Scunthorpe United Football Club, an Englishassociation football club based inScunthorpe,Lincolnshire, was founded in 1899 as the result of a merger between Brumby Hall F.C. and another club.[1] The team first entered the nationalcup competition, theFA Cup, in1909–10; they beat Withernsea 8–0 in the preliminary round before losing 4–0 toYork City in the first qualifying round.[2] In 1910, after amalgamating with North Lindsey United, the club took the name Scunthorpe & Lindsey United,[1] and two years later, it became a member of theMidland League.[3] The first team finished that initial season in the lower reaches of the table, but when competitive football resumed after the First World War, they enjoyed consecutive top-seven finishes, culminating in their first Midland League title in 1926–27, a success fuelled by 52 goals from formerEngland internationalErnie Simms.[3][4] They again won the title in 1938–39,[3] and it seemed for much of the season as ifHarry Johnson was sure to overtake Simms' total, but he missed several matches in the later part of the season and had to settle for 49.[4][5]
Scunthorpe made their first application to jointhe Football League ahead of the formation of theNorthern Section of the Third Division in 1921; they were not elected,[6] and their bids for election continued to fail until the League's next expansion, in 1950. The voting was tight, but Scunthorpe became one of two Midland League teams to join the Northern Section when each regional third-tier division grew from 22 to 24.[7] They finished the1950–51 Football League season in mid-table, and seven years later won the Third Division North title – the last season of that league before the regional divisions were amalgamated into nationalThird andFourth Divisions[8] – by a seven-point margin. They also reached the fifth round (last 16) of the FA Cup for the first time, defeatingFirst Division clubNewcastle United and holdingLiverpool for 75 minutes before conceding the only goal of the match.[9]
Ahead of theirSecond Division debut, the club dropped the Lindsey from its name, becoming plain Scunthorpe United.[1] They spent six seasons at that level, and finished a club record fourth in1961–62, five points behind the secondpromotion place. After four seasons in the Third Division, they dropped to the Fourth, in which they remained for the next 36 years, apart from three single-season ventures into the higher level; the last of those, in 1999–2000, came courtesy of their fifth attempt at promotion via theplay-offs.[10][11] The Football League rebranded their divisions ahead of the 2004–05 season, so that the fourth tier becameFootball League Two,[8] and the change of name coincided with a change of fortune for Scunthorpe. Gaining promotion toLeague One as runners-up, ahead ofSwansea City ongoal difference, this time they not only stayed up but went on to win the League One title in2006–07. Relegated in their first season in theChampionship, they came straight back via the play-offs to spend another two seasons in the second tier.[10][12] In 2008–09, they lost toLuton Town inthe final of theFootball League Trophy, a cup competition open to teams from the third and fourth tiers of theEnglish football league system,[13] andthe following season, they reached the last 16 of theLeague Cup for the first time.[10] Two relegations in three years returned them to the fourth tier, from which they bounced straight back as2013–14 runners-up. After twice reaching the play-offs, they were relegated to League Two in 2019 before, in a chaotic2021–22 season, finishing bottom of that division to put an end to their 72-year spell in the Football League.[14] A further relegation followed before Scunthorpe finished second in the2023–24 National League North but failed in the play-offs.[15]
As of the end of the 2021–22 season, the team have spent 38 seasons in the fourth tier of theEnglish football league system, 25 in the third, and 9 in the second.[3][10] The table details the team's achievements in seniorfirst-team competitions and the top league goalscorer, where known, from their debut season in the FA Cup in 1909–10 to the end of the most recently completed season.
^Unless individually referenced, top scorers in the Football League era are sourced toThe Iron Alphabet up to and including the 1995–96 season[19] – appearances and goals listed there are for League matches only, as confirmed at Neil Brown's site[20] – toSoccerbase for seasons in the Football League,[21] and toSoccerway for seasons in the National League.[22]
^The FA Cup was contested in1945–46. From the first round proper to the sixth round (quarter-final), results were determined onaggregate score over two legs.[2]
^Club's highest Football League scorer in a season.[26]
^Two points awarded for the home fixture againstExeter City, which remains the only match in the history of the Football League to remain unplayed. Injury and influenza left Exeter with only nine fit players, two of whom were goalkeepers, but the League refused their request for postponements. They played one game, at home toPeterborough United, but on medical advice refused to travel the 300 miles (480 km) to Scunthorpe. They were fined £5,000 and ordered to pay Scunthorpe £1,000 in compensation.[10][27]
^The newly formedFA Premier League split from the Football League, and the remaining divisions of the Football League were renumbered upwards.[8]
^After beatingSwansea City 3–2 on aggregate in the play-off semi-final,[10] Scunthorpe won promotion to the Second Division by beatingLeyton Orient on penalties inthe final.[11]
^Lost 6–3 on aggregate toLincoln City in the play-off semi-final.[35]
^The 2019–20 football season was disrupted by the effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic. The EFL was suspended in March 2020 and in June, the League Two clubs voted to end the regular season programme early. Teams had not all played the same number of matches, so it was agreed to construct final league tables on a points-per-game basis. Scunthorpe United's 49.73 points per game placed them 20th.[40][41]
^abc'Filbert' (5 April 1939). "Scunthorpe United begin team-building in good time".Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph. p. 1.At the moment, [Johnson] is the leading scorer in the Midland League, with 44 goals ... As far as Scunthorpe is concerned, he has still one record to break, and that is to beat the Midland League scoring record for the club set up by Ernest Simms, who scored 52 goals for the United in one season. Johnson has, of course, been out of the team for the last few weeks, but he still has time, if he recovers from his injury, to break that record.
^ab'Argus' (6 May 1939). "With Boston United. Leading scorers".Lincolnshire Standard. p. 18.
^ab"Highs and lows". Scunthorpe United F.C. 23 December 2014. Retrieved23 May 2016.
^"Scunthorpe United FC Squad".Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved20 May 2024. Select season and competition required via dropdown menu.
^"Johnson re-signs for Scunthorpe".Daily Mail. Hull. 27 May 1938. p. 22.
^ab"'Nuts' rally to win".The Star "Green 'Un". Sheffield. 26 August 1939. p. 5. 'Filbert' (29 August 1939). "Scunthorpe stamina stumped Shrewsbury".Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph. p. 8. "Nuts checked by Town Reserves".Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 1 September 1939. p. 2.
^abcdefgh"Clubs: Scunthorpe Utd".English National Football Archive. Retrieved22 January 2020. Select season via dropdown menu.
^Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2010).Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2010–2011. Headline. p. 329.ISBN978-0-7553-6107-6.
^"Did you know 25: Postponed matches".Footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved3 March 2020. Davies, John (3 April 1974). "Exeter match ban".Daily Express. London. p. 20. Lawton, James (26 April 1974). "Exeter board in £5,000 whipround".Daily Express. London. p. 22.
