Everything about the Football League First Division totally explained
The
Football League First Division was the highest division of
The Football League between 1993 and 2004, and the highest division of
English football overall between 1888 and 1992. The last time the League was contested as the top professional league in English football
Leeds United ran out winners at the end of the season.
History
» For more details on this topic, see History of English football.
The Football League was founded in 1888 by
Aston Villa director
William McGregor. It originally consisted of a single division of 12 clubs (
Accrington,
Aston Villa,
Blackburn Rovers,
Bolton Wanderers,
Burnley,
Derby County,
Everton,
Notts County,
Preston North End, Stoke (now
Stoke City),
West Bromwich Albion and
Wolverhampton Wanderers), simply known as The Football League. When the League admitted additional members from the rival
Football Alliance in 1892, it was split into two divisions; the original League was expanded (the two best Alliance members joining) and renamed the First Division, while the rest of the Alliance members were admitted into the
Second Division.
For the next 100 years, the First Division was the undisputed top professional league in English football. Then, in 1992 the 22 clubs making up the First Division elected to resign from the Football League and set up the
FA Premier League. They did so largely to capitalize upon their status as the biggest and most wealthy clubs in the country, and negotiate more profitable
television rights. The Football League was consequently re-organised, with the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions now renamed the First, Second and Third respectively. Thus, the First Division, while still the top level of the Football League, now became the second level of the entire
English football league system, thus the top clubs inherited the promotion playoff system from the old Second Division.
The First Division was renamed as the
Football League Championship prior to the start of the
2004-05 season, for commercial reasons. However, it remains as the second tier of English football.
First Division only clubs
Clubs who have competed in the top flight First Division, but not the Premiership, include:
Accrington (the original, not today's
Accrington Stanley),
Blackpool,
Bradford Park Avenue,
Brentford,
Brighton & Hove Albion,
Bristol City,
Burnley,
Bury,
Cardiff City,
Carlisle United,
Darwen,
Glossop North End,
Grimsby Town,
Huddersfield Town,
Leyton Orient,
Luton Town,
Millwall,
Northampton Town,
Notts County,
Oxford United,
Preston North End, and
Swansea City. Notts County and Luton were First Division members in the final season before the Premier League's creation.
Stoke City will play in the Premiership for the first time in 2008-09.
Of these, Burnley, Huddersfield and Preston have been
English football champions; Accrington is defunct, and Bradford Park Avenue, Darwen, and Glossop have been
non-League for many years so they're still several promotions away from the
lowest tier of the
Football League.
One-time runners-up
9 clubs were top-flight First Division runner-ups (but not champions) once, and have not repeated that performance: Bristol City (1907),
Oldham Athletic (1915), Cardiff City (1924),
Leicester City (1929),
Charlton Athletic (1937), Blackpool (1956),
Queens Park Rangers (1976),
Watford (1983) and
Southampton (1984). Due to the
Premiership-Football League gulf, this feat has become harder to achieve as the richer top clubs have increasingly monopolized the top four places in the
Premier League in recent years.
Size
The First Division initially consisted of 12 founder clubs; since then it has undergone a series of expansions as football became more popular and the number of quality teams increased. There were also a series of contractions in the late 1980s, although they were soon reversed, as follows:
| No. of teams |
rom |
o |
| 12 |
1888 |
1891 |
| 14 |
1891 |
1892 |
| 16 |
1892 |
1898 |
| 18 |
1898 |
1905 |
| 20 |
1905 |
1915 |
| 22 |
1919 |
1987 |
| 21 |
1987 |
1988 |
| 20 |
1988 |
1991 |
| 22 |
1991 |
1995 |
| 24† |
1995 |
2004 |
† as the second tier of professional football in England (from 1995)
The Trophy
The English Football League Championship trophy, designed and manufactured by Vaughtons of Birmingham in 1890, is the same one that England's champion team received until the
English Premier League came into existence in the summer of 1992.
Known sometimes as “The Lady” because the lid bears the figure of a woman, the trophy has been presented to some of English football’s legendary teams. They include the great
Huddersfield triple title winners of the 1920s and the
Arsenal teams that won five titles in eight seasons in the 1930s.
Manchester United’s Busby Babes carried off the trophy in 1956 and 1957 before the
Munich air tragedy, and
Liverpool collected the trophy 10 times in 18 seasons between 1972/73 and 1989/90. The last team to collect the trophy as English champions were
Leeds United in 1991/92. Since then, as the prize of the second tier, no team can repeat a year with it due to being promoted to the
Premier League.
The current holders are
West Bromwich Albion, who celebrated winning the
Championship in
May 2008.
Previous First Division champions
1888-1992
See English football champions.
1993-2004
See List of winners of English Football League Championship and predecessors. See also Football League Championship Play-Offs for playoff winners.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Football League First Division'.
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