Ten things...

Wigan
1 Local landowners the Earls of Derby took on those Parliamentarians in a contest where this home outfit was duly routed. The beaten Royalist then lost his job as Wigan's manager and also his head for failure later.
2 Sir William Bradshaigh didn't return from an away trip for quite a while, so his missus shacked up with a Welsh first teamer. As penance she had to run the line weekly at Wigan but barefoot for bigamy during a whole season.
3 As industries developed alongside a need for canal transport at Wigan Pier, in the nineteenth century football also arrived to compete with rugby. Wigan County played at Springfield Park and used to wash with soap made by local Lever Bros, of its time not too far away from a being dirty northern bastard town.
4 Over a number of decades United, Town and Borough were three association sides who tried to make a go of it in an area where primarily the oval ball er, held sway.
5 In 1932 with an economic depression killing Borough, Athletic started to play in amateur leagues. Borough had ten years in div3 north but didn't see their whole term out as cash certainly wasn't a permanent fixture.
6 Athletic applied 35 times to join the Football League and after 47 years were in. Lancashire neighbours Southport did not get re-elected on a crucial second vote and so were cast out. Who changed their mind?
7 Wigan were used to winning and got out of div4 by 1982. Then marked time as money was tight in a grim northern one-barge-wharf town.
8 One day trainers were all the rage and suddenly so was Wigan. In '97 they won div3 and in '03 having moved into their JJB Stadium, got promoted to div1. Two years later it was hello Premiership. That's a helluva lot of mileage out of delivering bulk white footwear.
9 Of course Superleague rugby had a lot to do with it as Warriors also flew their flag at the JJB. Also of course they built it next to the Leeds - Liverpool canal to make all patrons feel right at home.
10 But one mans meat is another's poison and can you continue to doll out good money after bad? Even attempting to re-write what historically points to an uncertain future for football there.