The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the
English football league system between
1892 and
1992. Following the foundation of the
FA Premier League, the
Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier became known as the Football League Second Division. After the rebranding of the Football League in
2003–04, it became known as
Football League One.
Early history
In 1888, Scotsman
William McGregor a director of
Aston Villa, was the main force between meetings held in London and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
involving 12 football clubs, with an eye to a league competition. These 12 clubs would later become
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
's 12 founder members. The meetings were held in London on 22 March 1888. The main concern was that an early exit in the knockout format of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
could leave clubs with no matches for almost a year; not only could they suffer heavy financial losses, but fans did not wait long without a game, when other teams were playing. Matters were finalised on 17 April in Manchester.
McGregor had voted against the name The Football League, as he was concerned that it would be associated with the
Irish Land League.
["A History of Football", p.22] But this name still won by a majority vote and was selected. The competition guaranteed fixtures for all of its member clubs. Geographically, these were split equally between the North and the Midlands.
A rival English league called the
Football Alliance operated from 1889 to 1892. In 1892 it was decided to formally merge the two leagues, and so the ''Football League Second Division'' was formed, consisting mostly of Football Alliance clubs. The existing League clubs, plus three of the strongest Alliance clubs, comprised the
Football League First Division.
Overview
The Second Division was formed in 1892 with 12 clubs, most of which had previously played in the
Football Alliance. The original members were: Ardwick (now
Manchester City),
Bootle
Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449.
Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's ...
,
Burton Swifts,
Crewe Alexandra,
Darwen,
Grimsby Town,
Lincoln City,
Northwich Victoria
{{Infobox UK place
, static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg
, static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church
, official_name = Northwich
, country ...
,
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...
,
Sheffield United, Small Heath (now
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
), and
Walsall. Manchester City and Leicester City jointly hold the record for most second tier championships (7).
It expanded over the years to its final total of 24 clubs, as follows:
* 1893 – 15 clubs
* 1894 – 16
* 1898 – 18
* 1905 – 20
* 1919 – 22
* 1987 – 23
* 1988 – 24
For the first few years, there was no automatic promotion to the First Division. Instead, the top few teams in Division Two, including the winners, contested a series of
test matches against the bottom teams in Division One.
Small Heath, Second Division champions in
1892–93, were denied promotion after losing in test matches to
Newton Heath. However, runners-up
Sheffield United beat
Accrington to become the first team to win promotion to the First Division. Test matches were abolished in 1898 after
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...
and
Stoke conspired to deliberately draw their test match 0–0, which resulted in Burnley being promoted and Stoke being saved from relegation.
Relegation to the
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...
was in place in the season before the latter even started, as Grimsby Town (last place in 1919–20) made way for
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
and formed the new Third Division with southern clubs. For subsequent seasons, two clubs were relegated into either the
Third Division North or
Third Division South
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...
depending on their geographical location. When the Third Division was reunified in 1958–59, the relegation arrangement was kept; a third club began being relegated in 1974.
Previous League champions
See
for winners from 1893 to 1992 and
for winners from 1993 to 2004.
References
{{Football League Championship seasons
2
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...