# 1946–47 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1946–47 campaign was the first full season since the end of World War II, but Town would have little to cheer during the season. Under David Steele, Town were in the relegation zone for majority of the season, but because of the even worse displays of relegation candidates Brentford and Leeds United saw Town live to fight another day in Division 1.

## 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 | Don Clegg |
| -- | GK | ENG | Bob Hesford |
| -- | GK | EIR | Brendan McManus |
| -- | DF | ENG | Graham Bailey |
| -- | DF | ENG | Jeff Barker |
| -- | DF | ENG | Eddie Boot |
| -- | DF | ENG | Tom Briggs |
| -- | DF | ENG | George Green |
| -- | DF | IRL | Bill Hayes |
| -- | DF | ENG | George Howe |
| -- | DF | ENG | Alf Newbold |
| -- | DF | ENG | John Simpson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | DF | ENG | Les Smith |
| -- | DF | ENG | Albert Watson |
| -- | MF | ENG | Albert Bateman |
| -- | MF | ENG | Eddie Carr |
| -- | MF | ENG | Vic Metcalfe |
| -- | MF | ENG | George Skelton |
| -- | FW | ENG | Lewis Brook |
| -- | FW | ENG | Jimmy Glazzard |
| -- | FW | ENG | Joe Poole |
| -- | FW | ENG | Billy Price |
| -- | FW | SCO | Frank Reid |
| -- | FW | ENG | Arnold Rodgers |

## Review

David Steele had been Town manager since 1943, but this was his first season in league football management with the Leeds Road club and it would be his last in Huddersfield. Town lost 5 of their opening league matches, but oddly enough won the other game 5–2 against Derby County. During October, Town lost 4 matches and conceded 19 goals in a 5–0 defeat against Leeds United, a 6–1 loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers and 4–1 defeats to Liverpool and Middlesbrough.
Following that run, Town beat Charlton Athletic 5–1, but Town's form never made any dramatic improvements and even lost an FA Cup tie at home to Barnsley. Luckily during that season, Town were up against 2 worse teams in the relegation dogfight in Brentford and Leeds United, who were more than 7 points behind Town by the end of the season. This however didn't stop Steele from resigning at the end of the season.

## 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 | Don Clegg |
| -- | GK | ENG | Bob Hesford |
| -- | GK | EIR | Brendan McManus |
| -- | DF | ENG | Graham Bailey |
| -- | DF | ENG | Jeff Barker |
| -- | DF | ENG | Eddie Boot |
| -- | DF | ENG | Tom Briggs |
| -- | DF | ENG | George Green |
| -- | DF | IRL | Bill Hayes |
| -- | DF | ENG | George Hepplewhite |
| -- | DF | ENG | George Howe |
| -- | DF | ENG | Joe Lodge |
| -- | DF | ENG | John Simpson |
| -- | DF | ENG | Les Smith |
| -- | DF | ENG | Alan Stewart |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | DF | ENG | Albert Watson |
| -- | MF | ENG | Albert Bateman |
| -- | MF | ENG | Eddie Carr |
| -- | MF | SCO | Harry McShane |
| -- | MF | ENG | Vic Metcalfe |
| -- | MF | ENG | George Skelton |
| -- | FW | ENG | Lewis Brook |
| -- | FW | EIR | Peter Doherty |
| -- | FW | ENG | Jimmy Glazzard |
| -- | FW | ENG | Billy Price |
| -- | FW | SCO | Frank Reid |
| -- | FW | ENG | Arnold Rodgers |
| -- | FW | ENG | Arthur Thompson |
| -- | FW | ENG | Maurice Tompkin |
| -- | FW | ENG | Alf Whittingham |

## Results
### Division One

| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Position |
| 31 August 1946 | Blackpool | H | 1–3 | Glazzard | 14,378 | 17th |
| 4 September 1946 | Sunderland | A | 0–3 | | 37,595 | 21st |
| 7 September 1946 | Brentford | A | 0–2 | | 31,264 | 22nd |
| 11 September 1946 | Derby County | H | 5–2 | McShane, Glazzard, Price (2), Bateman | 18,748 | 17th |
| 14 September 1946 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0–1 | | 17,368 | 20th |
| 21 September 1946 | Portsmouth | A | 1–3 | Glazzard | 30,591 | 22nd |
| 25 September 1946 | Sunderland | H | 0–0 | | 15,551 | 21st |
| 28 September 1946 | Everton | H | 1–0 | Glazzard | 19,208 | 18th |
| 5 October 1946 | Leeds United | A | 0–5 | | 30,622 | 22nd |
| 12 October 1946 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–6 | Bateman | 37,690 | 22nd |
| 19 October 1946 | Liverpool | H | 1–4 | Brook | 17,323 | 22nd |
| 26 October 1946 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–4 | Tompkin | 36,694 | 22nd |
| 2 November 1946 | Charlton Athletic | H | 5–1 | Rodgers (3), Bateman, Glazzard | 16,944 | 22nd |
| 9 November 1946 | Grimsby Town | A | 0–1 | | 14,815 | 22nd |
| 16 November 1946 | Preston North End | H | 3–0 | Rodgers (2), Thompson | 17,733 | 22nd |
| 23 November 1946 | Manchester United | A | 2–5 | Thompson, Glazzard | 39,216 | 22nd |
| 30 November 1946 | Stoke City | H | 1–0 | Metcalfe | 26,767 | 22nd |
| 7 December 1946 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–4 | | 21,975 | 22nd |
| 14 December 1946 | Chelsea | H | 1–4 | Bateman | 9,011 | 22nd |
| 21 December 1946 | Sheffield United | A | 2–2 | Bateman, Glazzard | 23,980 | 22nd |
| 25 December 1946 | Aston Villa | A | 2–2 | Glazzard, Rodgers | 29,906 | 22nd |
| 26 December 1946 | Aston Villa | H | 1–0 | Rodgers | 39,606 | 20th |
| 28 December 1946 | Blackpool | A | 1–2 | Metcalfe | 24,558 | 21st |
| 4 January 1947 | Brentford | H | 3–0 | Rodgers (2), Glazzard | 27,759 | 21st |
| 18 January 1947 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 2–2 | Glazzard, Metcalfe | 24,218 | 21st |
| 29 January 1947 | Portsmouth | H | 1–2 | Doherty | 4,172 | 21st |
| 1 February 1947 | Everton | A | 0–1 | | 37,205 | 21st |
| 22 February 1947 | Liverpool | A | 0–1 | | 35,000 | 21st |
| 8 March 1947 | Charlton Athletic | A | 3–0 | Thompson, Bateman, Doherty | 27,805 | 20th |
| 15 March 1947 | Grimsby Town | H | 3–2 | Bateman, Doherty, Whittingham | 17,204 | 20th |
| 22 March 1947 | Preston North End | A | 2–6 | Doherty, Whittingham | 25,460 | 20th |
| 29 March 1947 | Manchester United | H | 2–2 | Whittingham, Doherty | 18,509 | 20th |
| 4 April 1947 | Arsenal | A | 2–1 | Metcalfe, Doherty (pen) | 46,105 | 20th |
| 5 April 1947 | Stoke City | A | 0–3 | | 29,257 | 20th |
| 7 April 1947 | Arsenal | H | 0–0 | | 33,381 | 20th |
| 12 April 1947 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | Whittingham | 21,639 | 20th |
| 19 April 1947 | Chelsea | A | 0–1 | | 38,903 | 20th |
| 26 April 1947 | Sheffield United | H | 1–1 | Whittingham | 18,406 | 20th |
| 3 May 1947 | Derby County | A | 0–1 | | 16,883 | 20th |
| 10 May 1947 | Leeds United | H | 1–0 | Doherty (pen) | 20,596 | 19th |
| 17 May 1947 | Middlesbrough | H | 3–1 | Whittingham (2), Glazzard | 16,328 | 19th |
| 26 May 1947 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–1 | | 25,401 | 19th |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 11 January 1947 | Round 3 | Barnsley | H | 3–4 | Doherty (2), Bateman | 39,944 |

## Appearances and goals

| Name | Nation | Position | League Apps | League Goals | FA Cup Apps | FA Cup Goals | Total Apps | Total Goals |
| Graham Bailey | England | DF | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| Jeff Barker | England | DF | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 |
| Albert Bateman | England | MF | 40 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 8 |
| Eddie Boot | England | DF | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| Tom Briggs | England | DF | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Lewis Brook | England | FW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Eddie Carr | England | MF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Don Clegg | England | GK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Peter Doherty | Ireland | FW | 19 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 9 |
| Jimmy Glazzard | England | FW | 31 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 11 |
| George Green | England | DF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bill Hayes | Republic of Ireland | DF | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| George Hepplewhite | England | DF | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| Bob Hesford | England | GK | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| George Howe | England | DF | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Joe Lodge | England | DF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Brendan McManus | Ireland | GK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Harry McShane | Scotland | MF | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| Vic Metcalfe | England | MF | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 4 |
| Alf Newbold | England | DF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Joe Poole | England | FW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Billy Price | England | FW | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Frank Reid | Scotland | FW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Arnold Rodgers | England | FW | 13 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 9 |
| John Simpson | England | DF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| George Skelton | England | FW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Les Smith | England | DF | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Alan Stewart | England | DF | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Arthur Thompson | England | FW | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| Maurice Tompkin | England | FW | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Albert Watson | England | DF | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Alf Whittingham | England | FW | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 7 |