It came in the North Belfast Alliance against opponents named Bedford at Alexandra Park and the report states that, "after a splendid game Crusaders won by 5 to 2."

In the 1924–25 season the Crues knocked out senior sides Larne and Belfast Celtic before being halted by Glentoran at The Oval in the semi-finals (who also went on to be champions that year).

The 1960s also saw the emergence of some of the greatest players in Crusaders' history, such as Albert Campbell, (who was the club's most capped international player until surpassed by Colin Coates), Danny Trainor, Joe Meldrum, Walter McFarland and Danny Hale, who scored an incredible 143 goals in just four seasons, including a club record of 55 goals in the 1965–66 season, which still stands to this day.

Under Johnston unprecedented success was to follow, with the Irish League championship trophy finding a home at Seaview in 1972–73, with the attacking duo of Tommy Finney and Jackie Fullerton scoring 47 goals between them.

This led to the club's first ever participation in the European Cup, in which they faced Dinamo Bucharest and had the misfortune of setting the record for a defeat in that competition, losing 0–11 in the away leg on 3 October 1973.

The home leg which followed was played before a crowd hanging from the rafters that would undoubtedly give the current health and safety legislators a heart attack.

[4] Another black day shadowed the club on 12 January 1980, when RUC constable David Purse was shot dead by an IRA gunman during a match with Portadown – the only murder at a football ground during the Troubles.

Roy Walker suddenly resigned as manager in May 1998, just prior to the club's centenary dinner celebrations at Belfast City Hall.

Subsequently, a lack of funds saw the Seaview fortunes decline as the decade came to a close, with Dublin-based player-managers Aaron Callaghan and Martin Murray both resigning after one year apiece in charge.

Callaghan managed to lead the club to third place in his sole season in charge, but it would be many years before the Crues would challenge at such a high level again.

The team narrowly retained Premier Division status after a nail-biting play-off success over Lisburn Distillery thanks to a hat-trick from veteran Stephen Baxter in May 2001 but McCartney resigned just over twelve months later because of the limited budget at his disposal.

Popular veteran defender Alan Dornan was appointed as McCartney's successor at the end of June 2002 and the side retained Premier Division status that season under his guidance, although the squad was very inexperienced and often included six or seven teenagers.

He was sacked just after midway through the season, as the Crues lay at the bottom of the table, despite having guided the team to the County Antrim Shield final, which they lost to Linfield.

As a result, Crusaders entered Europe for the first time in 12 years and faced Macedonian side FK Rabotnički in the Europa League second qualifying round.

[10] This move has turned out to be fruitful for the club, with matches at Seaview being the only games in Northern Ireland to survive the weather over the Christmas period.

[11] The same season the side won their second major trophy in a year, picking up the County Antrim Shield after a 3–2 extra time victory over Linfield.

[16][17] At the same time, Seaview underwent extensive renovation, with two new stands and new seating installed, making the ground all-seater and one of the most modern sports stadiums in Northern Ireland.

[21] The following season, the same two teams reached the final, playing out a drab 0–0 draw at Solitude, with Cliftonville retaining the trophy by winning 3–2 on penalties.

The season started with the side earning their first win in European competition for 18 years, defeating FK Ekranas of Lithuania in the UEFA Europa League 3–1 at home.

[31] Crusaders finished the season having scored an incredible 106 league goals, with over half of this tally coming from the attacking trio of Paul Heatley, Gavin Whyte and Jordan Owens.

However, the tie turned out to be no contest as the Crues were thrashed 7–0 at the Ludogorets Arena, with goals from Marcelinho, Claudiu Keșerü and a 7-minute hat-trick from substitute Jakub Swierczok.

[38] In March 2022 Crusaders members voted 236–36 at an EGM in favour of accepting investment by the IRAMA company, who were seeking to buy a majority stake in the club.

[43] In Baxter's last domestic match, Crusaders defeated Coleraine 3–2 in the UEFA Conference League playoff final, to qualify for continental competition for the 12th time in 13 seasons.

[44] Former player and head of Crusaders academy Declan Caddell was announced as Baxter's successor in March 2024, and is due to take charge for the 2024–25 season.

Seaview was officially opened on 3 September 1921 by William Grant MP, prior to kick-off in a 3–1 Intermediate League fixture victory against Cliftonville Olympic.

Since 1972, Seaview has been the venue for the Steel & Sons Cup Final, which is traditionally held on Christmas Day (unless the game falls on a Sunday).

However, the club's serious financial plight became very apparent in the early 2000s and in 2002 consideration was given to changing the structure from one of a membership-based organisation to that of a public limited company.

Crusaders traditionally dominated the rivalry (not failing to score in home league matches against the Reds from 1949 until 1998) mainly due to Cliftonville's amateur status; since the mid-1970s the derby has been much more competitive.

Historically, Crusaders shared a rivalry with Brantwood (who play in Skegoneill Avenue about 500 yards away from Seaview) when both sides were junior teams.

Fully up to date as of 3 August 2023 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.