16 October 1878 - Town Hits The Switch

On 16 October 1878, a group of amateur footballers in Ipswich founded a new club they named Ipswich AFC. Now known as Ipswich Town FC, the club would go on to earn domestic and European titles, as well as provide two of the most successful managers to the English national team.

Ipswich remained an amateur side until 1936, when they turned professional and joined the Southern League. They joined the Football League two seasons later, starting in the Third Division. In 1955, they hired former Tottenham star Alf Ramsey as manager. It proved to be a brilliant hire, as Ramsey proceeded to lead them to the Second Division in 1957, then to the First Division in 1961. Ipswich won the League in 1962, at the end of their first season in the top flight.

Ramsey left in 1963 to manage England. Ipswich dropped back into the Second Division for the 1964-65 season. But Ipswich enjoyed another period of success after hiring Bobby Robson in 1969. Under Robson, Ipswich won the FA Cup in 1978 and the UEFA Cup in 1981. In 1982, Robson followed the path of Ramsey and left to manage the national team.

They have spent the intervening years moving back and forth between the top two divisions. They currently play in the Championship under manager Roy Keane.

22 January 1920 - A Man With Extraordinary Vision

On 22 January 1920, World Cup-winning England manager and apparent psychic Alf Ramsey was born in London.

During his playing career as a right-back with Southampton (1943-49) and Tottenham (1949-55), Ramsey developed a reputation as an intelligent, though not necessarily physically gifted, footballer, earning three caps for England (one of which was the upset loss to the United States in the 1950 World Cup). But he truly revealed the breadth of his genius when he switched to management.

His first post as manager was in 1955 with Ipswich Town, then in the Third Division South. By the end of his second season, he led them to the Second Division, then in 1961 they were promoted to the First Division--the club's first-ever appearance in the top flight. Although most pundits thought they'd drop back at the end of the 1961-62 season, Ramsey and Ipswich defied them all by winning the league that year.

Ramsey's success with Ipswich led to his appoinment as manager of England in 1963. He embraced the challenge and boldy predicted that England would win the 1966 World Cup. He also shook up the system, personally taking responsibility for team selection and other decisions that had previously been handled by an FA committee.

Ramsey proved his value as a manager and a fortune teller when hosts England did, in fact, win the 1966 World Cup with a 4-2 victory over West Germany in the Final. He was unable to replicate his success, however, and after lackluster performances in the 1968 European Championship and 1970 World Cup, Ramsey was sacked when England failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup.

He served time as pundit himself, then briefly served as manager for Birmingham City (1977-78), before his death from a heart attack in 1999.

25 September 1962 - Ipswich Delivers A Good Old-Fashioned Beat-Down

On 25 September 1962, Ipswich Town defeated Maltese champions Floriana 10-0 in the second leg of the European Cup's first round.

Ipswich qualified for the 1962-63 European Cup by winning the Division One title the previous season--their first season in the English top flight. Their rise to glory was orchestrated by manager Alf Ramsey, who had taken over in August 1955 when the club were in Division Three. He stayed with the club until April 1963, when he left to manage the English national team.

In Malta one week earlier for first leg, Ipswich had won 1-4, so the second leg appeared to be a mere formality. Ipswich dominated the Maltese side from the start, however, going ahead 1-0 with an 8th-minute goal from inside forward Douglas Moran. By halftime, the score was 6-0, with two goals from striker Edward Phillips (14', 34' (pen)) and a hat-trick from striker Raymond Crawford (28', 39', 44'). Moran added another in the 52nd minute, as did wing-half John Elsworthy (54'), while Crawford contributed a second-half brace (60', 80').

The 10-0 demolition sent them into the European Cup second round with the aggregate score of 14-1. There, they met eventual champions Milan, who eliminated them 4-2 on aggregate. Crawford scored in the second leg, a 2-1 Ipswich win, giving him a total of 8 goals. Although he played in only the first two rounds, that tally ranked him as the third-highest goalscorer for that year's competition.

The 10-0 win remains Ipswich's largest margin of victory in any competition. The club currently plays in the English second division.

11 July 1966 - England's First Step To World Cup Glory

On 11 July 1966, England and Uruguay played to a scoreless draw in the opening match of the 1966 World Cup Finals before a crowd of 87,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The draw was particularly disappointing for the hosts. In 1963, after Brazil eliminated them from the previous World Cup in the first knockout round, the English FA appointed Ipswich boss Alf Ramsey as the national side’s first professional coach and he began to build a team and a system to compete for the trophy when the World Cup came to England. He did not lack for confidence and, shortly after his appointment, he boldly predicted that England would win the next World Cup.

Ramsey had made several controversial decisions leading up to the World Cup, including giving the captain's armband to young defender Bobby Moore and switching England's formation from their traditional 4-2-4 to a 4-3-3. The new formation, which moved one of the forwards back into the midfield, had helped England defeat defending European champions Spain 2-0 in December 1965.

Against Uruguay, however, the English midfield struggled to advance in support of the forwards, resulting in too little offensive power and a 0-0 draw. The draw called Ramsey's prediction into question, but England subsequently found its offense in 2-0 wins over Mexico and France to finish on top of its group, then proceeded to defeat Argentina (1-0), Portugal (2-1), and West Germany (4-2, a.e.t.) to claim its first World Cup trophy.

29 May 1963 - "... And A Child Shall Lead Them ..."

On 29 May 1963, center back Bobby Moore became England's youngest senior team captain at 22 years, 47 days.

Moore, who played for West Ham from 1958 to 1974, earned his first senior cap for England in May 1962 in a 4-0 friendly victory over Peru. He played a significant role for England in the 1962 World Cup, which ended in a quarterfinal defeat to eventual winners Brazil.

His appearance on 29 May 1963 was only his 12th for the national team. Long-serving captain Johnny Haynes had just retired and his immediate successor, Jimmy Armfield, was injured, leading new manager Alf Ramsey to hand the captain's armband to Moore. He rewarded Ramsey's faith by leading the team to a 4-2 win over Czechoslovakia.

Armfield reclaimed the captaincy upon his return, but Moore received it permanently in 1964. He led England to victory in the 1966 World Cup, which made him an English football icon. He made a total of 108 appearances for the national team, a record at the time that was later surpassed by goalkeeper Peter Shilton (125 caps) and David Beckham (109, as of the time of this writing).