When football in the country resumed in 1939, Oviedo was relegated to the second division, as their pitch was deemed unplayable – Francisco Franco's troops had used the stadium as an ammunition dump. During the following decades, the club bounced back between the first and second levels, the high point being a best-ever third position in 1962–63 (ranking joint-first with Real Madrid after the first 15 rounds), while the lowest was the side's first relegation to "Segunda División B", in 1978 (for a single season).