The Scottish Football League 1893 - 1894
In 1893 professionalism was belatedly recognised by the Scottish FA and the SFL was expanded with the addition of a Second Division. The competition was still dominated by clubs from the West of Scotland but there were now four sides from Edinburgh; Hearts, Hibs, St Bernard's and Leith Athletic. There was no automatic promotion or relegation between the two divisions. The bottom three clubs in the First Division had to compete in an election with the top three sides from the Second Division at the League AGM each year while the bottom three Second Division clubs had to apply for re-election. From 1899 the rules were changed so that only the bottom two clubs in each division had to apply for re-election. However, second division teams could apply for election to the top level regardless of where they finished. This system was designed to ensure that only clubs with substantial support would compete in the top flight although there were several examples of popular teams being denied elevation for political reasons.
