It was not. Villa were champions the year this team were in the first division. And Bradford is quite a big town.
The good news is that when Villa won the league in 1910, with Bury finishing 13th, Chelsea were relegated.
Bury had lots of seasons in the top division and have been in the football league for ages after 1915. One of the two nicknames for this team is The Hillmen. The other is a big location clue..
I think it’s impossible without the Internet. Or every edition of Rothmans Football Yearbook. But the Villa clue and the fact that this team left the league in 1915 should narrow the search.
Correct! Still going, under their original name of Glossop North End. Their single season at the top also spanned two centuries, which I like. All the other teams in the first Division in 1899/1900 are still in the League…..except Bury. And Villa, the champions, were the most southerly team represented, which is amazing now. Even the second division (there were no others) only had Woolwich Arsenal and Luton south of Birmingham.