# 1952–53 in English football

The 1952–53 season was the 73rd season of competitive football in England.

## Overview

This was the closest championship win in English league history at the time, with Arsenal claiming the title with a goal average superior to Preston's by just 0.099. Both Arsenal and Preston had identical records aside from their goal averages.
Had goal difference been the deciding factor as it was from 1977 onwards, Arsenal would still have won with +33 to Preston's +25, unlike in 1989 when they would have finished second on goal average. Preston had last been champions in 1890, the second season of the Football League.
The FA Cup was won by Blackpool, beating Bolton Wanderers 4–3 in what became known as the 'Matthews Final', due to the masterly contribution of 38-year-old winger Stanley Matthews, who helped his side win after going 3–1 down, although three of Blackpool's goals were scored by prolific forward Stan Mortensen.

## Honours

| Competition | Winner | Runner-up |
| First Division | Arsenal (7*) | Preston North End |
| Second Division | Sheffield United | Huddersfield Town |
| Third Division North | Oldham Athletic | Port Vale |
| Third Division South | Bristol Rovers | Millwall |
| FA Cup | Blackpool (1) | Bolton Wanderers |
| Charity Shield | Manchester United | Newcastle United |
| Home Championship | Shared by England and Scotland | Shared by England and 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 | 12 | 9 | 97 | 64 | 1.516 | 54 | |
| 2 | Preston North End | 42 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 85 | 60 | 1.417 | 54 | |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 86 | 63 | 1.365 | 51 | |
| 4 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 66 | 60 | 1.100 | 50 | |
| 5 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 77 | 63 | 1.222 | 49 | |
| 6 | Burnley | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 67 | 52 | 1.288 | 48 | |
| 7 | Blackpool | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 71 | 70 | 1.014 | 47 | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 69 | 72 | 0.958 | 46 | |
| 9 | Sunderland | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 68 | 82 | 0.829 | 43 | |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 78 | 69 | 1.130 | 41 | |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 63 | 61 | 1.033 | 41 | |
| 12 | Cardiff City | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 54 | 46 | 1.174 | 40 | |
| 13 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 70 | 77 | 0.909 | 39 | |
| 14 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 61 | 69 | 0.884 | 39 | |
| 15 | Portsmouth | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 74 | 83 | 0.892 | 38 | |
| 16 | Newcastle United | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 59 | 70 | 0.843 | 37 | |
| 17 | Liverpool | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 61 | 82 | 0.744 | 36 | |
| 18 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 62 | 72 | 0.861 | 35 | |
| 19 | Chelsea | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 56 | 66 | 0.848 | 35 | |
| 20 | Manchester City | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 72 | 87 | 0.828 | 35 | |
| 21 | Stoke City | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 53 | 66 | 0.803 | 34 | Relegated to the Second Division |
| 22 | Derby County | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 59 | 74 | 0.797 | 32 | Relegated to the Second Division |

### Second Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sheffield United | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 97 | 55 | 1.764 | 60 | Promoted to the First Division |
| 2 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 84 | 33 | 2.545 | 58 | Promoted to the First Division |
| 3 | Luton Town | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 84 | 49 | 1.714 | 52 | |
| 4 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 65 | 60 | 1.083 | 49 | |
| 5 | Leicester City | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 89 | 74 | 1.203 | 48 | |
| 6 | Birmingham City | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 71 | 66 | 1.076 | 48 | |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 77 | 67 | 1.149 | 44 | |
| 8 | Fulham | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 81 | 71 | 1.141 | 44 | |
| 9 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 68 | 65 | 1.046 | 44 | |
| 10 | Leeds United | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 71 | 63 | 1.127 | 43 | |
| 11 | Swansea Town | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 78 | 81 | 0.963 | 42 | |
| 12 | Rotherham United | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 75 | 74 | 1.014 | 41 | |
| 13 | Doncaster Rovers | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 58 | 64 | 0.906 | 40 | |
| 14 | West Ham United | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 58 | 60 | 0.967 | 39 | |
| 15 | Lincoln City | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 64 | 71 | 0.901 | 39 | |
| 16 | Everton | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 71 | 75 | 0.947 | 38 | |
| 17 | Brentford | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 59 | 76 | 0.776 | 37 | |
| 18 | Hull City | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 57 | 69 | 0.826 | 36 | |
| 19 | Notts County | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 60 | 88 | 0.682 | 36 | |
| 20 | Bury | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 53 | 81 | 0.654 | 35 | |
| 21 | Southampton | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 68 | 85 | 0.800 | 33 | Relegated to the Third Division South |
| 22 | Barnsley | 42 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 47 | 108 | 0.435 | 18 | Relegated to the Third Division North |

### Third Division North

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 77 | 45 | 1.711 | 59 | Promoted to the Second Division |
| 2 | Port Vale | 46 | 20 | 18 | 8 | 67 | 35 | 1.914 | 58 | |
| 3 | Wrexham | 46 | 24 | 8 | 14 | 86 | 66 | 1.303 | 56 | |
| 4 | York City | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 60 | 45 | 1.333 | 53 | |
| 5 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 75 | 59 | 1.271 | 52 | |
| 6 | Southport | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 63 | 60 | 1.050 | 51 | |
| 7 | Bradford Park Avenue | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 75 | 61 | 1.230 | 50 | |
| 8 | Gateshead | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 76 | 60 | 1.267 | 49 | |
| 9 | Carlisle United | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 82 | 68 | 1.206 | 49 | |
| 10 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 70 | 68 | 1.029 | 48 | |
| 11 | Stockport County | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 82 | 69 | 1.188 | 47 | |
| 12 | Chesterfield | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 65 | 63 | 1.032 | 47 | |
| 13 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 21 | 5 | 20 | 65 | 63 | 1.032 | 47 | |
| 14 | Halifax Town | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 68 | 68 | 1.000 | 47 | |
| 15 | Scunthorpe & Lindsey United | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 62 | 56 | 1.107 | 46 | |
| 16 | Bradford City | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 75 | 80 | 0.938 | 46 | |
| 17 | Hartlepools United | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 57 | 61 | 0.934 | 46 | |
| 18 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 55 | 62 | 0.887 | 46 | |
| 19 | Barrow | 46 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 66 | 71 | 0.930 | 44 | |
| 20 | Chester | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 64 | 85 | 0.753 | 37 | |
| 21 | Darlington | 46 | 14 | 6 | 26 | 58 | 96 | 0.604 | 34 | |
| 22 | Rochdale | 46 | 14 | 5 | 27 | 62 | 83 | 0.747 | 33 | |
| 23 | Workington | 46 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 55 | 91 | 0.604 | 32 | Re-elected |
| 24 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 8 | 11 | 27 | 39 | 89 | 0.438 | 27 | Re-elected |

### Third Division South

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 26 | 12 | 8 | 92 | 46 | 2.000 | 64 | Promoted to the Second Division |
| 2 | Millwall | 46 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 82 | 44 | 1.864 | 62 | |
| 3 | Northampton Town | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 109 | 70 | 1.557 | 62 | |
| 4 | Norwich City | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 99 | 55 | 1.800 | 60 | |
| 5 | Bristol City | 46 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 95 | 61 | 1.557 | 59 | |
| 6 | Coventry City | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 77 | 62 | 1.242 | 50 | |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 81 | 75 | 1.080 | 50 | |
| 8 | Southend United | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 69 | 74 | 0.932 | 49 | |
| 9 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 74 | 69 | 1.072 | 47 | |
| 10 | Watford | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 62 | 63 | 0.984 | 47 | |
| 11 | Reading | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 69 | 64 | 1.078 | 46 | |
| 12 | Torquay United | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 87 | 88 | 0.989 | 45 | |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 66 | 82 | 0.805 | 43 | |
| 14 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 68 | 73 | 0.932 | 42 | |
| 15 | Newport County | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 70 | 82 | 0.854 | 42 | |
| 16 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 60 | 69 | 0.870 | 41 | |
| 17 | Exeter City | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 61 | 71 | 0.859 | 40 | |
| 18 | Swindon Town | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 64 | 79 | 0.810 | 40 | |
| 19 | Aldershot | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 61 | 77 | 0.792 | 39 | |
| 20 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 61 | 82 | 0.744 | 39 | |
| 21 | Gillingham | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 55 | 74 | 0.743 | 39 | |
| 22 | Colchester United | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 59 | 76 | 0.776 | 38 | |
| 23 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 68 | 91 | 0.747 | 36 | Re-elected |
| 24 | Walsall | 46 | 7 | 10 | 29 | 56 | 118 | 0.475 | 24 | Re-elected |

### Top goalscorers

First Division
* Charlie Wayman (Preston North End) – 23 goals
Second Division
* Arthur Rowley (Leicester City) – 39 goals
Third Division North
* Jimmy Whitehouse (Carlisle United) – 29 goals
Third Division South
* Geoff Bradford (Bristol Rovers) – 33 goals

## National team

The England national football team were joint winners in the 1953 British Home Championship with Scotland. In the May following the conclusion of the season the England team embarked on their first tour of the Americas, following the experience in Brazil of the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

### American tour

Abandoned after 21 minutes due to torrential rain