Though most commonly it refers specifically to games between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers due to Walsall spending most of their existence in lower divisions than the other two teams.

[1] All three clubs reside in Staffordshire's historic boundaries, but they are separated 11 miles (18 km) apart in the Black Country of the present-day West Midlands county.

[3] Attendances in these early fixtures were modest, but that was the case across much of the country as football gradually grew in popularity at the turn of the century.

Wolves won the league title, finishing four points ahead of the Baggies, despite Albion topping the table for the majority of the season.

Throughout the rest of the century both sides met frequently, with a six-year period in the 1980s the longest gap without a meeting between the two Black Country rivals.

The rivalry remained intense and due to police concerns and televised games, the fixture has not been staged at the traditional English kick-off time of 3pm on a Saturday since 1996.

Hooliganism in the fixtures was a big problem in the 1960s[citation needed] and the frictions between fanbases causes regular restrictions on local pubs on match days.

Albion and Walsall were in a battle with each other to avoid relegation and ultimately it was the Saddlers who faced the drop, putting an end to the three-way Black Country derbies after only one season.

[16] To rub even more salt into the wounds, a Paul Merson-inspired Walsall side thumped them 4–1 on the opening day of the 2003–04 season.

[3] The clubs also met in the FA Cup fourth round, with Albion triumphing 3–0 at Molineux – a major riot followed in the city centre as hundreds of fans clashed.

[21] In the 2010–11 season the two sides met for the first time in the Premier League, marking the first top flight derby in nearly 27 years.

[3] The first league meeting at the Hawthorns ended 1–1 with Jamie O'Hara giving Wolves a first-half lead before an injury time equaliser from Albion's Carlos Vela earned the Baggies a point.