England, 1st division – all-time: List of all clubs with at least one season in the English 1st division (120 seasons/since 1888-89/65 clubs)
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By Bill Turianski on 27 July 2018; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-2018–19 Premier League (en.wikipedia.org).
-Table, fixtures, results, attendance, stats (us.soccerway.com).
Sources…
-Club League History Summary 1888-89 to 2018-19 Seasons spent by each of the 140 Clubs in the Four Flights of English League Football from 1888-89 to 2018-19 (myfootballfacts.com).
-English Clubs Divisional Movements 1888-2016 (rsssf.com).
-historicalkits.co.uk.
The chart can be seen by clicking on the image at the top of this post.
The chart shows 5 things…
A) Seasons in the English 1st division [120 seasons, counting 2018-19 (since 1888-89)]. 65 clubs in total have played in the English 1st division. Shown in a dark-blue column.
B) Consecutive seasons in the 1st division [pertaining to the 20 Premier League clubs in 2018-19].
C) Last season that the club was previously in the 1st Division [pertaining to all the clubs (42 clubs) with history in the top flight, but who are below the 1st division 2018-19; or defunct clubs (3 defunct clubs with 1st division history/see last paragraph)].
D) An illustration of each clubs’s jersey worn the last time the club was in the 1st division; for the twenty Premier League teams of 2018-19, the jersey shown is the current one. All jersey illustrations are from the excellent and very comprehensive site called Historical Football Kits {historicalkits.co.uk}.
E) English titles [1st division title, since 1888-89: First Division titles, 1889-1992 / Premier League titles, 1993-2018 (119 titles)]. Shown in a dark-purple column. Title-holders’ crests are shown alongside.
…And at the far left-hand-side of the chart, three more things are shown…
F) Current club jersey badge.
G) Current club colours.
H) Current level of the club [2018-19], within the English football pyramid…Levels: 1=1st division aka Premier League; 2=2nd division aka Football League Championship; 3=3rd division aka Football League One; 4=4th division aka Football League Two; 5=5th division [non-League] aka the National League; 6=6th tier comprised of 2 regionalised leagues [National League North & National League South]; 7=7th tier comprised of 4 regionalised leagues [Northern League, Southern League Central, Southern League South, Isthmian League]; 8= 8th tier comprised of 8 regionalised leagues;…
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Below, the 10 clubs in English football with the most seasons spent in the 1st division…
Everton have played the most years in the English 1st division – 116 top flight seasons. Liverpool-based Everton were a founding member of the 1st Division in 1888-89. Everton have only been relegated twice (in 1929 and in 1950), and have played just 4 seasons in the 2nd division. Everton have played in the 1st division consecutively since 1954-55 (65 straight seasons).
Second-most seasons in the 1st division belongs to Aston Villa – 105 seasons. But of course right now, the Birmingham-based Aston Villa are stuck in the 2nd division. 2018-19 will be the 3rd straight year Villa are out of the Premier League. Aston Villa were a founding member of the 1st Division in 1888-89.
Third-most seasons in the 1st division belongs to Liverpool – 104 seasons. And Liverpool have been in the top flight for 57 straight seasons (since 1962-63).
Fourth-most seasons in the 1st division belongs to Arsenal – 102 seasons. And the North-London-based Arsenal have been in the top flight for a record 94 straight seasons (since 1919-20).
Fifth-most seasons in the 1st division belongs to Manchester United – 94 seasons. The Greater-Manchester-based Man United have been in the top flight for 44 straight seasons (since 1975-76).
Sixth-most seasons in the 1st division belongs to Manchester City – 90 seasons. The City-of-Manchester-based Man City have been in the top flight for 17 straight seasons (since 2002-03).
Seventh-most seasons in the 1st division belongs to Newcastle United – 87 seasons. 2018-19 will be the Tyne-and-Wear-based Newcastle’s second season back in the Premier League.
Eighth-most seasons in the 1st division belongs to Sunderland – 86 seasons. The Tyne-and-Wear-based Sunderland, relegated from the Premier League in 2016-17, suffered a second-straight relegation in 2017-18, and are now stuck in the 3rd division.
Joint-Ninth-most seasons in the 1st division belongs to Tottenham Hotspur – 84 seasons. The North-London-based Spurs have been in the top flight for 41 straight seasons (since 1978-79).
Joint-Ninth-most seasons in the 1st division belongs to Chelsea – 84 seasons. The West-London-based Chelsea have been in the top flight for 30 straight seasons (since 1989-90).
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Note:
There are three clubs that have history in the English 1st Division, which are now defunct…
-Wimbledon FC (19 seasons in the 1st division, most recently in 1999-2000), (1889-2004)/Dissolved/Franchise became Milton Keynes FC (est. 2004). Milton Keynes FC [4th-division] have divested itself of Wimbledon FC’s titles & honours. South-London-based AFC Wimbledon [a current 3rd-division side], is the Phoenix-club of Wimbledon FC.
-Accrington FC (5 seasons in the 1st division, in the late Nineteenth century), (1878-96)/Dissolved. Accrington FC, a Lancashire-based club that was a founding member of the First Division in 1888-89, was an entirely separate club from Accrington Stanley FC (1891-1968), or Accrington Stanley FC (est. 1968) [a current 3rd-division side].
-Darwen FC (2 seasons in the 1st division, in the late Nineteenth century), (1870-2009)/Dissolved. Darwen FC was a Lancashire-based club that was dissolved in 2009, when they were a 9th-level team.
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Thanks to…
My Football Facts.com,
RSSSF.com, and
Historical Football Kits/[English Clubs section].
