1959–60 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town
1959–60 season
Chairman England Stephen Lister
Manager Scotland Bill Shankly (until 1 December 1959)
England Eddie Boot (from 19 January 1960)
Division Two 6th
FA Cup Fourth Round
Top goalscorer League:
Les Massie (18)
All:
Les Massie (20)
Highest home attendance 30,526 vs West Ham United (9 January 1960)
Lowest home attendance 9,336 vs Derby County (14 November 1959)

Huddersfield Town's 1959–60 campaign was Town's best season following their relegation from Division 1 4 years earlier. The main points of the season were the resignation of Bill Shankly, who would then lead Liverpool to greatness in his years in charge. Their FA Cup win over West Ham United in the third round replay at Upton Park, which would inadvertently lead to the departure of Denis Law to Manchester City for a record-breaking fee of £55,000.

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 Harry Fearnley
-- England GK Ray Wood
-- England DF Terry Caldwell
-- England DF John Coddington
-- England DF Jack Connor
-- England DF Brian Gibson
-- England DF Bob Ledger
-- Scotland DF Gordon Low
-- England DF Bill McGarry
-- England DF Bob Parker
No. Position Player
-- England DF Ken Taylor
-- England DF Ray Wilson
-- England MF Peter Dinsdale
-- England MF Kevin McHale
-- England FW Tony France
-- England FW Derek Hawksworth
-- England FW Stan Howard
-- Scotland FW Denis Law
-- Scotland FW Les Massie
-- Scotland FW Willie Sinclair

Review

Bill Shankly made good progress with Town at the start of the season, leading them to 5 wins in their first 7 league games. A dreadful run of only 1 win in 10 games saw Town slide down the table and then on 1 December, Shankly resigned to take charge of league rivals Liverpool, ironically Shankly's last match in charge of Town was against the Anfield outfit. Ex-Town player Eddie Boot toom charge of Town for the rest of the season. He would lead Town on a charge up the table mainly consisting of alternating wins and losses. However, Town's form would lead them to a finish of 6th place, their best finish since relegation 4 years earlier.

Another main highlight of the season was the astonishing win over West Ham United in the FA Cup third round replay at Upton Park with a score of 5 goals to 1. This win showcased the amazing talents of Denis Law, who within 2 months broke the transfer record for a British player after transferring to Manchester City for £55,000.

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 Harry Fearnley
-- England GK Ray Wood
-- England DF Dennis Atkins
-- England DF John Coddington
-- England DF Jack Connor
-- England DF Brian Gibson
-- England DF Bob Ledger
-- Scotland DF Gordon Low
-- England DF Bill McGarry
-- England DF Bob Parker
No. Position Player
-- England DF Ken Taylor
-- England DF Ray Wilson
-- England MF Peter Dinsdale
-- England MF Kevin McHale
-- England MF Michael O'Grady
-- England FW Chris Balderstone
-- England FW Tony France
-- England FW Stan Howard
-- Scotland FW Les Massie
-- Scotland FW Willie Sinclair

Results

Division Two

Date Opponents Home/

Away

Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance Position
22 August 1959 Ipswich Town A 4–1 Ledger, Low, Hawksworth (2) 14,441 1st
26 August 1959 Brighton & Hove Albion H 2–0 McHale, Dinsdale 15,221 2nd
29 August 1959 Scunthorpe United H 2–0 Massie (2) 14,370 1st
2 September 1959 Brighton & Hove Albion A 2–3 Dinsdale, Wilson 22,588 3rd
5 September 1959 Leyton Orient H 1–1 Dinsdale 15,192 3rd
9 September 1959 Swansea Town H 4–3 Massie, Ledger (2), Sinclair 12,369 3rd
12 September 1959 Lincoln City A 2–0 Massie (2) 10,406 2nd
17 September 1959 Swansea Town A 1–3 Sinclair 15,250 5th
19 September 1959 Aston Villa H 0–1 22,522 6th
26 September 1959 Sunderland A 0–0 31,655 7th
3 October 1959 Portsmouth H 6–3 Connor (2), Massie (2), McHale, Taylor 15,452 4th
10 October 1959 Rotherham United A 1–1 Law 17,029 4th
17 October 1959 Cardiff City H 0–1 18,367 6th
24 October 1959 Hull City A 1–1 Howard 15,864 5th
31 October 1959 Sheffield United H 0–1 18,466 8th
7 November 1959 Middlesbrough A 0–1 23,077 11th
14 November 1959 Derby County H 2–2 France, Coddington (pen) 9,336 10th
21 November 1959 Plymouth Argyle A 3–1 McHale (2), Law 18,250 6th
28 November 1959 Liverpool H 1–0 Massie 16,185 5th
5 December 1959 Charlton Athletic A 1–1 Law 12,333 5th
12 December 1959 Bristol City H 6–1 Dinsdale, Law, Massie (2), Taylor, Coddington (pen) 10,705 5th
19 December 1959 Ipswich Town H 3–1 Hawksworth, Massie, Coddington (pen) 10,648 4th
26 December 1959 Stoke City A 1–1 McHale 20,183 5th
28 December 1959 Stoke City H 2–3 Massie (2) 25,728 5th
2 January 1960 Scunthorpe United A 2–0 McHale, Massie 12,228 5th
16 January 1960 Leyton Orient A 1–2 Connor 11,652 5th
23 January 1960 Lincoln City H 3–0 McHale, Massie, Gibson 14,995 5th
6 February 1960 Aston Villa A 0–4 44,879 5th
13 February 1960 Sunderland H 1–1 Law 9,648 6th
20 February 1960 Portsmouth A 2–0 Law, Coddington (pen) 14,062 5th
27 February 1960 Rotherham United H 1–1 Coddington (pen), Law 19,560 5th
5 March 1960 Cardiff City A 1–2 Balderstone 32,733 7th
12 March 1960 Hull City H 1–0 Massie 12,167 3rd
19 March 1960 Liverpool A 2–2 McHale, Balderstone 30,009 6th
26 March 1960 Middlesbrough H 2–0 McHale, Massie 13,887 3rd
2 April 1960 Derby County A 2–3 Massie, McHale 13,297 7th
9 April 1960 Plymouth Argyle H 2–0 McHale, Balderstone 10,660 4th
15 April 1960 Bristol Rovers A 0–2 16,069 4th
16 April 1960 Bristol City A 3–2 McHale, Etheridge (og), Massie 17,483 4th
18 April 1960 Bristol Rovers H 0–1 13,820 4th
23 April 1960 Charlton Athletic H 4–0 Balderstone, Massie, Connor (2) 10,932 5th
30 April 1960 Sheffield United A 0–2 16,393 6th

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents Home/

Away

Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
9 January 1960 Round 3 West Ham United H 1–1 Law 30,526
13 January 1960 Round 3 Replay West Ham United A 5–1 Massie (2), McGarry, Connor (2) 22,605
30 January 1960 Round 4 Luton Town H 0–1 28,220

Appearances and goals

Name Nation Position League Apps League Goals FA Cup Apps FA Cup Goals Total Apps Total Goals
Denis Atkins EnglandDF100010
Chris Balderstone EnglandMF840084
Terry Caldwell EnglandDF400040
John Coddington EnglandDF41530445
Jack Connor EnglandDF23522257
Peter Dinsdale EnglandDF16410174
Harry Fearnley EnglandGK300030
Tony France EnglandFW410041
Brian Gibson EnglandDF36130391
Derek Hawksworth EnglandMF22330253
Stan Howard EnglandMF910091
Denis Law ScotlandMF24731278
Bob Ledger EnglandMF24210252
Gordon Low ScotlandDF19100191
Les Massie ScotlandFW4020324322
Bill McGarry EnglandDF35031381
Kevin McHale EnglandMF3214203414
Michael O'Grady EnglandMF100010
Bob Parker EnglandDF200020
Willie Sinclair ScotlandFW730073
Ken Taylor EnglandDF31230342
Ray Wilson EnglandDF41130441
Ray Wood EnglandGK39030420