The 1958–59 season was the 79th season of competitive

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

in England.

Diary of the season

August 1958: The

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

season begins with the new national Third and Fourth divisions that have been created from the old Third Division North and Third Division South. 30 August 1958:

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

snub

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

's wish to participate in the 1958–59

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

. September 1958: Manchester United pay a national record fee of £45,000 for

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

inside-forward Albert Quixall. 12 November 1958:

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

play their first European Cup game, drawing 2–2 at home to Schalke 04 in the first round first leg. 18 November 1958: Wolverhampton Wanderers lose 2–1 to Schalke 04 in the European Cup first round second leg in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, ending their hopes of being the first team other than

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

(winners of the first three competitions) to win the European Cup. 15 January 1959: Second Division

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

suffer a shock

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

third round exit when they lose 2-1 to non league Worcester City. 4 April 1959: Jeff Hall, 29, right-back for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, dies from

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

, prompting widespread takeup of the

polio vaccine Polio vaccines are vaccines used to prevent poliomyelitis (polio). Two types are used: an inactivated vaccine, inactivated poliovirus given by injection (IPV) and a attenuated vaccine, weakened poliovirus given by mouth (OPV). The World Healt ...

. 2 May 1959:

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

defeat

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

2–1 in the 1959 FA Cup Final.

Notable debutants

8 September 1958:

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...

, 17-year-old wing-half, makes his debut for West Ham United against Manchester United in the First Division.

Notable retirements

May 1959: Billy Wright, 35, Wolverhampton Wanderers and England captain, after more than 500 appearances for his club and a record 105 for his country. June 1959: Jackie Blanchflower, 26, Manchester United and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

centre-half, who announced his retirement as a player after failing to recover sufficiently from injuries sustained in the

Munich air disaster The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. The aircraft was carrying the Manchester United F.C., Manche ...

16 months earlier.

Honours

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

Awards

Football Writers' Association * Footballer of the Year – Syd Owen (

)

Football League

First Division

In the last season of captain Billy Wright's playing career, Wolves retained their First Division title – the third time they had been league champions in six seasons. There was every reason to hope for continued success in the post-Wright era, though, with younger players like Bobby Mason and Mickey Lill excelling in the team. Manchester United enjoyed a good return in the season following the Munich tragedy, as new signings and younger players integrated with crash survivors to achieve runners-up spot in the league. Arsenal, Bolton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion completed the top five, while newly promoted West Ham United recorded their highest league finish yet by finishing sixth.

Second Division

Sheffield Wednesday sealed an immediate return to the First Division as Second Division champions, being joined by runners-up Fulham.

Third Division

Plymouth Argyle won the first championship of the new national Third Division, with Hull City finishing one point behind them in second place. Norwich City made the headlines with their run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but the cup run distracted them from the league as fourth place in the final table was not enough for promotion.

Fourth Division

Port Vale were champions of the new Fourth Division, and were joined in promotion by Coventry City, York City and Shrewsbury Town.

Top goalscorers

First Division *

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of England's best ever players, he is England's fifth- ...

( Chelsea) – 33 goals Second Division * Brian Clough (

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

) – 42 goals Third Division * Jim Towers (

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

) – 32 goals Fourth Division * Arthur Rowley ( Shrewsbury Town) – 37 goals

National team

Although the

England national football team The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...

eventually shared victory in the 1959 British Home Championship with

, it was a tough year without so many of the squad's key players lost in the

the year before. The season concluded with a disastrous tour of the Americas, in which the team lost three successive games before restoring some pride in the final match against the USA. The final game against the USA was also the last match for veteran defender and captain Billy Wright after a then record 105 caps. The match was played in front of just 13,000 fans on a gravel pitch in Los Angeles.

Tour of the Americas

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1958-59 in English football