# 1937–38 in English football

The 1937–38 season was the 63rd season of competitive football in England.

## Overview

Manchester City became the only team to have been relegated in the season after winning the league title as well as the only team to ever be relegated from the top tier of English football having scored the most goals in that particular season.
The points spread between the league champions, Arsenal, and the team that finished bottom of the league, West Bromwich Albion, was a mere 16 points.
Arsenal won the title (the club's fifth) on the final day of the season with a mere 52 points from 42 matches after beating Bolton Wanderers 5–0 at Highbury, while the table leaders after the penultimate round of fixtures, Wolverhampton Wanderers, lost 1–0 to 10-man Sunderland at Roker Park to be denied their first league title. Wolves, who finished as runners-up for the first time in their history, had to wait until 1953–54 to win their first English league title, although by that time they had once again been pipped to the title late in the season – by Liverpool in 1946-47.

## Honours

| Competition | Winner | Runner-up |
| First Division | Arsenal (5) | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Second Division | Aston Villa | Manchester United |
| Third Division North | Tranmere Rovers | Doncaster Rovers |
| Third Division South | Millwall | Bristol City |
| FA Cup | Preston North End (2) | Huddersfield Town |
| Charity Shield | Manchester City | Sunderland |
| Home Championship | England | Scotland |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

## Football League
### First Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Arsenal | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 77 | 44 | 1.750 | 52 | |
| 2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 72 | 49 | 1.469 | 51 | |
| 3 | Preston North End | 42 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 64 | 44 | 1.455 | 49 | |
| 4 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 65 | 51 | 1.275 | 46 | |
| 5 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 72 | 65 | 1.108 | 46 | |
| 6 | Brentford | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 69 | 59 | 1.169 | 45 | |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 64 | 60 | 1.067 | 45 | |
| 8 | Sunderland | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 55 | 57 | 0.965 | 44 | |
| 9 | Leeds United | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 64 | 69 | 0.928 | 43 | |
| 10 | Chelsea | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 65 | 65 | 1.000 | 41 | |
| 11 | Liverpool | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 65 | 71 | 0.915 | 41 | |
| 12 | Blackpool | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 61 | 66 | 0.924 | 40 | |
| 13 | Derby County | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 66 | 87 | 0.759 | 40 | |
| 14 | Everton | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 79 | 75 | 1.053 | 39 | |
| 15 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 17 | 5 | 20 | 55 | 68 | 0.809 | 39 | |
| 16 | Leicester City | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 54 | 75 | 0.720 | 39 | |
| 17 | Stoke City | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 58 | 59 | 0.983 | 38 | |
| 18 | Birmingham | 42 | 10 | 18 | 14 | 58 | 62 | 0.935 | 38 | |
| 19 | Portsmouth | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 62 | 68 | 0.912 | 38 | |
| 20 | Grimsby Town | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 51 | 68 | 0.750 | 38 | |
| 21 | Manchester City | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 80 | 77 | 1.039 | 36 | Relegated to the Second Division |
| 22 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 74 | 91 | 0.813 | 36 | Relegated to the Second Division |

### Second Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Aston Villa | 42 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 73 | 35 | 2.086 | 57 | Promoted to the First Division |
| 2 | Manchester United | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 82 | 50 | 1.640 | 53 | Promoted to the First Division |
| 3 | Sheffield United | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 73 | 56 | 1.304 | 53 | |
| 4 | Coventry City | 42 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 66 | 45 | 1.467 | 52 | |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 6 | 17 | 76 | 54 | 1.407 | 44 | |
| 6 | Burnley | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 54 | 54 | 1.000 | 44 | |
| 7 | Bradford Park Avenue | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 69 | 56 | 1.232 | 43 | |
| 8 | Fulham | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 61 | 57 | 1.070 | 43 | |
| 9 | West Ham United | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 53 | 52 | 1.019 | 42 | |
| 10 | Bury | 42 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 63 | 60 | 1.050 | 41 | |
| 11 | Chesterfield | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 63 | 63 | 1.000 | 41 | |
| 12 | Luton Town | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 89 | 86 | 1.035 | 40 | |
| 13 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 57 | 65 | 0.877 | 40 | |
| 14 | Norwich City | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 56 | 75 | 0.747 | 39 | |
| 15 | Southampton | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 55 | 77 | 0.714 | 39 | |
| 16 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 71 | 80 | 0.888 | 38 | |
| 17 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 49 | 56 | 0.875 | 38 | |
| 18 | Swansea Town | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 45 | 73 | 0.616 | 38 | |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 51 | 58 | 0.879 | 36 | |
| 20 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 47 | 60 | 0.783 | 36 | |
| 21 | Barnsley | 42 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 50 | 64 | 0.781 | 36 | Relegated to the Third Division North |
| 22 | Stockport County | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 43 | 70 | 0.614 | 31 | Relegated to the Third Division North |

### Third Division North

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Tranmere Rovers | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 81 | 41 | 1.976 | 56 | Promoted to the Second Division |
| 2 | Doncaster Rovers | 42 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 74 | 49 | 1.510 | 54 | |
| 3 | Hull City | 42 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 80 | 43 | 1.860 | 53 | |
| 4 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 67 | 46 | 1.457 | 51 | |
| 5 | Gateshead | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 84 | 59 | 1.424 | 51 | |
| 6 | Rotherham United | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 68 | 56 | 1.214 | 50 | |
| 7 | Lincoln City | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 66 | 50 | 1.320 | 46 | |
| 8 | Crewe Alexandra | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 71 | 53 | 1.340 | 45 | |
| 9 | Chester | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 77 | 72 | 1.069 | 44 | |
| 10 | Wrexham | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 58 | 63 | 0.921 | 43 | |
| 11 | York City | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 70 | 68 | 1.029 | 42 | |
| 12 | Carlisle United | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 57 | 67 | 0.851 | 39 | |
| 13 | New Brighton | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 60 | 61 | 0.984 | 38 | |
| 14 | Bradford City | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 66 | 69 | 0.957 | 38 | |
| 15 | Port Vale | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 65 | 73 | 0.890 | 38 | Transferred to the Third Division South |
| 16 | Southport | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 53 | 82 | 0.646 | 38 | |
| 17 | Rochdale | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 67 | 78 | 0.859 | 37 | |
| 18 | Halifax Town | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 44 | 66 | 0.667 | 36 | |
| 19 | Darlington | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 54 | 79 | 0.684 | 32 | |
| 20 | Hartlepools United | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 53 | 80 | 0.663 | 32 | |
| 21 | Barrow | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 41 | 71 | 0.577 | 32 | Re-elected |
| 22 | Accrington Stanley | 42 | 11 | 7 | 24 | 45 | 75 | 0.600 | 29 | Re-elected |

### Third Division South

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Millwall | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 83 | 37 | 2.243 | 56 | Promoted to the Second Division |
| 2 | Bristol City | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 68 | 40 | 1.700 | 55 | |
| 3 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 80 | 47 | 1.702 | 53 | |
| 4 | Watford | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 73 | 43 | 1.698 | 53 | |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 64 | 44 | 1.455 | 51 | |
| 6 | Reading | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 71 | 63 | 1.127 | 51 | |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 67 | 47 | 1.426 | 48 | |
| 8 | Swindon Town | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 49 | 49 | 1.000 | 44 | |
| 9 | Northampton Town | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 51 | 57 | 0.895 | 43 | |
| 10 | Cardiff City | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 67 | 54 | 1.241 | 42 | |
| 11 | Notts County | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 50 | 50 | 1.000 | 41 | |
| 12 | Southend United | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 70 | 68 | 1.029 | 40 | |
| 13 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 56 | 57 | 0.982 | 40 | |
| 14 | Mansfield Town | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 62 | 67 | 0.925 | 39 | |
| 15 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 46 | 61 | 0.754 | 39 | |
| 16 | Newport County | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 43 | 52 | 0.827 | 38 | |
| 17 | Exeter City | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 57 | 70 | 0.814 | 38 | |
| 18 | Aldershot | 42 | 15 | 5 | 22 | 39 | 59 | 0.661 | 35 | |
| 19 | Clapton Orient | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 42 | 61 | 0.689 | 33 | |
| 20 | Torquay United | 42 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 38 | 73 | 0.521 | 30 | |
| 21 | Walsall | 42 | 11 | 7 | 24 | 52 | 88 | 0.591 | 29 | Re-elected |
| 22 | Gillingham | 42 | 10 | 6 | 26 | 36 | 77 | 0.468 | 26 | Not re-elected |

### Top goalscorers

First Division
* Tommy Lawton (Everton) – 28 goals
Second Division
* George Henson (Bradford Park Avenue) – 27 goals
Third Division North
* Jack Roberts (Port Vale) – 28 goals
Third Division South
* Harold Crawshaw (Mansfield Town) – 25 goals

## National team

A tour to central Europe was successful as the England squad comprehensively beat Germany in front of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels in Berlin as well as defeating France in Paris. However, between these successes was another defeat; to Switzerland. The tour was considered very controversial as the players were instructed to give the German leaders the Nazi salute during the anthems before the kick-off of the match in Berlin.