The Swans beat reigning English champions Blackburn Rovers 1–0 in the first round of the 1914–15 FA Cup, Swansea's goal coming from Ben Beynon.
The departure of Cliff Jones to Tottenham in February compounded matters and it was only a dramatic revival towards the end of the season, including a famous 7-0 win over Derby County (a side they had lost 1-0 to only a day before) during Easter that kept the Swans in the division.
In 1964, the Swans reached a second FA Cup semi-final, beating Barrow, Sheffield United and Stoke City en route to a famous sixth round victory at Anfield.
Despite promising performances during the first half of the 1977–78 season, Harry Griffiths resigned as Swansea City's manager in February 1978, doubting his own ability to take the club any further.
After a season of consolidation, Swansea City again challenged for promotion and travelled to Preston North End on 2 May 1981 in the knowledge that victory would assure them a place in the First Division for the first time in the club's history.
[11] The 1981–82 season began with the fixture computer handing Swansea a first-day home game against Leeds United, which the club promptly won 5–1 with a hat-trick by debutant Bob Latchford.
Whilst its creditors lined up a High Court hearing with the aim of liquidating the club, Swansea City had come to rely on a combination of old players and young professionals.
Wound up by court order in December 1985, Swansea City was saved by local businessman Doug Sharpe who took over the running of the club, although the change of ownership was not enough to prevent relegation to the Fourth Division in 1986.
Under Terry Yorath and then Frank Burrows, the club managed to stay in the Second Division, reach the playoff semi-finals in 1993 and make their first Wembley Stadium appearance a year later.
Although the league campaign the following season did not live up the previous one, mainly due to the sale of key players, Burrows guided the Swans to Wembley for the first time in their history for the final of the Autoglass Trophy.
In the following season, the club again reached the semi-finals of the Auto Windscreens Shield, eventually going out to Birmingham City, and an eventful FA Cup run saw them win at Middlesbrough in a third round replay, before going out to Newcastle United at St James' Park.
Alarmed at developments at the club, Sharpe invoked a contractual clause to cancel the deal and resumed control himself: Cullis was promptly sacked after just six days.
The side conceded just 32 goals during the 1999–2000 season, largely due to the form of excellent centre-back pairing Jason Smith and Matthew Bound, as well as keeper Roger Freestone.
The Petty group sold its stake in January 2002 after a bitter stand-off with the Mel Nurse consortium, which was supported by the majority of the club's fans.
Despite problems off the pitch, Addison's side had managed a mid-table position, but he was dismissed in early March, and under Nick Cusack the club slumped to a 20th placed-finish.
Brian Flynn's side finished 2003–04 10th and reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 24 years, eventually losing 2–1 at Tranmere Rovers.
Sousa subsequently left Swansea to take charge at Leicester City on 5 July 2010, lasting just one year and 13 days in South Wales.
After beating Nottingham Forest 3–1 on aggregate in the semi-final they defeated Reading 4–2 in the final at Wembley Stadium, with Scott Sinclair scoring a hat-trick.
During the 2016–17 preseason, Swansea City came under new ownership by an American consortium led by Jason Levien and Steven Kaplan, who bought a controlling interest in the club in July 2016.
[42] A poor first half of the 2017–18 season saw Swansea sitting bottom of the table after 18 league games, which led to Clement being sacked on 20 December 2017, leaving the club four points adrift of safety.
[43] Towards the end of his tenure, Clement was criticised by a section of Swansea supporters for playing "boring" and "negative" football, questioning his tactical decisions with the Swans being the lowest scorers in the Premier League at the time of his sacking.
[58] On the final day of the season, Swansea beat Reading 4–1 to finish sixth, moving into the play-offs ahead of Nottingham Forest on goal difference,[59] but were later defeated by Brentford in the semi-final second leg.
[63] The 2023–24 season saw new manager Michael Duff dismissed after five months due to poor results and criticism of his tactics; his replacement Luke Williams guided the team to 14th place.
[65] Before Swansea Town was established, children would play football on waste ground in which a plant, called "vetch" (a type of legume) was grown.
The stadium has also hosted three Welsh international football matches; the first being a 0–0 draw with Bulgaria in 2006,[70] the second a 2–1 defeat to Georgia in 2008 and a 2–0 win over Switzerland on 7 October 2011.
[71] On 1 July 2012, it was widely reported in national media that Swansea City were beginning the planning phase for expanding the Liberty Stadium by approximately 12,000 seats.
[79][80] However, the derby game at Ninian Park was marred with controversy as referee Mike Dean was struck by a coin from a Cardiff City supporter.
The return fixture for that season took place on 8 February 2014 at Swansea's Liberty Stadium, a match in which interim player-manager Garry Monk would make his managerial debut following the sacking of Michael Laudrup.
[87] When new owners Silver Shield took over in 1998, they changed the club crest as the bird on it was not universally recognisable as a swan, and the background was blue, the colour of rivals Cardiff City.
[66] The club's longest-serving manager, in terms of tenure, was Haydn Green, who held the position for eight years, four months and 14 days, spanning the entirety of World War II.