Chelsea First Division Titles & Finishes By Season

First Division Against Stamford Bridge Seating

Known as the Championship nowadays, the First Division was the top-flight in England before the creation of the Premier League. The fact that Chelsea Football Club wasn’t founded until 1905 meant that it took a couple of years to gain entry to it, eventually playing in the First Division for the first time in the 1907-1908 campaign. The fact that they were relegated out of it at the end of the 1911-1912 season is something of a reflection of how the London club got on with the First Division during the years before it was replaced as the English top-flight.

The up and down nature of Chelsea’s time in the First Division can be shown in the fact that they won the title at the end of the 1954-1955 campaign but were then relegated out of it within the decade. Indeed, the club didn’t win another top-flight title until the 2004-2005 season, but spent plenty of time bouncing between the First and Second Divisions over the years. There were some periods of consistency when it came to Chelsea’s time in the First Division, enjoying relative success under the management of Dave Sexton during the 1970s, for example.

Season Position Wins Draws Losses GD Points
1991-1992 14th 13 14 15 -10 53
1990-1991 11th 13 10 15 -11 49
1989-1990 5th 16 12 10 +8 60
1987-1988 18th 9 15 16 -18 42
1986-1987 14th 13 13 16 -11 52
1985-1986 6th 20 11 11 +1 71
1984-1985 6th 18 12 12 +15 66
1978-1979 22nd 5 10 27 -48 20
1977-1978 16th 11 14 17 -23 36
1974-1975 21st 9 15 18 -30 33
1973-1974 17th 12 13 17 -4 37
1972-1973 12th 13 14 15 -2 40
1971-1972 7th 18 12 12 +9 48
1970-1971 6th 18 15 9 +10 51
1969-1970 3rd 21 13 8 +20 55
1968-1969 5th 20 10 12 +20 50
1967-1968 6th 18 12 12 -6 48
1966-1967 9th 15 14 13 +5 44
1965-1966 5th 22 7 13 +12 51
1964-1965 3rd 24 8 10 +35 56
1963-1964 5th 20 10 12 +16 50
1961-1962 22nd 9 10 23 -31 28
1960-1961 12th 15 7 20 -2 37
1959-1960 18th 14 9 19 -15 37
1958-1959 14th 18 4 20 -21 40
1957-1958 11th 15 12 15 +4 42
1956-1957 15th 13 13 16 0 39
1955-1956 16th 14 11 17 -13 39
1954-1955 1st 20 12 10 +24 52
1953-1954 8th 16 12 14 +6 44
1952-1953 19th 12 11 19 -10 35
1951-1952 19th 14 8 20 -20 36
1950-1951 20th 12 8 22 -12 65
1949-1950 13th 12 16 14 -7 40
1948-1949 13th 12 14 16 +1 38
1947-1948 18th 14 9 19 -18 37
1946-1947 15th 16 7 19 -15 39
1938-1939 20th 12 9 21 -16 33
1937-1938 10th 14 13 15 0 41
1936-1937 13th 14 13 15 -3 41
1935-1936 8th 15 13 14 -7 43
1934-1935 12th 16 9 17 -9 41
1933-1934 19th 14 8 20 -2 36
1932-1933 18th 14 7 31 -10 25
1931-1932 12th 16 8 18 -4 40
1930-1931 12th 15 10 17 -3 40
1923-1924 21st 9 14 19 -22 32
1922-1923 19th 9 18 15 -8 36
1921-1922 9th 17 12 13 -3 46
1920-1921 18th 13 13 16 -10 39
1919-1920 3rd 22 5 15 +5 49
1914-1915 19th 8 13 7 -14 29
1913-1914 8th 16 7 15 -9 39
1912-1913 18th 11 6 21 -22 28
1909-1910 19th 11 7 20 -23 29
1908-1909 11th 14 9 15 -5 37
1907-1908 13th 14 8 16 -9 36