At the end of the 1937–38 season, Fredrikstad were the first club to be crowned champions in the history of the championship.
Fredrikstad secured all their titles before the league changed its format to a one-group top division in 1963.
Rosenborg and Viking are the only teams to have won the league title three or more consecutive times.
The final season, in 1961–62, saw all 16 teams collected in a single league which was played over one and a half years.
Starting with the 1963, ten team were collected into a single league, named the First Division.
From the 1972 season, teams from Northern Norway were also allowed to participate in the 1. divisjon, for the first time creating a pan-national league.
The following is a list of winners (gold), runners-up (silver) and third place (bronze) teams in the highest-level football league in Norway.