1952–53 in English football

The 1952–53 season was the 73rd season of competitive football in England.

Overview

This was the closest championship win in English league history at the time, with Arsenal claiming the title with a goal average superior to Preston's by just 0.099. Both Arsenal and Preston had identical records aside from their goal averages.

Had goal difference been the deciding factor as it was from 1977 onwards, Arsenal would still have won with +33 to Preston's +25, unlike in 1989 when they would have finished second on goal average. Preston had last been champions in 1890, the second season of the Football League.

The FA Cup was won by Blackpool, beating Bolton Wanderers 4–3 in what became known as the 'Matthews Final', due to the masterly contribution of 38-year-old winger Stanley Matthews, who helped his side win after going 3–1 down, although three of Blackpool's goals were scored by prolific forward Stan Mortensen.

Honours
CompetitionWinnerRunner-up
First DivisionArsenal (7*)Preston North End
Second DivisionSheffield UnitedHuddersfield Town
Third Division NorthOldham AthleticPort Vale
Third Division SouthBristol RoversMillwall
FA CupBlackpool (1)Bolton Wanderers
Charity ShieldManchester UnitedNewcastle United
Home ChampionshipShared by  England and  Scotland

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

Football League
Main article: 1952–53 Football League

First Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Arsenal 42 21 12 9 97 64 1.516 54
2 Preston North End 42 21 12 9 85 60 1.417 54
3 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 19 13 10 86 63 1.365 51
4 West Bromwich Albion 42 21 8 13 66 60 1.100 50
5 Charlton Athletic 42 19 11 12 77 63 1.222 49
6 Burnley 42 18 12 12 67 52 1.288 48
7 Blackpool 42 19 9 14 71 70 1.014 47
8 Manchester United 42 18 10 14 69 72 0.958 46
9 Sunderland 42 15 13 14 68 82 0.829 43
10 Tottenham Hotspur 42 15 11 16 78 69 1.130 41
11 Aston Villa 42 14 13 15 63 61 1.033 41
12 Cardiff City 42 14 12 16 54 46 1.174 40
13 Middlesbrough 42 14 11 17 70 77 0.909 39
14 Bolton Wanderers 42 15 9 18 61 69 0.884 39
15 Portsmouth 42 14 10 18 74 83 0.892 38
16 Newcastle United 42 14 9 19 59 70 0.843 37
17 Liverpool 42 14 8 20 61 82 0.744 36
18 Sheffield Wednesday 42 12 11 19 62 72 0.861 35
19 Chelsea 42 12 11 19 56 66 0.848 35
20 Manchester City 42 14 7 21 72 87 0.828 35
21 Stoke City 42 12 10 20 53 66 0.803 34 Relegated to the Second Division
22 Derby County 42 11 10 21 59 74 0.797 32
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Second Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Sheffield United 42 25 10 7 97 55 1.764 60 Promoted to the First Division
2 Huddersfield Town 42 24 10 8 84 33 2.545 58
3 Luton Town 42 22 8 12 84 49 1.714 52
4 Plymouth Argyle 42 20 9 13 65 60 1.083 49
5 Leicester City 42 18 12 12 89 74 1.203 48
6 Birmingham City 42 19 10 13 71 66 1.076 48
7 Nottingham Forest 42 18 8 16 77 67 1.149 44
8 Fulham 42 17 10 15 81 71 1.141 44
9 Blackburn Rovers 42 18 8 16 68 65 1.046 44
10 Leeds United 42 14 15 13 71 63 1.127 43
11 Swansea Town 42 15 12 15 78 81 0.963 42
12 Rotherham United 42 16 9 17 75 74 1.014 41
13 Doncaster Rovers 42 12 16 14 58 64 0.906 40
14 West Ham United 42 13 13 16 58 60 0.967 39
15 Lincoln City 42 11 17 14 64 71 0.901 39
16 Everton 42 12 14 16 71 75 0.947 38
17 Brentford 42 13 11 18 59 76 0.776 37
18 Hull City 42 14 8 20 57 69 0.826 36
19 Notts County 42 14 8 20 60 88 0.682 36
20 Bury 42 13 9 20 53 81 0.654 35
21 Southampton 42 10 13 19 68 85 0.800 33 Relegated to the Third Division South
22 Barnsley 42 5 8 29 47 108 0.435 18 Relegated to the Third Division North
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Third Division North
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Oldham Athletic 46 22 15 9 77 45 1.711 59 Promoted to the Second Division
2 Port Vale 46 20 18 8 67 35 1.914 58
3 Wrexham 46 24 8 14 86 66 1.303 56
4 York City 46 20 13 13 60 45 1.333 53
5 Grimsby Town 46 21 10 15 75 59 1.271 52
6 Southport 46 20 11 15 63 60 1.050 51
7 Bradford Park Avenue 46 19 12 15 75 61 1.230 50
8 Gateshead 46 17 15 14 76 60 1.267 49
9 Carlisle United 46 18 13 15 82 68 1.206 49
10 Crewe Alexandra 46 20 8 18 70 68 1.029 48
11 Stockport County 46 17 13 16 82 69 1.188 47
12 Chesterfield 46 18 11 17 65 63 1.032 47
13 Tranmere Rovers 46 21 5 20 65 63 1.032 47
14 Halifax Town 46 16 15 15 68 68 1.000 47
15 Scunthorpe & Lindsey United 46 16 14 16 62 56 1.107 46
16 Bradford City 46 14 18 14 75 80 0.938 46
17 Hartlepools United 46 16 14 16 57 61 0.934 46
18 Mansfield Town 46 16 14 16 55 62 0.887 46
19 Barrow 46 16 12 18 66 71 0.930 44
20 Chester 46 11 15 20 64 85 0.753 37
21 Darlington 46 14 6 26 58 96 0.604 34
22 Rochdale 46 14 5 27 62 83 0.747 33
23 Workington 46 11 10 25 55 91 0.604 32 Re-elected
24 Accrington Stanley 46 8 11 27 39 89 0.438 27
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Third Division South
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Bristol Rovers 46 26 12 8 92 46 2.000 64 Promoted to the Second Division
2 Millwall 46 24 14 8 82 44 1.864 62
3 Northampton Town 46 26 10 10 109 70 1.557 62
4 Norwich City 46 25 10 11 99 55 1.800 60
5 Bristol City 46 22 15 9 95 61 1.557 59
6 Coventry City 46 19 12 15 77 62 1.242 50
7 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 19 12 15 81 75 1.080 50
8 Southend United 46 18 13 15 69 74 0.932 49
9 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 46 19 9 18 74 69 1.072 47
10 Watford 46 15 17 14 62 63 0.984 47
11 Reading 46 19 8 19 69 64 1.078 46
12 Torquay United 46 18 9 19 87 88 0.989 45
13 Crystal Palace 46 15 13 18 66 82 0.805 43
14 Leyton Orient 46 16 10 20 68 73 0.932 42
15 Newport County 46 16 10 20 70 82 0.854 42
16 Ipswich Town 46 13 15 18 60 69 0.870 41
17 Exeter City 46 13 14 19 61 71 0.859 40
18 Swindon Town 46 14 12 20 64 79 0.810 40
19 Aldershot 46 12 15 19 61 77 0.792 39
20 Queens Park Rangers 46 12 15 19 61 82 0.744 39
21 Gillingham 46 12 15 19 55 74 0.743 39
22 Colchester United 46 12 14 20 59 76 0.776 38
23 Shrewsbury Town 46 12 12 22 68 91 0.747 36 Re-elected
24 Walsall 46 7 10 29 56 118 0.475 24
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Top goalscorers

First Division

Second Division

Third Division North

Third Division South

National team

The England national football team were joint winners in the 1953 British Home Championship with Scotland. In the May following the conclusion of the season the England team embarked on their first tour of the Americas, following the experience in Brazil of the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

American tour
Argentina 0–0 England
   

Abandoned after 21 minutes due to torrential rain

Chile 1–2 England
Guillermo Diaz Tommy Taylor, Nat Lofthouse
Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago
Uruguay 2–1 England
Oscar Míguez, Julio Abbadie Tommy Taylor
Centenario Stadium, Montevideo
United States 3–6 England
Otto Decker 2, George Atheneos Nat Lofthouse 2, Tom Finney 2,
Redfern Froggatt, Ivor Broadis
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References
  1. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  2. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
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