A national third tier of Scottish league football was first established in the 1923–24 season as Division Three, but it only lasted for two full seasons due to the costs of meeting match guarantees and travel and other expenses being beyond most member clubs' capacity to pay.
As a result, the third-tier league was dissolved, and would not be re-established until 1946–47 with the C Division, which also included reserve teams of the clubs from the divisions above. Division C operated as a national competition for the first three seasons; thereafter, it was split into two regional sections until season 1954–55, when the third tier was again dissolved.[1]
The third tier was re-established in 1975–76 season, when a division known as the Second Division was set up. Its status within the Scottish football league system league system changed in season 1998–99, when clubs from the top tier (Premier Division) broke away from the Scottish Football League to form the Scottish Premier League. The Second Division was still the third tier of the Scottish league system, but became the second level of the Scottish Football League rather than the third. In 2013, the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League merged to form the Scottish Professional Football League, with the third tier becoming known as the Scottish League One.
| Season | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1923–24 | Arthurlie | East Stirlingshire |
| 1924–25 | Nithsdale Wanderers | Queen of the South |
| 1925–26 | Championship withheld[A] | |
| 1926–1946 | No third tier | |
| Season | Section | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–47 | — | Stirling Albion | Dundee 'A' |
| 1947–48 | — | East Stirlingshire | East Fife 'A' |
| 1948–49 | — | Forfar Athletic | Leith Athletic |
| 1949–50 | South-East | Hibernian 'A' | Heart of Midlothian 'A' |
| South-West | Clyde 'A' | Rangers 'A' | |
| 1950–51 | North-East | Heart of Midlothian 'A' | Aberdeen 'A' |
| South-West | Clyde 'A' | Ayr United 'A' | |
| 1951–52 | North-East | Dundee 'A' | Heart of Midlothian 'A' |
| South-West | Rangers 'A' | Morton 'A' | |
| 1952–53 | North-East | Aberdeen 'A' | Hibernian 'A' |
| South-West | Rangers 'A' (2) | Partick Thistle 'A' | |
| 1953–54 | North-East | Brechin City | Aberdeen 'A' |
| South-West | Rangers 'A' (3) | Partick Thistle 'A' | |
| 1954–55 | North-East | Aberdeen 'A' (2) | Hibernian 'A' |
| South-West | Partick Thistle 'A' | Rangers 'A' | |
| 1955–1975 | No third tier | ||
| Season | Winner | Runner-up | Top scorer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Goals | |||
| 2013–14 | Rangers | Dunfermline Athletic | Michael Moffat (Ayr United) | 26 |
| 2014–15 | Greenock Morton | Stranraer | Declan McManus (Greenock Morton) | 20 |
| 2015–16 | Dunfermline Athletic (2) | Ayr United | Faissal El Bakhtaoui (Dunfermline Athletic) Rory McAllister (Peterhead) |
22 |
| 2016–17 | Livingston (4) | Alloa Athletic | Andy Ryan (Airdrieonians) | 23 |
| 2017–18 | Ayr United (3) | Raith Rovers | Lawrence Shankland (Ayr United) | 26 |
| 2018–19 | Arbroath | Forfar Athletic | Kevin Nisbet (Raith Rovers) | 30 |
| 2019–20[6] | Raith Rovers (3) | Falkirk | David Goodwillie (Clyde) | 20 |
| 2020–21 | Partick Thistle (2) | Airdrieonians | Mitch Megginson (Cove Rangers) | 14 |
| 2021–22 | Cove Rangers | Airdrieonians | Mitch Megginson (Cove Rangers) | 18 |
| 2022–23 | Dunfermline Athletic (3) | Falkirk | Callum Gallagher (Airdrieonians) Ruari Paton (Queen of the South) |
22 |
34 different clubs (counting reserve teams separately from first teams) have won the third tier of Scottish football. Three clubs (Clyde, Partick Thistle and Rangers) have won the third tier with both their first team and their reserve team.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Stirling Albion | 5 | 1 |
| Brechin City | 4 | 2 |
| Livingston[note 1] | 4 | 1 |
| Clyde | 4 | — |
| Raith Rovers | 3 | 4 |
| Ayr United | 3 | 3 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | 3 | 2 |
| Rangers 'A' | 3 | 2 |
| Greenock Morton[note 2] | 3 | 1 |
| Queen of the South | 2 | 3 |
| Aberdeen 'A' | 2 | 2 |
| Stranraer | 2 | 2 |
| Forfar Athletic | 2 | 1 |
| Clyde 'A' | 2 | — |
| Partick Thistle | 2 | — |
| Airdrieonians[note 3] | 1 | 3 |
| Arbroath | 1 | 2 |
| East Stirlingshire | 1 | 2 |
| Falkirk | 1 | 2 |
| Heart of Midlothian 'A' | 1 | 2 |
| Hibernian 'A' | 1 | 2 |
| Partick Thistle 'A' | 1 | 2 |
| Berwick Rangers | 1 | 1 |
| Clydebank | 1 | 1 |
| Cowdenbeath | 1 | 1 |
| Dumbarton | 1 | 1 |
| Dundee 'A' | 1 | 1 |
| Montrose | 1 | 1 |
| Albion Rovers | 1 | — |
| Arthurlie | 1 | — |
| Cove Rangers | 1 | — |
| Gretna | 1 | — |
| Nithsdale Wanderers | 1 | — |
| Queen's Park | 1 | — |
| Rangers | 1 | — |
| Ross County | 1 | — |
| Alloa Athletic | — | 9 |
| East Fife | — | 2 |
| Hamilton Academical | — | 2 |
| Ayr United 'A' | — | 1 |
| East Fife 'A' | — | 1 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | — | 1 |
| Kilmarnock | — | 1 |
| Leith Athletic | — | 1 |
| Morton 'A' | — | 1 |
| St Johnstone | — | 1 |