| Organising body | The Football League |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 |
| Folded | 1958 |
| Country | England |
| Number of clubs | 22 (1921–1950) 24 (1950–1958) |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | Second Division |
| Domestic cup | FA Cup |
| League cup(s) | Third Division South Cup (1933–1939, 1945–1946) |
| Last champions | Brighton & Hove Albion (1957–58) |
| Most championships | Bristol City (3 titles) |
TheThird Division South ofthe Football League was a tier in theEnglish football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with theThird Division North with clubselected to the League orrelegated fromDivision Two allocated to one or the other according to geographical position. Some clubs in the EnglishMidlands shuttled between the Third Division South and the Third Division North according to the composition of the two leagues in any one season.
This division was created in 1921 from theThird Division, formed one year earlier whenthe Football League absorbed the leading clubs from theSouthern League.[1]
In 1921, a Northern section was also created called the Third Division North. The Third Division South was formed from the original 22 teams[2] in the Third Division, with the exceptions ofCrystal Palace, who were promoted to theSecond Division,Grimsby Town who were transferred to the Third Division North, andAberdare Athletic andCharlton Athletic who joined The Football League for the first time. Several Midlands-based teams were included in the Third Division South from time to time, although most were geographically closer to their Northern division rivals;Nottingham Forest andNotts County played in the Southern division although nearbyDerby County spent time in the Northern division.
For the 1950–51 season the division was expanded to 24 clubs, withColchester United andGillingham joining.[3][4]
Only one promotion place was available each season from the Third Division South to the Second Division, which made it very difficult to win promotion. Six teams,Brighton & Hove Albion,Exeter City,Northampton Town,Southend United,Swindon Town, andWatford, were ever-present in the division for the 30 years of its existence. Of the teams that played in the Third Division South,Portsmouth,Ipswich Town, andNottingham Forest were later English football champions.
Its final season was 1957–58, after which the North and South sections were merged to form a singleThird Division and a newFourth Division.[5] The top 12 clubs in Division Three South, except for the ChampionsBrighton & Hove Albion, went into the new Third Division, and the bottom 12 clubs went into the Fourth Division.
From 1934 to the war's outbreak, there was a short-lived knockout competitionFootball League Third Division South Cup.
From the 1954–55 season until the 1957–58 season, there was aseries of games between teams representing the Third Division North and the Third Division South.
Source: Statto[6]