Football League First Division

(Redirected from English First Division) Former division of football league in England

Football league

Football League First Division
Organising body	The Football League
Founded	17 April 1888
Folded	2004
Country	England
Other club(s) from	Wales
Number of clubs	24 (1992–1992)
Level on pyramid	1 (1888–1992) 2 (1992–2004)
Promotion to	Premier League (1992–2004)
Relegation to	Second Division
Domestic cup(s)	FA Cup FA Community Shield
League cup(s)	League Cup
International cup(s)	European Cup (1956–1985, 1991–1992) UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1960–1985, 1990–1999) UEFA Cup (1971–1985, 1990–2004) Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1955–1971)
Last champions	Leeds United (1st tier) (1991–92) Norwich City (2nd tier) (2003–04)
Most championships	Liverpool (18 titles)
Most appearances	Peter Shilton (849)
Top goalscorer	Jimmy Greaves (357)

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 until the end of the 1991-92 season, at which point all of its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was given to what had previously been called the Second Division. After the 2003–04 season, the division was renamed the Football League Championship (now EFL Championship).

The First Division contained between 12 and 24 clubs, playing each other home and away in a double round robin. The competition was based on two points for a win from 1888 until the increase to three points for a win in 1981.

History

Further information: Football in England and 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), known as The Football League. When the League admitted additional members from the rival Football Alliance in 1892, it was split into two divisions.

For the next 100 years, the First Division was the top professional league in English football. In 1992, the 22 clubs making up the First Division elected to resign from the Football League and set up the Premier League. The Football League was consequently re-organised, with the Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions renamed the First, Second, and Third respectively. Thus, the First Division, while still the top level of the Football League, became the second level of the entire English football league system.

The First Division was renamed the Football League Championship prior to the start of the 2004–05 season, as part of a league-wide rebrand. The Football League rebranded itself as the English Football League prior to the 2016–17 season, with its top level becoming the EFL Championship at that time.

Liverpool were the most frequent winners of the First Division when it was the top flight of English football, winning it a total of 18 times.

Trophy and players' medals

The Football League First Division trophy was first awarded in 1891, and was presented to the winners through to 1992.

As of the 1947–48 season, making seven appearances for their club during the season was not enough for a player to qualify for a winners medal.

As of the 1975–76 season, players had to make 14 appearances for their club during the season in order to qualify for a winners medal.

First Division champions

The Football League First Division between 1888 and 1992 was the top tier in English football.

Football League First Division Champions
Club	Titles	Winning seasons
Liverpool	18	1900–01, 1905–06, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1946–47, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90
Arsenal	10	1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91
Everton	9	1890–91, 1914–15, 1927–28, 1931–32, 1938–39, 1962–63, 1969–70, 1984–85, 1986–87
Manchester United	7	1907–08, 1910–11, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67
Aston Villa	7	1893–94, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1909–10, 1980–81
Sunderland	6	1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1901–02, 1912–13, 1935–36
Sheffield Wednesday	4	1902–03, 1903–04, 1928–29, 1929–30
Newcastle United	4	1904–05, 1906–07, 1908–09, 1926–27
Leeds United	3	1968–69, 1973–74, 1991–92
Wolverhampton Wanderers	3	1953–54, 1957–58, 1958–59
Huddersfield Town	3	1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26
Derby County	2	1971–72, 1974–75
Manchester City	2	1936–37, 1967–68
Tottenham Hotspur	2	1950–51, 1960–61
Burnley	2	1920–21, 1959–60
Portsmouth	2	1948–49, 1949–50
Blackburn Rovers	2	1911–12, 1913–14
Preston North End	2	1888–89, 1889–90
Nottingham Forest	1	1977–78
Ipswich Town	1	1961–62
Chelsea	1	1954–55
West Bromwich Albion	1	1919–20
Sheffield United	1	1897–98

From the start of the 1992–93 season, the first division became the second tier in English football. The champions would now be promoted to the Premier League. The 2003–04 season would be the last before rebranding as the Championship.

Club	Titles	Winning Seasons
Sunderland	2	1995–96, 1998–99
Newcastle United	1	1992–93
Crystal Palace	1	1993–94
Middlesbrough	1	1994–95
Bolton Wanderers	1	1996–97
Nottingham Forest	1	1997–98
Charlton Athletic	1	1999–2000
Fulham	1	2000–01
Manchester City	1	2001–02
Portsmouth	1	2002–03
Norwich City	1	2003–04

First Division all time top scorers

Rank	Player	Years	Goals	Matches	Ratio	Club(s)
1	Jimmy Greaves	1957–1972	357	516	0.69	Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United
2	Steve Bloomer	1892–1914	314	535	0.59	Derby County, Middlesbrough
3	Dixie Dean	1924–1938	310	362	0.86	Everton
4	Gordon Hodgson	1925–1940	288	455	0.63	Liverpool, Aston Villa, Leeds United
5	Charlie Buchan	1912–1928	258	481	0.53	Sunderland, Arsenal
6	David Jack	1920–1934	257	476	0.54	Bolton Wanderers, Arsenal
7	Nat Lofthouse	1946–1960	255	452	0.56	Bolton Wanderers
8	Joe Bradford	1921–1935	248	410	0.60	Birmingham City
9	Hughie Gallacher	1925–1938	246	355	0.69	Newcastle United, Chelsea, Derby County, Grimsby Town
10	Joe Smith	1908–1927	243	416	0.58	Bolton Wanderers

References

"Football League First Division Trophy, 1890". National Football Museum. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
"Player profile: Bryn Jones". Arsenal player database. Arsenal FC. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
"Joey Jones: Profile". Liverpool FC. Archived from the original on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
"The Football League". 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014.

v t e Football League First Division
First Level	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92
Second Level	1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04

Football League First Division

First Level

1888–89
1889–90
1890–91
1891–92
1892–93
1893–94
1894–95
1895–96
1896–97
1897–98
1898–99
1899–1900
1900–01
1901–02
1902–03
1903–04
1904–05
1905–06
1906–07
1907–08
1908–09
1909–10
1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92

Second Level

Football in England

The Football Association

National teams

League competitions

Level 1	Premier League
Levels 2–4	English Football League EFL Championship EFL League One EFL League Two
Levels 5–6	National League National League (division) National League North National League South
Levels 7–8	Isthmian League Northern Premier League Southern League
Levels 9–10	Combined Counties League Eastern Counties League Essex Senior League (level 9 only) Hellenic League Midland League Northern Counties East League Northern League North West Counties League Southern Combination League Southern Counties East League South West Peninsula League (level 10 only) Spartan South Midlands League United Counties League Wessex League Western League

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup FA Community Shield FA Trophy FA Vase FA Sunday Cup FA Inter-League Cup
League cups	EFL Cup EFL Trophy National League Cup Northern Premier League Cup Isthmian League Cup Southern League Cup
County cups	List of county cups

Others

Lists

v t e Top-level men's football leagues of Europe (UEFA)
Current	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
Defunct	Austria Tagblatt Pokal Gauliga Ostmark Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Republic State Czechoslovakia Denmark East Germany England Finland Germany Bezirksliga Bayern Gauliga Kreisliga Bayern Hessen Nordmain Odenwald Pfalz Saar Südmain Südwest Württemberg Nordkreis-Liga Oberliga Berlin Oberliga Nord Oberliga Süd Oberliga Südwest Oberliga West Südkreis-Liga Westkreis-Liga Gibraltar Herzeg-Bosnia Mandatory Palestine Scotland Premier Division Premier League Saarland Serbia and Montenegro Soviet Union Turkey Turkish Championship National Division Yugoslavia
Liechtenstein is the only UEFA member association without a national league.

v t e Second level football leagues of Europe (UEFA)
Current	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation Republika Srpska Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Republic of Ireland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales North South
Former	Belgium East Germany England First Division Second Division Finland Suomensarja Ykkönen Germany 2. Bundesliga Nord 2. Bundesliga Süd 2. Oberliga Süd 2. Oberliga Südwest 2. Oberliga West Berlin Nord Süd Südwest West Gibraltar Greece Rep of Ireland Israel Malta Norway San Marino Scotland Serbia and Montenegro Soviet Union Yugoslavia

Second level football leagues of Europe (UEFA)

Current

Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Federation
- Republika Srpska
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
England
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Republic of Ireland
Israel
Italy
Kazakhstan
Kosovo
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Moldova
Montenegro
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Northern Ireland
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Scotland
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Wales
- North
- South

Former

Belgium
East Germany
England
- First Division
- Second Division
Finland
- Suomensarja
- Ykkönen
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Rep of Ireland
Israel
Malta
Norway
San Marino
Scotland
Serbia and Montenegro
Soviet Union
Yugoslavia

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