Crystal Palace Football Club was formed at the venue of the glass Palace that stood at the top of Sydenham Hill, the current location of the National Sports Centre.

Crystal Palace entered the Southern League Division Two, playing their first match against Southampton Reserves at the Crystal Palace on 2nd September 1905. The match ended in a 3-4 defeat for 'The Glaziers' but they did not lose another game in the 1905/1906 season and finished as champions.

From left to right: Back row: J Robson (Manager), T Walters (Director), A Daniels (Director), J Thompson, W Oliver, A Grant, R Rose, H Astley, M Edwards, A Cufflin (Director), S Bourne (Director), E Goodman (Secretary), A Birch (Trainer). Front row: G Thompson, R Hewitson, A Needham, W Watkins, E Birnie, W Innerd, G Walker, R Roberts. Sitting: R Harker, C Wallace.

Palace record one of their most famous victories as they beat Newcastle United at St. James' Park 1-0 in the FA Cup. A Horace Astley goal separated the sides and the defeat was the Magpies first at home since November 1905.

Newcastle went on to win the Division One championship and Palace finished 19th in the Southern League First Division.

1908

Right-winger Bill Davies becomes the first Palace player to represent his country on 7th March when he plays for Wales in their 2-1 defeat to Scotland in Dundee.

The Crystal Palace Sports Ground pictured in 1911.

1914

Henry Colclough becomes the first Palace player to represent England on 16th March when he plays in a 2-0 victory over Wales in Cardiff.

1915

The outbreak of the First World War led to the Admiralty requisitioning the Crystal Palace and the club was forced to move to the home of West Norwood FC, Herne Hill running track. Palace would continue to play at Herne Hill throughout the war in the London Combination League.

1918

As the First World War drew to a close Palace moved to a new stadium in Selhurst called The Nest. The Nest was originally the home of Croydon Common, but when the club folded Palace stepped in and leased the stadium from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company.

The first Palace game to be played at the new ground was a London Combination league match against Queens Park Rangers on 14th September and the Glaziers celebrated with a 4-2 win.

The site of the stadium is now a Southern Railways depot opposite Selhurst station.

The Nest. Palace's home from 1918 to 1924.

1921

Palace win the inaugural Division Three title and secure promotion to Division Two at the first attempt.

1924

Palace move to a new purpose built stadium named Selhurst Park, playing their first match in their new home against Sheffield Wednesday on 30th August.

The land for the new stadium was purchased in 1922 for £2,570 and £30,000 was spent on the stadium's construction.

1925

The club finish 21st in Division Two and are relegated.

1931

Peter Simpson sets the Palace record for most league goals in a season as he finds the net on 46 occasions in only 42 games. Simpson also scored eight goals in six FA Cup games taking his overall tally for the season to 54 in 48 games.

Simpson's record haul included nine hat-tricks and he even scored six against Exeter City on 4th October 1930, another Palace record.

To this day, Simpson remains the highest scorer in Palace history with 165 goals in only 195 games.

1939

At the start of the Second World War, Palace were still in Division Three South despite finishing second on three occasions. During the war Palace played in a number of competitions including the South Regional League, London League and Football League South.

1948

Belgian Marcel Gaillard becomes the first player from outside of the British Isles to represent Crystal Palace when he plays in the 5-2 win over Watford on 14th February. Minutes later, Gaillard becomes the first overseas player to score for Palace as he finds the back of the net on his debut.

1958

The club becomes part of the newly formed Division Four and Arthur Wait begins a 16-year stint as Chairman. Under Wait, Palace win promotion to the top flight for the first time and Selhurst Park was redeveloped into a modern football stadium.

1961

Palace finish second in Division Four and win promotion to Division Three.

On 22nd November, Johnny Byrne plays for England against Northern Ireland at Wembley and joins a select few who have played for England whilst plying their trade in the third tier of English football.

Johnny Bryne waves to his wife as he departs for England training.

1964

Manager Dick Graham leads Palace to second in Division Three and promotion.

1969

Under the leadership of Bert Head, Palace finish second in Division Two and win promotion to the top-flight for the first time in the club's history. Local boy Steve Kember was the hero as he scored the winner against Fulham on 19th April to secure a place in Division One.

The Palace players celebrate promotion to the top-flight.

1973

Soon after Malcolm Allison was installed as the Palace manager, it was deemed worthwhile - in common with other clubs at the time - to alter the club nickname, crest and the image of the club.

The new crest included an Eagle, although the original designers insisted it should bear some resemblance to a phoenix - in relation to the fire that caused the Crystal Palace on Sydenham Hill (in the shadow of which the team played in their early years) to be destroyed in the 1930s. From this time onwards the club has been known as 'The Eagles'.

The club's first period in the top-flight comes to an end as the Eagles slip into Division Two and a young Scot named Jim Cannon scores on his Palace debut against Chelsea on 31st March.

1974

A second successive relegation follows and Palace find themselves in Division Three.

1976

Palace finished mid-table in Division Three but the year will be remembered for a run into the FA Cup semi-finals. Victories over Division One Leeds United and Division Two Chelsea and Sunderland put the Eagles on the brink of becoming the first club to reach the FA Cup final while in Division Three.

At Stamford Bridge, Palace eventually succumbed to future Cup final winners Southampton and the season ended with the Eagles just missing out on promotion.

In March, Peter Taylor becomes the second Palace player to represent England whilst in Division Three when he plays in the victory over Wales in Wrexham, the left winger also gets on the scoresheet making him the first Palace player to score for England.

1977

Terry Venables becomes Palace manager and leads the club to third in Division Three and promotion.

1979

Palace win the Division Two title and a record crowd of 51,801 turn out to see the Eagles play Burnley at Selhurst Park. Ian Walsh and Dave Swindlehurst score to send the fans home happy and looking forward to top-flight football again.

In their first season back in the top-flight, Palace reach their highest ever league position when they topped the table on 29th September. Unfortunately the Eagles could not continue their good form and they finished the season in 13th place.

Palace v Burnley in 1979 saw the record attendance at Selhurst.

1981

After two seasons fighting against relegation in Division One, Palace finish 22nd and drop down to Division Two.

1988

Jim Cannon plays his last game for the club after 15 years of service. The defender played 660 games for Palace, a record for the club, and it is a record that is unlikely to be beaten for many years.

1989

After eight seasons in Division Two, Steve Coppell leads Palace back into the top-flight. For the previous few seasons Ian Wright and Mark Bright became the most lethal striking partnership in the division and it was two goals from Wright and a penalty from Dave Madden that led to a 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in the play-offs.

From left to right: Top row: G Nebbeling, P Barber, P Suckling, B Parkin, M Harris, N Redfearn. Middle row: S Coppell (Manager), M Bright, J Hopkins, G Thomas, G O'Reilly, D Madden, D Bailey, D Burke, I Evans (Assistant Manager). Bottom row: J Pemberton, G Pennyfather, A Pardew, I Wright, J Salako.

1990

The Eagles found life in Division One tough, but they survived despite a record 9-0 league defeat against Liverpool. The Eagles got their revenge however, as in April they beat Liverpool in the semi-final of the FA Cup. In a match that many Eagles fans rate as their favourite, Alan Pardew's 109th minute header made the score 4-3 and sent Palace to Wembley for the first time.

The FA Cup final against Manchester United was one of the most exciting in recent years. Palace took the lead through Gary O'Reilly before United scored twice to take the lead. Substitute Ian Wright scored twice for the Eagles but a late Mark Hughes equaliser prevented the Cup travelling to SE25 for the first time.

Palace lost the replay 1-0, but the final put Palace back on the footballing map.

1991

This was to be the most successful season to date for Crystal Palace Football Club, as they finished third in the top flight (their highest league finish to date) and Steve Coppell took his team back to Wembley. This time they left as winners, beating Everton to take the Zenith Data Systems Cup.

Geoff Thomas lifts the 1991 Zenith Data Systems Cup.

1993

At the end of season 1992/93, Palace were relegated at Arsenal on the final day of the season with former hero Ian Wright scoring for the Gunners.

1994

Palace bounce straight back into they Premiership by winning the First Division title.

1995

Despite a brave display, Palace are relegated from the Premier League. The Eagles finished fourth from bottom but were still relegated as the Premiership was to be reduced to a competition of only 20 teams.

The year was an unsuccessful one for Palace as far as the Premiership was concerned, but in the two major cup competitions Palace got to the semi-finals. Unfortunately Liverpool beat the Eagles 2-0 on aggregate in the League Cup semi-final and Manchester United won the FA Cup semi-final after a replay.

1997

A last gasp goal by David Hopkin was enough to secure a 1-0 win over Sheffield United at Wembley in the First Division play-off final and take the Eagles back into the Premiership.

1998

Once again the Eagles top-flight stay was a brief one as they finished bottom of the Premiership. Mark Goldberg takes over the club and becomes Chairman.

The club's ambitions under the new reign were not to be fulfilled and the season ended with the club in financial problems and the business in the hands of administrators where it was to remain for two seasons.

2001

In July 2000, the administration period finally came to an end as Simon Jordan completed his takeover of the club. After just a few weeks of Crystal Palace 2000 Ltd, former manager Alan Smith was named as the new boss. The 2000/01 season started with supporters' confidence and pride in the club regained and an exciting new era ahead.

There followed a disappointing season, and with Palace sitting third from bottom, Alan Smith was relieved of his duties.

The season ended with coach Steve Kember installed as caretaker manager with two games left. The club retained their place in the First Division with a victory in the last game at Stockport County thanks to a goal from Dougie Freedman.

Steve Kember is held aloft by Aki Riihilahti, Dougie Freedman, Clinton Morrison and Mikael Forssell after Palace's last gasp escape from relegation.

2004

At the start of the year, Palace were in the bottom four of the First Division but Iain Dowie arrived as manager and a remarkable run of results lifted Palace into a play-off place. The Eagles overcame Sunderland on penalties to reach the final in Cardiff where Neil Shipperley's goal was enough to beat West Ham United and take Palace back into the Premiership.

Palace celebrate their play-off victory over West Ham United.

2005

Palace's trip back to the Premiership started with an away draw with fellow newcomers Norwich City and the start of Andrew Johnson's goal tally. Palace proved they were not afraid of the big guns throughout the season, taking points from Premier League champions Arsenal and Manchester United with home draws. There were full points from Tottenham, Fulham, Aston Villa and future European Champions Liverpool. The season also saw a Palace player back in an England shirt for the first time in 12 years, with Andrew Johnson coming on as substitute in the game against the Netherlands.

The season culminated in a very close finish with all of the bottom four teams having a chance to escape the drop in the last game of the season. Palace were away to Charlton and in the course of the day, the bottom four all kept changing places. Palace had a foot in the Premiership with the help of goals from Dougie Freedman and Johnson only to lose the three points with eight minutes to go with Charlton's equaliser. Along with West Brom's victory, Palace's relegation was sealed.

2006

Life back in the Championship was hard going for the Eagles but they still managed to reach the play-offs. A 3-0 defeat at home to Watford in the semi-finals put paid to another appearance at Cardiff and the Eagles were destined to another season in the Championship.

It was all change in the summer as manager Iain Dowie departed along with striker Andrew Johnson (for a club record £8.6m fee), Fitz Hall, Player of the Year Emmerson Boyce and Mikele Leigertwood. A few weeks after Dowie's departure former Palace player Peter Taylor was appointed as the new boss with hopes high for a successful 2006/07 season.  The season started brightly too, with the team winning their first three games to top the early season table.

However, a barren run through October saw the team slip away from the promotion race and into the mid-table of the Championship. Things picked up as the year came to a close and Palace enjoyed a productive spell over the festive period to head into 2007.

2007

The year started with a convincing win over Norwich City at Selhurst Park on New Year's Day and the Eagles looked a much tougher nut to crack in the second half of the 2006/07 campaign.

A decent run through January and February saw Taylor's men flirt with the top six, but they ultimately fell just short with the manager and players admitting that the first half of the season had cost them their chance of really challenging for promotion on this occasion.

A poor start to the following campaign saw Taylor depart and replaced by Neil Warnock who, after inititially failing to get a win in his first six games, led the Eagles to a 12-game unbeaten run - their best sequence in Simon Jordan's chairmanship - by the turn of the year.

Warnock was rewarded for the Eagles' rise to a position on the edge of the play-offs by scooping Manager of the Month for December. 

 2008

An excellent 3-0 away win over other promotion hopefuls, Wolves, was the highlight of January. Clinton Morrison opened the scoring with a powerful shot from just inside the box before Sean Scannell doubled the lead with a close range strike. The afternoon was capped off in memorable style when James Scowcroft capitalised on a headed clearance to unleash an unstoppable 25-yard volley past the keeper - a goal that eventually won Goal of the Season at the 07/08 Player of the Year awards.

February saw scoring draws keeping them in contention around the Play-Off area. But it was in March and April where Palace began to pick up momentum at the right time with a total of 22 points from a possible 33 a creditable haul in a busy period of games.

On the final day of the season, Palace were placed sixth and met Burnley. A five goal thrashing ensued with goals from Ben Watson, Tom Soares, Scott Sinclair and Morrison securing an eventual fifth spot and a Play-Off fixture with Bristol City.

The first leg was played out at a packed Selhurst Park crowd who watched in the bright sunshine as Palace succumbed to an early set back. A well worked free kick, later revealed as 'The Weasel', saw Louis Carey end a neat passing move to fire past Julian Speroni. Ben Watson brought a goal back from the penalty spot late in the second half, after Jose Fonte had been felled in the area by a desperate Carey challenge. But it was David Noble who left a bitter taste in the home fans' mouths. Deep into stoppage time the ball was fed to him by Nick Carle, 30 yards out from goal, and the little midfielder unleashed a dipping drive that flew past Speroni and into the postage stamp in the top corner.

It was a blow to the Eagles hopes going into the second leg, with a 2-1 defecit being turned around away from home a rarely achieved feat. However, Warnock's men set out their stall early at Vicarage Road and took an early lead through Ben Watson when he looped a header over a stranded Adriano Basso from outside the box.

Midway through the second half and Palace were awarded a golden opportunity to take the aggregate lead when Carle was adjudged to have brought Soares down in the area. Watson stepped up but, unlike his Saturday penalty, the ball richocheted off the base of the post and to safety.

The game seeped into extra time, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a step too far for Warnock's young side. A goal in the first half from Lee Trundle was added to by a Michael McIndoe free-kick to seal the victory for the Gloucestershire outfit.