1952–53 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town
1952–53 season
ChairmanDick Parker
ManagerAndy Beattie
Football League Second Division2nd (promoted)
FA CupFourth round
(knocked out by Blackpool)
Top goalscorerLeague: Jimmy Glazzard (30)
All: Jimmy Glazzard (31)
Highest home attendance43,339 vs Sheffield United (3 January 1953)
Lowest home attendance18,023 vs Blackburn Rovers (14 February 1953)
Biggest win6–0 vs Barnsley (6 September 1952)
8–2 vs Everton (7 April 1953)
Biggest defeat0–3 vs Blackburn Rovers (14 February 1953)

Huddersfield Town's 1952–53 campaign was Town's first season back in the 2nd Division since the 1919–20 season. Under the leadership of Andy Beattie, Town returned to the top flight at the first attempt. They finished in 2nd place behind Sheffield United by 2 points, with 58 points. The main reasons for Town's success during the season were the 45 goals between Jimmy Glazzard and Vic Metcalfe. Also, 7 of Town's players (Jack Wheeler, Ron Staniforth, Laurie Kelly, Bill McGarry, Don McEvoy, Len Quested and Vic Metcalfe) played every game in the season, while Jimmy Glazzard missed just the last game of the season.

Squad at the start of the season

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK England ENG Harry Mills
-- GK England ENG Jack Wheeler
-- DF England ENG John Battye
-- DF England ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF England ENG George Howe
-- DF England ENG Laurie Kelly
-- DF England ENG Don McEvoy
-- DF England ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF England ENG Len Quested
-- DF England ENG Ron Staniforth
-- MF Scotland SCO Willie Davie
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF Scotland SCO Ian Duthie
-- MF Scotland SCO Alistair Gunn
-- MF Northern Ireland NIR Johnny McKenna
-- MF England ENG Vic Metcalfe
-- FW England ENG Tommy Cavanagh
-- FW England ENG Bryan Frear
-- FW England ENG Jimmy Glazzard
-- FW England ENG Roy Shiner
-- FW England ENG Ron Simpson
-- FW Scotland SCO Jimmy Watson

Review

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Andy Beattie's first full season in charge of the Terriers had one simple objective – return Town to the top flight as soon as possible. The start of the season saw Town go on a 10-match unbeaten run, abruptly ended by a defeat at home to Nottingham Forest in early October. This was then followed by 5 consecutive wins, followed swiftly by 2 consecutive losses to Leicester City and West Ham United. Town's form continued to improve with Town only losing 5 more matches between December and the end of the season on 1 May.

The main reason for Town's success was their defence which remained unchanged all season. The 6-man defence of Jack Wheeler in goal, protected by Ron Staniforth, Laurie Kelly, Bill McGarry, Don McEvoy and Len Quested only let in 33 league goals all season, 22 less than champions Sheffield United. Vic Metcalfe played every game as well, while 30-goal Jimmy Glazzard just missed the final game against Plymouth Argyle. His replacement, Roy Shiner, scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win, which cemented Town's second-place finish and guaranteed their return to Division 1 after one season out.

Squad at the end of the season

[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK England ENG Harry Mills
-- GK England ENG Jack Wheeler
-- DF England ENG John Battye
-- DF England ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF England ENG George Howe
-- DF England ENG Laurie Kelly
-- DF England ENG Don McEvoy
-- DF England ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF England ENG Len Quested
-- DF England ENG Ron Staniforth
-- MF Scotland SCO Willie Davie
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF Scotland SCO Ian Duthie
-- MF Scotland SCO Alistair Gunn
-- MF Northern Ireland NIR Johnny McKenna
-- MF England ENG Vic Metcalfe
-- FW England ENG Tommy Cavanagh
-- FW England ENG Bryan Frear
-- FW England ENG Jimmy Glazzard
-- FW England ENG Roy Shiner
-- FW England ENG Ron Simpson
-- FW Scotland SCO Jimmy Watson

Results

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Division Two

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Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance Position
23 August 1952 Leeds United H 1–0 Glazzard 35,230 1st
27 August 1952 Brentford H 0–0 21,358 5th
30 August 1952 Sheffield United A 2–0 Watson, Glazzard 34,872 1st
3 September 1952 Brentford A 3–1 Glazzard (2), Metcalfe 21,733 1st
6 September 1952 Barnsley H 6–0 Glazzard (2), Metcalfe (2, 1 pen), Davie, Quested 33,157 1st
9 September 1952 Doncaster Rovers A 1–1 Watson 27,614 1st
13 September 1952 Lincoln City A 2–2 Glazzard, Metcalfe 21,884 1st
17 September 1952 Doncaster Rovers H 3–1 Watson, Glazzard, Gunn 26,504 1st
20 September 1952 Hull City H 1–1 Metcalfe (pen) 34,411 1st
27 September 1952 Blackburn Rovers A 1–1 Glazzard 29,429 1st
4 October 1952 Nottingham Forest H 1–2 Gunn 27,813 2nd
11 October 1952 Luton Town H 3–0 Watson, Glazzard, Gunn 26,345 2nd
18 October 1952 Birmingham City A 2–0 Watson, Glazzard 26,484 1st
25 October 1952 Bury H 2–0 Metcalfe, Glazzard 28,870 1st
1 November 1952 Southampton A 2–0 Cavanagh, Glazzard 20,867 1st
8 November 1952 Notts County H 1–0 Metcalfe 28,205 1st
15 November 1952 Leicester City A 1–2 Glazzard 39,908 1st
22 November 1952 West Ham United H 0–1 22,267 2nd
29 November 1952 Fulham A 2–0 Davie, Metcalfe 25,000 2nd
6 December 1952 Rotherham United H 1–0 Metcalfe 31,312 2nd
13 December 1952 Plymouth Argyle A 2–0 McGarry, Glazzard 33,228 2nd
20 December 1952 Leeds United A 1–2 Glazzard 34,365 2nd
25 December 1952 Swansea Town H 3–0 Davie, Metcalfe, Glazzard 28,510 2nd
27 December 1952 Swansea Town A 3–3 Glazzard, Dunn, Davie 24,978 2nd
3 January 1953 Sheffield United H 1–1 Furniss (og) 43,339 2nd
17 January 1953 Barnsley A 4–2 Cavanagh (3), Glazzard 28,728 2nd
24 January 1953 Lincoln City H 5–0 Glazzard (2), Watson, Cavanagh (2) 26,512 2nd
7 February 1953 Hull City A 2–0 Glazzard (2) 26,081 2nd
14 February 1953 Blackburn Rovers H 0–3 18,023 2nd
21 February 1953 Nottingham Forest A 0–1 25,074 2nd
28 February 1953 Luton Town A 2–0 Glazzard, Shiner 25,831 2nd
7 March 1953 Birmingham City H 1–1 Glazzard 28,636 2nd
14 March 1953 Bury A 1–1 Quested 19,334 2nd
24 March 1953 Southampton H 5–0 Metcalfe (2), Cavanagh, Glazzard, Quested 21,797 2nd
28 March 1953 Notts County A 0–1 15,810 2nd
4 April 1953 Leicester City H 1–0 Shiner 26,822 2nd
6 April 1953 Everton A 1–2 Lindsay (og) 48,221 2nd
7 April 1953 Everton H 8–2 Davie, Glazzard (4), Metcalfe, Gunn, Cavanagh 30,721 2nd
11 April 1953 West Ham United A 1–0 Cavanagh 22,801 2nd
18 April 1953 Fulham H 4–2 Cavanagh, Gunn, Metcalfe (2) 23,950 2nd
25 April 1953 Rotherham United A 0–0 19,777 2nd
1 May 1953 Plymouth Argyle H 4–0 Shiner (3), Gunn 19,624 2nd

FA Cup

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
10 January 1953 Round 3 Bristol Rovers H 2–0 Glazzard, Watson 34,967
31 January 1953 Round 4 Blackpool A 0–1 29,239

Appearances and goals

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Name Nation Position League Apps League Goals FA Cup Apps FA Cup Goals Total Apps Total Goals
Tommy Cavanagh  England FW 21 10 1 0 22 10
Willie Davie  Scotland FW 31 5 2 0 33 5
Ian Duthie  Scotland MF 6 0 2 0 8 0
Jimmy Glazzard  England FW 41 30 2 1 43 31
Alistair Gunn  Scotland MF 33 7 0 0 33 7
Laurie Kelly  England DF 42 0 2 0 44 0
Don McEvoy  England DF 42 0 2 0 44 0
Bill McGarry  England DF 42 1 2 0 44 1
Johnny McKenna  Northern Ireland MF 2 0 0 0 2 0
Vic Metcalfe  England MF 42 15 2 0 44 15
Len Quested  England DF 42 3 2 0 44 3
Roy Shiner  England FW 6 5 0 0 6 5
Ron Staniforth  England DF 42 0 2 0 44 0
Jimmy Watson  Scotland MF 28 6 1 1 29 7
Jack Wheeler  England GK 42 0 2 0 44 0
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