Scottish Clubs Divisional Movements 1890-2003

This document lists all clubs which have appeared in the Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League and shows the periods they have spent in each division. The divisions are designated using Roman numerals as follows

Divisions
i         Scottish League Div 1/'A' Div 1890-1975, Premier Division 1975-98,
          Scottish Premier League from 1998
ii        Scottish League Div 2/'B' Div 1893-1975, Div 1 from 1975
iii       Scottish League Div 3 1923-26, 'C' Div 1946-55, Div 2 from 1975
iv        Scottish League Div 3 from 1994

r  indicates a club which resigned during a season
x  indicates a club which was expelled during the season

For each club the club name is followed by the date the club joined the league or the period(s) of league membership and any previous names of the club during league membership (these are cross-referenced in the text). This is followed by the list of divisions the club has played in and the period(s) spent in each division. To the right of the division number is shown the total number of seasons spent in the division with the longest consecutive period given in square brackets. The total number of seasons spent in the League is given to the left of the highest division played in.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N P Q R S T V

About this document


Aberdeen (1904)
91  i    90  [89]  1905-  *
    ii   1   [1]   1904-05

Abercorn (1890-1915)
25  i    4   [3]   1890-93, 1896-97
    ii   21  [18]  1893-96, 1898-1915

Airdrieonians (1894-2002, defunct 2002)
101 i    60  [33]  1903-36, 1947-48, 1950-54, 1955-65, 1966-73, 1974-75,
                   1980-82, 1991-93
    ii   41  [10]  1894-1903, 1936-47, 1948-50, 1954-55, 1965-66, 1973-74,
                   1975-80, 1982-91, 1993-2002

Airdrie United (2003) (Clydebank taken over and moved
to Airdrie, 2002)
2   ii   2   [2]   2002-

Albion Rovers (1903-15, 1919)
90  i    9   [4]   1919-23, 1934-37, 1938-39*, 1948-49         
    ii   53  [26]  1903-15, 1923-34, 1937-38, 1946-48, 1949-75, 1989-90       
    iii  18  [14]  1975-89, 1990-94
    iv   10  [10]  1994-

Alloa Athletic (1921)
76  i    1   [1]   1922-23
    ii   53  [29]  1921-22, 1923-39*, 1946-75, 1977-78, 1982-84, 1985-86
                   1989-90, 2000-01, 2002-03
    iii  18  [4]   1975-77, 1978-82, 1984-85, 1986-89, 1990-94, 1998-2000,
                   2001-2002, 2003-
    iv   4   [4]   1994-98

Arbroath (1921)
76  i    9   [4]   1935-39*, 1959-60, 1968-69, 1972-75
    ii   45  [14]  1921-35, 1946-59, 1960-68, 1969-72, 1975-80,
                   2001-03
    iii  18  [14]  1980-94, 1998-2001, 2003-
    iv   4   [4]   1994-98

Armadale (1921-32x) (expelled from league Nov 1932, record expunged)
10  ii   10  [10]  1921-32x

Arthurlie (1901-15, 1923-29) (resigned from league Apr 1929, record stood)
20  ii   19  [14]  1901-15, 1924-29
    iii  1   [1]   1923-24

Ayr (1897-1910) (see also Ayr United)
13  ii   13  [13]  1897-1910

Ayr Parkhouse (1903-04, 1906-10) (see also Ayr United)
5   ii   5   [4]   1903-04, 1906-10

Ayr United (1910) (merger in 1910 of Ayr and Ayr Parkhouse)
87  i    35  [12]  1913-25, 1928-36, 1937-39*, 1956-57, 1959-61, 1966-67,
                   1969-78
    ii   48  [10]  1910-13, 1925-28, 1936-37, 1946-56, 1957-59, 1961-66,
                   1967-69, 1978-86, 1988-95, 1997-
    iii  4   [2]   1986-88, 1995-97

Bathgate (1921-29) (resigned from league Mar 1929, record expunged)
7   ii   7   [7]   1921-29r

Beith (1923-26)
3   iii  3   [3]   1923-26

Berwick Rangers (1951)
53  ii   22  [20]  1955-75, 1979-81
    iii  28  [16]  1951-55, 1975-79, 1981-97, 2000-
    iv   3   [3]   1997-2000

Bo'ness (1921-32x) (expelled from league Nov 1932, record expunged)
10  i    1   [1]   1927-28
    ii   9   [6]   1921-27, 1928-32x

Brechin City (1923-26, 1929)
71  ii   38  [21]  1929-39, 1954-75, 1983-87, 1990-91, 1993-94, 2003-
    iii  28  [8]   1923-26, 1946-54, 1975-83, 1987-90, 1991-93, 1994-95, 1996-98,
                   2002-03
    iv   5   [4]   1995-96, 1998-2002

Broxburn United (1921-26)
5   ii   5   [5]   1921-26

Caledonian Thistle - see Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Cambuslang (1890-92)
2   i    2   [2]   1890-92

Celtic (1890)
107 i    107 [107] 1890-

Clackmannan (1921-22, 1923-26)
4   ii   1   [1]   1921-22
    iii  3   [3]   1923-26

Clyde (1891)
106 i    63  [18]  1891-93, 1894-1900, 1906-24, 1926-51, 1952-56, 1957-61,
                   1962-63, 1964-72, 1973-75
    ii   31  [9]   1893-94, 1900-06, 1924-26, 1951-52, 1956-57, 1961-62,
                   1963-64, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1978-80, 1982-91, 1993-94,
                   2000-
    iii  12  [6]   1976-78, 1980-82, 1991-93, 1994-2000

Clydebank (1) (1914-31)
15  i    7   [5]   1917-22, 1923-24, 1925-26
    ii   8   [5]   1914-15, 1922-23, 1924-25, 1926-31

Clydebank (2) (1966-2002) (taken over and relocated to Airdrie in 2002 - see
Airdrie United)
35  i    3   [2]   1977-78, 1985-87
    ii   29  [10]  1966-75, 1976-77, 1978-85, 1987-97, 1998-2000
    iii  4   [3]   1975-76, 1997-98, 2000-02

Cowdenbeath (1905)
86  i    11  [10]  1924-34, 1970-71
    ii   47  [24]  1905-24, 1934-39*, 1946-70, 1971-75, 1992-93
    iii  20  [17]  1975-92, 1993-94, 2001-03
    iv   8   [7]   1994-2001, 2003-

Cowlairs (1890, 1893-95)
3   i    1   [1]   1890-91
    ii   2   [2]   1893-95

Dumbarton (1890-97, 1906)
98  i    19  [9]   1890-96, 1913-22, 1972-75, 1984-85
    ii   65  [25]  1896-97, 1906-13, 1922-54, 1955-72, 1975-84, 1985-88,
                   1992-94, 1995-96
    iii  9   [4]   1954-55, 1988-92, 1994-95, 1996-97, 2002-
    iv   5   [5]   1997-2002

Dumbarton Harp (1923-25r) (resigned from league February 1925, record expunged)
1   iii  1   [1]   1923-25r

Dundee (1893)
102 i    90  [43]  1893-38*, 1947-76, 1979-80, 1981-90, 1992-94, 1998-
    ii   12  [4]   1938-47, 1976-79, 1980-81, 1990-92, 1994-98

Dundee Hibernian - see Dundee United

*Dundee United (1910-22, 1923) (Dundee Hibernian to 1923)
79  i    46  [35]  1925-27, 1929-30, 1931-32, 1960-95, 1996-
    ii   33  [21]  1910-22, 1923-25, 1927-29, 1930-31, 1932-60, 1995-96

Dundee Wanderers (1894-95)
1   ii   1   [1]   1894-95

Dunfermline Athletic (1912)
79  i    33  [14]  1926-28, 1934-37, 1955-57, 1958-72, 1973-75, 1987-88,
                   1989-92, 1996-99, 2000-
    ii   39  [11]  1912-26, 1928-34, 1937-55, 1957-58, 1972-73, 1975-76,
                   1979-83, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1992-96, 1999-2000
    iii  6   [3]   1976-79, 1983-86

Dykehead (1923-26)
3   iii  3   [3]   1923-26

East Fife (1921)
76  i    14  [10]  1930-31, 1948-58, 1971-74
    ii   41  [13]  1921-30, 1931-48, 1958-71, 1974-78, 1984-88, 1996-97
    iii  17  [8]   1978-84, 1988-96, 1997-99, 2003-
    iv   4   [4]   1999-2003

East Stirling/Clydebank - see East Stirlingshire

East Stirlingshire (1900) (known as East Stirling/Clydebank in 1964-65 season)
91  i    2   [2]   1932-33, 1963-64
    ii   53  [17]  1900-23, 1924-32, 1933-39, 1948-49, 1955-63, 1964-75,
                   1980-82
    iii  26  [12]  1923-24, 1946-48, 1949-55, 1975-80, 1982-94
    iv   10  [10]  1994-

Edinburgh City (1931-49)
11  ii   8   [8]   1931-39
    iii  3   [3]   1946-49

Elgin City (2000)
4   iv   4   [4]   2000-

Falkirk (1902)
95  i    63  [30]  1905-35, 1936-51, 1952-59, 1961-69, 1970-74, 1986-88,
                   1991-93, 1994-96
    ii   29  [8]   1902-05, 1935-36, 1951-52, 1959-61, 1969-70, 1974-77,
                   1980-86, 1988-91, 1993-94, 1996-
    iii  3   [3]   1977-80

Forfar Athletic (1921)
76  ii   51  [26]  1921-25, 1926-39, 1949-75, 1984-92
    iii  22  [9]   1925-26, 1946-49, 1975-84, 1992-94, 1995-96, 1997-99, 2000-
    iv   3   [1]   1994-95, 1996-97, 1999-2000

Galston (1923-26) (resigned from league Jan 1926)
2   iii  2   [2]   1923-26r

Greenock Morton (See Morton)

Gretna (2002)
2   iv   2   [2]   2002-

Hamilton Academical (1897) (known as Hamilton Academicals to 1966)
100 i    38  [34]  1906-47, 1953-54, 1965-66, 1986-87, 1988-89
    ii   56  [20]  1897-1906, 1947-53, 1954-65, 1966-86, 1987-88, 1989-96, 1997-99
    iii  5   [3]   1996-97, 1999-2000, 2001-
    iv   1   [1]   2000-01

Heart Of Midlothian (1890)
107 i    103 [80]  1890-1977, 1978-79, 1980-81, 1983-
    ii   4   [2]   1977-78, 1979-80, 1981-83

Helensburgh (1923-26)
3   iii  3   [3]   1923-26

Hibernian (1893)
104 i    98  [40]  1895-1931, 1933-80, 1981-98, 1999-
    ii   6   [2]   1893-95, 1931-33, 1980-81, 1998-99

Inverness Caledonian Thistle (1994) (Caledonian Thistle until 1996)
10  ii   5   [5]   1999-
    iii  2   [2]   1997-99
    iv   3   [3]   1994-97

Johnstone (1911-26)
9   ii   8   [8]   1911-25
    iii  1   [1]   1925-26

Kilmarnock (1895)
102 i    75  [41]  1899-47, 1954-73, 1974-75, 1976-77, 1979-81, 1982-83,
                   1993-
    ii   25  [7]   1895-99, 1947-54, 1973-74, 1975-76, 1977-79, 1981-82,
                   1983-89, 1990-93
    iii  1   [1]   1989-90

King's Park (1921-39)
18  ii   18  [18]  1921-39

Leith Athletic (1891-1915, 1924-26, 1927-53)
45  i    6   [4]   1891-95, 1930-32
    ii   31  [20]  1895-1915, 1927-30, 1932-39*, 1947-48
    iii  8   [5]   1924-26, 1946-47, 1948-53

Linthouse (1895-1900)
5   ii   5   [5]   1895-1900

Livingston (1974) (Meadowbank Thistle until 1995)
30  i    3   [3]   2001-
    ii   10  [6]   1983-85, 1987-93, 1999-2001
    iii  16  [9]   1974-83, 1985-87, 1993-95, 1996-99
    iv   1   [1]   1995-96

Lochgelly United (1914-26)
6   ii   4   [4]   1914-24
    iii  2   [2]   1924-26

Meadowbank Thistle - see Livingston

Mid-Annandale (1923-26)
3   iii  3   [3]   1923-26

Montrose (1923-26, 1929)
71  ii   37  [24]  1929-39, 1955-79, 1985-87, 1991-92
    iii  25  [9]   1923-26, 1946-55, 1979-85, 1987-91, 1992-94, 1995-96
    iv   9   [8]   1994-95, 1996-

Morton (1893) (known as Greenock Morton to 1993-2000)
104 i    54  [27]  1900-27, 1929-33, 1937-38, 1946-49, 1950-52, 1964-66,
                   1967-75, 1978-83, 1984-85, 1987-88
    ii   46  [12]  1893-1900, 1927-29, 1933-37, 1938-39*, 1949-50, 1952-64,
                   1966-67, 1975-78, 1983-84, 1985-87, 1988-94, 1995-2001
    iii  3   [1]   1994-95, 2001-2002, 2003-
    iv   1   [1]   2002-03

Motherwell (1893)
104 i    88  [43]  1903-1953, 1954-68, 1969-79, 1982-84, 1985-
    ii   16  [10]  1893-1903, 1953-54, 1968-69, 1979-82, 1984-85

Nithsdale Wanderers (1923-27)
4   ii   2   [2]   1925-27
    iii  2   [2]   1923-25

Northern (1893-94)
1   ii   1   [1]   1893-94

Partick Thistle (1893)
104 i    80  [61]  1897-99, 1900-1901, 1902-70, 1971-75, 1976-82, 1992-96,
                   2002-
    ii   21  [10]  1893-97, 1899-1900, 1901-02, 1970-71, 1975-76, 1982-92,
                   1996-98, 2001-2002
    iii  3   [3]   1998-2001

Peebles Rovers (1923-26)
3   iii  3   [3]   1923-26

Peterhead (2000)
4   iv   4   [4]   2000-

Port Glasgow Athletic (1893-1911)
18  i    8   [8]   1902-10
    ii   10  [9]   1893-1902, 1910-11

Queen's Park (1900)
97  i    42  [22]  1900-22, 1923-39*, 1946-48, 1956-58
    ii   28  [17]  1922-23, 1948-56, 1958-75, 1981-83
    iii  18  [11]  1975-81, 1983-94, 2000-01
    iv   9   [6]   1994-2000, 2001-

Queen Of The South (1923)
74  i    20  [10]  1933-50, 1951-59, 1962-64
    ii   33  [15]  1925-33, 1950-51, 1959-62, 1964-79, 1981-82, 1986-89,
                   2002-
    iii  21  [13]  1923-25, 1979-81, 1982-86, 1989-2002

Raith Rovers (1902)
93  i    36  [14]  1910-26*, 1927-29, 1938-39, 1949-62, 1967-70, 1993-94,
                   1995-97
    ii   51  [8]   1902-10, 1926-27, 1929-38, 1946-49, 1962-67, 1970-75,
                   1976-77, 1978-84, 1987-93, 1994-95, 1997-2002, 2003-
    iii  6   [3]   1975-76, 1977-78, 1984-87, 2002-03

Rangers (1890)
107 i    107 [107]  1890-

Renton (1890x, 1891-97r) (expelled from league Oct 1890, resigned from
                          league Oct 1897)
6   i    3   [3]   1890x, 1891-94,
    ii   3   [3]   1894-97r

Ross County (1994)
10  ii   4   [4]   2000-
    iii  1   [1]   1999-2000
    iv   5   [5]   1994-99

Royal Albert (1923-26)
3   iii  3   [3]   1923-26

St.Bernard's (1893-1939)
40  i    7   [7]   1893-1900
    ii   33  [33]  1900-39

St.Johnstone (1911)
80  i    38  [13]  1924-30, 1932-39*, 1960-62, 1963-76, 1983-84, 1990-94, 1997-2002
    ii   39  [14]  1911-24, 1930-32, 1946-60, 1962-63, 1976-83, 1984-85,
                   1988-90, 1994-97, 2002-
    iii  3   [3]   1985-88

St.Mirren (1890)
107 i    88  [45]  1890-1935, 1936-67, 1968-71, 1977-92, 2000-01
    ii   19  [8]   1935-36, 1967-68, 1971-77, 1992-2000, 2001-

Solway Star (1923-26)
3   iii  3   [3]   1923-26

Stenhousemuir (1921)
76  ii   47  [47]  1921-75
    iii  28  [23]  1975-98, 1999-
    iv   1   [1]   1998-99

Stirling Albion (1946)
58  i    11 [3]    1949-50, 1951-52, 1953-56, 1958-60, 1961-62, 1965-68
    ii   26 [7]    1947-49, 1950-51, 1952-53, 1956-58, 1960-61, 1962-65,
                   1968-75, 1977-81, 1991-94, 1996-98
    iii  18 [10]   1946-47, 1975-77, 1981-91, 1994-96, 1998-2001
    iv   3  [3]    2001-

Stranraer (1949)
55  ii   22 [20]  1955-75, 1994-95, 1998-99
    iii  32 [19]  1949-55, 1975-94, 1995-98, 1999-2003
    iv   1  [1]   2003-

Third Lanark (1890-1967) (defunct 1967)
70  i   58   [35]  1890-1925, 1928-29, 1931-34, 1935-53, 1957-65
    ii  12   [4]   1925-28, 1929-31, 1934-35, 1953-57, 1965-67

Thistle (1893-94)
1   i   1    [1]   1893-94

Vale Of Leven (1890-92, 1905-26)
17  i   2    [2]   1890-92
    ii  13   [13]  1905-24
    iii 2    [2]   1924-26

Division One continued throughout WWI but Division Two was suspended in 1915 and didn't resume until 1921. Aberdeen, Dundee and Raith Rovers did not compete between 1917 and 1919 due to war-time travelling difficulties although they did retain full membership of Division One

Both divisions were suspended during WWII. After the war clubs were placed in Divisions A and B according to their 1939-40 status except that Queen's Park and Morton were placed in Division A and St. Johnstone, Ayr United, Albion Rovers, Arbroath, Cowdenbeath and Alloa Athletic were placed in Division B. Former Division Two clubs Brechin City, East Stirlingshire, Forfar Athletic and Montrose were placed in Division C along with new club Stirling Albion, the now defunct Edinburgh City and Leith Athletic, and Dundee Res, Dundee Utd Res and St. Johnstone Res.


About this document

Prepared and maintained by James M. Ross for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Author: James M. Ross
Last updated: 7 Jun 2003

Copyright © 1995,2003 James M. Ross and RSSSF
You are free to use the data within this document in whole or part for non-commercial use providing that proper acknowledgement is given to the author. Copying of the document itself or replication on any other web site is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.