| East Midlands 1 | |
| Current Season: | 2003–04 East Midlands 1 |
| Sport: | Rugby union |
| Teams: | 9 |
| Champion: | Biggleswade (3rd title) |
| Season: | 2003–04) (promoted to Midlands 4 East (South) |
| Most Champs: | Biggleswade |
| Count: | 3 |
| Website: | East Midlands RFU |
East Midlands 1 was a tier 9 English Rugby Union league with teams from Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and parts of Cambridgeshire taking part. Promoted teams moved up to Midlands 4 East (North) (formerly Midlands East 2) and relegated teams dropped to East Midlands 2. Originally a feeder league for East Midlands/Leicestershire, it ran for three spells between 1987–1992, 1996–1998 (as East Midlands) and 2000–2004. At the end of the 2003–04 season the East Midlands leagues were restructured and the majority of teams in East Midlands 1 were transferred into the new East Midlands/South Leicestershire 1 division.
When league rugby began in 1987, this division contained the following teams:
The original East Midlands 1 was a tier 8 league. Promotion was to East Midlands/Leicestershire and relegation to East Midlands 2. At the end of the 1991–92 season all of the East Midlands and Leicestershire leagues were merged and most sides in East Midlands 1 transferred to the new East Midlands/Leicestershire 2.
| < | ---->
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | No of teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated teams | Reference | ||||||||||
| 1987–88 | 11 | Wellingborough | [1] | ||||||||||||
| 1988–89 | 11 | Biggleswade | [2] | ||||||||||||
| 1989–90 | 11 | Ampthill | [3] | ||||||||||||
| 1990–91 | 11 | Northampton BBOB | [4] | ||||||||||||
| 1991–92 | 11 | Long Buckby | No relegation | [5] | |||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are promotion places. | |||||||||||||||
After an absence of four seasons the division was reintroduced, this time as East Midlands, sitting at tier 10 of the league system. Promotion was to East Midlands/Leicestershire 1 and there was no relegation. Remerging of all the East Midlands and Leicestershire leagues meant that East Midlands was cancelled at the end of the 1997–98 season and the majority of teams transferred into East Midlands/Leicestershire 2.
| < | ---->
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | No of teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated teams | Reference | ||||||||||
| 1996–97 | 10 | Deepings | No relegation | [6] | |||||||||||
| 1997–98 | 10 | Northampton Casuals | No relegation | [7] | |||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are the promotion places. | |||||||||||||||
An East Midlands division returned for the third time, this time renamed back to East Midlands 1 and rising to become a tier 9 league following the cancellation of the East Midlands/Leicestershire leagues at the end of the 1999–00 season. Promotion was to the newly introduced Midlands 4 East (South) and relegation to East Midlands 2. East Midlands 1 was cancelled at the end of the 2003–04 season and most teams transferred into the new East Midlands/South Leicestershire 1.
| < | ---->
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | No of teams | Champions | Runners–up | Relegated teams | Reference | ||||||||||
| 2000–01 | 11 | Biggleswade | [8] | ||||||||||||
| 2001–02 | 10 | Northampton BBOB | [9] | ||||||||||||
| 2002–03 | 9 | Daventry | [10] | ||||||||||||
| 2003–04 | 9 | Biggleswade | No relegation | [11] | |||||||||||
| Green backgrounds are the promotion places. | |||||||||||||||