In 1964, [citation needed] Happy Valley transferred to the Glenelg-South-West District Football Association and adopted the colours Black and Gold to avoid a clash with the Glandore club (having previously worn Blue and Gold).

Since joining Division 1, Happy Valley have been a very successful club, winning 8 A-Grade Premierships.

The Happy Valley FC continues to field teams in Senior and Junior grades in the Southern Football League and Senior women's teams in the Adelaide Football League.

Happy Valley FC has produced a number of Australian Football League (AFL) players including Ben Rutten (Adelaide), Nathan Eagleton (Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide), Jason Porplyzia (Adelaide), Beau Waters (West Coast), Matthew Rogers (Richmond) and Tom McNamara (Melbourne).

[2] Happy Valley received media coverage in May 2015 when it sacked its then club coach, Stephen Keam, only 4 games into the season after a 124-point loss to Reynella.