They also played at The Mount in Catford during the 1923–24 season, and spent seven years at Selhurst Park and the Boleyn Ground between 1985 and 1992, because of financial issues, and then safety concerns raised by the local council.
The club was reformed in 1917, playing mainly friendlies to raise funds for charities connected to the war and for the Woolwich Memorial Hospital Cup, the trophy for which Charlton donated.
In 1923, Charlton became "giant killers" in the FA Cup beating top flight sides Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion, and Preston North End before losing to eventual winners Bolton Wanderers in the Quarter-Finals.
[3]: 30 In the 1923–24 season Charlton played in Catford at The Mount stadium and wore the colours of "The Enders", light and dark blue vertical stripes.
[2] After relegation into the Third Division south at the end of the 1932–33 season the club appointed Jimmy Seed as manager and he oversaw the most successful period in Charlton's history either side of World War II.
Seed, an ex-miner who had made a career as a footballer despite suffering the effects of poison gas in the First World War, remains the most successful manager in Charlton's history.
He later recalled "a simple scheme that enabled us to pull several matches out of the fire" during the 1934–35 season: when the team was in trouble "the centre-half was to forsake his defensive role and go up into the attack to add weight to the five forwards.
[2] Charlton finally secured promotion to the First Division by beating local rivals West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground, with their centre-half John Oakes playing on despite concussion and a broken nose.
They were forced to leave the Valley just after the start of the 1985–86 season, after its safety was criticised by Football League officials in the wake of the Bradford City stadium fire.
The club began to ground-share with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park[2] and this arrangement looked to be for the long-term, as Charlton did not have enough funds to revamp the Valley to meet safety requirements.
[17] Under his sole leadership Charlton made an appearance in the play-off in 1996 but were eliminated by Crystal Palace in the semi-finals and the following season brought a disappointing 15th-place finish.
Charlton won 7–6 on penalties,[18] with the match described as "arguably the most dramatic game of football in Wembley's history",[19] and were promoted to the Premier League.
Charlton's first Premier League campaign began promisingly (they went top after two games) but they were unable to keep up their good form and were soon battling relegation.
Another Charlton legend, Chris Powell, was appointed manager of the club in January 2011, winning his first game in charge 2–0 over Plymouth at the Valley.
In a busy summer, Powell brought in 19 new players and after a successful season, on 14 April 2012, Charlton Athletic won promotion back to the Championship with a 1–0 away win at Carlisle United.
On 11 March 2014, two days after an FA Cup quarter-final loss to Sheffield United, and with Charlton sitting bottom of the table, Powell was sacked, private emails suggesting a rift with the owner.
[41] To many fans, the managerial changes and subsequent relegation to League One were symptomatic of the mismanagement of the club under Duchâtelet's ownership and several protests began.
Bowyer was appointed permanently in September on a one-year contract and managed Charlton to third place in the 2018–19 EFL League One season, qualifying for the play-offs.
In their first visit to the New Wembley Stadium and a repeat of their famous match in 1998, Charlton beat Sunderland 2–1 in the League One play-off final to earn promotion back to the EFL Championship after a three-season absence.
[50] The Valley and Charlton's training ground were still owned by Duchâtelet, and a transfer embargo was in place as the new owners had not provided evidence of funding through to June 2021.
[52] In June 2020, Charlton confirmed that ESI had been taken over by a consortium led by businessman Paul Elliott,[53] and said it had contacted the EFL to finalise the ownership change.
[73] After the club was knocked out of the FA Cup by League Two side Stockport County on 7 December,[74] supporters said Charlton was at its "lowest ebb in living memory", with fans "losing confidence" in owner Thomas Sandgaard.
[88][89] Despite a disappointing campaign for the Addicks, Charlton striker Alfie May won the League One Golden Boot award for the 2023–24 season, with his tally of 23 goals.
[91] In 1963, a competition was held to find a new badge for the club, and the winning entry was a hand holding a sword, which complied with Charlton's nickname of the time, the Valiants.
The origin of this name is from a local fishmonger, Arthur "Ikey" Bryan, who rewarded the team with meals of haddock and chips with vinegar[3]: 10 The progression of the nickname can be seen in the book The Addicks Cartoons: An Affectionate Look into the Early History of Charlton Athletic, which covers the pre-First World War history of Charlton through a narrative based on 56 cartoons which appeared in the now defunct Kentish Independent.
Charlton fans' chants have included "Valley, Floyd Road", a song noting the stadium's address to the tune of "Mull of Kintyre".
After the end of the First World War, a chalk quarry known as the Swamps was identified as Charlton's new ground, and in the summer of 1919 work began to create the level playing area and remove debris from the site.
The large East Terrace had been closed down by the authorities after the Bradford City stadium fire and the ground's owner wanted to use part of the site for housing.
Three children get in to trouble when their mother's boyfriend 'Uncle' Alan (John Ronane), gives them pocket money to wander off on their own, so that he can attend a Charlton football match.
The book is set against Charlton's successful 2011–12 season when they won the League One title and promotion back to the Championship in concurrence with the 2011 London riots.