Editing Crewe Alexandra F.C. (section)

===Post-World War II===
From the 1950s to the early 1980s, Crewe enjoyed only occasional success. Looking over Gresty Road, [[Michael Palin]], in the 1980 [[BBC]] ''[[Great Railway Journeys|Great Railway Journeys of the World]]'' series, described Crewe as "like those other [[railway town]]s, [[Swindon]] and [[Doncaster]], possessed of a football team which is perpetually propping up the bottom of the Fourth Division".<ref name="Fearon-18Aug2012">{{cite news |last1=Fearon |first1=Matthew |title=Dream Teams: Crewe Alexandra |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/dream-teams-crewe-alexandra-1679411.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707124016/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/dream-teams-crewe-alexandra-1679411.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 July 2022 |access-date=20 March 2021 |work=Independent |date=18 August 2012 }}</ref> Between 1894 and 1982, Crewe finished last in the Football League eight times, more than any other league club.<ref>Crisp, pp.25–26, 130–137.</ref> On 25 December 1954, Crewe embarked on a sequence where they did not win [[Road (sports)|away]] from home for 56 matches; the run ended with a 1–0 win at [[Southport F.C.|Southport]] on 24 April 1957.<ref>Crisp, pp.86–89.</ref> Crewe finished bottom of Division Three North three times in a row from [[1955–56 Football League|1955–56]] to [[1957–58 Football League|1957–58]], tallying just 28, 21 and 23 points from 46 games in each respective season.<ref>Crisp, pp.133–134.</ref> The club was placed into the newly formed [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] in [[1958–59 Football League|1958–59]].<ref>Crisp, p.90.</ref>

All-time records were set against First Division [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] in the FA Cup fourth round in 1960. A new record Gresty Road attendance of 20,000 saw Crewe hold Spurs to a 2–2 draw on 30 January.<ref name="Crisp, pp.9, 91">Crisp, pp.9, 91.</ref> On 3 February, Tottenham convincingly won the [[Replay (sports)|replay]] 13–2, Crewe's record defeat.<ref>Crisp, pp.9, 12, 91.</ref> The following year, however, [[Jimmy McGuigan]]'s Crewe side defeated another First Division club, [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]], 2–1 in the FA Cup at [[Stamford Bridge (stadium)|Stamford Bridge]] on 7 January 1961. Chelsea's side included former Crewe player [[Frank Blunstone]]—who scored Chelsea's goal—as well as England internationals [[Peter Bonetti]], [[Jimmy Greaves]] and [[Terry Venables]].<ref name="Stamford-Bridge">{{cite web |title=Match detail: Chelsea v Crewe Alexandra |url=http://www.stamford-bridge.com/match.php?mid=2380&opp=Crewe%20Alexandra |website=Stamford-Bridge.com: The history of Chelsea F.C. |access-date=21 March 2021}}</ref> Crewe were then again drawn against the eventual [[Double (association football)|double]]-winning Spurs side, who won 5–1 in the fourth round at [[White Hart Lane]].<ref name="HotspurHQ">{{cite web |last1=Holmes |first1=Logan |title=Tottenham On This Day: Spurs Put Five Past Crewe In FA Cup |url=https://hotspurhq.com/2014/01/28/tottenham-day-spurs-put-five-past-crewe-fa-cup/ |website=Hotspur HQ |access-date=21 March 2021 |archive-date=15 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415015410/https://hotspurhq.com/2014/01/28/tottenham-day-spurs-put-five-past-crewe-fa-cup/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====1960s promotions and relegations====
In 1963, Crewe secured their first [[Promotion and relegation|promotion]] to the [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]], winning the season's final game against [[Exeter City F.C.|Exeter City]], with [[Frank Lord]] scoring the only goal in front of a crowd of 9,807 at Gresty Road. Lord holds the record for most hat-tricks for the club with eight,<ref name="Riddle">{{cite book|first=Andy|last=Riddle|title=Plymouth Argyle: 101 Golden Greats|year=2001|publisher=Desert Island Books|location=Westcliff-on-Sea|isbn=1-874287-47-3|pages=105–106}}</ref> and he scored a then record 33 goals that season, forming a strong partnership with [[Johnny King (footballer, born 1932)|Johnny King]] (17 goals).<ref>Morris, p.122.</ref> The club finished in third place, behind champions [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]] and [[Oldham Athletic A.F.C.|Oldham Athletic]], but were relegated back to Division Four the [[1963–64 Football League|following season]]. In the [[1964–65 in English football|1964–65 season]], [[Terry Harkin]] set a new record of 34 league goals for Crewe.<ref name="ENFA">{{ENFA}}</ref><ref name=p12/> Managed by [[Ernie Tagg]], the club achieved promotion for a second time in [[1967–68 in English football|1967–68]], but again spent just one season in the Third Division.<ref>Crisp, pp.99–100.</ref>

====1970s and early 1980s====
From 1969, Crewe spent 20 years in Division Four, finishing bottom in [[1971–72 in English football|1971–72]], [[1978–79 in English football|1978–79]] and [[1981–82 in English football|1981–82]], and not achieving a top half finish until 1985.<ref>Crisp, pp.135–136.</ref> In 1974, they came within two minutes of taking [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] into [[Overtime (sports)|extra time]] in a [[EFL Cup|League Cup]] third round replay at [[Villa Park]].<ref name="AVHistory"/> In 1977, [[Tommy Lowry]] played his record-setting 475th and last game for the Railwaymen; he had earlier passed [[Peter Leigh]]'s total of 430 appearances between 1960 and 1972.<ref name=p12/> From February to September 1979, the club went a record 16 matches (15 league, one League Cup tie) without winning at Gresty Road.<ref>Crisp, pp.110–111.</ref> In December 1979, manager [[Tony Waddington]] signed the [[goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]] [[Bruce Grobbelaar]] who kept eight [[Shutout|clean-sheets]] in his 24 matches played,<ref>Crisp, p.111.</ref> and, on 5 May 1980, scored a penalty—his only professional goal—to seal a 2–0 victory over [[York City F.C.|York City]].<ref name="ESPN-23May2012">{{cite news |last1=Hackett |first1=Robin |title=Bruce Grobbelaar: Tears of a clown |url=https://www.espn.co.uk/football/columns/story/_/id/1077154/the-mavericks:-bruce-grobbelaar |access-date=22 March 2021 |work=ESPN |date=23 May 2012 |archive-date=7 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007221744/https://www.espn.co.uk/football/columns/story/_/id/1077154/the-mavericks:-bruce-grobbelaar |url-status=dead }}</ref>