| Season | 1952–53 |
|---|---|
| Men's football | |
| First Division | Arsenal |
| Second Division | Sheffield United |
| FA Cup | Blackpool |
The1952–53 season was the 73rd season of competitivefootball in England.
This was the closest championship win in English league history at the time, with Arsenal claiming the title with a goal average superior to Preston's by just 0.099. Both Arsenal and Preston had identical records aside from their goal averages.
Hadgoal difference been the deciding factor as it was from 1977 onwards, Arsenal would still have won with +33 to Preston's +25, unlike in1989 when they would have finished second on goal average. Preston had last been champions in 1890, the second season of the Football League.
TheFA Cup was won byBlackpool, beatingBolton Wanderers 4–3 in what became known as the 'Matthews Final', due to the masterly contribution of 38-year-old wingerStanley Matthews, who helped his side win after going 3–1 down, although three of Blackpool's goals were scored by prolific forwardStan Mortensen.
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal(C) | 42 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 97 | 64 | 1.516 | 54 | |
| 2 | Preston North End | 42 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 85 | 60 | 1.417 | 54 | |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 86 | 63 | 1.365 | 51 | |
| 4 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 66 | 60 | 1.100 | 50 | |
| 5 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 77 | 63 | 1.222 | 49 | |
| 6 | Burnley | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 67 | 52 | 1.288 | 48 | |
| 7 | Blackpool | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 71 | 70 | 1.014 | 47 | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 69 | 72 | 0.958 | 46 | |
| 9 | Sunderland | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 68 | 82 | 0.829 | 43 | |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 78 | 69 | 1.130 | 41 | |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 63 | 61 | 1.033 | 41 | |
| 12 | Cardiff City | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 54 | 46 | 1.174 | 40 | |
| 13 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 70 | 77 | 0.909 | 39 | |
| 14 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 61 | 69 | 0.884 | 39 | |
| 15 | Portsmouth | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 74 | 83 | 0.892 | 38 | |
| 16 | Newcastle United | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 59 | 70 | 0.843 | 37 | |
| 17 | Liverpool | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 61 | 82 | 0.744 | 36 | |
| 18 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 62 | 72 | 0.861 | 35 | |
| 19 | Chelsea | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 56 | 66 | 0.848 | 35 | |
| 20 | Manchester City | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 72 | 87 | 0.828 | 35 | |
| 21 | Stoke City(R) | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 53 | 66 | 0.803 | 34 | Relegation to theSecond Division |
| 22 | Derby County(R) | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 59 | 74 | 0.797 | 32 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield United(C, P) | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 97 | 55 | 1.764 | 60 | Promotion to theFirst Division |
| 2 | Huddersfield Town(P) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 84 | 33 | 2.545 | 58 | |
| 3 | Luton Town | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 84 | 49 | 1.714 | 52 | |
| 4 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 65 | 60 | 1.083 | 49 | |
| 5 | Leicester City | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 89 | 74 | 1.203 | 48 | |
| 6 | Birmingham City | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 71 | 66 | 1.076 | 48 | |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 77 | 67 | 1.149 | 44 | |
| 8 | Fulham | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 81 | 71 | 1.141 | 44 | |
| 9 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 68 | 65 | 1.046 | 44 | |
| 10 | Leeds United | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 71 | 63 | 1.127 | 43 | |
| 11 | Swansea Town | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 78 | 81 | 0.963 | 42 | |
| 12 | Rotherham United | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 75 | 74 | 1.014 | 41 | |
| 13 | Doncaster Rovers | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 58 | 64 | 0.906 | 40 | |
| 14 | West Ham United | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 58 | 60 | 0.967 | 39 | |
| 15 | Lincoln City | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 64 | 71 | 0.901 | 39 | |
| 16 | Everton | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 71 | 75 | 0.947 | 38 | |
| 17 | Brentford | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 59 | 76 | 0.776 | 37 | |
| 18 | Hull City | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 57 | 69 | 0.826 | 36 | |
| 19 | Notts County | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 60 | 88 | 0.682 | 36 | |
| 20 | Bury | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 53 | 81 | 0.654 | 35 | |
| 21 | Southampton(R) | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 68 | 85 | 0.800 | 33 | Relegation to theThird Division South |
| 22 | Barnsley(R) | 42 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 47 | 108 | 0.435 | 18 | Relegation to theThird Division North |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oldham Athletic(C, P) | 46 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 77 | 45 | 1.711 | 59 | Promotion to theSecond Division |
| 2 | Port Vale | 46 | 20 | 18 | 8 | 67 | 35 | 1.914 | 58 | |
| 3 | Wrexham | 46 | 24 | 8 | 14 | 86 | 66 | 1.303 | 56 | |
| 4 | York City | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 60 | 45 | 1.333 | 53 | |
| 5 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 75 | 59 | 1.271 | 52 | |
| 6 | Southport | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 63 | 60 | 1.050 | 51 | |
| 7 | Bradford (Park Avenue) | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 75 | 61 | 1.230 | 50 | |
| 8 | Gateshead | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 76 | 60 | 1.267 | 49 | |
| 9 | Carlisle United | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 82 | 68 | 1.206 | 49 | |
| 10 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 70 | 68 | 1.029 | 48 | |
| 11 | Stockport County | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 82 | 69 | 1.188 | 47 | |
| 12 | Chesterfield | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 65 | 63 | 1.032 | 47 | |
| 13 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 21 | 5 | 20 | 65 | 63 | 1.032 | 47 | |
| 14 | Halifax Town | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 68 | 68 | 1.000 | 47 | |
| 15 | Scunthorpe & Lindsey United | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 62 | 56 | 1.107 | 46 | |
| 16 | Bradford City | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 75 | 80 | 0.938 | 46 | |
| 17 | Hartlepools United | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 57 | 61 | 0.934 | 46 | |
| 18 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 55 | 62 | 0.887 | 46 | |
| 19 | Barrow | 46 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 66 | 71 | 0.930 | 44 | |
| 20 | Chester | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 64 | 85 | 0.753 | 37 | |
| 21 | Darlington | 46 | 14 | 6 | 26 | 58 | 96 | 0.604 | 34 | |
| 22 | Rochdale | 46 | 14 | 5 | 27 | 62 | 83 | 0.747 | 33 | |
| 23 | Workington | 46 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 55 | 91 | 0.604 | 32 | Re-elected |
| 24 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 8 | 11 | 27 | 39 | 89 | 0.438 | 27 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bristol Rovers(C, P) | 46 | 26 | 12 | 8 | 92 | 46 | 2.000 | 64 | Promotion to theSecond Division |
| 2 | Millwall | 46 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 82 | 44 | 1.864 | 62 | |
| 3 | Northampton Town | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 109 | 70 | 1.557 | 62 | |
| 4 | Norwich City | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 99 | 55 | 1.800 | 60 | |
| 5 | Bristol City | 46 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 95 | 61 | 1.557 | 59 | |
| 6 | Coventry City | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 77 | 62 | 1.242 | 50 | |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 81 | 75 | 1.080 | 50 | |
| 8 | Southend United | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 69 | 74 | 0.932 | 49 | |
| 9 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 74 | 69 | 1.072 | 47 | |
| 10 | Watford | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 62 | 63 | 0.984 | 47 | |
| 11 | Reading | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 69 | 64 | 1.078 | 46 | |
| 12 | Torquay United | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 87 | 88 | 0.989 | 45 | |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 66 | 82 | 0.805 | 43 | |
| 14 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 68 | 73 | 0.932 | 42 | |
| 15 | Newport County | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 70 | 82 | 0.854 | 42 | |
| 16 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 60 | 69 | 0.870 | 41 | |
| 17 | Exeter City | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 61 | 71 | 0.859 | 40 | |
| 18 | Swindon Town | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 64 | 79 | 0.810 | 40 | |
| 19 | Aldershot | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 61 | 77 | 0.792 | 39 | |
| 20 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 61 | 82 | 0.744 | 39 | |
| 21 | Gillingham | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 55 | 74 | 0.743 | 39 | |
| 22 | Colchester United | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 59 | 76 | 0.776 | 38 | |
| 23 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 68 | 91 | 0.747 | 36 | Re-elected |
| 24 | Walsall | 46 | 7 | 10 | 29 | 56 | 118 | 0.475 | 24 |
First Division
Second Division
Third Division North
Third Division South
TheEngland national football team were joint winners in the1953 British Home Championship withScotland. In the May following the conclusion of the season the England team embarked on their first tour of the Americas, following the experience inBrazil of the1950 FIFA World Cup.
Abandoned after 21 minutes due to torrential rain
| United States | 3–6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Otto Decker |