# 1957–58 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1957–58 campaign was a fairly mediocre season for the Town under Bill Shankly, taking charge for his first full season at Leeds Road. The season will be best remembered for the match against Charlton Athletic at The Valley on 21 December 1957. The match finished 7-6 to Charlton, after Charlton had only ten men for the majority of the match and the fact that with 27 minutes remaining, Town were leading 5–1 before losing the match. This remains the only match in professional football where a team has scored 6 goals and went on to lose the match.

## Squad at the start of the season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | GK | ENG | Harry Fearnley |
| -- | GK | RSA | Sandy Kennon |
| -- | DF | ENG | John Battye |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ron Cockerill |
| -- | DF | ENG | John Coddington |
| -- | DF | ENG | Jack Connor |
| -- | DF | ENG | Tony Conwell |
| -- | DF | ENG | Brian Gibson |
| -- | DF | ENG | Bill McGarry |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ken Taylor |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ray Wilson |
| -- | MF | ENG | Bob Ledger |
| -- | MF | ENG | Kevin McHale |
| -- | MF | ENG | Vic Metcalfe |
| -- | FW | SCO | Alex Bain |
| -- | FW | ENG | Stan Hepton |
| -- | FW | ENG | Stan Howard |
| -- | FW | SCO | Denis Law |
| -- | FW | SCO | Les Massie |
| -- | FW | ENG | Ron Simpson |

## Review

In Bill Shankly's first full season in charge, the team experienced a mixture of results, ultimately finishing the season in 9th place with 44 points, 12 points behind 2nd placed Blackburn Rovers. The season also saw Vic Metcalfe make his last appearance in a Town shirt in March against Sheffield United.
A significant highlight of the season was the match against Charlton Athletic at The Valley on 21 December 1957. Despite playing with only ten men for the majority of the match, Charlton claimed a 7-6 victory. Notably, with only 27 minutes remaining, Town were leading 5–1 before they went on to lose the match. This remains the only match in professional football, where a team has scored 6 goals and still lost. Incredibly, Town and Charlton played each other 4 times that season, and 24 goals were scored in those matches.

## Squad at the end of the season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | GK | ENG | Harry Fearnley |
| -- | GK | RSA | Sandy Kennon |
| -- | DF | ENG | John Battye |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ron Cockerill |
| -- | DF | ENG | John Coddington |
| -- | DF | ENG | Jack Connor |
| -- | DF | ENG | Tony Conwell |
| -- | DF | ENG | Brian Gibson |
| -- | DF | SCO | Gordon Low |
| -- | DF | ENG | Bill McGarry |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ken Taylor |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ray Wilson |
| -- | MF | ENG | Bob Ledger |
| -- | MF | ENG | Kevin McHale |
| -- | MF | ENG | Vic Metcalfe |
| -- | FW | SCO | Alex Bain |
| -- | FW | ENG | Tony France |
| -- | FW | ENG | Stan Hepton |
| -- | FW | ENG | Stan Howard |
| -- | FW | SCO | Denis Law |
| -- | FW | SCO | Les Massie |
| -- | FW | ENG | Ron Simpson |

## Results
### Division Two

| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance | Position |
| 24 August 1957 | Charlton Athletic | H | 3–3 | Bain, Simpson, Taylor | 16,921 | 11th |
| 28 August 1957 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | Massie | 41,447 | 11th |
| 31 August 1957 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 3–0 | Massie (2), Simpson | 14,631 | 7th |
| 4 September 1957 | Liverpool | H | 2–1 | Howard (2) | 16,614 | 4th |
| 7 September 1957 | Rotherham United | H | 1–3 | Bain | 20,414 | 9th |
| 11 September 1957 | Cardiff City | A | 0–1 | | 10,073 | 12th |
| 14 September 1957 | Notts County | A | 1–1 | Bain | 15,584 | 12th |
| 18 September 1957 | Cardiff City | H | 1–1 | Baker (og) | 9,821 | 11th |
| 21 September 1957 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–4 | Hepton | 14,380 | 14th |
| 28 September 1957 | Stoke City | H | 1–0 | Connor | 12,467 | 11th |
| 5 October 1957 | Bristol City | A | 3–1 | Wilson, Massie, Bain | 21,341 | 10th |
| 12 October 1957 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–0 | Deacon (og), McHale, Bain | 15,276 | 8th |
| 19 October 1957 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–1 | Massie | 20,606 | 7th |
| 26 October 1957 | Sheffield United | H | 1–1 | Cockerill | 17,149 | 7th |
| 2 November 1957 | West Ham United | A | 2–5 | Connor, Cockerill | 21,525 | 10th |
| 9 November 1957 | Barnsley | H | 0–5 | | 21,662 | 11th |
| 16 November 1957 | Fulham | A | 1–2 | Bain | 18,243 | 12th |
| 23 November 1957 | Swansea Town | H | 2–2 | Simpson, McGarry | 12,860 | 13th |
| 30 November 1957 | Derby County | A | 4–2 | Law (2, 1 pen), Massie, Simpson | 20,566 | 12th |
| 7 December 1957 | Bristol Rovers | H | 0–0 | | 11,028 | 12th |
| 14 December 1957 | Lincoln City | A | 1–1 | Law | 8,473 | 11th |
| 21 December 1957 | Charlton Athletic | A | 6–7 | Massie, Bain (2), McGarry (pen), Ledger, Howard | 12,535 | 13th |
| 25 December 1957 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | Massie | 16,281 | 11th |
| 26 December 1957 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–0 | Ledger | 22,964 | 10th |
| 28 December 1957 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 2–2 | Ledger, Howard | 16,682 | 11th |
| 11 January 1958 | Rotherham United | A | 1–1 | Connor | 8,833 | 12th |
| 18 January 1958 | Notts County | H | 3–0 | Simpson, France, McGarry | 9,173 | 10th |
| 1 February 1958 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–0 | Simpson | 14,333 | 8th |
| 8 February 1958 | Stoke City | A | 1–1 | Simpson | 16,489 | 9th |
| 19 February 1958 | Bristol City | H | 0–0 | | 5,971 | 8th |
| 22 February 1958 | Swansea Town | A | 1–1 | Law | 13,400 | 7th |
| 5 March 1958 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–1 | McGarry, Massie | 6,431 | 5th |
| 8 March 1958 | Sheffield United | A | 2–3 | Law, McGarry (pen) | 19,834 | 8th |
| 15 March 1958 | West Ham United | H | 3–1 | Ledger (2), Simpson | 19,093 | 7th |
| 22 March 1958 | Barnsley | A | 3–2 | Massie, McHale, Simpson | 16,549 | 7th |
| 29 March 1958 | Fulham | H | 0–3 | | 19,215 | 8th |
| 4 April 1958 | Leyton Orient | A | 1–3 | Massie | 16,840 | 8th |
| 5 April 1958 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–4 | | 15,712 | 10th |
| 8 April 1958 | Leyton Orient | H | 2–0 | Massie, McGarry | 14,886 | 9th |
| 12 April 1958 | Derby County | H | 0–0 | | 12,441 | 9th |
| 19 April 1958 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–1 | Low | 16,185 | 7th |
| 26 April 1958 | Lincoln City | H | 0–1 | | 8,464 | 9th |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 4 January 1958 | Round 3 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–2 | Law, Massie | 20,223 |
| 8 January 1958 | Round 3 Replay | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–1 | | 26,637 |

## Appearances and goals

| Name | Nation | Position | League Apps | League Goals | FA Cup Apps | FA Cup Goals | Total Apps | Total Goals |
| Alex Bain | Scotland | FW | 19 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 8 |
| John Battye | England | DF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ron Cockerill | England | DF | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| John Coddington | England | DF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jack Connor | England | DF | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 3 |
| Tony Conwell | England | DF | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| Harry Fearnley | England | GK | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Tony France | England | FW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Brian Gibson | England | DF | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| Stan Hepton | England | MF | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Stan Howard | England | MF | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 4 |
| Sandy Kennon | South Africa | GK | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| Denis Law | Scotland | MF | 18 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 6 |
| Bob Ledger | England | MF | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 5 |
| Gordon Low | Scotland | DF | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Les Massie | Scotland | FW | 39 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 13 |
| Bill McGarry | England | DF | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 6 |
| Kevin McHale | England | MF | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| Vic Metcalfe | England | MF | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Ron Simpson | England | FW | 41 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 9 |
| Ken Taylor | England | DF | 40 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 1 |
| Ray Wilson | England | DF | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 1 |