# 1958–59 Stoke City F.C. season

The 1958–59 season was Stoke City's 52nd season in the Football League and the 19th in the Second Division.
After failing to sign any new players in the summer of 1958, Stoke City manager Frank Taylor faced a difficult season ahead. His decision not to strengthen the squad was soon proven to be a mistake, as the team suffered a 6–1 defeat on the opening day of the season. Despite a difficult start to the season, Stoke City managed to turn their fortunes around with two solid unbeaten runs before the end of 1958. These strong performances put the team in contention for promotion, but they were unable to maintain their momentum in 1959. Six wins out of 23 matches left them 11 points behind second-placed Fulham. It was a disappointing end to a season that had shown some promise.

## Season review
### League

During the summer of 1958, Stoke City completed the rebuilding of the main stand at the Victoria Ground, which cost £70,000. While the stand was an impressive addition to the ground, some fans worried that the cost would impact the team's ability to sign new players. For the 1958–59 season, Stoke's lack of major signings and the absence of key players such as Bobby Howitt and Tony Allen put the team at a disadvantage. They were badly missed as Stoke were hammered 6–1 by an impressive Fulham side led by Johnny Haynes. After a slow start to the season, Stoke went on a nine-game unbeaten run in the league, which helped them climb to third place in the table by December. The team's resurgence was a welcome turnaround after a disappointing start. In the new year, Stoke's form declined, and they were unable to keep up with Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham at the top of the table. Stoke ultimately finished the season in 5th place, having fallen away from the top two positions. While it was a creditable finish, it was a disappointing end to a season that had promised so much.
The 1958–59 season was a transitional one for Stoke City, with the departure of Neville Coleman and the aging of some key players. Coleman had scored 52 goals in 126 appearances for the club before moving on to Crewe Alexandra. Veterans Frank Bowyer, John McCue, and Harry Oscroft were nearing the end of their careers. Despite these changes, there were reasons for optimism as the team continued to develop. Before the season was out, Oscroft was involved in a three-man swap, as he and Peter Ford move to Vale Park in exchange for John Cunliffe a left-winger who had a good career at Vale but failed to make an impression with Stoke. John Sellars who missed the season due to an eye injury decided to retire and Stoke decided to end their season with a trip to Morocco.

### FA Cup

In the third round, Dennis Wilshaw bagged a hat trick as Oldham Athletic were well beaten 5–1 before Ipswich Town came and frustrated Stoke and in the fourth round before nicking a 1–0 win.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 3 | Sheffield United | 42 | 23 | 7 | 12 | 82 | 48 | 1.708 | 53 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 42 | 24 | 5 | 13 | 87 | 62 | 1.403 | 53 |
| 5 | Stoke City | 42 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 72 | 58 | 1.241 | 49 |
| 6 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 80 | 64 | 1.250 | 48 |
| 7 | Derby County | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 74 | 71 | 1.042 | 48 |

## Results

Stoke's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Second Division

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 | 23 August 1958 | Fulham | A | 1–6 | 31,853 | Oscroft |
| 2 | 27 August 1958 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–0 | 24,126 | King, Cairns (pen), Bullock |
| 3 | 30 August 1958 | Lincoln City | H | 1–0 | 20,359 | Oscroft |
| 4 | 30 August 1958 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–4 | 23,622 | Oscroft |
| 5 | 6 September 1958 | Sunderland | A | 1–3 | 31,894 | King (pen) |
| 6 | 10 September 1958 | Scunthorpe United | H | 4–3 | 17,824 | King, Bullock, Wilshaw (2) |
| 7 | 13 September 1958 | Middlesbrough | H | 3–1 | 24,867 | King, Oscroft, Ratcliffe |
| 8 | 18 September 1958 | Scunthorpe United | A | 1–1 | 14,232 | Bullock |
| 9 | 20 September 1958 | Swansea Town | H | 3–0 | 20,196 | King, Wilshaw (2) |
| 10 | 27 September 1958 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–0 | 17,569 | King, Wilshaw |
| 11 | 4 October 1958 | Bristol Rovers | H | 2–2 | 19,763 | Bowyer, Thomson |
| 12 | 13 October 1958 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–1 | 17,959 | King, Howitt |
| 13 | 18 October 1958 | Bristol City | H | 2–1 | 22,657 | King (pen), Thomson |
| 14 | 22 October 1958 | Derby County | H | 2–1 | 20,456 | Bowyer, Wilshaw |
| 15 | 25 October 1958 | Cardiff City | A | 1–2 | 20,351 | King |
| 16 | 1 November 1958 | Liverpool | H | 0–2 | 26,919 | |
| 17 | 8 November 1958 | Barnsley | A | 1–2 | 12,080 | Oscroft |
| 18 | 15 November 1958 | Rotherham United | H | 3–0 | 15,263 | Oscroft, Howitt (2) |
| 19 | 22 November 1958 | Sheffield United | A | 1–2 | 18,636 | Anderson |
| 20 | 29 November 1958 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 3–0 | 13,251 | Wilshaw (2), Howitt |
| 21 | 6 December 1958 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–2 | 9,255 | Howitt, Asprey |
| 22 | 13 December 1958 | Huddersfield Town | H | 5–1 | 12,761 | Howitt, Wilshaw (2), Bowyer, Ward |
| 23 | 20 December 1958 | Fulham | H | 4–1 | 18,457 | Howitt (2), Oscroft (2) |
| 24 | 26 December 1958 | Leyton Orient | A | 1–0 | 12,173 | Ward |
| 25 | 27 December 1958 | Leyton Orient | H | 3–2 | 30,083 | Asprey, Wilshaw (2) |
| 26 | 3 January 1959 | Lincoln City | A | 1–3 | 8,813 | Bowyer |
| 27 | 31 January 1959 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–0 | 18,869 | |
| 28 | 7 February 1959 | Swansea Town | A | 0–1 | 11,123 | |
| 29 | 16 February 1959 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–0 | 11,230 | King |
| 30 | 21 February 1959 | Bristol Rovers | A | 0–1 | 16,341 | |
| 31 | 28 February 1959 | Barnsley | H | 2–1 | 13,015 | Asprey, Wilshaw |
| 32 | 7 March 1959 | Bristol City | A | 1–2 | 15,673 | Howitt |
| 33 | 14 March 1959 | Cardiff City | H | 0–1 | 11,929 | |
| 34 | 20 March 1959 | Liverpool | A | 4–3 | 35,507 | Asprey, Wilshaw (2), White (o.g.) |
| 35 | 28 March 1959 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–1 | 14,115 | Howitt, King |
| 36 | 30 March 1959 | Derby County | A | 0–3 | 24,342 | |
| 37 | 4 April 1959 | Rotherham United | A | 0–0 | 10,172 | |
| 38 | 6 April 1959 | Sunderland | H | 0–0 | 7,513 | |
| 39 | 11 April 1959 | Sheffield United | H | 1–2 | 10,439 | Bullock |
| 40 | 18 April 1959 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 2–2 | 19,501 | Bowyer, Bullock |
| 41 | 22 April 1959 | Huddersfield Town | A | 2–1 | 9,891 | Bowyer, Ward |
| 42 | 25 April 1959 | Grimsby Town | H | 4–0 | 6,855 | Ward, Asprey, King (2) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R3 | 4 January 1959 | Oldham Athletic | H | 5–1 | 22,035 | Howitt, Asprey, Wilshaw (3) |
| R4 | 8 January 1959 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–1 | 27,062 | |

### Friendlies

| Match | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| 1 | Port Vale | A | 1–2 |
| 2 | Port Vale | A | 4–0 |
| 3 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 5–1 |
| 4 | Bilston | A | 8–0 |
| 5 | Airdrieonians | H | 3–1 |
| 6 | First Vienna | H | 1–1 |
| 7 | Macclesfield Town | A | 2–0 |
| 8 | WAC Casablanca | A | 3–1 |
| 9 | Royal Moroccan Army | A | 5–0 |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Wilf Hall | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| GK | Bill Robertson | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| DF | Tony Allen | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| DF | Ron Andrew | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Peter Ford | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| DF | John McCue | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| DF | Ken Thomson | 38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 2 |
| MF | Bill Asprey | 42 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 6 |
| MF | Bobby Cairns | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| FW | John Anderson | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| FW | Tony Bentley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Frank Bowyer | 24 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 6 |
| FW | Peter Bullock | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 |
| FW | Neville Coleman | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| FW | Bobby Howitt | 27 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 11 |
| FW | Johnny King | 33 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 13 |
| FW | Harry Oscroft | 28 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 8 |
| FW | Don Ratcliffe | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| FW | Jimmy Wallace | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| FW | Derrick Ward | 15 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 4 |
| FW | Dennis Wilshaw | 31 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 33 | 18 |
| – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 1 |