During the 1996–97 English football season, Crystal Palace competed in the Football League First Division.
Season summary
Crystal Palace finished 6th place in the First Division and gained promotion to the Premier League after a 1–0 win in the play-off finals over Sheffield United at Wembley, David Hopkin scoring the winner in the 89th minute.
Final league table
Results
Crystal Palace's score comes first
Legend
Notable Games in First Division
6–1 vs Reading away followed by 6–1 vs Southend
Both games had 6 different scorers for Palace
First Division Play Offs
Play Off Semi-finals:
Palace... 3 Wolves... 1(Shipperley, Freedman (2)) Wolves...2 Palace... 1 (Hopkin)
Play Off Final at Wembley:
Palace... 1 Sheffield United... 0 (Hopkin)