The 1913–14 Southern Football League season was the 20th in the history of the Southern League. Swindon Town won their second Southern League championship, whilst Coventry City and Merthyr Town were relegated to Division Two. Croydon Common won the Division Two championship on goal difference and were promoted to Division One along with runners-up Luton Town. Division Two club Stoke applied to join the Football League, but finished third in the ballot and were rejected.
Several Welsh clubs in Division Two left the League at the end of the season, though many returned after World War I.
Division One
edit| Season | 1913–14 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Swindon Town (2nd title) |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | Merthyr Town Coventry City |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 992 (2.61 per match) |
← 1912–13 1914–15 → | |
A total of 20 teams contest the division, including 18 sides from previous season and two new teams.
Teams promoted from 1912–13 Division Two:
- Cardiff City - champions
- Southend United - runners-up
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swindon Town | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 81 | 41 | 1.976 | 50 | |
| 2 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 17 | 16 | 5 | 60 | 32 | 1.875 | 50 | |
| 3 | Northampton Town | 38 | 14 | 19 | 5 | 50 | 37 | 1.351 | 47 | |
| 4 | Reading | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 43 | 36 | 1.194 | 44 | |
| 5 | Plymouth Argyle | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 46 | 42 | 1.095 | 43 | |
| 6 | West Ham United | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 61 | 60 | 1.017 | 42 | |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 43 | 45 | 0.956 | 42 | |
| 8 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 45 | 43 | 1.047 | 41 | |
| 9 | Portsmouth | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 57 | 48 | 1.188 | 40 | |
| 10 | Cardiff City | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 46 | 42 | 1.095 | 38 | |
| 11 | Southampton | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 55 | 54 | 1.019 | 37 | |
| 12 | Exeter City | 38 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 39 | 38 | 1.026 | 36 | |
| 13 | Gillingham | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 48 | 49 | 0.980 | 35 | |
| 14 | Norwich City | 38 | 9 | 17 | 12 | 49 | 51 | 0.961 | 35 | |
| 15 | Millwall | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 51 | 56 | 0.911 | 34 | |
| 16 | Southend United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 41 | 66 | 0.621 | 32 | |
| 17 | Bristol Rovers | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 46 | 67 | 0.687 | 31 | |
| 18 | Watford | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 50 | 56 | 0.893 | 29 | |
| 19 | Merthyr Town | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 38 | 61 | 0.623 | 28 | Relegated to Division Two |
| 20 | Coventry City | 38 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 43 | 68 | 0.632 | 26 |
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Division Two
edit| Season | 1913–14 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Croydon Common |
| Promoted | Croydon Common Luton Town |
| Relegated | Abertillery (resigned) Mardy (resigned) Caerphilly (resigned) Aberdare (resigned) Treharris (resigned) |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Goals scored | 801 (3.34 per match) |
← 1912–13 1914–15 → | |
A total of 16 teams contest the division, including 11 sides from previous season, two teams relegated from Division One and three new teams.
Teams relegated from 1912–13 Division One:
Newly elected teams:
- Abertillery
- Barry
- Caerphilly
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Croydon Common | 30 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 76 | 14 | 5.429 | 51 | Promoted to Division One |
| 2 | Luton Town | 30 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 92 | 22 | 4.182 | 51 | |
| 3 | Brentford | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 80 | 18 | 4.444 | 44 | |
| 4 | Swansea Town | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 66 | 25 | 2.640 | 44 | |
| 5 | Stoke | 30 | 19 | 2 | 9 | 71 | 34 | 2.088 | 40 | |
| 6 | Newport County | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 38 | 1.289 | 36 | |
| 7 | Mid Rhondda | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 55 | 37 | 1.486 | 33 | |
| 8 | Pontypridd | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 43 | 38 | 1.132 | 33 | |
| 9 | Llanelly | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 45 | 37 | 1.216 | 28 | |
| 10 | Barry | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 70 | 0.629 | 26 | |
| 11 | Abertillery | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 44 | 51 | 0.863 | 20 | Left league at end of season |
| 12 | Ton Pentre | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 33 | 61 | 0.541 | 20 | |
| 13 | Mardy | 30 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 30 | 60 | 0.500 | 18 | Left league at end of season |
| 14 | Caerphilly | 30 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 21 | 103 | 0.204 | 15 | |
| 15 | Aberdare | 30 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 33 | 87 | 0.379 | 13 | |
| 16 | Treharris | 30 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 19 | 106 | 0.179 | 8 |
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.