They returned to the First Division for a five-season spell in the mid-1920s, and achieved their highest ever finish, of fourth place, in 1925–26. Relegated back to the Second in 1929, Bury did not play in the top flight again; the closest they came was a third place in 1936–37. They flirted with relegation all through the 1950s, finally dropping into the Third Division North for the first time in the club's history in that league's last season before the regional sections were amalgamated into national Third and Fourth Divisions in 1958. Returning to the Second Division as Third Division champions in 1961, Bury spent seven of the next eight seasons at that level. In 1962–63, they reached the semi-final of the Football League Cup, losing 4–3 on aggregate to eventual winners Birmingham City. By 1971 Bury were in the Fourth Division, only for a three-season spell, but they were to spend the first half of the 1980s at that level.[6]
Further spells in the third and fourth tiers preceded two successive promotions in the mid-1990s: third place in Division Three – after the Premier League broke away from the Football League in 1992, the divisions were renumbered[10] – followed by the Division Two title in 1996–97 brought Bury to the second tier for the first time in forty years. After two seasons they were relegated, and by 2002, financial problems brought the club into administration and to the brink of folding.[11] A supporters' campaign raised enough money to keep the club afloat,[12] and in recognition of his role within that process, UEFA presented club press officer Gordon Sorfleet with their Best Supporter award for 2002.[13] Bury were relegated at the end of that season, and then yo-yoed between the third and fourth tiers.[6] Promoted to League One in 2019 against a background of increasingly damaging financial and ownership issues, Bury's early fixtures in the 2019–20 season were successively postponed until, on 27 August 2019, after 125 years continuous membership, the club was expelled from the Football League.[14] A phoenix club, Bury AFC, joined the North West Counties League First Division North for the 2021–22 season and won that division the following year.[15] Meanwhile, the entity that was Bury F.C. still existed, and the two merged in 2023, restoring the Bury F.C. playing name and combining the two teams' histories.[16]
Before the club's expulsion from the Football League, Bury spent 22 seasons in the top tier of the English football league system, 39 in the second, 29 in the third and 24 in the fourth. The table details the team's achievements in senior first-team competitions and records the top scorer in league matches for each season since they first entered the FA Cup in 1887–88.
^ abSome sources, e.g. the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF),[2] record this fixture as a first-round FA Cup tie. However, the Football Association lists the result as a walkover to Blackburn,[3] the Blackburn Standard reported that "as the [Bury] team was composed of more than one player who was ineligible they scratched previous to going on the field, and consequently an ordinary game was contested" which Rovers won 10–0,[4] and Bury F.C. do not include it in their complete FA Cup record.[5]
^Beginning with the 1925–26 season, the FA Cup was structured so that the third round proper contained 64 teams. Prior to that date, the structure had varied, so rounds are not directly comparable to the round of the same name after 1925. For example, in 1899–1900 and 1902–03, when Bury won the competition, there were only three rounds proper before the semifinal, as compared with the current six.[6][18]
^Although the Football League did not resume until the 1946–47 season, the FA Cup was contested in 1945–46. From the first round proper to the sixth round (quarter-final), results were determined on aggregate score over two legs.[6][3]
^Three points deducted after the season ended for fielding an unregistered player; the deduction dropped Bury from 14th to 16th place.[43]
^With the club having faced winding-up petitions, up for sale, and due to begin the 2019–20 EFL League One season with a 12-point deduction, the EFL wanted evidence for Bury's viability. Matches were systematically postponed, and the team were thrown out of the EFL Cup, until failure to meet a deadline meant the club was expelled from the League. They were consequently removed from Northern Group C of the EFL Trophy, and from the draw for the first round of the FA Cup, which resulted in Chichester City, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition, receiving a bye to the second round.[14][44]
^ abcSeason played by Bury AFC. When that club merged with Bury F.C. in 2023, the teams' histories were combined.[16]
^"Save Our Shakers". Bury F.C. Archived from the original on 3 April 2002. "Background". Forever Bury: The Bury FC Supporters Society. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
^"Bury: Player Appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2019. Select season required via dropdown menu.
^"Clubs: Bury: Season players". English National Football Archive (ENFA). Retrieved 23 November 2023. Select season required via dropdown menu.
^"Second League". The People. London. 27 August 1939. p. 20. "League results and tables". Birmingham Gazette. 31 August 1939. p. 9. "All the football results and league tables". Birmingham Gazette. 4 September 1939. p. 7.