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Chelsea having not played a league match before were invited to join the Football League, Second Division in 1905. At the beginning of the year the club did not exist. The Football League added a second division and expanded to 20 clubs each division, so Chelsea benefitted (as did Clapton Orient).
Five months later, H.A. 'Gus' Mears, the club's founder, started things off by having a "stadium" ready, Stamford Bridge Athletic Ground.
Players met on March 14th and signed on in April, subject to Chelsea being elected to the League. In May at the League's annual meeting Mears stated that "you cannot refuse us". Players were chosen for their reputation including the the mammoth, goalkeeper Billy Foulkes, signed from Sheffield United for £50.
Having lost their first league match at Stockport, they got things together and finished in 3rd place with 53 points from 22 wins and 9 draws in 38 matches, not enough for promotion.
On more mundane matters, on the 18th November 1905 Chelsea had to play in a Qualifying Round of the FA Cup and this led to a fixture congestion. The had played The Grenadier Guards h 6-1, Southern Utd a 1-0 in the first two qualifying rounds.
So on the 18th, the First Team, having been pitted against Burnley in Division Two at Stamford Bridge, won 1-0. They also had to play at Crystal Palace (a Southern League side at the same time) in the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. To honour the game, Chelsea turned out a "Reserve side" that lost 1-7, the heaviest defeat inflicted on a League side by a Non-League club.
Palace went on to win the Southern League Second Division in 1905-6.
In 1906-7 Chelsea came second, nine points ahead of the rest, and were promoted to the First Division with Nottingham Forest.
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