Club History

Crystal Palace has a chequered and interesting history - please choose an era above to see more information.

1905-14
The brand new club was formed to play at the FA Cup final venue at Crystal Palace, and made steady progress through the Southern League, until the outbreak of the Great War.

1914-18
With the Admiralty taking over the ground at Crystal Palace, the club moved for the duration of the war to Herne Hill, and thence to The Nest, a small ground opposite Selhurst station, competing in the London Combination.

1918-23
The club became the first Champions of the newly formed League Division Three but continued to struggle in the Second division, while planning a move to a new stadium.

1923-39
Palace moved to a brand new stadium at Selhurst Park, but despite the efforts of goalscoring legend Peter Simpson, spent much of this period languishing in Division Three South.

1939-45
Palace continued to operate during the Second World War, relying on a good number of regular squad players and guests.

1945-50
Manager George Irwin had the services of crowd favourites such as Fred Dawes and Freddy Kurz, but Palace failed to progress up the Football League.

1950-60
Although Johnny Byrne emerged as one of Palace's brightest stars, the team continued to struggle in the lower reaches of the Football League. The fans still turned out, though, despite the club having to seek re-election to the League.

1960-69
Under the management of Arthur Rowe, Dick Graham, and finally Bert Head, Palace completed the steady climb towards the First Division, gaining promotion to the top flight in a memorable game against Fulham in April 1969.

1969-73
This era was one of great upheaval - firstly due to the team being promoted in '69 up to the First Division (at the time, the highest division in English football). The second upheaval was the subsequent relegation in '73, under the reign of Malcolm Allison.

1973-76
Despite plummeting into the Third Division, the fans were entertained by Malcolm Allison's showmanship, and a glorious FA Cup run sawPalace in the Semi Finals for the first time. Big Mal's fedora became a National icon.

1976-80
Malcolm Allison handed over to his protege Terry Venables, and Palace's young squad eventually claimed a place in Division One for the second time in their history. We were about to become the Team of the Eighties...

1980-89
After some very bleak years, Steve Coppell took Palace to the pinnacle once again. Spotting talent from the lower leagues and from non-league football, Coppell struck gold with players such as Geoff Thomas, Andy Gray and Ian Wright, who won promotion after a thrilling play-off final against Blackburn Rovers.

1989-93
Despite early struggles in the top flight, Palace reached the FA Cup Final for the first time, and subsequently finished a best ever third in the league. Palace's most successful period, for which Steve Coppell will always be loved by fans, but one that was all too brief.

1993-98
Cementing their reputation as a "yo-yo" club, Palace hopped between the top two divisions, but the end of the Ron Noades era heralded an uncertain future for the club.

1998-2000
Mark Goldberg's Chairmanship ended with Palace in Administration, but Steve Coppell and his threadbare squad soldiered on as the fans rallied to save the club.

2000-05
With the dark days of Administration finally behind them, Palace begin to rebuild, and Iain Dowie finally took the club back to the Premiership once again.