Huddersfield Town

The club was founded in 1908 and in the 1920s was arguably the best team in the country. They were the first to win the league three years in a row, in 1924–26. Only four other clubs have done it, and currently only Manchester City has done it four times in a row. They also won the FA Cup in 1922 and lost the final another four times that decade.

After World War II, Town faded, dropping out of the First Division in 1952. They made it back for three seasons in the early 1970s but then spent more than three decades in the lower leagues, at times near extinction. They went into administration (British for “bankruptcy”) in 2003 but have come back strong.

In 2011 playing in League One, Town set a remarkable record with 44 league games unbeaten. At the end of the following season, they were promoted to the Championship after a record-setting penalty shootout in the final of the League One playoffs against Sheffield United. It went 11 rounds and finished with keeper versus keeper.

They had just about the lowest payroll in the Championship, and they barely survived; in 2015–16 they were 19th. During the 2016–17 season, they set a record for one-goal wins, a statement to their fitness and discipline—terriers indeed.

At the end of that season, they went into the playoffs, made the final, and won it—again on a penalty shootout. They spent two years in the Premier League, their first in the top tier since the early 1970s. They were everyone’s pick for relegation the first year, but they ensured their survival in the last week of the season by getting draws at Man City and Chelsea. Alas, in 2019 the fun ran out, and they were relegated back to the Championship, where they struggled for two seasons before making the playoff final in 2022, losing to Nottingham Forest.

They went back to their struggles in 2024, finishing 23rd in the Championship and being relegated to League One.

2024–25 SEASON: 10th in League One, 1st Round FA Cup, 2nd Round League Cup

2025–26 SEASON: League One (relegated in 2024)

Leeds United, just 21 miles away, are the most hated; any game between these two and Bradford City would be called a West Yorkshire Derby. However, Leeds and Huddersfield Town haven’t played so often, just 80 times over all the years, with Town winning 33 of them. The rest of the years, they haven’t been in the same division. No doubt Leeds, with its proud history and tremendous support, doesn’t appreciate Huddersfield calling themselves “The Yorkshire Club.” This rivalry is off for now.

The same separate-division factor applies to a rivalry with Manchester City, whom they used to play more when City wasn’t “all that,” like they are now. It’s more like different worlds than divisions.

There is also a rivalry with Bradford City, just 18 miles away, whom they have played more often, having spent more time in the same division. And this rivalry is back on for the first time since 2013! Barnsley, also of West Yorkshire and League One, are a minor rival.

Huddersfield Town Women FC are in the Women’s National League North Division One North at tier 4 of the pyramid. Home games are at Stafflex Arena, home of Shelley Community FC.

Their most famous is “Smile a While,” which sprang out of the terraces in their glory days of the 1920s. It was based on a song that was popular during World War I. Here are the lyrics, which aren’t typically sung in full, but it’s a real treat when they give it a proper go, usually right before kickoff:

There’s a team that is dear to its followers.

Their colours are bright blue and white.

They’re a team of renown, they’re the talk of the town,

And the game of football is their delight.

All the while, upon the field of play,

Thousands loudly cheer them on their way.

Often you can hear them say,

Who can beat the Town today?

Then the bells will ring so merrily

Every goal shall be a memory

So Town play up, and bring the Cup

Back to Huddersfield

We’re Yorkshire! We’re Yorkshire! We’re Yorkshire!

The John Smith’s Stadium, with 24,500 seats, has been their home since 1994. It replaced Leeds Road, where they played from the club’s founding in 1908. The Smith’s is a terrific, modern, attractive stadium just a few minutes’ walk from the train station. The combination makes it one of the best of the recently built grounds in the country.

John Smith’s, if you didn’t know, is a bitter beer made by Heineken. Naturally, it’s for sale inside the ground.

TOURS: Tours are available on Wednesdays for £5. Learn more on the club’s website.

GETTING THERE: It’s an easy 15-minute walk from the train station. As always, follow the colors!

PUBS: Right outside the station, which dates to 1850 and is famous for its colonnades, there is a beautiful courtyard area and two great pubs. The one on the right, The Head of Steam, offers food and beer. The one on the left, the King’s Head, is more of a traditional pub, just serving beer and cider, but it has a fine selection of each and a very open layout that’s been recently renovated. It also, oddly, has in its crest a picture of Jimi Hendrix—the king, apparently.

Along Leeds Road, look for the Yorkshire Rose, which has outdoor seating.

GRUB: As you walk down from the station you’ll see a Sharky’s Fish Bar, where a long line discouraged a visit but seemed a good sign. We went, instead, to Olde England Fisheries in the center, where we ate good, cheap fish with lots of old English people. The Sportsman and the Grove are two more pubs with good comfort food, the latter calling itself a haven for real ale lovers.

AROUND TOWN: First, for something to do on the way to town, take the local train from Manchester, the one that stops in Marsden. There, you can visit a unique museum from the Industrial Revolution days.

Back in the early 19th century, a canal opened through a tunnel here, and workers would push barges through it by lying on top of the load on their backs, pressing their feet against the ceiling of the tunnel, and “walking” it through. Today you can visit the museum and take a boat ride 500 meters into the tunnel. In fact, there is even a little 12-seater shuttle boat from the Marsden station to the tunnel visitor center for £1 per person. Marsden’s Riverhead Brewery Tap in town is a highly rated pub for food and bevvies.

Huddersfield itself is really quite lovely. Right outside the station, aside from the two pubs mentioned above, is an old hotel, The George, sadly now closed. It was built in 1851 and, in 1895, was the birthplace of Rugby League Football. Plans to build a museum there were recently scrapped.

In the center, be sure to stick your head into the Town Hall, built in 1881, which includes an impressive mural of the town and a gorgeous, 1,200-seat concert hall. It is the home of the nationally renowned Huddersfield Choral Society, which has recorded numerous albums and performed with the best orchestras in Britain.

If you do pop in, see if the same caretaker we met in 2017 is still around, and if he is, tell him Paul Gerald said hello. More specifically, tell him the American whose team has a mascot with a chainsaw cutting logs on the sideline, says hello. Also, pity him as a Leeds supporter living in Huddersfield.

The other thing you have to do in town is take a taxi up to the Victoria Tower (1899) on Castle Hill. The medieval neighborhood up on the hill, Almondbury, is a treat (you might consider walking through it back down into town.) The view from the top is fantastic, a 360-degree panorama of the town and the rolling, lush, green Pennine Mountains covered in hedgerows and cottages and sheep. A taxi ride from the station, up and back, with about 10 minutes spent at the tower, should be around £25.

Finally, as you walk to the ground for the game, stop into the Open Market (which is actually covered) for some local color.