The1919–20 season was the 22nd in the history of theSouthern League, and the first followingWorld War I.Portsmouth won the Southern League championship for the second time, whilstMid 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 barCardiff City were elected to the newDivision Three ofthe Football League, with Cardiff elected toDivision 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, andWatford Reserves rejoined the Southern League. New clubs to join wereBoscombe,Charlton Athletic,Gillingham Reserves,Luton Town Reserves,Norwich City Reserves, andThornycrofts.
| Season | 1919–20 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Portsmouth (2nd title) |
| Promoted | Cardiff City |
| Relegated | none |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,275 (2.76 per match) |
A total of 22 teams contest the division, including 18 sides from previous season and four new teams.
Teams promoted from1914–15 Division Two:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portsmouth | 42 | 23 | 12 | 7 | 73 | 27 | 2.704 | 58 | Elected to the newFootball League Third Division |
| 2 | Watford | 42 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 69 | 42 | 1.643 | 58 | |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 69 | 43 | 1.605 | 56 | |
| 4 | Cardiff City | 42 | 18 | 17 | 7 | 70 | 43 | 1.628 | 53 | Elected to theFootball League Second Division |
| 5 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 57 | 29 | 1.966 | 50 | Elected to the newFootball League Third Division |
| 6 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 62 | 50 | 1.240 | 46 | |
| 7 | Reading | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 51 | 43 | 1.186 | 45 | |
| 8 | Southampton | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 72 | 63 | 1.143 | 44 | |
| 9 | Swansea Town | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 53 | 45 | 1.178 | 43 | |
| 10 | Exeter City | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 57 | 51 | 1.118 | 43 | |
| 11 | Southend United | 42 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 46 | 48 | 0.958 | 43 | |
| 12 | Norwich City | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 64 | 57 | 1.123 | 41 | |
| 13 | Swindon Town | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 65 | 68 | 0.956 | 41 | |
| 14 | Millwall | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 52 | 55 | 0.945 | 40 | |
| 15 | Brentford | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 52 | 59 | 0.881 | 40 | |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 60 | 72 | 0.833 | 36 | |
| 17 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 61 | 78 | 0.782 | 35 | |
| 18 | Newport County | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 45 | 70 | 0.643 | 33 | |
| 19 | Northampton Town | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 64 | 103 | 0.621 | 33 | |
| 20 | Luton Town | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 51 | 76 | 0.671 | 30 | |
| 21 | Merthyr Town | 42 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 47 | 78 | 0.603 | 29 | |
| 22 | Gillingham | 42 | 10 | 7 | 25 | 34 | 74 | 0.459 | 27 |
| Season | 1919–20 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Mid Rhondda |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Caerphilly (resigned) |
| Matches | 110 |
| Goals | 416 (3.78 per match) |
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:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mid Rhondda | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 79 | 10 | 7.900 | 37 | Promoted and Transferred toSouthern League Welsh Section |
| 2 | Ton Pentre | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 50 | 14 | 3.571 | 31 | |
| 3 | Llanelly | 20 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 47 | 30 | 1.567 | 25 | |
| 4 | Pontypridd | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 33 | 29 | 1.138 | 23 | |
| 5 | Ebbw Vale | 20 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 39 | 40 | 0.975 | 21 | |
| 6 | Barry | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 32 | 27 | 1.185 | 19 | |
| 7 | Mardy | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 30 | 0.967 | 19 | |
| 8 | Abertillery | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 29 | 40 | 0.725 | 17 | |
| 9 | Porth Athletic | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 30 | 74 | 0.405 | 12 | |
| 10 | Aberaman Athletic | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 28 | 48 | 0.583 | 11 | |
| 11 | Caerphilly | 20 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 20 | 74 | 0.270 | 5 | Left league at end of season |
Cardiff City were the only Southern League club to apply for election to the Football League.[1] They were successful and, along with Leeds United, replacedGrimsby Town andLincoln City in the Football League Second Division.
| Club | League | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Leeds United | Midland League | 31 |
| Cardiff City | Southern League | 23 |
| Grimsby Town | Football League | 20 |
| Lincoln City | Football League | 7 |
| Walsall | Birmingham & District League | 3 |
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 createdThird Division.