1919–20 Southern Football League

March 2026 The 1919–20 season was the 22nd in the history of the Southern League, and the first following World War I. Portsmouth won the Southern League championship for the second time, whilst Mid Rhondda won Division Two. There were no promotions or relegations between divisions at the end of the season as all of the clubs in Division One bar Cardiff City were elected to the new Division Three of the Football League, with Cardiff elected to Division Two. With only 10 clubs remaining (Caerphilly left the league) the league went through a realignment. The league was split into two national sections for England and Wales, with the winners of each section contesting a playoff for the Southern League championship. The remaining clubs in Division Two moved to the Welsh Section. In the English Section, Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves, Chatham Town, Millwall Reserves, Portsmouth Reserves, Reading Reserves, Southampton Reserves, and Watford Reserves rejoined the Southern League. New clubs to join were Boscombe, Charlton Athletic, Gillingham Reserves, Luton Town Reserves, Norwich City Reserves, and Thornycrofts. Division One Southern Football League Division One 1919–20 Portsmouth (2nd title) Cardiff City none 462 1275 1914–15 1920–21 Football League Third Division1920–21 Southern Football League A total of 22 teams contest the division, including 18 sides from previous season and four new teams. Teams promoted from 1914–15 Division Two: Merthyr Town Swansea Town Brentford Newport County main WDL Division One Q 5 2 y POR Portsmouth WAT Watford CRY Crystal Palace CAR Cardiff City PLY Plymouth Argyle QPR Queens Park Rangers REA Reading SHA Southampton SWA Swansea Town EXE Exeter City SEU Southend United NRW Norwich City SWI Swindon Town MIL Millwall BRE Brentford BHA Brighton & Hove Albion BRI Bristol Rovers NEW Newport County NHA Northampton Town LUT Luton Town MER Merthyr Town GIL Gillingham 23 12 7 73 27 26 6 10 69 42 22 12 8 69 43 18 17 7 70 43 20 10 12 57 29 18 10 14 62 50 16 13 13 51 43 18 8 16 72 63 16 11 15 53 45 17 9 16 57 51 13 17 12 46 48 15 11 16 64 57 17 7 18 65 68 14 12 16 52 55 15 10 17 52 59 14 8 20 60 72 11 13 18 61 78 13 7 22 45 70 12 9 21 64 103 10 10 22 51 76 9 11 22 47 78 10 7 25 34 74 #ACE1AF Elected to the Football League Second Division FL2D #D0F0C0 Elected to the new Football League Third Division FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D FL3D The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing. complete Division Two Southern Football League Division Two 1919–20 Mid Rhondda none Caerphilly (resigned) 110 416 1914–15 1920–21 SFL Welsh Section A total of 11 teams contested the division, six from the previous season and five new teams. All the teams in Division Two were from Wales. Newly elected teams: Aberaman Athletic Abertillery Caerphilly Mardy Porth Athletic main WDL Division Two Q 2 5 y MID Mid Rhondda TON Ton Pentre LLA Llanelly PON Pontypridd EBB Ebbw Vale BAR Barry MAR Mardy ABT Abertillery POR Porth Athletic ABM Aberaman Athletic CAE Caerphilly 17 3 0 79 10 12 7 1 50 14 10 5 5 47 30 10 3 7 33 29 7 7 6 39 40 7 5 8 32 27 7 5 8 29 30 6 5 9 29 40 4 4 12 30 74 4 3 13 28 48 1 3 16 20 74 #ACE1AF Promoted and Transferred to Southern League Welsh Section WS WS WS WS WS WS WS WS WS WS #ffcccc Left league at end of season LEFT complete The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.Note: Number of goals for and/or against is inaccurate. Football League elections Cardiff City were the only Southern League club to apply for election to the Football League.http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3506; A history of admission to the Football League 2014-02-04 2018-09-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20180926224326/http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3506; dead They were successful and, along with Leeds United, replaced Grimsby Town and Lincoln City in the Football League Second Division. ClubLeagueVotesLeeds UnitedMidland League31Cardiff CitySouthern League23Grimsby TownFootball League20Lincoln CityFootball League7WalsallBirmingham & District League3 After the voting, 21 clubs remained in Southern League alongside Grimsby, having gained more votes than other non-elected clubs, were then elected into the newly created Third Division. References External links Southern League First Division Tables RSSSF Southern League Second Division Tables RSSSF Football Club History Database 1919–20 Category:1919–20 in English men's football leagues Category:1919–20 in Welsh football