The1963–64Southern Football League season was the 61st in the history of the league, an Englishfootball competition.
Yeovil Town won the championship, whilstCheltenham Town,Folkestone Town,King's Lynn, andTonbridge were all promoted to the Premier Division. Seven Southern League clubs applied to jointhe Football League at the end of the season, but none were successful.
The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from theprevious season and four new clubs, promoted from Division One:
Also, Bexleyheath & Welling changed name toBexley United.
| Season | 1963–64 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Yeovil Town |
| Relegated | Hereford United Hinckley Athletic Kettering Town Merthyr Tydfil |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,574 (3.41 per match) |
1964–65 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yeovil Town | 42 | 29 | 5 | 8 | 93 | 36 | 2.583 | 63 | |
| 2 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 26 | 7 | 9 | 99 | 55 | 1.800 | 59 | |
| 3 | Bath City | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 88 | 51 | 1.725 | 57 | |
| 4 | Guildford City | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 90 | 55 | 1.636 | 51 | |
| 5 | Romford | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 71 | 58 | 1.224 | 49 | |
| 6 | Hastings United | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 75 | 61 | 1.230 | 48 | |
| 7 | Weymouth | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 65 | 53 | 1.226 | 47 | |
| 8 | Bedford Town | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 71 | 68 | 1.044 | 47 | |
| 9 | Cambridge United | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 92 | 77 | 1.195 | 43 | |
| 10 | Cambridge City | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 76 | 70 | 1.086 | 43 | |
| 11 | Wisbech Town | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 64 | 68 | 0.941 | 42 | |
| 12 | Bexley United | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 70 | 77 | 0.909 | 42 | |
| 13 | Dartford | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 56 | 71 | 0.789 | 40 | |
| 14 | Worcester City | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 70 | 74 | 0.946 | 39 | |
| 15 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 58 | 61 | 0.951 | 38 | |
| 16 | Rugby Town | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 68 | 86 | 0.791 | 38 | |
| 17 | Margate | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 68 | 81 | 0.840 | 37 | |
| 18 | Wellington Town | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 73 | 85 | 0.859 | 33 | |
| 19 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 69 | 108 | 0.639 | 32 | Relegated toDivision One |
| 20 | Hereford United | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 58 | 86 | 0.674 | 31 | |
| 21 | Kettering Town | 42 | 10 | 5 | 27 | 49 | 89 | 0.551 | 25 | |
| 22 | Hinckley Athletic | 42 | 7 | 6 | 29 | 51 | 104 | 0.490 | 20 |
Division One consisted of 22 clubs, including 16 clubs from theprevious season and six new clubs:
Also, Tunbridge Wells United changed name toTunbridge Wells Rangers.
At the end of the season,Yiewsley changed name to Hillingdon Borough, whileClacton Town switched to theEastern Football League.
| Season | 1963–64 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Folkestone Town |
| Promoted | Cheltenham Town Folkestone Town King's Lynn Tonbridge |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,585 (3.43 per match) |
1964–65 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Folkestone Town | 42 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 82 | 38 | 2.158 | 63 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | King's Lynn | 42 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 94 | 44 | 2.136 | 61 | |
| 3 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 92 | 49 | 1.878 | 60 | |
| 4 | Tonbridge | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 98 | 54 | 1.815 | 59 | |
| 5 | Corby Town | 42 | 24 | 7 | 11 | 114 | 56 | 2.036 | 55 | |
| 6 | Stevenage Town | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 70 | 59 | 1.186 | 48 | |
| 7 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 73 | 57 | 1.281 | 47 | |
| 8 | Burton Albion | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 76 | 70 | 1.086 | 46 | |
| 9 | Poole Town | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 75 | 61 | 1.230 | 45 | |
| 10 | Dover | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 86 | 75 | 1.147 | 45 | |
| 11 | Canterbury City | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 66 | 66 | 1.000 | 44 | |
| 12 | Crawley Town | 42 | 20 | 2 | 20 | 81 | 71 | 1.141 | 42 | |
| 13 | Trowbridge Town | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 71 | 78 | 0.910 | 41 | |
| 14 | Clacton Town | 42 | 19 | 1 | 22 | 76 | 88 | 0.864 | 39 | Resigned to theEastern Football League |
| 15 | Gloucester City | 42 | 17 | 4 | 21 | 88 | 89 | 0.989 | 38 | |
| 16 | Yiewsley | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 63 | 77 | 0.818 | 38 | |
| 17 | Sittingbourne | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 52 | 70 | 0.743 | 38 | |
| 18 | Ramsgate Athletic | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 57 | 55 | 1.036 | 35 | |
| 19 | Tunbridge Wells Rangers | 42 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 47 | 89 | 0.528 | 28 | |
| 20 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 7 | 9 | 26 | 43 | 96 | 0.448 | 23 | |
| 21 | Deal Town | 42 | 5 | 7 | 30 | 48 | 106 | 0.453 | 17 | |
| 22 | Barry Town | 42 | 3 | 6 | 33 | 33 | 137 | 0.241 | 12 |
Alongside the four League clubs facing re-election, a total of 13 non-League clubs applied for election, including seven Southern League clubs. All four League clubs were re-elected.[1]