The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the
English football league system in
1920–21 and again from
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
until
1992. When the
FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the formation of the
Football League Championship, the division was renamed
Football League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football L ...
.
Founder clubs of the Third Division (1920)
Most of these clubs were drawn from what was then the top division of the
1919–20 Southern Football League The 1919–20 season was the 22nd in the history of the Southern League, and the first following World War I. Portsmouth won the Southern League championship for the second time, whilst Mid Rhondda won Division Two. There were no promotions or re ...
, in an expansion of the
Football League south of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
. As
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 ...
was long considered a potential entrant for the Second Division due to their
FA Cup exploits and Southern League dominance, they were sent directly into the Second Division and Grimsby Town, who finished in last place in the Second Division in 1919–20, were relegated.
*
Brentford
*
Brighton & Hove Albion
*
Bristol Rovers
*
Crystal Palace (inaugural champions in 1920–21)
*
Exeter City
*
Gillingham
*
Grimsby Town
*
Luton Town
*
Merthyr Town
Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system.
The football club was o ...
*
Millwall
*
Newport County
*
Northampton Town
*
Norwich City
*
Plymouth Argyle
*
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most d ...
*
Queens Park Rangers
*
Reading
*
Southampton
*
Southend United
*
Swansea Town
*
Swindon Town
*
Watford
The split Third Divisions
This league continued in 1921–22 as
Football League 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 ...
whilst the
Football League Third Division North
The Third Division North 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 South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated t ...
was formed with the Northern clubs, the two Divisions jointly forming the third tier.
Geographical separation was abolished in 1958 with the creation of the
Football League Fourth Division.
As a single Third Division
The original members in 1958–59 were:
* From Third Division North: Accrington Stanley, Bradford City, Bury, Chesterfield, Halifax Town, Hull City, Mansfield Town, Rochdale, Stockport County, Tranmere Rovers, Wrexham
* From Third Division South: Bournemouth, Brentford, Colchester United, Newport County, Norwich City, Plymouth Argyle, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Southampton, Southend United, Swindon Town
* Relegated from Second Division: Doncaster Rovers, Notts County
Of these, Bournemouth, Bradford, Brentford, Hull, Norwich, Notts, QPR, Reading, Southampton, and Swindon have made the top flight in either the First Division or the Premier League era. Stockport, Doncaster, Notts County and Rochdale were the first to be relegated into the Fourth Division the following season (1959–60), starting the bottom-four-team turnover tradition for the third tier. As with the Second Division, the champion and runner-up were automatically promoted; the third place was also promoted automatically beginning in 1974.
Play-offs for the third promotion place were introduced in 1987. AFC Bournemouth, formerly Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, hold the record as the club to have spent most time in this Division.
The Third Division of English football lasted for a total of 72 years, the first 38 years as two regionalized divisions (although just 31 seasons were played due to the advent of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
) before a 34-year run as a national division. Plymouth Argyle were the most successful team at this level during these years, winning the national title twice, having already won the southern section twice.
In 1992 the
FA Premier League started and the Football League was reduced in numbers, leading to the Third Division becoming the fourth tier. See
Football League One for subsequent third-tier history.
Winners of the Third Division
See
for winners before 1992 and
List of winners of English Football League Two and predecessors for winners afterwards.
References
{{UEFA fourth level leagues
3
Eng
Eng