# 1947–48 Manchester United F.C. season

The 1947–48 season was Manchester United's 46th season in the Football League and third back in the First Division since their promotion from the Second Division in 1938. They finished the season second in the league but most significantly won the FA Cup with a 4–2 win over Blackpool in their first appearance at Wembley Stadium, ending the club's 37-year wait for a major trophy.

## Pre-season and friendlies

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 12 May 1948 | Bohemians Select XI | A | 1–2 | Mitten 32' | 37,500 |
| 16 May 1948 | Shelbourne Select XI | N | 4–3 | Buckle (2), Anderson, Leuty (o.g.) | 25,000 |
| 19 May 1948 | Linfield | A | 3–2 | Morris, Buckle, Rowley | 30,000 |

## First Division

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 23 August 1947 | Middlesbrough | A | 2–2 | Rowley (2) | 39,554 | 10th |
| 27 August 1947 | Liverpool | H | 2–0 | Morris, Pearson | 52,385 | 4th |
| 30 August 1947 | Charlton Athletic | H | 6–2 | Rowley (4), Morris, Pearson | 52,659 | 2nd |
| 3 September 1947 | Liverpool | A | 2–2 | Mitten, Pearson | 48,081 | 4th |
| 6 September 1947 | Arsenal | A | 1–2 | Morris | 64,905 | 6th |
| 8 September 1947 | Burnley | A | 0–0 | | 37,517 | 5th |
| 13 September 1947 | Sheffield United | H | 0–1 | | 49,808 | 8th |
| 20 September 1947 | Manchester City | A | 0–0 | | 71,364 | 12th |
| 27 September 1947 | Preston North End | A | 1–2 | Morris | 34,372 | 14th |
| 4 October 1947 | Stoke City | H | 1–1 | Hanlon | 45,745 | 14th |
| 11 October 1947 | Grimsby Town | H | 3–4 | Mitten, Morris, Rowley | 40,035 | 17th |
| 18 October 1947 | Sunderland | A | 0–1 | | 37,148 | 18th |
| 25 October 1947 | Aston Villa | H | 2–0 | Delaney, Rowley | 47,078 | 17th |
| 1 November 1947 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 6–2 | Morris (2), Pearson (2), Delaney, Mitten | 44,309 | 15th |
| 8 November 1947 | Huddersfield Town | H | 4–4 | Rowley (4) | 59,772 | 15th |
| 15 November 1947 | Derby County | A | 1–1 | Carey | 32,990 | 13th |
| 22 November 1947 | Everton | H | 2–2 | Cockburn, Morris | 35,509 | 15th |
| 29 November 1947 | Chelsea | A | 4–0 | Morris (3), Rowley | 43,617 | 11th |
| 6 December 1947 | Blackpool | H | 1–1 | Pearson | 63,683 | 10th |
| 13 December 1947 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–1 | Morris | 22,784 | 11th |
| 20 December 1947 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–1 | Pearson (2) | 46,666 | 10th |
| 25 December 1947 | Portsmouth | H | 3–2 | Morris (2), Rowley | 42,776 | 8th |
| 27 December 1947 | Portsmouth | A | 3–1 | Morris (2), Delaney | 27,674 | 6th |
| 1 January 1948 | Burnley | H | 5–0 | Rowley (3), Mitten (2) | 59,838 | 5th |
| 3 January 1948 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–1 | Morris, Pearson | 40,484 | 4th |
| 17 January 1948 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | Rowley | 81,962 | 5th |
| 31 January 1948 | Sheffield United | A | 1–2 | Rowley | 45,189 | 5th |
| 14 February 1948 | Preston North End | H | 1–1 | Delaney | 61,765 | 7th |
| 21 February 1948 | Stoke City | A | 2–0 | Buckle, Pearson | 36,794 | 5th |
| 6 March 1948 | Sunderland | H | 3–1 | Delaney, Mitten, Rowley | 55,160 | 4th |
| 17 March 1948 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–1 | Rowley | 12,284 | 4th |
| 20 March 1948 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–2 | Delaney, Mitten, Morris | 50,667 | 4th |
| 22 March 1948 | Aston Villa | A | 1–0 | Pearson | 52,368 | 3rd |
| 26 March 1948 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–2 | | 71,623 | 4th |
| 27 March 1948 | Huddersfield Town | A | 2–0 | Burke, Pearson | 38,266 | 3rd |
| 29 March 1948 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–0 | Anderson | 44,225 | 2nd |
| 3 April 1948 | Derby County | H | 1–0 | Pearson | 49,609 | 2nd |
| 7 April 1948 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | Rowley | 71,690 | 2nd |
| 10 April 1948 | Everton | A | 0–2 | | 44,198 | 2nd |
| 17 April 1948 | Chelsea | H | 5–0 | Pearson (2), Delaney, Mitten, Rowley | 43,225 | 2nd |
| 28 April 1948 | Blackpool | A | 0–1 | | 32,236 | 2nd |
| 1 May 1948 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 4–1 | Pearson (3), Delaney | 44,439 | 2nd |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Arsenal (C) | 42 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 81 | 32 | 2.531 | 59 | |
| 2 | Manchester United | 42 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 81 | 48 | 1.688 | 52 | |
| 3 | Burnley | 42 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 56 | 43 | 1.302 | 52 | |
| 4 | Derby County | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 77 | 57 | 1.351 | 50 | |
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 83 | 70 | 1.186 | 47 | |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 65 | 57 | 1.140 | 47 | |
| 7 | Preston North End | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 67 | 68 | 0.985 | 47 | |
| 8 | Portsmouth | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 68 | 50 | 1.360 | 45 | |
| 9 | Blackpool | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 57 | 41 | 1.390 | 44 | |
| 10 | Manchester City | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 52 | 47 | 1.106 | 42 | |
| 11 | Liverpool | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 65 | 61 | 1.066 | 42 | |
| 12 | Sheffield United | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 65 | 70 | 0.929 | 42 | |
| 13 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 57 | 66 | 0.864 | 40 | |
| 14 | Everton | 42 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 52 | 66 | 0.788 | 40 | |
| 15 | Stoke City | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 41 | 55 | 0.745 | 38 | |
| 16 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 71 | 73 | 0.973 | 37 | |
| 17 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 46 | 58 | 0.793 | 37 | |
| 18 | Chelsea | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 53 | 71 | 0.746 | 37 | |
| 19 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 51 | 60 | 0.850 | 36 | |
| 20 | Sunderland | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 56 | 67 | 0.836 | 36 | |
| 21 | Blackburn Rovers (R) | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 54 | 72 | 0.750 | 32 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Grimsby Town (R) | 42 | 8 | 6 | 28 | 45 | 111 | 0.405 | 22 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 10 January 1948 | Third Round | Aston Villa | A | 6–4 | Morris (2), Pearson (2), Delaney, Rowley | 58,683 |
| 24 January 1948 | Fourth Round | Liverpool | A | 3–0 | Mitten, Morris, Rowley | 74,721 |
| 7 February 1948 | Fifth Round | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–0 | Mitten, Warner | 33,312 |
| 28 February 1948 | Sixth Round | Preston North End | H | 4–2 | Pearson (2), Mitten, Rowley | 74,213 |
| 13 March 1948 | Semi-Final | Derby County | N | 3–1 | Pearson (3) | 60,000 |
| 24 April 1948 | Final | Blackpool | N | 4–2 | Rowley (2), Anderson, Pearson | 99,000 |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Jack Crompton | 37 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
| GK | Berry Brown | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| GK | Jimmy Pegg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FB | John Aston, Sr. | 42 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 48 | 0 |
| FB | John Ball | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FB | Johnny Carey | 37 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 43 | 1 |
| FB | Tommy Lowrie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FB | Sammy Lynn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FB | Joe Walton | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| FB | Harry Worrall | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| HB | Allenby Chilton | 41 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| HB | Henry Cockburn | 26 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 32 | 1 |
| HB | Billy McGlen | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| HB | Jack Warner | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 1 |
| FW | John Anderson | 18 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 23 | 2 |
| FW | Ted Buckle | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| FW | Ronnie Burke | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| FW | Laurie Cassidy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Joe Dale | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Jimmy Delaney | 36 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 42 | 9 |
| FW | Jimmy Hanlon | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| FW | Charlie Mitten | 38 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 44 | 11 |
| FW | Johnny Morris | 38 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 44 | 21 |
| FW | Stan Pearson | 40 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 46 | 26 |
| FW | Jack Rowley | 39 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 45 | 28 |
| – | Own goals | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 |