1962–63 In English Football
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The 1962–63 season was the 83rd 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.


Overview

Everton won the League Championship, their first post-war title.
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 ...
won the
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 ...
, their first major trophy since 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 ...
in 1958.
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 ...
won the League Cup. Tottenham Hotspur won the European Cup Winners' Cup, thereby becoming the first English side to win a European cup competition. Oxford United were elected to the Football League to replace the defunct Accrington Stanley, who had resigned from the league the previous season. Much of the season was postponed for several months because of the Big Freeze of 1963.


Diary of the season

3 October 1962: 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 ...
competes in the European Football Championships for the first time, beginning the qualifiers for the 1964 European Nations' Cup with a 1–1 draw against
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in the qualifying round first leg at Hillsborough.
Ron Flowers Ronald Flowers (28 July 1934 – 12 November 2021) was an English professional footballer, who played as a midfielder, and was most known for his time at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was a member of England's victorious 1966 World Cup squad. ...
of
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 ...
scores England's only goal. 25 October 1962:
Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. As a player, he represented England national football team, the England national ...
, the Ipswich Town manager, accepts
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 ...
's offer to succeed Walter Winterbottom as England manager with effect from 1 May 1963, after agreeing taking charge of two earlier matches from 27 February 1963. 5 January 1963: The Big Freeze of 1963 impacts the third round of the
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 ...
with only 3 of 32 fixtures played. 12 January 1963: Only eight League fixtures are played due to the bad weather. 23 January 1963: The Pools Panel is used to forecast the results of postponed matches for the first time. 26 January 1963: Only one fixture of the fourth round of the FA Cup is played as most of the third round ties have not been completed. 28 January 1963: FA Cup fifth round draw is postponed for a week. 2 February 1963: Only five League fixtures are played due to the bad weather. 4 February 1963: The FA postpone the fifth and sixth rounds of the FA Cup for a week. 9 February 1963: Only seven League fixtures are played due to the bad weather. 12 February 1963: The FA postpone the fifth and sixth rounds of the FA Cup further. 18 February 1963: The FA Cup semi-finals are postponed four weeks and the final three weeks. 27 February 1963: England are knocked out of the European Nations' Cup with a 5–2 defeat to France in Paris in the second leg of the qualifying round. 7 March 1963: Bradford City finally play their third round FA Cup tie against
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
, losing 6–1. 11 March 1963:
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 ...
beat Blackburn Rovers 3–1 to become the last team into the fourth round of the FA Cup. 16 March 1963: The fifth round of the FA Cup is finally played. 4 May 1963: English Double-chasing Leicester City are beaten by
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
in the top-flight, while Leyton Orient's defeat at
Hillsborough Stadium Hillsborough Stadium is a association football, football stadium in the area of Owlerton, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. With a total capacity of 39,732, it has been the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C., Sheffield Wednesday Football Club ...
leaves the East Londoners "practically doomed to relegation". In the Second Division, table-topping Stoke City were beaten by Scunthorpe United, and a hat-trick from Irishman Johnny Crossan features in
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
's 4–0 home victory over
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
. Leaders of the Fourth Division
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 ...
rack up their 26th league win of the season against Chesterfield, and move two points clear of Oldham Athletic, in second, with two games in hand. Outside of the League,
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
win the FA Amateur Cup with victory over Sutton United in the Final. 11 May 1963: Everton seal the First Division title with a 4–1 home win over
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
on the final day of the league season. 15 May 1963: Tottenham Hotspur become the first British club to win a European trophy, defeating
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
5–1 in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
.
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- ...
and Terry Dyson score twice each, with the other goal coming from John White. 18 May 1963: Stoke secure the Second Division Championship with a win over
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 ...
, while Sunderland in second leave the door open for third-placed Chelsea by losing at home to the West Londoners. This result completes Sunderland's league programme, while Chelsea have one match remaining. 21 May 1963: Chelsea put seven past
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
without reply and pip Sunderland to the remaining Second Division promotion place. The Third Division relegation decider between
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
and Charlton Athletic is abandoned with the score 0–0 after the pitch was rendered unplayable by a
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...
. 23 May 1963:
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 ...
take a big step to winning the first major trophy of their history by defeating Aston Villa 3–1 at St Andrew's in the
Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
final first leg. 24 May 1963:
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 ...
draw with the Football League XI at
Arsenal Stadium Arsenal Stadium was a Association football, football stadium in Highbury, London, which was the home of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006. It was popularly known as "Highbury" from the name of the di ...
.
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- ...
, Alan Hinton and Johnny Byrne score for ''the Three Lions'', while Roger Hunt,
Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he became the first player to score a Hat-trick#Association football, hat-trick in a ...
and Tony Kay score for the League. Elsewhere, Charlton preserve their Third Division status, relegating opponents Walsall in the process. 25 May 1963:
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 ...
win their first major trophy for six years and their first
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 ...
for 15 years with a 3–1 win over Leicester City in the final at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
. David Herd scores twice for United and Denis Law scores the other goal. Ken Keyworth scores the consolation goal for Leicester City, who have yet to win the final after three attempts. 27 May 1963: A goalless draw in the Football League Cup final second leg at
Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...
gives the trophy to Birmingham City. 31 May 1963:
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
, England's representative in the International Soccer League of
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...
, begin their campaign by drawing 3–3 with Scottish club Kilmarnock in New York.


Awards

Football Writers' Association * Footballer of the Year
Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...
( Stoke City) Top goalscorer *
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- ...
, ( Tottenham Hotspur), 37


Honours

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


Football League


First Division

In a First Division season with heavy fixture congestion brought about by a severe winter, Everton emerged as league champions – their first piece of postwar silverware. Tottenham Hotspur continued their brilliant start to the 1960s, finishing runners-up in the First Division and going on to lift the European Cup Winners' Cup to become English football's first winners of a European trophy. Burnley, the 1960 league champions, finished third. Leicester City, still yet to win a major trophy, emerge as surprise
double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
challengers but eventually had to settle for a fourth-place finish in the league, and lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup final – with
Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of an E ...
's rebuilding scheme paying off with the success being United's first trophy since 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 ...
five years earlier. Liverpool's return to the First Division saw them secure a decent eighth-place finish and their players adapt well to what for many of them was their first season playing in the First Division. Birmingham City's consolation for narrowly avoiding relegation came in the shape of glory in the
Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
, the first major trophy of their 88-year history. Leyton Orient's first season in the top flight was a dismal one, and they ended it with relegation and being 12 points adrift of safety. They were joined in relegation by Manchester City, who finally went down after several seasons of gradually falling out of contention for honours.


Second Division

Tony Waddington's impressive Stoke City side, which included 48-year-old FWA Footballer of the Year
Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...
, former Manchester United forward Dennis Viollet and former Burnley star Jimmy McIlroy clinched the Second Division title and with it a place in the First Division. Chelsea were promoted as runners-up, while Sunderland missed out on goal average. Luton Town and Walsall went down to the Third Division.


Third Division

Northampton Town won the Third Division title and with it a place in the Second Division, while Swindon Town finally climbed out of the league's third tier, having been there since its creation 43 years previously. Halifax Town, Carlisle United, Brighton and Bradford Park Avenue went down to the Fourth Division.


Fourth Division

Brentford won the Fourth Division title, their first significant postwar success. Oldham Athletic, Crewe Alexandra and Mansfield Town also went up, while league newcomers Oxford United finished 18th. Bradford City, FA Cup winners in 1911 and First Division members for a number of seasons leading up to 1922, had to apply for re-election.


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- ...
( Tottenham Hotspur) – 37 goals Second Division * Bobby Tambling ( Chelsea) – 35 goals Third Division *
George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the Railway Mania, railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a ...
( Coventry City) – 30 goals Fourth Division * Ken Wagstaff (
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
) – 34 goals


References

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