THE FOOTBALL LEAGUES When, in 1888, Mr. William McGregor, known afterwards as the "Father of the League," wrote a letter to certain clubs sug gesting that they should band themselves together and arrange to play out-and-home matches with each other, he cannot even have dreamed that the seed which he had sown would produce so prolific a crop. Twelve of the clubs agreed, formed themselves into the Football League, and for some years became a sort of close corporation. The success of the new league was so great that a second league was formed in 1892, consisting of 12 clubs, the number of the parent league being increased to 16. A southern league was formed which, after a chequered existence, asked in 1920 to be admitted to partnership as a third division, and in the following year a northern section of the third division was formed. At present each of the four sections comprises 22 clubs. Various systems of promotion and relegation have been tried, with the re sult that by 1936 not a single club had succeeded in maintaining its place regularly and uninterruptedly in the first division. Fre quent alterations have been made in the payment of players, in the arrangements for transferring them, and in the rules for the conduct of the leagues. In the early days of these organizations most of the teams included local players, but in the process of time the constant rearrangement of the teams resulting from trans fers and importation, brought about many kaleidoscopic changes. Most of the leagues and other professional clubs have formed themselves into limited liability companies, but the directors are not paid, and the shareholders may not receive a larger dividend than 5%.