# 1923–24 in English football

The 1923–24 season was the 49th season of competitive football in England, with Huddersfield Town becoming League Champions for the first time, managing to beat Cardiff City in the closest finish in the competition's history, having the same number of points and winning the title by just 0.024 on goal average.

## Overview

* On 11 November 1923, Aston Villa centre-half Tommy Ball was shot dead by his neighbour, thus becoming the only Football League player to have been murdered.

## Honours

| Competition | Winner | Runner-up |
| First Division | Huddersfield Town (1) | Cardiff City |
| Second Division | Leeds United | Bury |
| Third Division North | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Rochdale |
| Third Division South | Portsmouth | Plymouth Argyle |
| FA Cup | Newcastle United (2) | Aston Villa |
| Charity Shield | Professionals XI | Amateurs XI |
| Home Championship | Wales | Scotland |

## Football League
### First Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 60 | 33 | 1.818 | 57 | |
| 2 | Cardiff City | 42 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 61 | 34 | 1.794 | 57 | |
| 3 | Sunderland | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 71 | 54 | 1.315 | 53 | |
| 4 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 68 | 34 | 2.000 | 50 | |
| 5 | Sheffield United | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 69 | 49 | 1.408 | 50 | |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 52 | 37 | 1.405 | 49 | |
| 7 | Everton | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 62 | 53 | 1.170 | 49 | |
| 8 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 54 | 50 | 1.080 | 45 | |
| 9 | Newcastle United | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 60 | 54 | 1.111 | 44 | |
| 10 | Notts County | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 44 | 49 | 0.898 | 42 | |
| 11 | Manchester City | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 54 | 71 | 0.761 | 42 | |
| 12 | Liverpool | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 49 | 48 | 1.021 | 41 | |
| 13 | West Ham United | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 40 | 43 | 0.930 | 41 | |
| 14 | Birmingham | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 41 | 49 | 0.837 | 39 | |
| 15 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 50 | 56 | 0.893 | 38 | |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 51 | 62 | 0.823 | 38 | |
| 17 | Burnley | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 55 | 60 | 0.917 | 36 | |
| 18 | Preston North End | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 52 | 67 | 0.776 | 34 | |
| 19 | Arsenal | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 40 | 63 | 0.635 | 33 | |
| 20 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 42 | 64 | 0.656 | 32 | |
| 21 | Chelsea | 42 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 31 | 53 | 0.585 | 32 | Relegated to the Second Division |
| 22 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 7 | 8 | 27 | 37 | 60 | 0.617 | 22 | Relegated to the Second Division |

### Second Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Leeds United | 42 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 61 | 35 | 1.743 | 54 | Promoted to the First Division |
| 2 | Bury | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 63 | 35 | 1.800 | 51 | Promoted to the First Division |
| 3 | Derby County | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 75 | 42 | 1.786 | 51 | |
| 4 | Blackpool | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 72 | 47 | 1.532 | 49 | |
| 5 | Southampton | 42 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 52 | 31 | 1.677 | 48 | |
| 6 | Stoke | 42 | 14 | 18 | 10 | 44 | 42 | 1.048 | 46 | |
| 7 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 14 | 17 | 11 | 45 | 52 | 0.865 | 45 | |
| 8 | The Wednesday | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 54 | 51 | 1.059 | 44 | |
| 9 | South Shields | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 49 | 50 | 0.980 | 44 | |
| 10 | Clapton Orient | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 40 | 36 | 1.111 | 43 | |
| 11 | Barnsley | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 57 | 61 | 0.934 | 43 | |
| 12 | Leicester City | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 64 | 54 | 1.185 | 42 | |
| 13 | Stockport County | 42 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 44 | 52 | 0.846 | 42 | |
| 14 | Manchester United | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 52 | 44 | 1.182 | 40 | |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 53 | 65 | 0.815 | 39 | |
| 16 | Port Vale | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 50 | 66 | 0.758 | 38 | |
| 17 | Hull City | 42 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 46 | 51 | 0.902 | 37 | |
| 18 | Bradford City | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 35 | 48 | 0.729 | 37 | |
| 19 | Coventry City | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 52 | 68 | 0.765 | 35 | |
| 20 | Fulham | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 45 | 56 | 0.804 | 34 | |
| 21 | Nelson | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 40 | 74 | 0.541 | 33 | Relegated to the Third Division North |
| 22 | Bristol City | 42 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 32 | 65 | 0.492 | 29 | Relegated to the Third Division South |

### Third Division North

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 24 | 15 | 3 | 76 | 27 | 2.815 | 63 | Promoted to the Second Division |
| 2 | Rochdale | 42 | 25 | 12 | 5 | 60 | 26 | 2.308 | 62 | |
| 3 | Chesterfield | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 70 | 39 | 1.795 | 54 | |
| 4 | Rotherham County | 42 | 23 | 6 | 13 | 70 | 43 | 1.628 | 52 | |
| 5 | Bradford Park Avenue | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 69 | 43 | 1.605 | 52 | |
| 6 | Darlington | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 70 | 53 | 1.321 | 48 | |
| 7 | Southport | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 44 | 42 | 1.048 | 46 | |
| 8 | Ashington | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 59 | 61 | 0.967 | 44 | |
| 9 | Doncaster Rovers | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 59 | 53 | 1.113 | 42 | |
| 10 | Wigan Borough | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 55 | 53 | 1.038 | 42 | |
| 11 | Grimsby Town | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 49 | 47 | 1.043 | 41 | |
| 12 | Tranmere Rovers | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 51 | 60 | 0.850 | 41 | |
| 13 | Accrington Stanley | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 48 | 61 | 0.787 | 40 | |
| 14 | Halifax Town | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 42 | 59 | 0.712 | 40 | |
| 15 | Durham City | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 59 | 60 | 0.983 | 39 | |
| 16 | Wrexham | 42 | 10 | 18 | 14 | 37 | 44 | 0.841 | 38 | |
| 17 | Walsall | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 44 | 59 | 0.746 | 36 | |
| 18 | New Brighton | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 40 | 53 | 0.755 | 35 | |
| 19 | Lincoln City | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 48 | 59 | 0.814 | 32 | |
| 20 | Crewe Alexandra | 42 | 7 | 13 | 22 | 32 | 58 | 0.552 | 27 | |
| 21 | Hartlepools United | 42 | 7 | 11 | 24 | 33 | 70 | 0.471 | 25 | Re-elected |
| 22 | Barrow | 42 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 35 | 80 | 0.438 | 25 | Re-elected |

### Third Division South

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Portsmouth | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 87 | 30 | 2.900 | 59 | Promoted to the Second Division |
| 2 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 70 | 34 | 2.059 | 55 | |
| 3 | Millwall | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 64 | 38 | 1.684 | 54 | |
| 4 | Swansea Town | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 60 | 48 | 1.250 | 52 | |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 68 | 37 | 1.838 | 51 | |
| 6 | Swindon Town | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 58 | 44 | 1.318 | 47 | |
| 7 | Luton Town | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 50 | 44 | 1.136 | 46 | |
| 8 | Northampton Town | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 64 | 47 | 1.362 | 45 | |
| 9 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 52 | 46 | 1.130 | 43 | |
| 10 | Newport County | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 56 | 64 | 0.875 | 43 | |
| 11 | Norwich City | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 60 | 59 | 1.017 | 40 | |
| 12 | Aberdare Athletic | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 45 | 58 | 0.776 | 38 | |
| 13 | Merthyr Town | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 45 | 65 | 0.692 | 38 | |
| 14 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 38 | 45 | 0.844 | 37 | |
| 15 | Gillingham | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 43 | 58 | 0.741 | 37 | |
| 16 | Exeter City | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 37 | 52 | 0.712 | 37 | |
| 17 | Brentford | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 54 | 71 | 0.761 | 36 | |
| 18 | Reading | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 51 | 57 | 0.895 | 35 | |
| 19 | Southend United | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 53 | 84 | 0.631 | 34 | |
| 20 | Watford | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 45 | 54 | 0.833 | 33 | |
| 21 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 40 | 65 | 0.615 | 33 | Re-elected |
| 22 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 37 | 77 | 0.481 | 31 | Re-elected |

### Top goalscorers

First Division
* Wilf Chadwick (Everton) – 28 goals
Second Division
* Harry Bedford (Blackpool) – 34 goals
Third Division North
* David Brown (Darlington) – 27 goals
Third Division South
* Willie Haines (Portsmouth) – 28 goals