The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
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 t ...
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 football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
'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 competi ...
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
The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farme ...
.
["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
The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92.
History
In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...
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
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
.
Overview
The Second Division was formed in 1892 with 12 clubs, most of which had previously played in the
Football Alliance
The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92.
History
In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...
. The original members were: Ardwick (now
Manchester City
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 tw ...
),
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 Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449.
Histo ...
,
Burton Swifts
Burton Swifts Football Club was a football club based in Burton upon Trent, England. Established in 1871, the club joined the Football League in 1892, remaining members until merging with Burton Wanderers to form Burton United in 1901.
Hist ...
,
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
,
Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners".
The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the sout ...
,
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
,
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 o ...
,
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
, 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
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
. 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
Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre.
History
Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...
, Second Division champions in
1892–93, were denied promotion after losing in test matches to
Newton Heath
Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883.
Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial Re ...
. However, runners-up
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
beat
Accrington
Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...
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 Bru ...
and
Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...
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 f ...
was in place in the season before the latter even started, as Grimsby Town (last place in 1919–20) made way for
Cardiff City and formed the new Third Division with southern clubs. For subsequent seasons, two clubs were relegated into either the
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 to ...
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 ...
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
List of teams promoted from the English Football League Championship and predecessors 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 b ...
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 b ...