1880

(Aug 3) Leicester Football Club formed in a meeting at the George Hotel in Leicester from an amalgamation of three clubs: Leicester Societies AFC, Leicester Amateur FC and Leicester Alert.

(Oct 23) First match against Moseley, played at the Belgrave Cricket and Cycle Ground ends in a nil-all draw. Original club colours were black and Leicester were known as "The Death or Glory Boys".

1881

(Jan 8) First game at Victoria Park (new home venue).

1882

(Oct 7) The club returns to the Belgrave Cricket and Cycle Ground for one season only.

1885

(Feb 21) The earliest reference to the now famous Tiger nickname appears in the Leicester Daily Post stating "the Tiger stripes were keeping well together."

1888

(Sep 29) The club moves back to the Belgrave Cricket & Cycle Ground from Victoria Park.

1889

(Apr 4) Leicester reach their first ever final, but lose to Coventry 0-8 at Rugby in the Midland Counties Cup.

1891

Leicester wore their famous scarlet, green and white colours for the first time in a vertical stripe formation.

1892

(Sep 16) The current home ground Welford Road opened with a game against the Leicestershire Rugby Union. Tigers won 17-0.

1895

(Sep 25) The club switches to scarlet, green and white hoops for the first time.

1898

(6 Apr) Tigers win their first ever trophy by beating Moseley 5-3 in the final of the Midland Counties Cup at Coventry. They go on to win this competition for the next seven seasons until retiring "to give other teams a chance".

1902

(8 Feb) Welford Road's first international match sees England beat Ireland 6-3.

1903

Jack Miles becomes the club's first international player.

1909

(4 Sep) The new clubhouse is opened for the game against Stratford-upon-Avon, containing for the first time dressing rooms on the ground.

(29 Dec) First fixture against the Barbarians ends in a 9-all draw.

1912

(9 Mar) Harry Lawrie becomes the first Tiger to be sent off in a game at Harlequins by referee HA Taylor.

1918

(26 Dec) The new Members' Stand is officially opened for the first Tigers game in 3 1/2 years for the game against the 4th Leicestershire Regiment.

On the same day Percy Lawrie with his 154th try overtakes Harry Wilkinson as the club's leading try scorer. He eventually finishes with a still unsurpassed 206 tries.

1920

(2 Oct) New stand (later named the Crumbie Stand) is opened by President of the Rugby Union, Ernest Prescott.

1922

(30 Dec) Alastair Smallwood sets a club record by scoring seven tries in the same game in the 36-0 hammering of Manchester at Welford Road.

1923

(10 Feb) England beat Ireland 23-5 at Welford Road in the last England home international played away from Twickenham until 1992.

1926

(4 Sep)For the first time, the Leicester forwards regularly wear letters as a means of identification against Bath at Welford Road.

1927

(26 Mar) Harold Day becomes the first Tiger to score 1,000 career points at home to Old Merchant Tailors.

1928

(13 Mar) Tom Crumbie Hon sec from 1895 dies in office.

1930

(29 Nov) The first BBC radio broadcast of a Tigers game sees Leicester beat Waterloo 21-5 at Welford Road.

1931

(5 Sep) Tigers' match against Bath at Welford Road marks the first occasion that an entire Leicester team is lettered.

1946

(14 Dec) Leicester's first replacement is Haydn Thomas who takes over from JCK Campbell at Blackheath when the former is late in arriving.

1951

(3 Feb) Tigers' first TV appearance against London Scottish on the Richmond Athletic Ground is won 14-0.

1956

(18 Nov) Tigers' first game on a Sunday sees them lose to Old Belvedere in Dublin 3-23.

1959

(22 Oct) Clocks are unveiled on the stands as a tribute to the late Eric Thorneloe who was Honorary Secretary between 1928-57.

1960

(13 Feb) Tigers' first game under lights was lost 9-19 at Newport.

1963

(14 Dec) David Matthews misses the visit of Blackheath to Welford Road and thus breaks his run of 109 successive first team appearances stretching back to January 1961.

1964

(8 Oct) Floodlights are first used at Welford Road for a game against a Midlands XV, won 31-8 by Tigers.

1971

(21 Nov) Leicester's first "modern" cup tie sees them lose 3-10 to Nottingham at Beeston on a Sunday in the first round of the RFU Knockout Cup.

1973

(21 Apr) David Matthews breaks Sid Penny's club appearance record with his 492nd First XV game at Broughton Park. He goes onto to make 502 appearances.

1977

(6 Sep) A new scoreboard is unveiled.

1978

(15 Apr) The club reach their first Twickenham final but are beaten 3-6 by Gloucester.

(27 Dec) The clubhouse extension is opened.

1979

(21 Apr) Leicester win the John Player Cup for the first time, beating Moseley 15-12 in the final at Twickenham.

1980

(19 Apr) Dusty Hare breaks Harold Day's record Tigers career points aggregate with his 1,152nd point, kicked on the day that Leicester retained the John Player Cup with a 21-9 victory over London Irish at Twickenham.

(6 Aug) To honour the centenary of the club's foundation, Leicester become the first English club side to embark on a tour to the Southern Hemisphere. They play six games in Australia and Fiji, only losing the opening game to Queensland.

1981

(2 May) Tigers win the John Player Cup for a 3rd successive season when they beat Gosforth 22-15 in the final, and are allowed to keep the original trophy which is now on display at the Clubhouse.

1984

(18 Feb) A club record seven players appear in England team against Ireland at Twickenham.

1985

(14 Sep) New changing room, medical and weights rooms are opened under the Crumbie Stand.

1986

(17 Sep) Dusty Hare scores a club record 43 points in a game in the 95-6 trouncing of Birmingham at Welford Road.

1988

(4 Apr) Leicester are confirmed as the inaugural Courage League champions with a 39-15 victory over Waterloo at Welford Road.

1989

(28 Jan) Les Cusworth drops a club record four goals in the same game at Liverpool St Helens in the 3rd round of the cup.

1990

(Summer) Tony Russ is appointed as the club's first full-time coach.

1991

(13 Oct) New Zealand beat Italy 31-21 in the qualifying stages of the World Cup at Welford Road.

1992

(11 Apr) Tigers achieve their record points total in a game by demolishing Liverpool St Helens 100-0 at Welford Road.

(5 Sep) Welford Road celebrates its centenary with two special matches. The first sees Leicester lose out 11-18 to an England XV and then overcome a Leicestershire XV 40-20 four days later.

1993

(1 May) Leicester win the Pilkington Cup by beating Harlequins 23-16 in the final at Twickenham.

(18 Sep) The new 18 foot electronic scoreboard is unveiled for the match against Orrell.

1995

(29 Apr) Tigers win the Courage League for a second time after beating Bristol 17-3 in front of 13,000 at Welford Road.

(23 Sep) The new 3,000 seat Alliance & Leicester stand is used for the first time for the visit of Bath, and officially opened with a game against Transvaal on 20 November.

1996

(January) Peter Wheeler is appointed the club's first Chief Executive.

(30 May) Bob Dwyer is appointed Director of Rugby.

1997

(25 Jan) Tigers reach the final of the Heineken European Cup after English teams enter the competition for the first time. In the final at Cardiff Arms Park they are overwhelmed 28-9 by a superb team performance from French side Brive.

(2 Apr) A record six Leicester players are named in the British Lions squad to tour South Africa, including the captain Martin Johnson. Later the same day Tigers beat Wasps 18-12 in front of a record English league crowd of 17,000 at Welford Road.

(10 May) Leicester won the Pilkington Cup by beating Sale 9-3 in the final at Twickenham.

(8 Dec) Leicester Tigers becomes a plc after a successful share issue raises vital funds.

1998

(17 Feb) Dean Richards takes over as Rugby Manager.

1999

(2 May) Tigers clinch a third league title when they take the Allied Dunbar Premiership with a 21-12 victory over Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park.

(10 Oct) Welford Road hosts a Rugby World Cup game for the second time as Tonga shock Italy 28-25.

2000

(14 May) Leicester claim a second successive Premiership crown following a 30-23 win at Bristol’s Memorial Stadium.

2001

(17 Mar) Tigers take a third Premiership crown in a row when Bath beat Wasps at the Rec, an hour or so after the Tigers had demolished the Falcons 51-7 at Welford Road.

(13 May) Leicester claim the inaugural Zurich Championship crown when they beat Bath 22-10 in the final at Twickenham.

(19 May) Tigers win the Heineken Cup for the first time, beating Paris based Stade Francais in the final at Parc des Princes 34-30.

(Summer) Martin Johnson becomes the first player ever to captain the British Lions on two separate tours, when he leads them in Australia.

2002

(13 Apr) A fourth consecutive Premiership is wrapped up with a 20-10 victory over Newcastle at Welford Road.

(25 May) Leicester become the first club to retain the Heineken Cup by beating Irish Province Munster 15-9 in the final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

2003

(31 May) Tigers qualify for the 2003/04 edition of the Heineken Cup with a thrilling extra time victory over Saracens at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton to pick up the Zurich Wildcard.