Formation and early years Local demand for the establishment of a senior football team led to a public meeting being held in January 1903 and resulted in the formation of East Fife Football Club. After spending its first season competing in the Fife League and the
Scottish Qualifying Cup, as well as playing in a number of challenge matches, the club joined the
Eastern League for
season 1904–05. The following season East Fife joined the
Northern League, which included clubs such as
Dunfermline Athletic and
St Johnstone. The club remained in the Northern League until the
1908–09 season. In 1909, East Fife joined the
Central League, which consisted of many of the teams who had played in the Northern League, with the addition of
Alloa Athletic,
Stenhousemuir and
King's Park from
Stirling.
1920s and 30s East Fife remained in the Central League until 1921, apart from a period during the
First World War when the Eastern League was reformed. In the period following the war, the clubs competing for the Central League were mainly from the
coal and
shale mining communities of
Fife and
West Lothian. As the mining towns thrived with the growth of the
mining industry and its associated influx of miners and their families, so did the local football clubs. The result of this was that by the end of the decade, the Central League clubs could afford to pay their players higher wages than they would receive in the
Scottish Football League. In an effort to stop the migration of its players to the Central League, the Scottish League decided to admit the Central League clubs, including East Fife, to its membership. The Central League therefore became the
Scottish Division Two at the start of the
1921–22 season. Only six years after becoming members of the Scottish League, East Fife appeared in the
1927 Scottish Cup Final, which it lost 3–1 to
Celtic at
Hampden Park. East Fife's only season in Scottish football's top division before
World War II was
1930–31 after finishing Second Division runners-up the year before. The 1927 cup feat was surpassed just over a decade later when "The Fifers" won the
1937–38 Scottish Cup. The prestigious trophy was secured with a 4–2 win over
Kilmarnock in the replayed final. The game was watched by a crowd of almost 92,000 spectators.
Golden age East Fife's best years were undoubtedly in the decade following the
Second World War. In
1946–47, the first season after the war, the club finished third, missing promotion by one place.
Scot Symon joined as manager in 1947. At the end of
1947–48, East Fife were promoted to the top flight of Scottish football as 'B' Division champions. During this "Golden Period", the club won the
Scottish League Cup on three separate occasions (
1947–48,
1949–50, and
1953–54) in seven seasons. A third
Scottish Cup final appearance was added to its achievements list in
1949–50. In one of these seasons,
1952–53, they were still in the running for the league title with only a few games remaining. The new acquisitions proved successful as the team thoroughly dominated the early stages, culminating in a twelve-point lead at the top of the division by Christmas. East Fife also revived their historic tradition in the Scottish League Cup by reaching the third round, beating
Queen of the South and
SPL side
St Mirren, before losing out to
Old Firm heavyweights
Rangers. The new ground was officially renamed
Bayview Stadium in 2007. East Fife secured the
2007–08 Scottish Third Division title after beating
East Stirlingshire at
Firs Park,
Falkirk 3–0 on 15 March 2008. This gave them a points total of 74, 26 points ahead of Stranraer. This was East Fife's first league title for 60 years and their first piece of silverware since 1954. Having led the team to league success the previous campaign, manager
David Baikie resigned from his position on 14 April 2009. Baikie was replaced by
Stevie Crawford, who had joined the playing staff the previous summer. On 23 August 2011, the Fifers delivered an emphatic victory against
Dunfermline Athletic of the
SPL in the
League Cup. Then on 20 September 2011, East Fife recorded yet another cup shock, defeating SPL
Aberdeen 7–6 on penalties, after a 3–3 draw, at
Pittodrie, to advance to the quarter finals of the Scottish League Cup. East Fife remained in the Second Division for six seasons before being relegated at the end of the 2013–14 season after defeat in the relegation playoff final, losing 3–2 on aggregate to Stirling Albion. In the preceding season they won the playoff final 1–0 on aggregate with the only goal of the tie coming from David Muir at Peterhead's Balmoor Stadium. They spent two seasons in League Two before winning the league in 2015–16 with 62 points to return to League One, with
Gary Naysmith at the managerial helm. Nathan Austin finished the championship-winning season as top scorer, with 22 goals from 25 games. The Fifers enjoyed a period of relative stability in League One over the coming years, registering several mid-table finishes, including a 5th-place finish in the
2016–17 season, just four points away from a promotion play-off berth. The
2021–22 season saw a downturn in fortunes for the club, leading to their automatic relegation down to League Two for the
2022–23 season. ==Players==