# 1952 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 1952 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 66th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 27 April 1952 and ended on 7 September 1952.
Tipperary were the defending champions and were on course for a record-equalling fourth successive All-Ireland, however, they were defeated in the provincial championship. Cork won the title following a 2-14 to 0-7 defeat of Dublin in the final.

## Teams
### Team summaries

| Team | Colours | Most recent success | Most recent success | Most recent success |
| Team | Colours | All-Ireland | Provincial | League |
| Clare | Saffron and blue | 1914 | 1932 | 1945-46 |
| Cork | Red and white | 1946 | 1947 | 1947-48 |
| Dublin | Navy and blue | 1938 | 1948 | 1938-39 |
| Galway | Maroon and white | 1923 | 1922 | 1950-51 |
| Kilkenny | Black and amber | 1947 | 1950 | 1932-33 |
| Laois | Blue and white | 1915 | 1949 | |
| Limerick | Green and white | 1940 | 1940 | 1946-47 |
| Meath | Green and gold | | | |
| Offaly | Green, white and gold | | | |
| Tipperary | Blue and gold | 1951 | 1951 | 1951-52 |
| Waterford | Blue and white | 1948 | 1948 | |
| Westmeath | Maroon and white | | | |
| Wexford | Purple and gold | 1910 | 1918 | |

## Results
### Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

First round
Semi-finals
Final

### Munster Senior Hurling Championship

First round
Semi-finals
Final

### All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Semi-final
Final

## Championship statistics
### Top scorers
#### Top scorers overall

| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Liam Dowling | Cork | 5-03 | 18 | 4 | 4.50 |
| 1 | Christy Ring | Cork | 1-15 | 18 | 4 | 4.50 |
| 2 | Tony Herbert | Dublin | 4-03 | 15 | 4 | 3.75 |
| 3 | Paddy Lalor | Laois | 4-02 | 14 | 2 | 7.00 |
| 3 | Jack Finnan | Dublin | 4-02 | 14 | 4 | 3.50 |
| 4 | Paddy Kenny | Tipperary | 3-03 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 |
| 5 | Séamus Bannon | Tipperary | 3-02 | 11 | 2 | 5.50 |
| 5 | Josie Hartnett | Cork | 3-02 | 11 | 4 | 2.75 |
| 6 | Ted Kelly | Dublin | 3-01 | 10 | 1 | 10.00 |
| 6 | Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 2-04 | 10 | 1 | 10.00 |

#### Top scorers in a single game

| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Paddy Lalor | Laois | 3-02 | 11 | Westmeath |
| 2 | Ted Kelly | Dublin | 3-01 | 10 | Wexford |
| 2 | Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 2-04 | 10 | Dublin |
| 3 | John Cummins | Wexford | 3-00 | 9 | Kilkenny |
| 4 | Jim Prior | Dublin | 2-02 | 8 | Meath |
| 4 | Josie Hartnett | Cork | 2-02 | 8 | Limerick |
| 4 | Séamus Bannon | Tipperary | 2-02 | 8 | Cork |
| 5 | Tony Herbert | Dublin | 2-01 | 7 | Laois |
| 5 | J. Maher | Dublin | 2-01 | 7 | Laois |
| 5 | Paddy Kenny | Tipperary | 2-01 | 7 | Waterford |

### Scoring

* Widest winning margin: 17 points
** Tipperary 8-10 - 3-8 Waterford (Munster semi-final, 29 June 1952)
* Most goals in a match: 11
** Tipperary 8-10 - 3-8 Waterford (Munster semi-final, 29 June 1952)
* Most points in a match: 21
** Cork 2-14 - 0-7 Dublin (All-Ireland final, 7 September 1952)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 8
** Tipperary 8-10 - 3-8 Waterford (Munster semi-final, 29 June 1952)
* Most goals scored by a losing team: 5
** Kilkenny 5-1 - 4-7 Wexford (Leinster semi-final, 8 June 1952)
* Most points scored by a losing team: 10
** Offaly 2-8 - 3-8 Kilkenny (Leinster quarter-final, 4 May 1952)
** Waterford 3-8 - 8-10 Tipperary (Munster semi-final, 29 June 1952)

### Miscellaneous

* Tipperary's 8-10 to 3-8 Munster semi-final defeat of Waterford was their 16th consecutive championship game without defeat. This 16-game unbeaten streak, which included 15 wins and one draw, was a record which stood until 9 August 2009 when Kilkenny recorded their 17th successive championship victory.

## Sources

* Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
* Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
* Horgan, Tim, Christy Ring: Hurling's Greatest (The Collins Press, 2007).
* Nolan, Pat, Flashbacks: A Half Century of Cork Hurling (The Collins Press, 2000).
* Sweeney, Éamonn, Munster Hurling Legends (The O'Brien Press, 2002).