Scottish Football League

C Division overview

See also Main index Club directory 1946-47 1947-48 1948-49 1949-50 1950-51 1951-52 1952-53 1953-54 1954-55 Elections Promotion & relegation Re-elections Resignations

When the Scottish League was revived after the Second World War in 1946, it had intended to revert to its pre-War set-up of two divisions of 20 and 18 clubs just as the English League had done. However the big First Division sides preferred to retain the 16-14 club divisions that was used by the Southern League during the previous season, and intended to breakaway and form a rival Super League if their wishes weren’t granted. After much debate, the League voted to keep the status quo and placed the six excluded clubs into a third division. The divisions were also renamed A-B-C instead of 1, 2 and 3. Of all the pre-War clubs, only two failed to restart. Stirling Albion were formed as a replacement for King’s Park whose ground was destroyed in a bombing raid, while St Bernards folded after their ground was sold from beneath them. Three reserve sides were also invited to help make the number of member clubs up to ten. Only first teams could gain promotion to the B Division, but when the Scottish Reserve League was merged with the C Division in 1949 to create two regionalised sections, this made it well nigh impossible for them to achieve this, as the minnows had to face the second strings of the A Division giants. Whereas no reserve sides won the C Division between 1946 and 1949, they only failed to win on one occasion after this. At a League meeting in June 1955, a number of clubs intended to withdraw their reserve sides and reform the Reserve League. The five C Division clubs were promoted to an expanded 19-club B Division and the C Division was abolished. As C Division sides were excluded from the League Cup, they had to play in their own C Division League Cup, this was played as the Supplementary League in 1947-48.

1946-47 1947-48 1948-49 1949-50 1950-51 1951-52 1952-53 1953-54 1954-55

Champions Stirling Albion East Stirlingshire Forfar Athletic ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------

North & East Section ------- ------- ------- Hibernian ‘A’ Heart of Midlothian ‘A’ Dundee ‘A’ Aberdeen ‘A’ Brechin City Aberdeen ‘A’

South & West Section ------- ------- ------- Clyde ‘A’ Clyde ‘A’ Rangers ‘A’ Rangers ‘A’ Rangers ‘A’ Partick Thistle ‘A’

1946-47 1947-48 1948-49 1949-50 1950-51 1951-52 1952-53 1953-54 1954-55

League Cup Stirling Albion Aberdeen ‘A’ Aberdeen ‘A’ Aberdeen ‘A’ or Rangers ‘A’ Partick Thistle ‘A’ or Rangers ‘A’

Supplementary League ‘A’ ------- Forfar Athletic Brechin City

Supplementary League ‘B’ ------- East Fife ‘A’ Leith Athletic

Membership Aberdeen ‘A’ Airdrieonians ‘A’ Albion Rovers ‘A’ Alloa ‘A’ Arbroath ‘A’ Ayr United ‘A Berwick Rangers Brechin City Celtic ‘A’ Clyde ‘A’ Cowdenbeath ‘A’ Dumbarton ‘A’ Dumbarton Dundee ‘A’ Dundee United ‘A’ Dunfermline Athletic ‘A’ East Fife ‘A’ East Stirlingshire Edinburgh City Falkirk ‘A’ Forfar Athletic Hamilton Academical ‘A’ Hibernian ‘A’ Heart of Midlothian ‘A’ Kilmarnock ‘A’ Leith Athletic ‘A’ Leith Athletic Montrose Morton ‘A’ Motherwell ‘A’ Partick Thistle ‘A’ Queen of the South ‘A’ Queen’s Park Strollers Raith Rovers ‘A’ Rangers ‘A’ St Johnstone ‘A’ St Mirren ‘A’ Stirling Albion ‘A’ Stirling Albion Stranraer Third Lanark ‘A’

1949-1955 1948-1955 1949-50 1949-1951 1947-48, 1949-50 1949-1955 1951-1955 1946-1954 1949-1955 1949-1955 1950-51 1949-1952 1954-1955 1946-1955 1946-1952 1948-1955 1947-48, 1949-1955 1946-1948, 1949-1955 1946-1949 1949-1955 1946-1949 1949-1952, 1953-54 1949-1955 1949-1955 1947-1955 1947-48 1946-1947, 1948-1954 (expelled 1953-54) 1946-1955 1949-1954 1949-1955 1949-1955 1949-1955 1948-1955 1947-1955 1949-1955 1946-1953 1949-1955 1949-50, 1951-1955 1946-47 1949-1955 1949-1955