Following World War II and the formation of the Yugoslav league system in 1946, Hajduk went on to spend the entire SFR Yugoslavia period at the top level.

[4] While trying to come up with a name for the club (other options being "Velebit", "Uskok", "Marjan"...), the students went to their old teacher Josip Barač for advice and according to accounts, after enthusiastically storming into his office, he told them to take the name "Hajduk" which symbolized "that which is best in our people: bravery, humanity, friendship, love of freedom, defiance to powers, and protection of the weak.

It is speculated that famed hajduk Andrijica Šimić, who triumphantly arrived in Split in 1902 to cheering crowds (after a long stint in an Austrian prison), was perhaps the inspiration for the name.

[5] The founders subsequently designed the club's emblem, and a group of Catholic nuns from a monastery in Split, created copies which were distributed to fans.

During this time, Hajduk could have had a fantastic generation led by young Frane Matošić, Ratko Kacijan, as well as prominent Czech international Jiří Sobotka.

[13] In April 1941, during World War II, Yugoslavia was invaded, occupied and carved-up by the Axis powers, with Split being annexed directly into Italy.

Residents and players were both opposed to the assimilation to Italy, thus the club ceased to compete in defiance throughout the occupation of Split, declining an offer to join the Italian first division under the name "AC Spalato".

[13] After the capitulation of Italy in 1943, the Partisans temporarily liberated Split and disarmed the Italian garrison, but the German Army quickly re-occupied the city and granted it to the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) they had installed in Zagreb back in 1941.

They competed with Allied service football teams from across the Adriatic in Italy, where they famously played the British Army in a friendly match in Bari on 23 September, in front at least 40,000 spectators, losing 2–9.

On 28 October 1950, a day before a decisive match against one of its biggest rivals Red Star Belgrade (a 2–1 win), the official fan organization Torcida was founded.

[18] It was created by engineering student Vjenceslav Žuvela, who chose the name after the enthusiastic Brazilian fans, and Torcida become the first organized group of supporters in Europe.

[20] This caused them to come home late, but instead of promised delay of games in the Championship, they faced defeat against BSK and a draw with Spartak Subotica as their youth team and couple of veteran players had to play them.

Next season saw a similar occurrence, with players Vladimir Beara and Bernard Vukas arriving late for national team training and receiving a month-long ban from football.

"[21] On 3 April 1955 in Zagreb, Hajduk defeated Dinamo 6–0, recording its biggest win in the derby between the two largest Croatian clubs, and later won the championship.

[22] Prominent players of the time included Ante Žanetić (member of 1960 World Soccer Team of the Year), Ivica Hlevnjak, Vinko Cuzzi and Andrija Anković.

The club's struggles were often linked to their new home stadium, which had athletic running track around the pitch, as opposed to Stari Plac, where supporters could cheer much closer to their team.

The club's Inaugural season at Poljud saw Hajduk's most iconic official international match: the 1979–80 European Cup quarter-finals against eventual finalists Hamburger SV, and a 3–2 home win after losing 0–1 away.

Hajduk also eliminated clubs such as Metz (5–1, 2–2), VfB Stuttgart (3–1, 2–2), Torino (3–1, 1–1), Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (2–0, 1–0), Universitatea Craiova (0–1, 1–0, 3–1pen) and Sparta Prague (2–0, 0–1), reaching UEFA Cup semi-final in 1984 and quarter-final in 1986.

Although Hajduk spent the entire decade near the top of the league table, competing with Dinamo Zagreb, Partizan and Red Star Belgrade to form what was known as the "Great Yugoslav Four", the club won no title before Croatia became independent.

In the wake of national tensions which would eventually lead to Yugoslav Wars, during a tour in Australia, Hajduk restored its traditional emblem with the Croatian checkerboard, omitting the red star and sparking a massive crowd celebrations upon return.

Later, on 8 May 1991, Hajduk won the last held Yugoslav Cup final, defeating that year's European champions Red Star in Belgrade with a goal scored by Bokšić.

Hajduk entered that year's UEFA Champions League with a mix of young upcoming stars Milan Rapaić, Ivica Mornar, Tomislav Erceg, Goran Vučević and experienced players such as Igor Štimac, Zoran Vulić, Aljoša Asanović and Tonči Gabrić returning to assist them.

After entering the group stage, Hajduk finished second behind Benfica, ahead of Steaua București and Anderlecht, before losing in the quarter-finals to eventual champions Ajax (0–0, 0–3).

For the next five years, Hajduk stood in the shadow of wealthier and politically privileged rivals Dinamo Zagreb, and the Champions League was no longer realistically within reach.

After continuous domestic and European failures, Hajduk fans began to seek the dismissal of administration officials and circulated the story about the possible privatization of the club, which at that time did not happen.

Hajduk spent rest of the decade finishing behind its rival, with numerous coaching and management changes and reorganizations, players of dubious quality and mediocre international performances, worst of which came after being eliminated by Shelbourne and 0–5 home loss to Debrecen.

Notable players of 1990s and 2000s include goalkeepers Stipe Pletikosa, Danijel Subašić and Tonči Gabrić; defenders Igor Štimac, Igor Tudor and Darijo Srna; midfielders Milan Rapaić, Nenad Pralija, Dean Računica, Niko Kranjčar, Josip Skoko, Ivan Leko, Srđan Andrić and Senijad Ibričić; and strikers Ardian Kozniku, Nikola Kalinić and Tomislav Erceg.

After forming lines in front of the City Hall on 15 October 2012, fans convinced the town leaders to sign a loan insurance to the newly elected chairman Marin Brbić and start the club's long needed financial recovery.

The stadium's first name was Krajeva njiva, but after club moved to Poljud, the old ground has become known in Split as the Stari Plac or Staro Hajdukovo ("Old Hajduk's Place").

Hajduk Split features as the central theme of the television series Velo Misto (1980) and is one of the only football clubs to have a period drama filmed about its history.