Crystal Palace was invented to fill a stadium beside a glass exhibition hall
The company that owned London's relocated Crystal Palace hosted the FA Cup final in its grounds but needed more visitors. So in 1905 it created a professional football club to play there. More than a century later, that tourist attraction's team finally won the FA Cup, then its first European trophy.
The great glass exhibition building was moved from Hyde Park to Sydenham Hill in 1854, and the park around it gained sports grounds. An amateur Crystal Palace side formed by members of the cricket club helped found the Football Association in 1863 and reached the semi-finals of the first FA Cup, before vanishing from records in 1875. The professional club followed in September 1905, guided by Edmund Goodman, an assistant secretary from Aston Villa who became its longest-serving manager.
Early Palace were giant-killers. In 1909 they became the first non-league club to knock out the FA Cup holders, beating Wolves. The First World War forced them out when the Admiralty took over the grounds, and in 1924 they settled at Selhurst Park. Joining the new Third Division in 1920, they won it at the first attempt. A friendly in April 1962 brought Real Madrid to London for the first time, and Palace lost only 4–3.
Under Malcolm Allison the nickname changed from the Glaziers to the Eagles and the claret and blue gave way to red and blue stripes. Terry Venables built a youthful team the press called the Team of the Eighties, but money troubles broke it up. The best season came in 1990–91, when Palace finished third behind Arsenal and Liverpool, yet missed Europe because English clubs had limited places after the Heysel disaster.
Relegation in 1998 led to administration in 1999 and again in 2010. Since returning to the top flight in 2013, the club has stayed there for a record run. Victory in the 2025 FA Cup final brought its first major trophy, followed by the Community Shield and then the 2025–26 Conference League. The fiercest rivalry, with Brighton, began in the 1970s.
Source: Crystal Palace F.C.
