1937–38 in English football

The 1937–38 season was the 63rd season of competitive football in England.

Contents

Overview

This season is notable as the reigning champions Manchester City became the only team to have won the League title one season then been relegated the next.

Events

Honours

Competition Winner Runner-up
First Division Arsenal (5) Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division Aston Villa Manchester United
Third Division North Tranmere Rovers Doncaster Rovers
Third Division South Millwall Bristol City
FA Cup Preston North End (2) Huddersfield Town
Charity Shield Manchester City Sunderland
Home Championship  England  Scotland

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

League table

First Division

P W D L F A GA Pts
1 Arsenal 42 21 10 11 77 44 1.750 52
2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 20 11 11 72 49 1.469 51
3 Preston North End 42 16 17 9 64 44 1.455 49
4 Charlton Athletic 42 16 14 12 65 51 1.275 46
5 Middlesbrough 42 19 8 15 72 65 1.108 46
6 Brentford 42 18 9 15 69 59 1.169 45
7 Bolton Wanderers 42 15 15 12 64 60 1.067 45
8 Sunderland 42 14 16 12 55 57 0.965 44
9 Leeds United 42 14 15 13 64 69 0.928 43
10 Chelsea 42 14 13 15 65 65 1.000 41
11 Liverpool 42 15 11 16 65 71 0.915 41
12 Blackpool 42 16 8 18 61 66 0.924 40
13 Derby County 42 15 10 17 66 87 0.759 40
14 Everton 42 16 7 19 79 75 1.053 39
15 Huddersfield Town 42 17 5 20 55 68 0.809 39
16 Leicester City 42 14 11 17 54 75 0.720 39
17 Stoke City 42 13 12 17 58 59 0.983 38
18 Birmingham 42 10 18 14 58 62 0.935 38
19 Portsmouth 42 13 12 17 62 68 0.912 38
20 Grimsby Town 42 13 12 17 51 68 0.750 38
21 Manchester City 42 14 8 20 80 77 1.039 36
22 West Bromwich Albion 42 14 8 20 74 91 0.813 36

Second Division

P W D L F A GA Pts
1 Aston Villa 42 25 7 10 73 35 2.086 57
2 Manchester United 42 22 9 11 82 50 1.640 53
3 Sheffield United 42 22 9 11 73 56 1.304 53
4 Coventry City 42 20 12 10 66 45 1.467 52
5 Tottenham Hotspur 42 19 6 17 76 54 1.407 44
6 Burnley 42 17 10 15 54 54 1.000 44
7 Bradford Park Avenue 42 17 9 16 69 56 1.232 43
8 Fulham 42 16 11 15 61 57 1.070 43
9 West Ham United 42 14 14 14 53 52 1.019 42
10 Bury 42 18 5 19 63 60 1.050 41
11 Chesterfield 42 16 9 17 63 63 1.000 41
12 Luton Town 42 15 10 17 89 86 1.035 40
13 Plymouth Argyle 42 14 12 16 57 65 0.877 40
14 Norwich City 42 14 11 17 56 75 0.747 39
15 Southampton 42 15 9 18 55 77 0.714 39
16 Blackburn Rovers 42 14 10 18 71 80 0.887 38
17 Sheffield Wednesday 42 14 10 18 49 56 0.875 38
18 Swansea Town 42 13 12 17 45 73 0.616 38
19 Newcastle United 42 14 8 20 51 58 0.879 36
20 Nottingham Forest 42 14 8 20 47 60 0.783 36
21 Barnsley 42 11 14 17 50 64 0.781 36
22 Stockport County 42 11 9 22 43 70 0.614 31

Third Division North

P W D L F A GA Pts
1 Tranmere Rovers 42 23 10 9 81 41 1.976 56
2 Doncaster Rovers 42 21 12 9 74 49 1.510 54
3 Hull City 42 20 13 9 80 43 1.860 53
4 Oldham Athletic 42 19 13 10 67 46 1.457 51
5 Gateshead 42 20 11 11 84 59 1.424 51
6 Rotherham United 42 20 10 12 68 56 1.214 50
7 Lincoln City 42 19 8 15 66 50 1.320 46
8 Crewe Alexandra 42 18 9 15 71 53 1.340 45
9 Chester 42 16 12 14 77 72 1.069 44
10 Wrexham 42 16 11 15 58 63 0.921 43
11 York City 42 16 10 16 70 68 1.029 42
12 Carlisle United 42 15 9 18 57 67 0.851 39
13 New Brighton 42 15 8 19 60 61 0.984 38
14 Bradford City 42 14 10 18 66 69 0.957 38
15 Port Vale 42 12 14 16 65 73 0.890 38
16 Southport 42 12 14 16 53 82 0.646 38
17 Rochdale 42 13 11 18 67 78 0.859 37
18 Halifax Town 42 12 12 18 44 66 0.667 36
19 Darlington 42 11 10 21 54 79 0.684 32
20 Hartlepools United 42 10 12 20 53 80 0.662 32
21 Barrow 42 11 10 21 41 71 0.577 32
22 Accrington Stanley 42 11 7 24 45 75 0.600 29

Third Division South

P W D L F A GA Pts
1 Millwall 42 23 10 9 83 37 2.243 56
2 Bristol City 42 21 13 8 68 40 1.700 55
3 Queens Park Rangers 42 22 9 11 80 47 1.702 53
4 Watford 42 21 11 10 73 43 1.698 53
5 Brighton & Hove Albion 42 21 9 12 64 44 1.455 51
6 Reading 42 20 11 11 71 63 1.127 51
7 Crystal Palace 42 18 12 12 67 47 1.426 48
8 Swindon Town 42 17 10 15 49 49 1.000 44
9 Northampton Town 42 17 9 16 51 57 0.895 43
10 Cardiff City 42 15 12 15 67 54 1.241 42
11 Notts County 42 16 9 17 50 50 1.000 41
12 Southend United 42 15 10 17 70 68 1.029 40
13 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 42 14 12 16 56 57 0.982 40
14 Mansfield Town 42 15 9 18 62 67 0.925 39
15 Bristol Rovers 42 13 13 16 46 61 0.754 39
16 Newport County 42 11 16 15 43 52 0.827 38
17 Exeter City 42 13 12 17 57 70 0.814 38
18 Aldershot 42 15 5 22 39 59 0.661 35
19 Clapton Orient 42 13 7 22 42 61 0.689 33
20 Torquay United 42 9 12 21 38 73 0.521 30
21 Walsall 42 11 7 24 52 88 0.591 29
22 Gillingham 42 10 6 26 36 77 0.468 26

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

National team

The England national football team suffered a poor season in which they came third in the 1938 British Home Championship after only managing to defeat Ireland in between losses to Scotland and Wales. A tour to central Europe was more successful as the England squad comprehensively beat Germany in front of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels in Berlin as well as defeating France in Paris. However, between these successes was another defeat; to Switzerland. The tour was considered very controversial as the players were instructed to give the German leaders the Nazi salute during the anthems before the kick-off of the match in Berlin.

European tour

14 May 1938
 Germany  3–6  England Olympiastadion, Berlin
Rudi Gellesch, Jupp Gauchel, Hans Pesser Jackie Robinson 2, Cliff Bastin, Frank Broome,
Stanley Matthews, Len Goulden
21 May 1938
 Switzerland  2–1  England Hardturm, Zurich
André Abegglen, Georges Aeby Cliff Bastin (P)
26 May 1938
 France  2–4  England Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris
Auguste Jordan, Jean Nicolas Ted Drake 2, Frank Broome, Cliff Bastin (P)
1937–38 in English football
 « 1936–37
1938–39 » 
FA competitions
FA Cup (Qualifying Rounds, Final) • FA Charity Shield
Football League
Related to national team
Club seasons
First Division
Arsenal · Birmingham City · Blackpool · Bolton Wanderers · Brentford · Charlton Athletic · Chelsea · Derby County · Everton · Grimsby Town · Huddersfield Town · Leeds United · Leicester City · Liverpool · Manchester City · Middlesbrough · Portsmouth · Preston North End · Stoke City · Sunderland · West Bromwich Albion · Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division
Aston Villa · Barnsley · Blackburn Rovers · Bradford Park Avenue · Burnley · Bury · Chesterfield · Coventry City · Fulham · Luton Town · Manchester United · Newcastle United · Norwich City · Nottingham Forest · Plymouth Argyle · Sheffield Wednesday · Sheffield United · Southampton · Stockport County · Swansea Town · Tottenham Hotspur · West Ham United
Third Division North
Accrington Stanley · Barrow · Bradford City · Carlisle United · Chester · Crewe Alexandra · Darlington · Doncaster Rovers · Gateshead · Halifax Town · Hartlepools United · Hull City · Lincoln City · New Brighton · Oldham Athletic · Port Vale · Rochdale · Rotherham County · Southport · Tranmere Rovers · Wrexham · York City
Other