| Year | Champion |
| 1946-47 | Manchester City |
| 1947-48 | Birmingham City |
| 1948-49 | Fulham |
| 1949-50 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 1950-51 | Preston North End |
| 1951-52 | Sheffield Wednesday |
| 1952-53 | Sheffield United |
| 1953-54 | Leicester City |
| 1954-55 | Birmingham City |
| 1955-56 | Sheffield Wednesday |
| 1956-57 | Leicester City |
| 1957-58 | West Ham United |
| 1958-59 | Sheffield Wednesday |
| 1959-60 | Aston Villa |
| 1960-61 | Ipswich Town |
| 1961-62 | Liverpool |
| 1962-63 | Stoke City |
| 1963-64 | Leeds United |
| 1964-65 | Newcastle United |
| 1965-66 | Manchester City |
| 1966-67 | Coventry City |
| 1967-68 | Ipswich Town |
| 1968-69 | Derby County |
| 1969-70 | Huddersfield Town |
| 1970-71 | Leicester City |
| 1971-72 | Norwich City |
| 1972-73 | Burnley |
| 1973-74 | Middlesbrough |
| 1974-75 | Manchester United |
| 1975-76 | Sunderland |
| 1976-77 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 1977-78 | Bolton Wanderers |
| 1978-79 | Crystal Palace |
| 1979-80 | Leicester City |
| 1980-81 | West Ham United |
| 1981-82 | Luton Town |
| 1982-83 | Queens Park Rangers |
| 1983-84 | Chelsea |
| 1984-85 | Oxford United |
| 1985-86 | Norwich City |
| 1986-87 | Derby County |
| 1987-88 | Millwall |
| 1988-89 | Chelsea |
| 1989-90 | Leeds United |
| 1990-91 | Oldham Athletic |
| 1991-92 | Ipswich Town |