In 1920, United applied for membership of Division Three (North), but they were rejected. There were money worries in 1924 after the club bought their ground outright for £2,700, only to see the main stand destroyed by fire months later.
Only a series of fundraising events saved the club from returning to amateur status and they bounced back, building a new stand that lasted through until 1988.
Scunthorpe won the Midland League in 1927 and in 1939, they scored 133 goals in a memorable season, with top marksman Harry Johnson netting 51. His incredible total included three hat-tricks, a four, a five and a six.
After seeing another application to join the Football League rejected, Scunthorpe were finally elected in 1950. Over 11,000 watched their first League game, which was a 0-0 draw against Shrewsbury Town.
After a number of midtable finishes, they won the Division Three (N) title in 1958. The last game of the season, a 3-1 win over Carlisle, was watched by 12,500 and followed by the presentation of the championship shield.
The celebrations were cut short, however, when the Old Show Ground was hit by fire again. The East stand was destroyed, but the local steel industry built the first cantilever stand in Britain to replace it.
United were relegated in 1964 and again in 1968 to leave them in Division Four for the first time. Ray Clemence and Kevin Keegan both played for the Iron and cricketing legend Ian Botham played 11 games on non-contract forms in the Eighties to keep himself fit during the winter.
In 1988, Scunthorpe became the first club since the Fifties to build a new stadium, when they sold the Old Show Ground and moved to the purpose built Glanford Park. This was before Hillsborough and there was no Football Trust to distribute pools levies as construction grants.
They assured themselves of a step up in class in 1999, after beating Swansea and Leyton Orient in the Division Three play-offs. Sadly, the team could only provide Division Two football for one year and were relegated immediately in 2000.