Early history (1877–1929) The club was founded by the Reverend
Joseph Farrall Wright,
Perpetual curate of Christ Church Bolton, and Thomas Ogden, the schoolmaster at the adjacent church school, in 1874 as Christ Church F.C. It was initially run from the church of the same name on Deane Road, Bolton, on the site where the Innovation factory of the
University of Bolton now stands. The club left the location following a dispute with the vicar, and changed its name to Bolton Wanderers in 1877. The name was chosen as the club initially had a lot of difficulty finding a permanent ground to play on, having used three venues in its first four years of existence. Bolton were one of the 12 founder members of the
Football League, which formed in 1888. At the time
Lancashire was one of the strongest footballing regions in the country, with 6 of the 12 founder clubs coming from within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire. Having remained in the Football League since its formation, Bolton have spent more time in the top flight (
Premier League/old
First Division) than out of it. . In 1894 Bolton reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time, but
lost 4–1 to
Notts County at
Goodison Park. A decade later they were runners-up a second time,
losing 1–0 to local rivals
Manchester City at
Crystal Palace on 23 April 1904. The period before and after the
First World War was Bolton's most consistent period of top-flight success as measured by league finishes, with the club finishing outside the top 8 of the
First Division on only two occasions between
1911–12 and
1927–28. In this period Bolton equalled their record finish of third twice, in
1920–21 and
1924–25, on the latter occasion missing out on the title by just 3 points (in an era of 2 points for a win). On 28 April 1923, Bolton won their first major trophy in their third final, beating
West Ham United 2–0 in the first ever
Wembley FA Cup final. The match, famously known as
The White Horse final was played in front of over 127,000 supporters. Bolton's centre-forward,
David Jack scored the first ever goal at Wembley Stadium. Driven by long-term players
Joe Smith in attack,
Ted Vizard and
Billy Butler on the wings, and
Jimmy Seddon in defence, they became the most successful cup side of the twenties, winning three times. Their second victory of the decade came in
1926, beating Manchester City 1–0 in front of over 91,000 spectators, and the third came in
1929 as
Portsmouth were beaten 2–0 in front of nearly 93,000 fans. In 1928, the club faced financial difficulties and was forced to sell David Jack to
Arsenal to raise funds. Despite the pressure to sell, the agreed fee of £10,890 was a world record, more than double the previous most expensive transfer of a player.
Top flight run and cup success (1929–1958) spent his entire career, from 1946 to 1960, with Bolton, scoring 255 league goals From 1935 to 1964, Bolton enjoyed an uninterrupted stay in the top flight – regarded by fans as a golden era – spearheaded in the 1950s by
Nat Lofthouse. The years of the
Second World War saw most of the Wanderers' playing staff see action on the front, a rare occurrence within elite football, as top sportsmen were generally assigned to physical training assignments, away from enemy fire. However, 15 Bolton professionals, led by their captain
Harry Goslin, volunteered for active service in 1939, and enlisted in the
53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. By the end of the war, 32 of the 35 pre-war professionals saw action in the British forces. The sole fatality was Goslin, who had by then risen to the rank of Lieutenant and was killed by shrapnel on the Italian front shortly before Christmas 1943. 53rd Bolton Artillery took part in the
Battle of Dunkirk and also served in the campaigns of Egypt, Iraq and Italy. There was an estimated 67,000-strong crowd crammed in for the game, though other estimates vary widely, and a further 15,000 had been locked out when it became clear the stadium was full. The disaster led to
Moelwyn Hughes's official report, which recommended more rigorous control of crowd sizes. In 1953, Bolton played in one of the most famous FA Cup finals of all time –
The Stanley Matthews final of 1953. Bolton lost the game to
Blackpool 4–3 after having had a 3–1 lead. Blackpool were victorious thanks to the skills of
Matthews and the goals of
Stan Mortensen. Bolton Wanderers have not won a major trophy since 1958, when two Lofthouse goals saw them overcome
Manchester United in the
FA Cup final in front of a 100,000 crowd at Wembley Stadium. The closest they have come to winning a major trophy since then is finishing runners-up in the
League Cup, first in 1995 and again in 2004.
Few highs and many lows (1958–1995) While Bolton finished fourth the following season, the next 20 years proved to be a fallow period. The club suffered relegation to the
Second Division in
1963–64, and were then relegated again to the
Third Division for the first time in their history in
1970–71. Following relegation in 1980, Bolton signed up talented striker
Brian Kidd, as they prepared to challenge for a quick return to the First Division. Kidd scored a hat-trick in his third game for Bolton, a 4–0 win over
Newcastle United in the league, but the rest of the season was a struggle as Bolton finished close to the relegation places. By the end of the
1981–82 season, Bolton were no closer to promotion and had lost several key players including
Peter Reid and
Neil Whatmore. The following season Bolton were relegated to the Third Division after losing 4–1 at
Charlton Athletic on the final day. At the end of the
1986–87 season, Bolton Wanderers suffered relegation to the Fourth Division for the first time in their history,
Return to the top flight and venture into Europe (1995–2012) Bolton reached the Premiership in 1995, thanks to a 4–3 victory over
Reading in the
Division One play-off final. Reading took a 2–0 lead before a
Keith Branagan penalty save in the 42nd minute changed the course of the game. Bolton scored two late goals to take the game to extra time, scoring twice more before a late Reading consolation. The same year Bolton progressed to the
League Cup final, but were defeated 2–1 by Liverpool. Bolton were bottom for virtually all of the
1995–96 Premiership campaign and were relegated as they lost their penultimate game 1–0 to
Southampton. the first time since 1978 that they had finished top of any division. That season also marked the club's move from Burnden Park to the new Reebok Stadium, the last game at the stadium being a 4–1 win over Charlton Athletic. is equal third on Bolton Wanderers' record appearance list, making 530 appearances between 1997 and 2012 Bolton were relegated on goal difference at the end of the
1997–98 Premiership campaign. They finished on the same number of points as Everton, whom they had faced in the first competitive match at the new Reebok Stadium. That game finished 0–0, but the failure to award a goal scored by Gerry Taggart for the Whites meant that they did not gain the additional point which, at the end of the season, would have kept them up. The following season, they reached the
1999 Division One play-off final but lost 2–0 to
Watford. In 2000, Bolton reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, Worthington Cup and play-offs but lost on penalties to Aston Villa, 4–0
on aggregate to Tranmere Rovers and 7–5 on aggregate to
Ipswich Town respectively. In
2000–01 Bolton were promoted back to the Premiership after beating Preston North End 3–0 in the
play-off final. Bolton struggled during the following two seasons, but survived in the Premiership. The 2001–02 season began with a shock victory as they destroyed
Leicester 5–0 at
Filbert Street. Bolton went into a deep slump during the middle of the season and needed a
Fredi Bobic hat-trick against Ipswich Town to survive. Despite losing the final three games, 16th place was secured. The 2002–03 season began with a poor start and, despite another win away at Manchester United, they were bottom until a 4–2 win against
Leeds United at
Elland Road. Despite suffering from a lack of consistency, Bolton achieved the results needed and secured survival in a final day 2–1 victory over Middlesbrough. Bolton reached the League Cup final in 2004, but
lost 2–1 to Middlesbrough. Nevertheless, the club finished eighth in the league, at the time the highest finish in their Premiership history. In 2005, Bolton finished sixth in the league, thus earning qualification for the
UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. The following season, they reached the
last 32 but were eliminated by French team
Marseille as they lost 2–1 on aggregate. Between 2003–04 and 2006–07, Bolton recorded consecutive top-eight finishes, a record of consistency bettered only by the big four of
Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. The 2007–08 season saw Bolton survive with a 16th-place finish, their safety being confirmed on the final day of the season, as they went on an unbeaten run for their final five games, as well as getting to the last sixteen of the UEFA Cup. Former assistant manager Sammy Lee replaced Allardyce as manager, but a poor start to the season saw him replaced by Gary Megson. During the European run, Bolton gained an unexpected 2–2 draw against former European champions
Bayern Munich, as well as becoming the first English team to beat
Red Star Belgrade in Belgrade. They also defeated
Atlético Madrid on aggregate before being knocked out by
Sporting Lisbon. Bolton broke their record transfer fee with the signing of
Johan Elmander from
Toulouse on 27 June 2008, in a deal which cost the club a reported £8.2 million and saw Norwegian striker
Daniel Braaten head in the opposite direction. Megson was replaced part-way through the 2009–2010 season by former Wanderers striker Owen Coyle, after Megson endured a difficult relationship with the fans. In the
2010–11 FA Cup, Bolton progressed all the way to the semi-finals, but were beaten 5–0 by Stoke at Wembley, with the match being described as "a massive anti-climax". The
following season began as the previous one had ended with just one win and six defeats, their worst start since the
1902–03 season when they were relegated. On 17 March 2012, manager
Owen Coyle travelled to the
London Chest Hospital with
Fabrice Muamba who had suffered from a cardiac arrest whilst playing against
Tottenham Hotspur at
White Hart Lane in a
FA Cup match. Muamba stayed in a critical condition for several weeks and Coyle was widely praised for the manner in which he represented the club during the period. That 13 May, Bolton were relegated to the
Championship by one point on the last day of the season after drawing 2–2 with
Stoke City.
Return to the Championship (2012–2018) The
2012–13 Championship season started badly for Bolton, with only three wins in ten league matches and a second round exit from the League Cup following a loss at
Crawley Town. As a result of poor performances leaving them in 16th place, Bolton sacked Coyle on 9 October 2012, replacing him with
Crystal Palace's
Dougie Freedman. They finished in seventh place, losing out on a play-off place to
Leicester City on goal difference. The 2013–14 began with a trip to
Turf Moor, in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Football League. Freedman was fired after a torrid run of results at the beginning of the 2014–2015 season; he was replaced by former Celtic manager
Neil Lennon, who promptly won his first game in charge 1–0 away at Birmingham. In December 2015, Bolton, who were £172.9 million in debt, were handed a winding-up petition from
HM Revenue and Customs over unpaid taxes, and a
transfer embargo for the following month's window. Much of this debt owed to former owner
Eddie Davies was confirmed to have been written off in March 2018, to assist with the club's potential sale prospects. After ending a 17-game winless run, Lennon, who had been investigated by the club due to allegations about his personal life, said that the club had "been through hell". On 18 January 2016, the club avoided an immediate winding-up order after their case was adjourned until 22 February to give it time to either close a deal with a potential buyer or raise sufficient short-term funds from asset sales. The club was said to owe HM Revenue and Customs £2.2m. The financial situation had improved as a takeover bid by
Dean Holdsworth's Sports Shield was successful in March 2016. Lennon was removed from his position for the final few games of the season, replaced by Academy manager Jimmy Phillips. On 9 April 2016, Bolton lost 4–1 away at
Derby County to confirm their relegation to the
third tier for the first time since 1993. Under new manager
Phil Parkinson, Bolton won promotion from League One at the first time of asking with a second-place finish. On 14 September 2017, the board announced that the embargo was over. Bolton started their first season back in the Championship poorly, only earning their first victory in October. Their form improved mid-season, however going into the final round of fixtures Bolton were in the relegation zone, needing a win to stand a chance of securing survival. They achieved this to finish 21st, narrowly avoiding relegation, having fought back from 2–1 down to win 3–2 at home against
Nottingham Forest in the last ten minutes of their final match of the season.
Relegation and financial crisis (2018–2019) Throughout the
2018–19 Championship season Bolton faced financial difficulties. On 12 September 2018, Bolton reached an agreement with their main creditor BluMarble Capital Ltd over an unpaid loan, avoiding administration and a points deduction from the EFL. Bolton were served a winding-up order on 27 September 2018 after failing to make a payment to HM Revenue and Customs. This was the fourth such petition the club had faced in the previous 14 months. After the collapse of the permanent signing of on-loan striker
Christian Doidge,
Forest Green Rovers commenced legal action over lost earnings. In February 2019, Bolton were again issued a winding-up petition by HMRC which was subsequently adjourned until the end of the season as their search for a new owner continued. The match against
Brentford on 26 April was called off by the
English Football League 16 hours before kick off after Bolton's players, supported by the
Professional Footballers' Association, refused to play until they had received their unpaid wages; the EFL awarded the win to Brentford. The Bolton Whites Hotel, owned by Ken Anderson, was also issued with a winding-up petition in March 2019 (it closed on 1 May and went into administration on 14 May). The team was relegated to League One in April after a 23rd-place finish. In May 2019, the club went into
administration due to a £1.2m unpaid tax bill, incurring a 12-point penalty for the 2019–2020 season. Fildraw (former owner
Eddie Davies' trust fund) appointed administrators from insolvency firm David Rubin and Partners. A 17 July statement from the Bolton players said that no-one at the club had been paid by owner Ken Anderson for 20 weeks, the training ground had no potable drinking water nor hot water for showers. Pre-season friendlies were cancelled as Bolton could not give assurances about fielding a competitive team. Anderson failed to find a buyer before the start of the season, and Bolton started their opening League One game on 3 August at
Wycombe Wanderers with only three contracted senior outfield players, and lost 2–0. A week later, Bolton fielded its youngest ever side, with an average age of 19, in a goalless home draw against
Coventry City. Manager Phil Parkinson expressed concern about the welfare of the youth players used in all of Bolton's games, leading Bolton to postpone the game against
Doncaster Rovers on 20 August but without informing either Doncaster or the EFL. On 26 August, it was announced that the takeover by Football Ventures had fallen through one day before the EFL deadline, potentially risking the club going into
liquidation. After Bolton failed to meet that deadline, the suspension of its notice of withdrawal from the EFL was lifted; however, the club was not immediately expelled from the EFL – it was given until 12 September 2019 to meet all outstanding requirements of the League's insolvency policy.
Under new ownership (2019–) On 28 August, Bolton announced that the club's sale to Football Ventures (Whites) Limited had been completed, with the administrator paying tribute to the Eddie Davies Trust and their legal team, and criticising Ken Anderson who had "used his position as a secured creditor to hamper and frustrate any deal that did not benefit him or suit his purposes." He signed nine players before the transfer deadline closed, and his first win came on 22 October, 2–0 against
Bristol Rovers, Bolton's first win in 22 matches. On 21 November 2019, Bolton were handed a five-point deduction, suspended for 18 months, and fined £70,000, half of which was suspended for 18 months, for failure to fulfil two fixtures (against Brentford and Doncaster). The points would not be deducted if Bolton fulfilled all fixtures during the 18-month period. An EFL appeal against what it saw as a "lenient" penalty was rejected by an arbitration panel in January 2020. On 9 June 2020, the
EFL League One decided to end the
2019–20 season early due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, causing bottom club Bolton Wanderers to go down to the
fourth tier of English football for the first time since 1988 and only the second time in their history. Following relegation, the club announced that Keith Hill and assistant David Flitcroft would leave the club when their contracts expired at the end of June.
Barrow manager
Ian Evatt was appointed Hill's successor on 1 July 2020. Despite being in 17th place after 24 matches, Bolton orchestrated an impressive season turnaround under Evatt. They completed the
2020–21 League Two season in third place after a 4–1 win against
Crawley Town on the final day – enough to secure automatic promotion to League One – and early in the 2021–22 season settled debts with unsecured creditors to remove the threat of a 15-point deduction. In January 2022, it was confirmed that the club had received an emergency loan from The Future Fund, a financial support scheme set up during the
COVID-19 pandemic. This was subsequently converted into shares of the club, with around 8% of shares now owned by the
British Business Bank, an economic development bank developed and run by
HM Government. Bolton would finish 5th, qualifying for the playoffs, but would lose to
Barnsley 2-1 on aggregate. The following year, Evatt led Wanderers to a 3rd place finish, missing out on automatic promotion to
Derby County, with a 3-3 draw away at
Peterborough on the final day of the season. Bolton would again be facing Barnsley in the play-off semi-finals, this time Bolton would come out victorious, winning 5-4 on aggregate and qualifying for the
2024 EFL League One play-off final on 18 May, where they were beaten 2–0 by
Oxford United. However, Bolton struggled in the
2024–25 season and Evatt left the club in January 2025, being replaced by
Steven Schumacher. Schumacher would take over from interim
Julian Darby who had won his only two games in charge. Schumacher's first match as Bolton manager was on the 1st February 2025 and ended as a 1-0 loss away at
Reading. Schumacher would see out the remainder of a turbulent and disappointing 24-25 campaign for Bolton, with the highlight of the season being a stoppage time winner from
centre-back Chris Forino to win 1-0 away at local rivals
Wigan on the 1st April 2025, ending a 10 year wait for Bolton to win the derby. ==Colours and badge==