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Football League One was introduced for the 2004/2005 season and is the third tier of English professional football. It was previously known as the Second Division, and prior to the introduction of the Premier League, as the Third Division.

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History

The fore-runner of Football League One was Division Three, which was introduced in the 1920/1921 season.

The founder clubs drawn mainly from the top division of the Southern League.

From 1921/ 1922 the league was split into Northern and Southern divisions and was only merged into a national third division again in 1958.

In 1992, following the introduction of the Premier League, the division became known as Football League Second Division, and in 2004, it was rebranded Football League One.

Original Members

The founder members in 1920 were;

Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bristol Rovers, Crystal Palace, Exeter City, Gillingham, Grimsby Town, Luton Town, Merthyr Town, Millwall, Newport County, Northampton Town, Norwich City, Plytmouth Argyle, Portsmouth, Queens Park, Reading and Southampton.

The members of the merged format in 1958 were;

Accrington Stanley, Bournemouth, Brentford, Bradford City, Bury, Chesterfield, Colchester United, Doncaster Rovers, Halifax Town, Hull City, Mansfield Town, Newport County, Norwich City, Notts County, Plymouth Argyle, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Rochdale, Southampton, Southend United, Stockport County, Swindon Town, Tranmere Rovers and Wrexham.

Of these, Bradford City, Hull City, Norwich City, Notts County, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Southampton, and Swindon Town have all made it to the top flight at some point in their history.

Former league champions who have found themselves playing at this level include, Aston Villa, Leeds United, Manchester City, and Nottingham Forest.

Promotion and Relegation

From 1958 the champion and runner-up were automatically promoted, and from 1974, the third placed team also qualified for promotion.

Play-offs for the third promotion place were introduced in 1987, and involve the teams placed third to sixth.

The bottom four teams in the division are relegated to League Two.

For an outline of how the divisional structure in English Football evolved, click here - Football Pyramid.

Previous Winners

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