# 1931–32 Chester F.C. season

The 1931–32 season was the first season of competitive association football in the Football League played by Chester, an English club based in Chester, Cheshire.
Chester was elected to the Football League in the second round of voting surpassing Nelson after the first voting ended in a draw.

## Football League

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GAv | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Lincoln City | 40 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 65 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 41 | 34 | 2.255 | 57 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Gateshead | 40 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 59 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 35 | 28 | 1.958 | 57 | |
| 3 | Chester | 40 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 24 | 38 | 1.300 | 50 | |
| 4 | Tranmere Rovers | 40 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 76 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 31 | 35 | 1.845 | 49 | |
| 5 | Barrow | 40 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 59 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 27 | 36 | 1.458 | 49 | |
* ↑ New club in the league; elected from Cheshire County League

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 40 | 21 | 8 | 11 | 78 | 60 | 1.3 | 50 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 22 | 34 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 24 | 38 | 16 |
Source: rsssf.com

### Results by matchday

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| Result | D | L | D | W | L | D | D | L | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | D | W | L | W | L | D | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | W |
| Position | 11 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 |

### Matches

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| 29 August | Wigan Borough | H | W | 4–0† | Cresswell, Ranson, Jennings, Hedley | 12,770 |
| 2 September | Wrexham | A | D | 1–1 | Jennings | 19,000 |
| 5 September | Darlington | A | L | 1–4 | Jennings | 4,222 |
| 9 September | Hartlepools United | A | D | 2–2 | Cresswell, Jennings | 4,717 |
| 12 September | Halifax Town | H | W | 3–1 | Hedley (2), A. Ferguson | 6,824 |
| 16 September | Hartlepools United | H | L | 2–3 | Ranson, Cresswell | 8,417 |
| 19 September | Walsall | A | D | 1–1 | Jennings | 4,455 |
| 26 September | Gateshead | H | D | 1–1 | C. Matthews | 10,195 |
| 30 September | Wrexham | H | L | 2–5 | Thompson, Jennings | 13,658 |
| 3 October | New Brighton | A | W | 1–0 | Hedley | 5,105 |
| 10 October | Barrow | H | W | 4–2 | Cresswell, Thompson, Jennings (2) | 8,322 |
| 17 October | Accrington Stanley | H | W | 1–0 | Jennings | 7,094 |
| 24 October | Stockport County | A | D | 0–0 | | 8,811 |
| 31 October | Rotherham United | H | W | 2–1 | Robson, Hedley | 6,704 |
| 7 November | Tranmere Rovers | A | D | 2–2 | Jennings, Robson | 11,578 |
| 14 November | York City | H | W | 3–0 | Mercer, Hedley, Robson | 7,207 |
| 21 November | Southport | A | D | 1–1 | Valentine | 6,023 |
| 5 December | Rochdale | A | W | 3–0 | Cresswell, Hedley, Jennings | 3,199 |
| 19 December | Carlisle United | A | L | 3–4 | Hedley, Robson, Mercer | 4,220 |
| 25 December | Lincoln City | H | W | 2–1 | Cresswell, Reilly | 10,184 |
| 26 December | Lincoln City | A | L | 0–4 | | 12,856 |
| 9 January | Doncaster Rovers | H | D | 1–1 | Bennett (pen.) | 5,466 |
| 16 January | Darlington | H | W | 3–1 | Jennings, Mercer (2) | 5,480 |
| 23 January | Halifax Town | A | L | 1–2 | Hedley | 3,703 |
| 30 January | Walsall | H | W | 5–1 | Jennings (5) | 5,198 |
| 6 February | Gateshead | A | W | 2–1 | Mercer, Jennings | 7,688 |
| 13 February | New Brighton | H | W | 2–0 | Cresswell, Jennings | 6,294 |
| 20 February | Barrow | A | L | 0–4 | | 6,557 |
| 27 February | Accrington Stanley | A | W | 3–2 | Jennings (2), Cresswell | 3,981 |
| 5 March | Stockport County | H | W | 2–1 | Wyper (2) | 6,759 |
| 12 March | Rotherham United | A | L | 0–3 | | 4,023 |
| 19 March | Tranmere Rovers | H | W | 3–1 | Gray (o.g.), Mercer, Herod (pen.) | 8,810 |
| 25 March | Hull City | H | W | 2–0 | Jennings (2) | 13,648 |
| 26 March | York City | A | L | 1–3 | Cresswell | 5,368 |
| 28 March | Hull City | A | W | 2–0 | Robinson, Jennings | 7,914 |
| 2 April | Southport | H | W | 4–0 | Mercer, Jennings (2), Wyper | 7,775 |
| 6 April | Crewe Alexandra | H | W | 1–0 | Wyper | 6,938 |
| 9 April | Doncaster Rovers | A | L | 0–3 | | 4,365 |
| 16 April | Rochdale | H | W | 7–2 | Mercer, Williams (o.g.), Jennings (4), Hedley | 4,658 |
| 23 April | Crewe Alexandra | A | L | 0–1 | | 6,823 |
| 30 April | Carlisle United | H | W | 4–1 | Cresswell, Mercer, Jennings, Hedley | 4,618 |
† - Wigan Borough later resigned from the league, record expunged

## FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round | 28 November | Hartlepools United (3N) | H | W | 4–1 | Hedley (2), Valentine, Bennett | 8,403 |
| Second round | 12 December | Darwen (LanC) | A | L | 1–2 | Murray (o.g.) | 6,500 |

## Welsh Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| Fifth round | 3 February | Oswestry Town (B&DL) | H | D | 1–1 | Jennings | 2,000 |
| Fifth round replay | 11 February | Oswestry Town (B&DL) | A | W | 4–0 | Hedley (2), Jennings (2) | 1,500 |
| Quarterfinal | 2 March | Cardiff City (3S) | H | W | 2–1 | Mercer, Jennings | 9,400 |
| Semifinal | 13 April | Swansea Town (2) | H | L | 0–2 | | 10,234 |

## Season statistics

| Nat | Player | Total | Total | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Welsh Cup | Welsh Cup |
| Nat | Player | A | G | A | G | A | G | A | G |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| | Johnny Burke | 12 | – | 11 | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| | Bill Johnson | 34 | – | 29 | – | 2 | – | 3 | – |
| Field players ||||||||||
| | Josh Atkinson | 7 | – | 7 | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Fred Bennett | 44 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | – |
| | Frank Cresswell | 45 | 9 | 39 | 9 | 2 | – | 4 | – |
| | Spencer Evans | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Archie Ferguson | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – |
| | Danny Ferguson | 11 | – | 10 | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| | Foster Hedley | 41 | 14 | 35 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| | Baden Herod | 46 | 1 | 40 | 1 | 2 | – | 4 | – |
| | Tom Jennings | 44 | 34 | 39 | 30 | 1 | – | 4 | 4 |
| | Walter Jones | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Ernest Keeley | 22 | – | 19 | – | 2 | – | 1 | – |
| | Alex Lambie | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Billy Matthews | 6 | – | 5 | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| | Cyril Matthews | 10 | 1 | 9 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – |
| | Arthur Mercer | 35 | 10 | 29 | 9 | 2 | – | 4 | 1 |
| | Ernie Millsom | 13 | – | 11 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| | Jack Ranson | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| | William Reilly | 41 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 2 | – | 4 | – |
| | Matt Robinson | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| | Cud Robson | 16 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 2 | – | 1 | – |
| | Harry Skitt | 36 | – | 31 | – | 1 | – | 4 | – |
| | Andy Thompson | 7 | 2 | 7 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| | Albert Valentine | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| | Tommy Wyper | 13 | 4 | 12 | 4 | – | – | 1 | – |
| | Own goals | – | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | – |
| | Total | 46 | 90 | 40 | 78 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 7 |