List of York City F.C. seasons

York City captain Chris Smith lifting the FA Trophy after the 2–0 win over Newport County at Wembley Stadium in the 2012 FA Trophy final

York City Football Club, a professional association football club based in York, North Yorkshire, England, was founded in 1922. They were elected to play in the Midland League for the 1922–23 season.[1] After seven seasons in the Midland League, York were elected to play in the Football League in 1929 and were placed in the Third Division North.[2] The team reached the semi-final of the 1954–55 FA Cup, and were defeated by eventual winners Newcastle United in a replay, which is the furthest the club have reached in the competition.[3] York played in the Third Division North until the 1958–59 season, when they were placed in the Fourth Division on league reorganisation.[4] They won the first promotion in their history this season, after finishing third in the Fourth Division.[5]

York were promoted to the Second Division in 1974 and the 1974–75 season saw them achieve their highest league placing after finishing in 15th place.[3] Two successive relegations and a finish of 22nd in the Fourth Division saw the club apply for re-election to the Football League at the end of the 1977–78 season.[3] York won their first and only title after finishing first in the Fourth Division in the 1983–84 season with 101 points,[3] becoming the first team to reach a three-figure points total in a Football League season.[6] The club's first play-off success came in the 1992–93 season, against Crewe Alexandra in the final.[7] After a 1–1 extra-time draw, York won 5–3 in a penalty shoot-out at Wembley Stadium to earn promotion to the Second Division.[8] The following season saw York compete in the Second Division play-off semi-final, where they were beaten 1–0 on aggregate by Stockport County.[9]

York were relegated to the Conference National after finishing bottom of the Third Division in the 2003–04 season, ending 75 years of Football League membership.[10] The team reached the 2009 FA Trophy final in 2008–09, which was played at the new Wembley Stadium, where York were beaten 2–0 by Stevenage Borough.[11] The 2011–12 season concluded with two victories at Wembley; after Newport County were defeated 2–0 in the 2012 FA Trophy final,[12] York's Football League status was restored with a 2–1 victory over Luton Town in the 2012 Conference Premier play-off final.[13] The club endured successive relegations from League Two to the National League North in the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons,[14][15] but finished the latter with a 3–2 win over Macclesfield Town at Wembley in the 2017 FA Trophy final.[16] York spent five years in the National League North, being promoted to the National League via the play-offs in the 2021–22 season.[17]

As at the end of 2023–24, the club's first team had spent 2 seasons in the second tier of English football, 38 in the third, 32 in the fourth, and 22 in non-League football.[3] The table details their achievements in first-team competitions, and records their top goalscorer and average home league attendance, for each completed season since their first in 1922–23.

  1. ^ Batters, David (2008). York City: The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. pp. 13–15. ISBN 978-1-85983-633-0.
  2. ^ Batters. York City: The Complete Record. p. 23.
  3. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference FCHD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Batters. York City: The Complete Record. p. 308.
  5. ^ Batters. York City: The Complete Record. p. 310.
  6. ^ "Points". The Football League. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017.
  7. ^ Winter, Henry (31 May 1993). "Football / Play Off: York perfect the 12-yard route up". The Independent. London. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  8. ^ Elliott, Sam (29 May 1993). "Football: Hall is York's hero". The Independent. London. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  9. ^ Batters. York City: The Complete Record. p. 382.
  10. ^ Batters. York City: The Complete Record. p. 402.
  11. ^ Flett, Dave (11 May 2009). "York City 0, Stevenage Borough 2 – FA Trophy final at Wembley". The Press. York. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  12. ^ Flett, Dave (14 May 2012). "Match report: Newport County 0, York City 2 – FA Trophy final". The Press. York. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  13. ^ Flett, Dave (21 May 2012). "Match report: York City 2, Luton Town 1 – Play-off final". The Press. York. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  14. ^ Flett, Dave (7 May 2016). "York City end four-year stint back in Football League with 1–1 draw at Morecambe". The Press. York. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  15. ^ Flett, Dave (29 April 2017). "York City relegated to National League North after 2–2 draw with Forest Green and stoppage-time goal for Guiseley". The Press. York. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  16. ^ Flett, Dave (21 May 2017). "York City lift FA Trophy to win at Wembley for a fourth time in their history". The Press. York. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  17. ^ Kilbride, Jacob (21 May 2022). "York City secure promotion with 2–0 play-off final win". The Press. York. Retrieved 27 May 2022.