The team won 14 out of 16 league games, scoring 82 goals and secured the Hove & Worthing Cup with a 5–3 victory against Allen West B. Goalscorers were Chas Eason 2, Jimmy Ward, Gerry Chandler and Holmes.

[19] The club were runners-up for three successive seasons from 1954 to 1955 onwards,[20] and were Sussex Senior Cup finalists in 1954, losing 1–0 to Horsham at the Goldstone Ground in front of a crowd of 5626.

[23] In 1961–62 under manager Billy Thew, Whitehawk won the first of four Division One titles,[24] as well as the Sussex Senior Cup, beating Eastbourne United 4–0 at the Goldstone Ground in front of a 4000 crowd.

[30] Former Brighton & Hove Albion player Glen Wilson was appointed coach for the 1964–65 season[31] but the club struggled and under manager Ron Pavey found itself relegated for the first time ever in 1967, only to make an immediate return as Division Two champions in 1968.

[24] The next nine years saw Whitehawk continue to compete in the top division, during which time they lost 1–2 to Horsham in the Sussex Senior Cup final in 1972.

In 1983–84 Whitehawk won Division One for the third time[24] as well as enjoying a good run in the FA Vase before losing 1–0 at Corinthian-Casuals in the fourth round.

[33] In 1988–89, again under manager Sammy Donnelly, Whitehawk had what was at the time their best run in the FA Cup, going out 2–0 in a fourth qualifying round replay to Bognor Regis Town, having previously drawn 2–2 at Nyewood Lane.

Former Brighton & Hove Albion striker Gerry Fell scored the second equaliser in the away game with virtually the last kick of the match after coming off the bench.

[35] The Hawks won the Sussex RUR Cup for the third time in 1990–91, beating Peacehaven & Telscombe in the final 2–1, with youth player and future manager Darren Freeman heading the winner.

[36] 1993–94 was another good season for the club, finishing once again as runners-up[37] this time to Wick, as well as having their best ever run in the FA Vase, reaching the fifth round before losing 3–2 at home to Boston.

[37] A comparatively modest eighth place followed the next season, but in 2004–05 the Hawks regained their position amongst the leading clubs in the League, finishing just a point behind runners-up Rye & Iden United.

In 2006–07 The Hawks reached the quarter-final of the FA Vase, losing 1–0 at home to the eventual winners Truro City in front of a crowd of 1,009.

[52] The club enjoyed their most successful season ever in 2014–2015, finishing fourth in Conference South[53] and earning a place in the play-off semi-finals against Basingstoke Town.

After a 1–1 draw at the Enclosed Ground, a tremendous strike from fans' player of the year Jake Robinson in the second leg won the match 1–0 to earn a place in the final against Boreham Wood, who had finished second in the league.

[57] In the second round the Hawks drew 1–1 at League Two Dagenham & Redbridge, following a dramatic headed goal in added time by Jordan Rose, which was broadcast live by the BBC.

This application was withdrawn a month later after opposition from fans and chairman John Summers spending time on the terraces at an away game at Chelmsford City.

[61] In the play-off semi-final against longtime league leaders Ebbsfleet United the Hawks lost 1–2 at the Enclosed Ground, but then won the second leg 2–1 in Kent, before eventually losing on penalties after extra time.

[69][70] Hawks again reached the first round of the FA Cup but were denied a dramatic winner against Stourbridge in unusual circumstances when Javier Favarel's 30-yard volley was ruled out after referee Robert Whitton blew for full-time with the ball in the air.

[76] In his first managerial post, Woodman oversaw the club's survival in National League South before leaving at the end of the season[77] and being replaced by assistant manager Jimmy Dack.

[78] With the club at the bottom of the league after picking up only one point from the first seven games of the 2017–2018 season, Dack resigned, with player/coach Dan Harding taking temporary charge[79] prior to the re-appointment of former boss Steve King on 13 September 2017.

[80] Despite a remarkable turnaround in 2018, with the Hawks third in the form table up to mid-April,[81] relegation for only the third time in the club's history was confirmed with a 4–3 defeat at Braintree Town on 17 April.

[84] After a poor start to the 2020–21 season in the Isthmian League South East Division, Ross Standen was appointed manager on 1 November 2020, with former Brighton & Hove Albion player Stuart Tuck as his assistant.

[85] In April 2022, with the Hawks Isthmian League status not secure, former Haywards Heath Town boss Shaun Saunders was appointed first team manager with four games of the season left.

[89] The club has seen relative success since 2007, when local businessmen John Summers and Peter "Ned" McDonnell were appointed joint vice-chairmen,[90] with Whitehawk playing in the Sussex County League at the time.

[98] A condition of admission to the Sussex County League in 1952 was that all games had to be played in an enclosed ground, and Brighton Corporation gave permission for this to happen on the normally open park pitch in recognition of the club's success and growing following.

The first match played on the current Enclosed Ground was a Sussex County League Division 1 game against Southwick on 1 September 1954, which the Hawks won 6–2.

[102] After the Hawks did the league and cup double in 1962, the publicity generated by a civic reception at the Royal Pavilion[103] led to Brighton Corporation providing a grant of £3,500 for the club to erect a self-build grandstand with standing for 500 spectators.

The Enclosed Ground is famous for being set into a steep hillside adjacent to the South Downs National Park as well as sloping downhill towards the sea.

[110] The Ultras aim to have fun, as well as espousing an “anti-homophobic, anti-sexist, anti-racist stance.” They promote local charitable causes, non-league football and togetherness, as an antidote to what they see as the commercialised world of the Premier League.

[111] The Ultras have links with similar other fans groups such as Eastbourne Town's Pier Pressure[112] and have a number of original songs and rituals.