise of more to come in the next, including a move to a certain new stadium.
1910-1919
The words Old Trafford entered football folklore for the first time during the 1909/10 season.
The land on which the stadium was built was bought by the Manchester Brewery Company (John Henry Davies) and leased to the club.
Davies himself paid for the building work, which commenced in 1908 under the supervision of the renowned architect Archibald Leitch. By 1910, the club had moved lock, stock and barrel from their old home of Bank Street.
United's first fixture at Old Trafford was played on 19 February 1910.
The new hosts lost 4-3 to their first visitors Liverpool, but the stadium was successful in accommodating an 80,000 capacity crowd.
Two days previously, the old wooden stand at Bank Street had been blown down by strong winds - further evidence, perhaps, that United were suited to and needed their new home.
Indeed, United were crowned League Champions for the second time in their history, at the end of their first full season at Old Trafford - 1910/1911.
They clinched the title at home on the final day of the season, beating Sunderland 5-1 with Harold Halse grabbing two of the goals.
Halse wasn't the only goalscoring hero of that second Championship season. Another was the swashbuckling forward Enoch ‘Knocker’ West, who scored 19 goals during the campaign.
United also won the Charity Shield, beating Swindon Town 8-4, with Halse grabbing a double hat-trick.
Despite such feats, United could not keep up their winning run and in 1911/12, the defending champions finished disappointingly in thirteenth place. Secretary-manager Ernest Mangnall bore the brunt of the criticism, and resigned to join United's neighbours and rivals Manchester City.
The search for Mangnall's successor finished at the door of JJ Bentley, the president of the Football League.
Under his guidance the Reds claimed fourth place in the League at the end of the 1912/13 season.
The 1913/14 season was a period of transition, with Charlie Roberts and Alex Bell sold to Oldham and Blackburn respectively.
United finished in 14th, with West finishing as top scorer for the third season in a row.
The 1914/15 campaign was notable for a change of management - in December 1914, the roles of secretary and team manager were separated for the first time.
Bentley became full-time secretary and John Robson was appointed to look after and select the team.
Robson's team was a shadow of the one which had performed so well in the previous decade, as only George Stacey, Billy Meredith, Sandy Turnbull and George Wall remained from the 1909 FA Cup-winning side.
Not surprisingly, the club struggled, only escaping relegation by a single point.
To rub salt into the wound, Mangnall's Manchester City side finished in fifth place, thirteen places above United.
Before United could form a plan for recovery, the outbreak of the First World War put football firmly to the back of people's minds.
The Football League was suspended, and clubs resorted to playing in regional competitions.
United played in the Lancashire Prinicipal and Subsidiary Tournaments for four seasons, but this was a less than successful diversion, the misery compounded by the fact that two of the club's players were found guilty of match fixing.
Enoch West was banned for life as was Sandy Turnbull, who joined the Footballers' Battalion to help Britain's war effort.
Tragically Turnbull was killed during a battle in France in May 1917, to leave Manchester United without another of their early century heroes for their return to league football in 1919/20.
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