1962–63 season of Brentford F.C.
Brentford 1962–63 football season
During the 1962–63 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Fourth Division for the first time in the club's history. 67 goals from former international forwards John Dick , Billy McAdams and Johnny Brooks helped fire the Bees to the division title and an immediate return to the Third Division .
Wing half Matt Crowe transferred to Brentford for a £5,000 fee in July 1962. After suffering relegation for the Fourth Division at the end of the 1961–62 season, Brentford was at one of the lowest points in its history. The relegation completed a 15-year fall from the First Division to the bottom tier and the average attendance at Griffin Park had fallen by 18,000 in that time. Chairman Jack Dunnett pledged that he and his directors would invest money in the first team squad, which had been ravaged by a mass clearout over the previous year (in a bid to cut costs amidst the abolition of the maximum wage ). Club legend George Francis was sold to Gillingham for a £4,000 fee, ending a six-year Brentford career in which he scored 136 goals in 280 matches. Funds were made available to manager Malky MacDonald and he spent £5,000 on Norwich City wing half Matt Crowe and £10,000 on Leeds United 's former Northern Ireland centre forward Billy McAdams . Tommy Cavanagh was appointed as trainer to replace the departed Fred Monk .
Three wins and four defeats from the opening seven matches led to the chequebook opening again, with the £17,500 purchase of West Ham United 's experienced inside left John Dick breaking Brentford's incoming transfer record. The transfer meant the Fourth Division Bees could field a forward line of former international players – Dick (Scotland ), McAdams (Northern Ireland) and Brooks (England ). The team showed excellent form between September 1962 and the end of the year, rising from mid-table to 2nd place.[ 4] John Dick had as yet failed to live up to his status, but Billy McAdams ended the year on 15 goals and Johnny Brooks on 12.
The football calendar was frozen out between late December 1962 and February 1963, but when league play got back underway, Brentford solidified their position in the promotion places.[ 4] Another £18,500 was spent on new signings John Fielding and Mel Scott in March. John Dick came into form in mid-March and supported by McAdams and Brooks,[ 5] his 15 goals in the final 17 matches helped fire Brentford to the Fourth Division title. The title win made Brentford the first club to win each of the Second , Third and Fourth Division championships.
Three records were set or equalled during the season:
Most points in a league season: 62 (two points for a win)[ 6] Most league goals scored in a season: 98[ 7] Most consecutive league appearances: 168 – Gerry Cakebread (1 November 1958 – 18 August 1963)
Brentford's goal tally listed first. No. Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorer(s) 1 18 August 1962 Doncaster Rovers A 2–0 8,247 McAdams (2) 2 21 August 1962 Gillingham H 1–2 11,914 Edgley 3 25 August 1962 Mansfield Town H 1–3 8,340 McAdams 4 29 August 1962 Gillingham A 4–1 8,832 Brooks (3), Block 5 1 September 1962 Workington A 1–3 3,373 Summers 6 8 September 1962 Exeter City H 3–1 11,153 McAdams , Dick , Hughes (og ) 7 12 September 1962 Crewe Alexandra A 0–3 6,673 8 15 September 1962 Chesterfield A 1–1 6,114 McAdams 9 18 September 1962 Stockport County H 2–1 10,146 Dick , McAdams 10 22 September 1962 Rochdale H 1–0 10,753 McLeod 11 29 September 1962 Barrow H 2–1 9,541 Dick (2) 12 2 October 1962 Hartlepools United H 4–0 10,729 Dick (2), McAdams , Block 13 6 October 1962 Darlington A 3–1 4,683 Brooks (2, 1 pen ), Block 14 13 October 1962 Southport H 3–3 11,651 McAdams , Brooks (2, 1 pen ) 15 20 October 1962 Aldershot A 0–0 8,609 16 27 October 1962 Newport County H 3–1 11,312 McAdams (2), Block 17 10 November 1962 Bradford City H 5–2 8,396 McAdams (3), McLeod , Brooks (pen ) 18 24 November 1962 Stockport County A 1–2 3,337 Block 19 1 December 1962 Lincoln City A 3–1 5,470 Brooks , Summers , McAdams 20 8 December 1962 Oldham Athletic H 2–1 12,144 Anthony , Brooks 21 15 December 1962 Doncaster Rovers H 1–0 9,589 Meadows (og ) 22 22 December 1962 Mansfield Town A 2–1 9,468 Brooks (2) 23 26 December 1962 Chester H 2–1 9,724 Dick , McAdams 24 16 February 1963 Barrow A 1–1 4,187 Summers 25 23 February 1963 Darlington H 1–3 9,272 Dick 26 2 March 1963 Southport A 0–1 3,136 27 4 March 1963 Tranmere Rovers A 2–1 8,226 Summers (2) 28 9 March 1963 Aldershot H 4–2 8,390 Brooks (2, 1 pen ), Henry (og ), McAdams 29 12 March 1963 Torquay United H 2–2 13,084 Block , Brooks 30 16 March 1963 Newport County A 4–1 2,891 McAdams , Dick (2), Brooks (pen ) 31 20 March 1963 Rochdale A 5–3 5,680 Dick (3), McAdams , Brooks 32 23 March 1963 Oxford United H 4–0 13,756 Block , Higginson , McAdams (2) 33 29 March 1963 Torquay United A 1–1 5,570 McAdams 34 3 April 1963 Chester A 2–1 5,991 Dick (2) 35 6 April 1963 Tranmere Rovers H 4–0 13,383 McLeod (2), Dick , Brooks (pen ) 36 12 April 1963 York City A 1–1 7,757 Brooks (pen ) 37 13 April 1963 Bradford City A 1–2 3,070 Dick 38 15 April 1963 York City H 2–1 15,070 Dick (2) 39 20 April 1963 Lincoln City H 3–2 11,384 Dick , Block , McAdams 40 22 April 1963 Hartlepools United A 1–2 3,755 Dick 41 27 April 1963 Oldham Athletic A 1–2 17,771 Brooks 42 30 April 1963 Crewe Alexandra H 3–1 15,820 Brooks (pen ), Dick 42 4 May 1963 Chesterfield H 2–1 13,903 Dick , Fielding 44 11 May 1963 Oxford United A 1–2 11,247 Summers 45 18 May 1963 Exeter City A 2–2 3,600 Hales , Scott 46 23 May 1963 Workington H 4–3 13,158 Fielding (2), Hales , Brown (og )
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance 1R 3 November 1962 Aldershot A 0–1 12,200
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1962–63 season. Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,[ 5] Timeless Bees[ 9] Appearances and goals [ edit ] Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League season.
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[ 5] Players listed in italics left the club mid-season. Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[ 5] Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League P W D L W % P W D L W % Malky MacDonald 18 August 1962 23 May 1963 49 28 8 13 0 57.14 46 27 8 11 0 58.70
Games played 49 (46 Fourth Division , 1 FA Cup , 2 League Cup ) Games won 28 (27 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) Games drawn 8 (8 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup) Games lost 13 (11 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) Goals scored 102 (98 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 4 League Cup) Goals conceded 69 (64 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 4 League Cup) Clean sheets 8 (7 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup) Biggest league win 4–0 on three occasions Worst league defeat 3–0 versus Crewe Alexandra , 12 September 1962 Most appearances 49, Ken Coote , Tommy Higginson , George McLeod (46 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 3 League Cup) Top scorer (league) 23, John Dick Top scorer (all competitions) 24, John Dick
^ a b "Brentford results for the 1962–1963 season" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2016 . ^ a b c d e White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 387. ISBN 0951526200 . ^ Wickham, Chris. "Brentford FC 2013/14 squad break a string of Club Records" . www.brentfordfc.com . Retrieved 3 December 2016 . ^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia . Yore Publications. p. 63. ISBN 1 874427 57 7 . ^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914 . ^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies . Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 254–255. ISBN 978-1906796709 . ^ a b "Player's Transfers – 1962" . Scottish Football Historical Archive . Retrieved 22 February 2019 .