Norwich entered the second division at the start of the 1960 – 1961 season and it proved to be a huge triumph for the club as they were emphatic in the tier, finishing the campaign off in fourth place. They crashed out of the league cup in the fourth round, suffering defeat against Shrewsbury Town. The 1961 – 1962 league cup campaign proved to be a fantastic for the Canaries as they enjoyed a fine run in the competition and reached the final, meeting Rochdale. They defeated Rochdale 4-0 on aggregate to win their first major domestic trophy. The League cup proved to be a good competition for Norwich as they reached the quarter finals the following two years, however suffered defeat in the last eight against Aston Villa and Leicester City respectively. Over that time several managers took charge at the club, including, Willie Reid, George Swindin and Ron Ashman. Ashman established the canaries as a second division football club, and took them to the quarter finals of the FA Cup in 1963, as they suffered defeat against Aston Villa in the last eight.
The 1964 – 1965 campaign proved to be a fine success as the canaries finished off the season in sixth position, narrowly missing out on promotion in to the top flight.