The1961–62Southern Football League season was the 59th in the history of the league, an Englishfootball competition.
Oxford United won the championship for the second successive season and was admitted tothe Football League.
The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from theprevious season and four new clubs, promoted from Division One:
| Season | 1961–62 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Oxford United |
| Relegated | Tonbridge King's Lynn Folkestone Town Cheltenham Town |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,635 (3.54 per match) |
1962–63 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford United | 42 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 118 | 46 | 2.565 | 61 | Elected to theFootball League Fourth Division |
| 2 | Bath City | 42 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 102 | 70 | 1.457 | 57 | |
| 3 | Guildford City | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 79 | 49 | 1.612 | 56 | |
| 4 | Yeovil Town | 42 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 97 | 59 | 1.644 | 54 | |
| 5 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 74 | 60 | 1.233 | 50 | |
| 6 | Weymouth | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 80 | 64 | 1.250 | 47 | |
| 7 | Kettering Town | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 90 | 84 | 1.071 | 47 | |
| 8 | Hereford United | 42 | 21 | 2 | 19 | 81 | 68 | 1.191 | 44 | |
| 9 | Cambridge City | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 70 | 71 | 0.986 | 44 | |
| 10 | Bexleyheath & Welling | 42 | 19 | 5 | 18 | 69 | 75 | 0.920 | 43 | |
| 11 | Romford | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 63 | 70 | 0.900 | 39 | |
| 12 | Cambridge United | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 76 | 78 | 0.974 | 38 | |
| 13 | Wellington Town | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 75 | 78 | 0.962 | 38 | |
| 14 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 17 | 4 | 21 | 59 | 92 | 0.641 | 38 | |
| 15 | Bedford Town | 42 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 73 | 79 | 0.924 | 37 | |
| 16 | Worcester City | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 51 | 64 | 0.797 | 37 | |
| 17 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 62 | 80 | 0.775 | 37 | |
| 18 | Clacton Town | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 74 | 91 | 0.813 | 36 | |
| 19 | Tonbridge | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 71 | 92 | 0.772 | 34 | Relegated toDivision One |
| 20 | King's Lynn | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 59 | 74 | 0.797 | 32 | |
| 21 | Folkestone Town | 42 | 12 | 6 | 24 | 64 | 103 | 0.621 | 30 | |
| 22 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 9 | 7 | 26 | 48 | 86 | 0.558 | 25 |
Division One consisted of 20 clubs, including 17 clubs from theprevious season and three new clubs, relegated from the Premier Division:
| Season | 1961–62 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Wisbech Town |
| Promoted | Wisbech Town Poole Town Dartford Rugby Town |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 1,319 (3.47 per match) |
1962–63 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wisbech Town | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 76 | 42 | 1.810 | 53 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Poole Town | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 81 | 47 | 1.723 | 52 | |
| 3 | Dartford | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 89 | 50 | 1.780 | 50 | |
| 4 | Rugby Town | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 82 | 49 | 1.673 | 49 | |
| 5 | Margate | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 74 | 55 | 1.345 | 46 | |
| 6 | Corby Town | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 82 | 60 | 1.367 | 44 | |
| 7 | Sittingbourne | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 69 | 51 | 1.353 | 44 | |
| 8 | Dover | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 66 | 55 | 1.200 | 44 | |
| 9 | Yiewsley | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 64 | 51 | 1.255 | 42 | |
| 10 | Barry Town | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 55 | 51 | 1.078 | 39 | |
| 11 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 66 | 70 | 0.943 | 39 | |
| 12 | Hinckley Athletic | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 75 | 65 | 1.154 | 38 | |
| 13 | Burton Albion | 38 | 16 | 5 | 17 | 70 | 79 | 0.886 | 37 | |
| 14 | Nuneaton Borough | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 63 | 71 | 0.887 | 36 | |
| 15 | Tunbridge Wells United | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 61 | 85 | 0.718 | 31 | |
| 16 | Canterbury City | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 60 | 82 | 0.732 | 30 | |
| 17 | Ramsgate Athletic | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 49 | 70 | 0.700 | 29 | |
| 18 | Trowbridge Town | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 45 | 67 | 0.672 | 27 | |
| 19 | Gloucester City | 38 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 46 | 104 | 0.442 | 16 | |
| 20 | Hastings United | 38 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 46 | 115 | 0.400 | 14 |
Due to the resignation ofAccrington Stanley there was a free place in the Football League. Alongside the three League clubs facing re-election, a total of 26 non-League clubs applied for election, including 19 Southern League clubs. Southern League champions Oxford United were the only non-League club to be elected.[1]