1902–03 Football League

The 1902–1903 season was the 15th season of the The Football League.

Contents

Final league tables[1][2]

The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at the The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website[1] and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79[2], with home and away statistics separated.

Note: Beginning with the season 1894–95, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), or more properly put, goal ratio. In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976–77 season.

Since the goal average was used for this purpose for such a long time, it is presented in the tables below even for the seasons prior to 1894–95, and since the goal difference is a more informative piece of information for a modern reader than the goal average, the goal difference is added in this presentation after the goal average.

During the first five seasons of the league, that is until the season, 1893–94, re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league. [2]

  1. ^ a b "England 1902-03". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1902-03.html. Retrieved 2010-02-24. 
  2. ^ a b c Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.

League standings

Football League, First Division
Season 1902–03
Champions The Wednesday (1st English title)
Relegated Bolton Wanderers
Grimsby Town
FA Cup winners Bury (2nd FA Cup title)
Matches played 306
Goals scored 885 (2.89 per match)
Top goalscorer Sam Raybould (Liverpool), 31
Biggest home win Liverpool – Grimsby Town 9–2 (6 Dec 1902)
Aston Villa – Newcastle 7–0 (29 Nov 1902)
Biggest away win Nottingham Forest – The Wednesday 1–4 (1 Nov 1902)
Highest scoring Liverpool – Grimsby Town 9–2 (6 Dec 1902)
Longest winning run ?
Longest unbeaten run ?
Longest losing run ?
Highest attendance ?
Lowest attendance ?
Average attendance ?
The Wednesday (Sheffield)
Locations of the Football League First Division 1902–1903 teams

First Division

Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A F A GA GD Pts
1 The Wednesday 34 12 3 2 31 7 7 1 9 23 29 54 36 1.500 + 18 42
2 Aston Villa 34 11 3 3 43 18 8 0 9 18 22 61 40 1.525 + 21 41
3 Sunderland 34 10 5 2 27 11 6 4 7 24 25 51 36 1.417 + 15 41
4 Sheffield United 34 11 0 6 36 22 6 5 6 22 22 58 44 1.318 + 14 39
5 Liverpool 34 11 3 3 48 21 6 1 10 20 28 68 49 1.388 + 19 38
6 Stoke 34 11 2 4 29 11 4 5 8 17 27 46 38 1.211 + 8 37
7 West Bromwich Albion 34 10 2 5 37 27 6 2 9 17 26 54 53 1.019 + 1 36
8 Bury 34 14 1 2 41 14 2 2 13 13 29 54 43 1.256 + 11 35
9 Derby County 34 13 2 2 34 11 3 1 13 16 36 50 47 1.064 + 3 35
10 Nottingham Forest 34 10 3 4 33 22 4 4 9 16 25 49 47 1.043 + 2 35
11 Wolverhampton Wanderers 34 12 2 3 34 17 2 3 12 14 40 48 57 0.842 – 9 33
12 Everton 34 10 2 5 28 18 3 4 10 17 29 45 47 0.957 – 2 32
13 Middlesbrough 34 10 3 4 27 16 4 1 12 14 34 41 50 0.820 – 9 32
14 Newcastle United 34 12 1 4 31 11 2 3 12 10 40 41 51 0.804 – 10 32
15 Notts County 34 8 5 4 25 16 4 2 11 16 33 41 49 0.837 – 8 31
16 Blackburn Rovers 34 9 2 6 27 24 3 3 11 17 39 44 63 0.698 – 19 29
17 Grimsby Town 34 6 5 6 28 22 2 4 11 15 40 43 62 0.694 – 19 25
18 Bolton Wanderers 34 6 2 9 18 20 2 1 14 19 53 37 73 0.507 – 36 19

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Key
League Champions
FA Cup Winners
Relegated

First Division Results

Home \ Away1 AST BLB BOL BRY DER EVE GRI LIV MID NEW NOT NTC SHE STO SUN WED WBA WOL
Aston Villa 5–0 4–2 2–2 0–0 2–1 2–2 1–2 5–0 7–0 3–1 2–1 4–2 2–0 0–1 1–0 0–3 3–1
Blackburn Rovers 0–2 4–2 0–3 2–4 3–2 2–0 3–1 0–1 3–1 2–2 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–0
Bolton Wanderers 0–1 1–2 1–0 2–0 1–3 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–3 2–0 0–2 0–1 4–1
Bury 0–1 1–1 3–0 1–0 4–2 2–1 3–1 3–1 1–0 3–1 3–1 3–1 2–1 3–1 4–0 1–2 4–0
Derby County 2–0 1–0 5–0 2–0 0–1 2–2 2–1 3–2 0–0 0–1 4–1 1–0 2–0 5–2 1–0 1–0 3–1
Everton 0–1 0–3 3–1 3–0 2–1 4–2 3–1 3–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 0–3 1–1 3–1 2–1
Grimsby Town 0–2 4–1 1–1 2–1 4–1 0–0 3–1 2–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–2 2–2 2–4 0–1 4–0 1–2
Liverpool 2–1 5–2 5–1 2–0 3–1 0–0 9–2 5–0 3–0 2–1 0–2 2–4 1–1 1–1 4–2 0–2 4–1
Middlesbrough 1–2 4–0 4–3 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 0–2 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–0
Newcastle United 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 1–0 1–2 0–1 0–2 6–1 0–0 5–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 2–4
Nottingham Forest 2–0 2–0 1–2 3–0 2–3 2–2 2–1 1–0 1–0 3–2 0–0 2–2 1–3 5–2 1–4 3–1 2–0
Notts County 2–1 4–0 1–3 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–1 3–0 0–0 0–3 3–1 0–0
Sheffield United 2–4 2–1 7–1 1–0 3–2 0–2 3–0 2–0 1–3 2–1 2–0 3–0 1–3 1–0 2–3 1–2 3–0
Stoke City 1–0 0–2 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 5–0 3–2 0–2 0–1 1–1 4–0 3–0 3–0
Sunderland 1–0 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–0 2–1 5–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 3–0
The Wednesday 4–0 0–0 3–0 2–0 0–1 4–1 1–1 3–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 3–1 1–1
West Bromwich Albion 1–2 5–3 2–1 1–3 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 6–1 2–0 3–2 3–3 2–1 0–3 2–3 2–2
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 2–0 3–1 3–2 3–0 1–1 3–0 0–2 2–0 3–0 2–1 2–0 1–3 1–0 3–3 2–1 1–2

Source: [1]
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second Division

Football League, Second Division
Season 1902–03
Champions Manchester City (2nd title)
Failed re-election Doncaster Rovers
Matches played 306
Goals scored 940 (3.07 per match)
Top goalscorer Billie Gillespie, (Manchester City), 30 [1]
Biggest home win Small Heath – Doncaster Rovers 12–0 (11 Apr 1903)
Biggest away win Burton United – Manchester City 0–5 (7 Mar 1903)
Highest scoring Small Heath – Doncaster Rovers 12–0 (11 Apr 1903)
Longest winning run ?
Longest unbeaten run ?
Longest losing run ?
Highest attendance ?
Lowest attendance ?
Average attendance ?
Small Heath (Birmingham)
Locations of the Football League Second Division 1902–1903 teams
Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A F A GA GD Pts
1 Manchester City 34 15 1 1 64 15 10 3 4 31 14 95 29 3.276 + 66 54
2 Small Heath 34 17 0 0 57 11 7 3 7 17 25 74 36 2.056 + 38 51
3 Woolwich Arsenal 34 14 2 1 46 9 6 6 5 20 21 66 30 2.200 + 36 48
4 Bristol City 34 12 3 2 43 18 5 5 7 16 20 59 38 1.553 + 21 42
5 Manchester United 34 9 4 4 32 15 6 4 7 21 23 53 38 1.395 + 15 38
6 Chesterfield 34 11 4 2 43 10 3 5 9 24 30 67 40 1.675 + 27 37
7 Preston North End 34 10 5 2 39 12 3 5 9 17 28 56 40 1.400 + 16 36
8 Barnsley 34 9 4 4 32 13 4 4 9 23 38 55 51 1.078 + 4 34
9 Burslem Port Vale 34 11 5 1 36 16 2 3 12 21 46 57 62 0.919 – 5 34
10 Lincoln City 34 8 3 6 30 22 4 3 10 16 31 46 53 0.868 – 7 30
11 Glossop 34 9 1 7 26 20 2 6 9 17 38 43 58 0.741 – 15 29
12 Gainsborough Trinity 34 9 4 4 28 14 2 3 12 13 45 41 59 0.695 – 18 29
13 Burton United 34 9 4 4 26 20 2 3 12 13 39 39 59 0.661 – 20 29
14 Blackpool 34 7 5 5 32 24 2 5 10 12 35 44 59 0.746 – 15 28
15 Leicester Fosse 34 5 5 7 20 23 5 3 9 21 42 41 65 0.631 – 24 28
16 Doncaster Rovers[2] 34 8 5 4 27 17 1 2 14 8 55 35 72 0.486 – 37 25
17 Stockport County 34 6 4 7 26 24 1 2 14 13 50 39 74 0.527 – 35 20
18 Burnley 34 6 7 4 25 25 0 1 16 5 52 30 77 0.390 – 47 20
  1. ^ "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engtops.html#1947-1. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
  2. ^ Doncaster Rovers had entered the league in 1901 only to be voted out now, two years later,
    to be replaced by Bradford City. They were back again for the 1904–05 season, only to be voted
    out at the end of the season again. A third stint came from 1923 on.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Key
Division Champions, promoted
Promoted
New club in the league (none)
Re-elected
Failed re-election

Second Division Results

Home \ Away1 BAR BLP BRI BUR BPV BUR CHS DON GAI GLP LEI LIN MNC MNU PRE SMH STP WOO
Barnsley 6–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 4–0 2–2 2–0 2–3 0–1 1–2 0–0 0–3 0–0 3–0 3–0 2–1 1–1
Blackpool 3–3 0–1 2–0 2–5 3–3 2–1 4–0 4–0 2–2 2–0 2–3 0–3 2–0 2–2 0–1 2–0 0–0
Bristol City 3–3 0–1 3–0 3–0 3–1 2–1 4–2 1–0 1–1 6–1 0–2 3–2 3–1 2–1 1–1 7–1 1–0
Burnley 1–2 1–1 0–0 3–3 4–1 1–1 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–3 1–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–1 3–2 0–3
Burslem Port Vale 2–0 1–1 2–0 3–1 4–2 2–1 3–0 3–1 1–0 2–0 5–1 1–4 1–1 0–0 2–2 3–1 1–1
Burton United 1–1 2–0 0–3 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 3–0 2–1 2–3 2–2 0–5 3–1 2–1 0–1 5–1 2–1
Chesterfield 3–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 10–0 5–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 4–2 1–1 4–1 2–2
Doncaster Rovers 2–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 3–2 1–1 3–4 0–0 4–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 2–2 1–2 1–0 2–0 0–1
Gainsborough Trinity 1–2 0–0 2–1 3–0 1–1 3–1 3–2 3–0 1–1 5–1 4–0 0–3 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–1
Glossop North End 2–2 1–0 0–2 2–0 2–1 3–0 0–3 3–0 4–2 1–2 2–0 0–1 1–3 1–0 0–1 3–1 1–2
Leicester Fosse 1–2 2–1 2–2 2–1 2–0 0–1 0–2 0–1 4–1 3–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–3 0–2 0–2
Lincoln City 1–3 0–2 1–1 4–1 4–1 4–0 0–0 4–2 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–3 2–3 0–1 3–1 2–2
Manchester City 3–2 2–0 2–2 6–0 7–1 2–0 4–2 4–1 9–0 5–2 3–1 3–1 0–2 1–0 4–0 5–0 4–1
Manchester United 2–1 2–2 1–2 4–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 4–0 3–1 1–1 5–1 1–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 3–0
Preston North End 3–0 3–1 1–0 5–0 5–1 1–1 1–1 5–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 0–1 0–2 3–1 2–1 6–1 2–2
Small Heath 2–1 5–1 2–0 3–0 5–1 2–0 2–1 12–0 1–0 3–1 4–3 3–1 4–0 2–1 3–1 2–0 2–0
Stockport County 4–1 4–0 0–1 3–0 0–4 0–2 2–2 1–0 1–1 2–3 2–2 3–1 0–2 2–1 1–1 1–2 0–1
Woolwich Arsenal 4–0 2–1 2–1 5–1 3–0 3–0 3–0 3–0 6–1 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 3–1 6–1 3–1

Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

See also

References

1888–89 · 1889–90 · 1890–91 · 1891–92 · 1892–93 · 1893–94 · 1894–95 · 1895–96 · 1896–97 · 1897–98 · 1898–99 · 1899–1900 · 1900–01 · 1901–02 · 1902–03 · 1903–04 · 1904–05 · 1905–06 · 1906–07 · 1907–08 · 1908–09 · 1909–10 · 1910–11 · 1911–12 · 1912–13 · 1913–14 · 1914–15 · 1915–16 · 1916–17 · 1917–18 · 1918–19 · 1919–20 · 1920–21 · 1921–22 · 1922–23 · 1923–24 · 1924–25 · 1925–26 · 1926–27 · 1927–28 · 1928–29 · 1929–30 · 1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40 · 1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50 · 1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60 · 1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70 · 1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80 · 1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90 · 1990–91 · 1991–92
 « 1901–02
1903–04 » 
FA competitions
FA Cup (Qualifying Rounds, Final) · Charity Shield
Football and Southern Leagues
Football League (First Division • Second Division) • Southern League
Lower leagues
Related to national team
Club seasons
First Division
Aston Villa · Blackburn Rovers · Bolton Wanderers · Bury · Derby County · Everton · Grimsby Town · Liverpool · Middlesbrough · Newcastle United · Nottingham Forest · Notts County · Sheffield United · Stoke · Sunderland · The Wednesday · West Bromwich Albion · Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division
Barnsley · Blackpool · Bristol City · Burnley · Burslem Port Vale · Burton United · Chesterfield · Doncaster Rovers · Gainsborough Trinity · Glossop · Leicester Fosse · Lincoln City · Manchester City · Manchester United · Preston North End · Small Heath · Stockport County · Woolwich Arsenal
Southern League
Brentford · Bristol Rovers · Kettering Town · Luton Town · Millwall · New Brompton · Northampton Town · Portsmouth · Queens Park Rangers · Reading · Southampton · Swindon Town · Tottenham Hotspur · Watford · Wellingborough · West Ham United
1902–03 in European football
Domestic leagues
Belgium · Denmark · England · Germany · Hungary '02 '03 · Italy '02 '03 · Netherlands · Northern Ireland · Scotland · Switzerland
Domestic cups
Albania · Austria · Belgium · Bulgaria · Cyprus · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · England · Faroe Islands '02 '03 · Finland '02 '03 · France · East Germany · West Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland '02 '03 · Israel · Italy · Liechtenstein · Luxembourg · Malta · Netherlands · Northern Ireland · Norway '02 '03 · Poland · Republic of Ireland · Romania · San Marino · Scotland · Soviet Union · Spain · Sweden '02 '03 · Switzerland · Turkey · Wales
League cups
England · France · Israel · Northern Ireland · Republic of Ireland · Scotland