# 1982–83 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1982–83 campaign was one of Town's most successful seasons in their recent history. Under the leadership of Mick Buxton, Town managed to secure their second promotion in 4 seasons, following their promotion from the Fourth Division in the 1979-80 season. This is also the only season in Town's history to date, in which they were unbeaten at home all season. They finished 3rd, behind Portsmouth and Cardiff City.

## 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 | Brian Cox |
| -- | GK | ENG | Keith Mason |
| -- | DF | ENG | Malcolm Brown |
| -- | DF | ENG | David Burke |
| -- | DF | ENG | Keith Hanvey |
| -- | DF | ENG | Dave Sutton |
| -- | DF | ENG | Peter Valentine |
| -- | MF | ENG | David Cowling |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | MF | ENG | Brian Stanton |
| -- | MF | ENG | Phil Wilson |
| -- | FW | ENG | Terry Austin |
| -- | FW | ENG | Maurice Cox |
| -- | FW | ENG | Roy Greenwood |
| -- | FW | ENG | Tim Hotte |
| -- | FW | ENG | Mark Lillis |

## Review

Town had failed to get the good start to the season that they wanted by failing to win any of their first 5 league games. Following that start Mick Buxton made an inspired signing, the Liverpool striker Colin Russell. He scored two goals on his debut in Town's 2-0 win over Oxford United, which was followed by a 6-0 thrashing of Orient. Then, following a 3-game mini-blip, Town went on a run of 7 wins in a row. During that run, Mark Lillis scored 9 goals in 4 games, including 4 against Cardiff City.
As that run was winding down, Town also managed a sensational 1-0 win at Leeds United in the League Cup third round, in which David Cowling scored the famous header that knocked Town's rivals. They also gave a good thrashing to their other rivals Bradford City on New Year's Day, by beating them 6-3, in which Brian Stanton scored 4 times. Town's home form along with the goalscoring abilities of Mark Lillis, Colin Russell and Brian Stanton gave Town their only season in their history in which they didn't lose a single home game in any competition.
Town continued their run of good form for most of the remainder of the season and promotion was secured by beating promotion rivals Newport County at Leeds Road, which saw Town get promoted to Division 2 along with Portsmouth & Cardiff City.

## 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 | Brian Cox |
| -- | GK | ENG | Keith Mason |
| -- | DF | ENG | Malcolm Brown |
| -- | DF | ENG | David Burke |
| -- | DF | WAL | Steve Doyle |
| -- | DF | ENG | Keith Hanvey |
| -- | DF | ENG | Dave Sutton |
| -- | DF | ENG | Peter Valentine |
| -- | MF | ENG | David Cowling |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | MF | WAL | Daral Pugh |
| -- | MF | ENG | Brian Stanton |
| -- | MF | ENG | Phil Wilson |
| -- | FW | ENG | Roy Greenwood |
| -- | FW | ENG | Tim Hotte |
| -- | FW | ENG | Mark Lillis |
| -- | FW | ENG | Colin Russell |
| -- | FW | ENG | Kevin Stonehouse |

## Results
### Division Three

| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F - A | Scorers | Attendance | Position |
| 28 August 1982 | Exeter City | H | 1 - 1 | M. Cox | 5,168 | 11th |
| 4 September 1982 | Wrexham | A | 1 - 1 | Bater (og) | 3,925 | 18th |
| 7 September 1982 | Sheffield United | A | 0 - 2 | | 16,641 | 20th |
| 11 September 1982 | Walsall | H | 2 - 2 | Lillis, Doyle | 4,282 | 21st |
| 18 September 1982 | Newport County | A | 1 - 2 | Stanton | 3,536 | 22nd |
| 25 September 1982 | Oxford United | H | 2 - 0 | Russell (2) | 4,958 | 17th |
| 28 September 1982 | Orient | H | 6 - 0 | Russell, Lillis, Pugh, Sutton, Stanton (2) | 6,671 | 14th |
| 2 October 1982 | Millwall | A | 0 - 3 | | 3,004 | 18th |
| 9 October 1982 | Portsmouth | H | 1 - 1 | Brown | 6,243 | 15th |
| 16 October 1982 | Preston North End | A | 0 - 0 | | 5,570 | 15th |
| 19 October 1982 | Southend United | H | 2 - 1 | Russell, Brown (pen) | 4,750 | 14th |
| 23 October 1982 | Cardiff City | H | 4 - 0 | Lillis (4) | 6,121 | 12th |
| 30 October 1982 | Gillingham | A | 3 - 1 | Lillis (2), Cowling | 5,919 | 8th |
| 2 November 1982 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 3 - 0 | Lillis (2), Russell | 6,848 | 7th |
| 6 November 1982 | Bournemouth | A | 1 - 0 | Lillis | 5,194 | 6th |
| 13 November 1982 | Brentford | H | 2 - 0 | Russell (2) | 10,034 | 5th |
| 27 November 1982 | Bristol Rovers | H | 3 - 1 | Pugh, Russell (2) | 8,251 | 2nd |
| 4 December 1982 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1 - 2 | Wilson | 4,227 | 4th |
| 18 December 1982 | Reading | A | 1 - 1 | Stanton | 2,468 | 6th |
| 27 December 1982 | Chesterfield | H | 3 - 1 | Brown (pen), Lillis, Russell | 11,603 | 5th |
| 28 December 1982 | Lincoln City | A | 2 - 1 | Lillis, Hanvey | 11,829 | 3rd |
| 1 January 1983 | Bradford City | H | 6 - 3 | Brown (pen), Stanton (4), Wilson | 18,438 | 3rd |
| 3 January 1983 | Wigan Athletic | A | 0 - 2 | | 7,724 | 4th |
| 15 January 1983 | Exeter City | A | 4 - 3 | Lillis, Wilson, Stanton, Cowling | 2,882 | 3rd |
| 22 January 1983 | Sheffield United | H | 0 - 0 | | 15,769 | 3rd |
| 29 January 1983 | Walsall | A | 0 - 2 | | 3,922 | 5th |
| 5 February 1983 | Oxford United | A | 1 - 1 | Brown | 4,975 | 5th |
| 12 February 1983 | Millwall | H | 5 - 1 | Lillis, Russell (2), Hanvey, Wilson | 8,111 | 5th |
| 14 February 1983 | Southend United | A | 1 - 0 | Lillis | 2,262 | 4th |
| 22 February 1983 | Portsmouth | A | 2 - 3 | Russell, Brown (pen) | 18,615 | 4th |
| 26 February 1983 | Preston North End | H | 1 - 1 | Cowling | 8,562 | 4th |
| 1 March 1983 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 4 - 0 | Cowling, Lillis, Russell, Stanton | 6,078 | 3rd |
| 12 March 1983 | Gillingham | H | 3 - 2 | Doyle, Brown (pen), Burke | 8,264 | 3rd |
| 15 March 1983 | Cardiff City | A | 1 - 1 | Cowling | 10,379 | 3rd |
| 19 March 1983 | Bournemouth | H | 0 - 0 | | 8,630 | 3rd |
| 26 March 1983 | Brentford | A | 0 - 1 | | 6,277 | 4th |
| 29 March 1983 | Wrexham | H | 4 - 1 | Lillis, Cowling, Hanvey, Stanton | 9,519 | 4th |
| 2 April 1983 | Lincoln City | H | 1 - 1 | Sutton | 13,028 | 5th |
| 4 April 1983 | Chesterfield | A | 1 - 0 | Lillis | 6,729 | 3rd |
| 9 April 1983 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 2 - 0 | Hanvey, Brown (pen) | 9,277 | 2nd |
| 16 April 1983 | Orient | A | 3 - 1 | Wilson, Stanton, Lillis | 3,498 | 1st |
| 23 April 1983 | Reading | H | 3 - 1 | Stanton, Russell, Brown (pen) | 10,885 | 1st |
| 30 April 1983 | Bristol Rovers | A | 0 - 1 | | 8,919 | 3rd |
| 7 May 1983 | Newport County | H | 1 - 0 | Cowling | 16,509 | 3rd |
| 10 May 1983 | Wigan Athletic | H | 1 - 1 | Russell | 11,093 | 3rd |
| 14 May 1983 | Bradford City | A | 1 - 3 | Wilson | 10,375 | 3rd |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F - A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 20 November 1982 | Round 1 | Mossley | H | 1–0 | Brown | 7,599 |
| 11 December 1982 | Round 2 | Altrincham | A | 1–0 | Stanton | 5,800 |
| 8 January 1983 | Round 3 | Chelsea | H | 1–1 | Stanton | 17,064 |
| 12 January 1983 | Round 3 Replay | Chelsea | A | 0–2 | | 14,417 |

### League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F - A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 30 August 1982 | Round 1 1st Leg | Doncaster Rovers | H | 1–1 | Brown | 4,430 |
| 14 September 1982 | Round 1 2nd Leg | Doncaster Rovers | A | 1–0 | Brown | 4,690 Huddersfield won 2-1 on aggregate. |
| 5 October 1982 | Round 2 1st Leg | Oxford United | H | 2–0 | Russell, Stanton | 4,362 |
| 27 October 1982 | Round 2 2nd Leg | Oxford United | A | 0–1 | | 4,982 Huddersfield won 2-1 on aggregate. |
| 10 November 1982 | Round 3 | Leeds United | A | 1–0 | Cowling | 24,215 |
| 30 November 1982 | Round 4 | Arsenal | A | 0–1 | | 17,742 |

## Appearances and goals

| Name | Nation | Position | League Apps | League Goals | FA Cup Apps | FA Cup Goals | League Cup Apps | League Cup Goals | Total Apps | Total Goals |
| Terry Austin | England | FW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Malcolm Brown | England | DF | 46 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 56 | 11 |
| David Burke | England | DF | 44 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 53 | 1 |
| David Cowling | England | MF | 41 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 56 | 8 |
| Brian Cox | England | GK | 45 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 55 | 0 |
| Maurice Cox | England | MF | 3 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 (1) | 1 |
| Steve Doyle | Wales | MF | 41 (1) | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 50 (1) | 2 |
| Roy Greenwood | England | DF | 4 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 (1) | 0 |
| Keith Hanvey | England | DF | 43 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 51 | 4 |
| Tim Hotte | England | FW | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |
| Mick Laverick | England | MF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mark Lillis | England | MF | 46 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 56 | 20 |
| Keith Mason | England | GK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Daral Pugh | Wales | MF | 9 (18) | 2 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (19) | 2 |
| Colin Russell | England | FW | 41 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 49 | 17 |
| Brian Stanton | England | MF | 40 (4) | 13 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 50 (4) | 17 |
| Kevin Stonehouse | England | FW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Dave Sutton | England | DF | 41 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 51 | 2 |
| Peter Valentine | England | DF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Phil Wilson | England | MF | 45 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 55 | 6 |