# 1926–27 Nelson F.C. season

The 1926–27 season was the 46th season in the history of Nelson Football Club and their sixth campaign as a professional club in the Football League. Nelson ended the season with a record of 22 wins, 7 draws and 13 defeats, helping the team to a total of 51 points. The team started the campaign well—winning six of the first nine matches—and lost only three matches during the first five months of the campaign. In the 1926–27 season, Nelson recorded several large victories, including a 7–0 win over Accrington Stanley and a 7–1 defeat of Crewe Alexandra. Nelson were consistently near the top of the league table throughout the campaign, but were never able to supplant Stoke City from the top position, and a run of six consecutive losses at the end of the season saw them finish in fifth-place in the league.
In addition to the league campaign, Nelson also entered the FA Cup and reached the second round for the first time in their history, beating Stockport County in the first round before being knocked out by Ashington. Nelson used 24 different players during the season, many of whom had also played for the club during the previous campaign. Forwards Jimmy Hampson and Buchanan Sharp were the top goalscorers in the league, each scoring 23 goals, with Hampson's two strikes in the Cup giving him a total of 25. No player appeared in all 44 competitive matches; former England international George Wilson played the highest number of matches with 42 appearances. The highest attendance of the season at the club's Seedhill stadium was 12,415 for the 1–0 win over Bradford (Park Avenue) on 12 February 1927, while the lowest gate was 2,385 for the final game of the season against Tranmere Rovers.

## Football League Third Division North
### Match results

| Date | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
| 28 August 1926 | Wigan Borough (A) | 1–2 | Sharp | 6,788 |
| 4 September 1926 | Doncaster Rovers (H) | 5–1 | Earle (3), Bottrill, Stevenson | 6,982 |
| 11 September 1926 | Stoke City (A) | 1–4 | Sharp | 11,199 |
| 13 September 1926 | Ashington (H) | 4–0 | Earle, Sharp (2), Bottrill | 5,595 |
| 15 September 1926 | New Brighton (H) | 2–0 | Sharp (2) | 5,244 |
| 18 September 1926 | Rotherham United (H) | 5–3 | Baker (2), Bottrill, Sharp, Stevenson | 6,395 |
| 25 September 1926 | Bradford (Park Avenue) (A) | 2–2 | Earle, Bottrill | 11,992 |
| 2 October 1926 | Walsall (H) | 3–2 | Sharp, Stevenson, Earle | 6,295 |
| 9 October 1926 | Lincoln City (A) | 4–1 | Harris, Stevenson, Hampson, Earle | 4,920 |
| 16 October 1926 | Durham City (A) | 1–1 | Baker | 5,517 |
| 23 October 1926 | Accrington Stanley (A) | 5–0 | Hoad (2), Stevenson (2), Sharp | 6,804 |
| 30 October 1926 | Halifax Town (H) | 0–0 | | 7,316 |
| 6 November 1926 | Barrow (A) | 1–0 | Stevenson | 3,526 |
| 13 November 1926 | Crewe Alexandra (H) | 7–1 | Hampson (4), Stevenson, Baker, Sharp | 4,149 |
| 20 November 1926 | Hartlepools United (A) | 2–3 | Sharp, Hampson | 3,171 |
| 4 December 1926 | Southport (A) | 4–3 | Hampson (2), Wilson, Earle | 4,438 |
| 18 December 1926 | Tranmere Rovers (A) | 3–2 | Hampson, Stevenson, Sharp | 3,970 |
| 27 December 1926 | Wrexham (A) | 2–2 | Sharp (2) | 10,362 |
| 1 January 1927 | Wrexham (H) | 3–0 | Stevenson (2), Sharp | 6,485 |
| 8 January 1927 | Stockport County (H) | 6–1 | Hampson (3), Keers, Sharp (2) | 4,129 |
| 15 January 1927 | Wigan Borough (H) | 4–0 | Baker, Sharp, Keers, Hampson | 5,205 |
| 22 January 1927 | Doncaster Rovers (A) | 0–6 | | 4,977 |
| 29 January 1927 | Stoke City (H) | 1–0 | Sharp | 9,974 |
| 5 February 1927 | Rotherham United (A) | 3–2 | Sharp, Hampson, Keers | 4,345 |
| 12 February 1927 | Bradford (Park Avenue) (H) | 1–0 | Baker | 12,415 |
| 19 February 1927 | Walsall (A) | 1–4 | Sharp | 3,498 |
| 26 February 1927 | Lincoln City (H) | 2–1 | Stevenson (2), Sharp | 5,784 |
| 5 March 1927 | Durham City (A) | 3–3 | Hampson (2), Sharp | 1,135 |
| 12 March 1927 | Accrington Stanley (H) | 7–0 | Hampson (3), Bedford (2), Wilson, White | 7,046 |
| 19 March 1927 | Halifax Town (A) | 1–4 | White | 13,602 |
| 23 March 1927 | Ashington (A) | 1–1 | White | 1,047 |
| 26 March 1927 | Barrow (H) | 3–0 | Hampson, White, Bedford | 3,668 |
| 2 April 1927 | Crewe Alexandra (A) | 1–2 | Stevenson | 5,225 |
| 5 April 1927 | Rochdale (H) | 3–1 | Hampson (2), White | 5,871 |
| 9 April 1927 | Hartlepools United (H) | 6–2 | White (3), Hampson, Stevenson, Wilson | 4,369 |
| 15 April 1927 | Chesterfield (A) | 1–1 | Bedford | 12,744 |
| 16 April 1927 | Stockport County (H) | 1–4 | Wilson | 10,546 |
| 18 April 1927 | Chesterfield (H) | 0–3 | | 6,699 |
| 23 April 1927 | Southport (H) | 1–2 | Stevenson | 3,473 |
| 27 April 1927 | New Brighton (A) | 2–7 | Stevenson (2) | 3,104 |
| 30 April 1927 | Rochdale (A) | 1–2 | Wilson | 3,871 |
| 5 May 1927 | Tranmere Rovers (H) | 0–2 | | 2,385 |

### Final league position

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 3 | Bradford Park Avenue | 42 | 24 | 7 | 11 | 101 | 59 | 1.712 | 55 |
| 4 | Halifax Town | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 70 | 53 | 1.321 | 53 |
| 5 | Nelson | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 104 | 75 | 1.387 | 51 |
| 6 | Stockport County | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 93 | 69 | 1.348 | 49 |
| 7 | Chesterfield | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 92 | 68 | 1.353 | 47 |
* ↑ Stockport County had two points deducted for fielding Joe Smith without FA permission on 26 March 1927.

## FA Cup
### Match results

| Round | Date | Opponents | Result | Goalscorers | Attendance |
| First round | 27 November 1926 | Stockport County (H) | 4–1 | Hampson (2), Sharp, Stevenson | 8,757 |
| Second round | 11 December 1926 | Ashington (A) | 1–2 | Stevenson | 5,265 |