1949–50 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town
1949–50 season
Chairman England Haydn Battye
Manager England George Stephenson
Division One 15th
FA Cup Third Round
Top goalscorer League:
Vic Metcalfe
Jeff Taylor (11)
All:
Vic Metcalfe
Jeff Taylor (11)
Highest home attendance 37,766 vs Newcastle United (11 April 1950)
Lowest home attendance 12,352 vs Bolton Wanderers (25 February 1950)

Huddersfield Town's 1949–50 campaign saw Town finish in their highest position in Division 1 since their 3rd-place finish in the 1935–36 season. They finished in 15th place with just 37 points and most of the highlights of the season were of the negative sort with disappointing thrashings by Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United, as well as a 6–0 drubbing by Sunderland in the FA Cup.

Squad at the start of the season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
-- England GK Bob Hesford
-- England GK Harry Mills
-- England GK Jack Wheeler
-- England DF John Battye
-- England DF Eddie Boot
-- England DF Tom Briggs
-- Republic of Ireland DF Bill Hayes
-- England DF George Hepplewhite
-- England DF George Howe
-- England DF Donald Hunter
-- England DF Lol Morgan
-- England DF Jack Percival
-- England DF Henry Stewart
No. Position Player
-- England DF Bill Whittaker
-- Scotland MF Ian Duthie
-- England MF Joe Lynn
-- Northern Ireland MF Johnny McKenna
-- England MF Vic Metcalfe
-- England MF Harry Yates
-- England FW Ronnie Burke
-- England FW Jimmy Glazzard
-- England FW Harold Hassall
-- England FW Albert Nightingale
-- England FW Arnold Rodgers
-- England FW Conway Smith

Review

After Arnold Rodgers' goal in the final match of the previous season, some were wondering how Town would cope in Division 1 as they headed into the 1950s. The season didn't start too well with Town only winning 1 of their first 10 matches, that being a 2–1 win over Charlton Athletic, but that run also included a 7–1 defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Town's form would never dramatically improve, which led Town to another relegation battle, but an improvement saw Town finish in the more respectable position of 15th place. This was also the season that Town played 2 matches at Elland Road, the home of rivals Leeds United, because of a fire at Leeds Road after the game against Manchester United.

Squad at the end of the season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
-- England GK Bob Hesford
-- England GK Harry Mills
-- England GK Jack Wheeler
-- England DF John Battye
-- England DF Eddie Boot
-- Northern Ireland DF Charlie Gallogly
-- England DF George Hepplewhite
-- England DF George Howe
-- England DF Jack Howe
-- England DF Donald Hunter
-- England DF Don McEvoy
-- England DF Lol Morgan
-- England DF Jack Percival
-- England DF Henry Stewart
No. Position Player
-- England DF Bill Whittaker
-- Scotland MF Ian Duthie
-- England MF Joe Lynn
-- Northern Ireland MF Johnny McKenna
-- England MF Vic Metcalfe
-- England MF Ray Taylor
-- England MF Harry Yates
-- England FW Ronnie Burke
-- England FW Jimmy Glazzard
-- England FW Harold Hassall
-- England FW Albert Nightingale
-- England FW Conway Smith
-- England FW Jeff Taylor

Results

Division One

Date Opponents Home/

Away

Result

F–A

Scorers Attendance Position
20 August 1949 Blackpool A 1–4 Burke 29,712 16th
24 August 1949 Fulham H 2–2 Nightingale, Hassall 21,805 17th
27 August 1949 Middlesbrough H 2–2 Hassall, Burke 22,711 19th
31 August 1949 Fulham A 1–4 Hassall 30,000 21st
3 September 1949 Everton A 0–3 43,009 21st
7 September 1949 Charlton Athletic H 2–1 Burke, Glazzard 15,489 21st
10 September 1949 Arsenal H 2–2 Burke, Glazzard 20,882 20th
14 September 1949 Charlton Athletic A 2–2 Rodgers (2) 18,821 18th
17 September 1949 Portsmouth H 0–1 26,222 20th
24 September 1949 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 1–7 Metcalfe 45,559 21st
1 October 1949 Aston Villa H 1–0 Nightingale 20,636 20th
8 October 1949 Bolton Wanderers A 2–1 McEvoy, Metcalfe 31,048 15th
15 October 1949 Birmingham City H 1–0 Glazzard 22,872 13th
22 October 1949 Derby County A 2–4 McEvoy, McKenna 23,624 16th
29 October 1949 West Bromwich Albion H 1–1 Glazzard 22,461 16th
5 November 1949 Manchester United A 0–6 40,295 16th
12 November 1949 Chelsea H 1–2 J. Taylor 12,565 18th
19 November 1949 Stoke City A 0–0 22,473 18th
26 November 1949 Burnley H 1–2 J. Taylor 19,154 20th
3 December 1949 Sunderland A 1–1 J. Taylor 33,951 19th
10 December 1949 Liverpool H 3–2 J. Taylor, Metcalfe (pen), McKenna 25,767 17th
17 December 1949 Blackpool H 0–1 28,107 18th
24 December 1949 Middlesbrough A 0–3 33,424 19th
26 December 1949 Manchester City H 1–0 Burke 29,989 16th
27 December 1949 Manchester City A 2–1 Glazzard, Hassall 45,000 16th
31 December 1949 Everton H 1–2 Metcalfe (pen) 24,277 16th
14 January 1950 Arsenal A 0–1 46,815 17th
21 January 1950 Portsmouth A 0–4 29,746 19th
4 February 1950 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–0 Metcalfe 16,736 18th
18 February 1950 Aston Villa A 1–2 J. Taylor 24,560 18th
25 February 1950 Bolton Wanderers H 2–0 Nightingale, J. Howe (pen) 12,352 18th
4 March 1950 Birmingham City A 1–2 Nightingale 26,230 18th
11 March 1950 Stoke City H 4–0 McKenna, J. Taylor (2), Nightingale 18,702 17th
18 March 1950 Burnley A 0–1 19,960 18th
25 March 1950 Manchester United H 3–1 Crompton (og), Metcalfe (2, 1 pen) 34,348 16th
1 April 1950 Chelsea A 1–3 Nightingale 32,064 18th
7 April 1950 Newcastle United A 0–0 46,886 18th
8 April 1950 Derby County H 2–0 J. Taylor (2) 30,147 16th
11 April 1950 Newcastle United H 1–2 Metcalfe 37,766 17th
15 April 1950 West Bromwich Albion A 0–0 28,240 17th
22 April 1950 Sunderland H 3–1 J. Taylor, Metcalfe (2, 1 pen) 31,743 15th
3 May 1950 Liverpool A 3–2 J. Taylor, Nightingale, Metcalfe 35,763 15th

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents Home/

Away

Result

F–A

Scorers Attendance
7 January 1950 Round 3 Sunderland A 0–6 55,097

Appearances and goals

Name Nation Position League Apps League Goals FA Cup Apps FA Cup Goals Total Apps Total Goals
John Battye EnglandDF22000220
Eddie Boot EnglandDF38010390
Tom Briggs EnglandDF400040
Ronnie Burke EnglandFW12500125
Ian Duthie ScotlandMF100010
Charlie Gallogly Northern IrelandDF15000150
Jimmy Glazzard EnglandFW21510225
Harold Hassall EnglandFW10410114
Bill Hayes Republic of IrelandDF17010180
George Hepplewhite EnglandDF36010370
Bob Hesford EnglandGK600060
George Howe EnglandDF500050
Jack Howe EnglandDF20110211
Donald Hunter EnglandDF700070
Joe Lynn EnglandMF500050
Don McEvoy EnglandDF520052
Johnny McKenna Northern IrelandMF40310413
Vic Metcalfe EnglandMF4111104211
Harry Mills EnglandGK34010350
Lol Morgan EnglandDF600060
Albert Nightingale EnglandMF39710407
Jack Percival EnglandDF700070
Arnold Rodgers EnglandFW420042
Conway Smith EnglandMF10000100
Henry Stewart EnglandDF15000150
Jeff Taylor EnglandFW2111002111
Ray Taylor EnglandMF200020
Jack Wheeler EnglandGK200020
Bill Whittaker EnglandDF16000160
Harry Yates EnglandMF100010