The 1963–64 season was the 84th season of competitive football in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, from August 1963 to May 1964.

Diary of the season

* 17 August 1963 – Reigning league champions Everton won the Charity Shield after a 4–0 win over FA Cup winners

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. * 14 September 1963 –

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...

, a 17-year-old

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

winger, makes his debut for

in their 1–0 First Division win over

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

. * 23 October 1963 – an England versus Rest of the World XI match is staged to mark the centenary of

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

. Against a star-studded opposition team containing

Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: * Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda ...

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forwar ...

Denis Law Denis Law (born 24 February 1940) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City ...

, Lev Yashin and

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

, England won 2–1 with goals from Terry Paine and Jimmy Greaves, while

scored for the Rest of the World. * 26 December 1963 – 66 goals were scored in the 10 First Division matches.

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

were the biggest winners, defeating Ipswich Town 10–1. * 5 April 1964 –

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Walthams ...

captain

Danny Blanchflower Robert Dennis Blanchflower (10 February 1926 – 9 December 1993) was a former Northern Ireland footballer, football manager and journalist who played for and captained Tottenham Hotspur, including during their double-winning season of 1960� ...

, 38, announced his retirement from playing. * 8 April 1964 –

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

are announced as England's participant in the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

edition of the International Soccer League. * 11 April 1964 –

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

beat England 1–0 in the

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

to leave the two level on four points in the final table.

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

subsequently defeated

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

to finish level on points with the other two, thus ensuring that the title was shared between three nations. * 12 April 1964 – The '' Sunday People'' publishes allegations that lead to a betting scandal. It reported that Mansfield Town player

Jimmy Gauld James Gauld (9 May 1931 – 9 December 2004) was a Scottish footballer, who played as an inside forward. He began his career with Aberdeen but failed to make a first team appearance before being released. Gauld went on to play in the Highland ...

had, over several years, systematically engaged in

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

, and that many other players were involved. * 18 April 1964 – Liverpool beat

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

5–0 at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

to secure the title. In their penultimate game of the season, Ipswich Town lose 3–1 to

, confirming their relegation two years after winning the League championship. * 22 April 1964 –

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

win the League Cup – their first major trophy – with a 4–3

aggregate Aggregate or aggregates may refer to: Computing and mathematics * collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...

victory over

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Sto ...

. * 25 April 1964 – On the final day of the Second Division season,

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

win 2–0 at Charlton Athletic and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

fail to beat Grimsby Town, meaning Leeds were crowned champions. * 2 May 1964 –

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

beat

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...

3–2 at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

to win the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

for the first time. Trailing 2–1 at half time, West Ham scored two second half goals to deny Preston.

Notable debutants

* 14 September 1963 –

, 17-year-old

winger, makes his debut for

against

in the First Division.

Notable retirements

* 5 April 1964 – Danny Blanchflower, 38-year-old Tottenham Hotspur captain.

Honours

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

Awards

Football Writers' Association The Football Writers' Association (FWA) is an association of football journalists and correspondents writing for English newspapers and agencies. It presents the Footballer of the Year Award, the oldest and most distinguished award given in the d ...

* Footballer of the Year – Bobby Moore (

) Top goalscorer * Jimmy Greaves ( Tottenham Hotspur), 35

Football League

First Division

Liverpool clinched the First Division title just two seasons after winning promotion, finishing four points ahead of runners-up Manchester United while defending champions Everton finished third. Tottenham Hotspur managed to finish fourth despite not winning any silverware and being without many key players for much of the season due to injury, while captain

announced his retirement from playing just before the season's end. Tragedy then struck the club after the season was over, when forward John White was struck by lightning and killed on a

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

golf course. Chelsea enjoyed a strong return to the First Division by finishing fifth, while Leicester City finally got their hands on a major trophy by winning the League Cup. With

Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager ...

having now left Ipswich Town to manage the England team, Ipswich Town struggled badly under his successor Jackie Milburn, and went down in bottom place having conceded 121 goals just two seasons after being league champions. Bolton Wanderers, who had gradually faded away since the retirement of centre-forward Nat Lofthouse in 1960, also went down.

Second Division

Leeds United returned to the First Division after seven years away by clinching the Second Division title under ambitious manager Don Revie, while Sunderland's six-year exile from the First Division was ended by promotion as Second Division runners-up. Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe United slipped into the Third Division.

Third Division

Coventry City made the breakthrough into the Second Division as champions of the Third Division, finishing level on points at the top of the league with Crystal Palace. Notts County, Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra and Millwall were all relegated to the Fourth Division.

Fourth Division

Gillingham finished champions of the Fourth Division, ahead of runners-up Carlisle United on goal average. They enjoyed a narrow lead over third placed Workington and fourth placed Exeter City. Bradford City bounced back from having to apply for re-election to just missing out on promotion in the space of a season.

Top goalscorers

First Division * Jimmy Greaves ( Tottenham Hotspur) – 35 goals Second Division * Ron Saunders (

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

) – 33 goals Third Division * Alfie Biggs (

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

) – 30 goals Fourth Division * Hughie McIlmoyle (

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park ...

) – 39 goals

European club competitions

European Champions' Cup

* Everton – Preliminary round

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

– Quarter-finals * Tottenham Hotspur – Second round

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

– Second round *

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

– Second round

National team

The

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

had an eventful season with a shared victory in the

1964 British Home Championship Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, another success against a

Rest of the World XI Rest or REST may refer to: Relief from activity * Sleep ** Bed rest * Kneeling * Lying (position) * Sitting * Squatting position Structural support * Structural support ** Rest (cue sports) ** Armrest ** Headrest ** Footrest Arts and entertain ...

in one of the most famous matches ever played at

and a tour of the Americas upon the season's conclusion which culminated in a dire performance in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

during the 1964 Taça de Nações.

American tour

---- Taça das Nações ---- ----

Other matches

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1963-64 In English Football