1955–56 Football League

The Football League

Season	1955–56
Champions	Manchester United
← 1954–55 1956–57 →

The 1955–1956 season was the 57th completed season of The Football League.

Final league tables

The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at 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.

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. From the 1922–23 season on it was required of the bottom two teams of both Third Division North and Third Division South.^[2]

First Division

Football League
First Division

Season	1955–56
Champions	Manchester United (4th English title)
Relegated	Huddersfield Town Sheffield United
European Cup 1956–57	Manchester United
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1955-58	Birmingham City
FA Cup winners	Manchester City (3rd FA Cup title)
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,529 (3.31 per match)
Top goalscorer	Nat Lofthouse (Bolton Wanderers), 32 [3]
← 1954–55 1956–57 →

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GA	GD		Pts	Notes
1	Manchester United	42		18	3	0	51	20		7	7	7	32	31		83	51	1.627	+32		60	European Cup 1956–57 Preliminary round
2	Blackpool	42		13	4	4	56	27		7	5	9	30	35		86	62	1.387	+24		49
3	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42		15	2	4	51	27		5	7	9	38	38		89	65	1.369	+24		49
4	Manchester City	42		11	5	5	40	27		7	5	9	42	42		82	69	1.188	+13		46	1955–56 FA Cup winners
5	Arsenal	42		13	4	4	38	22		5	6	10	22	39		60	61	0.984	–1		46
6	Birmingham City	42		12	4	5	51	26		6	5	10	24	31		75	57	1.316	+18		45	Participated in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1955-58
7	Burnley	42		11	3	7	37	20		7	5	9	27	34		64	54	1.185	+10		44
8	Bolton Wanderers	42		13	3	5	50	24		5	4	12	21	34		71	58	1.224	+13		43
9	Sunderland	42		10	8	3	44	36		7	1	13	36	59		80	95	0.842	–15		43
10	Luton Town	42		12	4	5	44	27		5	4	12	22	37		66	64	1.031	+2		42
11	Newcastle United	42		12	4	5	49	24		5	3	13	36	46		85	70	1.214	+5		41
12	Portsmouth	42		9	8	4	46	38		7	1	13	32	47		78	85	0.918	–7		41
13	West Bromwich Albion	42		13	3	5	37	25		5	2	14	21	45		58	70	0.829	–12		41
14	Charlton Athletic	42		13	2	6	47	26		4	4	13	28	55		75	81	0.926	–6		40
15	Everton	42		11	5	5	37	29		4	5	12	18	40		55	69	0.797	–14		40
16	Chelsea	42		10	4	7	32	26		4	7	10	32	51		64	77	0.831	–13		39
17	Cardiff City	42		11	4	6	36	32		4	5	12	19	37		55	69	0.797	–14		39
18	Tottenham Hotspur	42		9	4	8	37	33		6	3	12	24	38		61	71	0.859	–10		37
19	Preston North End	42		6	5	10	32	36		8	3	10	41	36		73	72	1.014	+1		36
20	Aston Villa	42		9	6	6	32	29		2	7	12	20	40		52	69	0.754	–17		35
21	Huddersfield Town	42		9	4	8	32	30		5	3	13	22	53		54	83	0.651	–29		35
22	Sheffield United	42		8	6	7	31	35		4	3	14	32	42		63	77	0.818	–14		33

P = 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, qualified for European Cup
	FA Cup winners
	Welsh Cup winners
	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1955-58
	Relegated

Results

Home ╲ Away

Arsenal !ARS

Aston Villa !AST

Birmingham !BIR

Blackpool !BLP

Bolton Wanderers !BOL

Burnley !BUR

Cardiff City !CAR

Charlton Athletic !CHA

Chelsea !CHE

Everton !EVE

Huddersfield Town !HUD

Luton Town !LUT

Manchester City !MCI

Manchester United !MUN

Newcastle United !NEW

Portsmouth !POR

Preston North End !PNE

Sheffield United !SHU

Sunderland !SUN

Tottenham Hotspur !TOT

West Bromwich Albion !WBA

Wolverhampton Wanderers !WOL

Arsenal !Arsenal

1–0

1–0

4–1

3–1

0–1

3–1

2–4

1–1

3–2

2–0

3–0

0–0

1–1

1–0

1–3

3–2

2–1

3–1

0–1

2–0

2–2

Aston Villa !Aston Villa

1–1

0–0

1–1

0–2

2–0

2–0

1–1

1–4

2–0

3–0

1–0

0–3

4–4

3–0

1–3

3–2

3–2

1–4

0–2

3–0

0–0

Birmingham !Birmingham

4–0

2–2

1–2

5–2

1–2

2–1

4–0

3–0

6–2

5–0

0–0

4–3

2–2

3–1

3–2

0–3

0–2

1–2

3–0

2–0

0–0

Blackpool !Blackpool

3–1

6–0

2–0

0–0

1–1

2–1

5–0

2–1

4–0

4–2

3–2

0–1

0–0

5–1

2–3

2–6

1–1

7–3

0–2

5–1

2–1

Bolton Wanderers !Bolton Wanderers

4–1

1–0

6–0

1–3

0–1

4–0

1–3

4–0

1–1

2–2

4–0

1–3

3–1

3–2

4–0

0–0

2–1

0–3

3–2

4–0

2–1

Burnley !Burnley

0–1

2–0

3–2

0–2

2–0

0–2

2–1

5–0

0–1

2–0

3–1

2–2

0–0

3–1

3–0

1–2

1–1

4–0

2–0

1–2

1–2

Cardiff City !Cardiff City

1–2

1–0

2–1

1–0

1–0

2–2

3–1

1–1

3–1

1–2

2–0

4–1

0–1

1–1

2–3

3–1

3–2

3–1

0–0

1–3

1–9

Charlton Athletic !Charlton Athletic

2–0

3–1

2–0

1–2

3–1

2–1

0–0

1–2

0–2

4–1

2–2

5–2

3–0

0–2

6–1

2–1

3–2

2–1

1–2

5–1

0–2

Chelsea !Chelsea

2–0

0–0

1–2

2–1

0–2

0–0

2–1

3–1

6–1

0–0

0–0

2–1

2–4

2–1

1–5

0–1

1–0

2–3

2–0

2–0

2–3

Everton !Everton

1–1

2–1

5–1

1–0

1–0

1–1

2–0

3–2

3–3

5–2

0–1

1–1

4–2

0–0

0–2

0–4

1–4

1–2

2–1

2–0

2–1

Huddersfield Town !Huddersfield Town

0–1

1–1

1–1

3–1

3–1

1–0

1–2

4–0

1–3

1–0

0–2

3–3

0–2

2–6

1–0

2–2

1–2

4–0

1–0

1–0

1–3

Luton Town !Luton Town

0–0

2–1

0–1

3–1

0–0

2–3

3–0

2–1

2–2

2–2

1–2

3–2

0–2

4–2

1–0

2–1

2–1

8–2

2–1

0–2

5–1

Manchester City !Manchester City

2–2

2–2

1–1

2–0

2–0

1–3

3–1

0–2

2–2

3–0

1–0

3–2

1–0

1–2

4–1

0–2

3–1

4–2

1–2

2–0

2–2

Manchester United !Manchester United

1–1

1–0

2–1

2–1

1–0

2–0

1–1

5–1

3–0

2–1

3–0

3–1

2–1

5–2

1–0

3–2

3–1

2–1

2–2

3–1

4–3

Newcastle United !Newcastle United

2–0

2–3

2–2

1–2

3–0

3–1

4–0

4–1

1–1

1–2

1–1

4–0

3–1

0–0

2–1

5–0

4–2

3–1

1–2

0–3

3–1

Portsmouth !Portsmouth

5–2

2–2

0–5

3–3

3–3

3–1

1–1

4–0

4–4

1–0

5–2

0–0

2–4

3–2

0–2

0–2

1–1

2–1

4–1

1–1

2–1

Preston North End !Preston North End

0–1

0–1

1–1

3–3

0–1

4–2

1–2

2–2

2–3

0–1

1–2

2–1

0–3

3–1

4–3

2–1

0–2

2–2

3–3

0–1

2–0

Sheffield United !Sheffield United

0–2

2–2

0–3

2–1

1–3

1–2

2–1

0–0

2–1

1–1

3–1

0–4

1–1

1–0

2–1

1–3

3–1

2–3

2–0

2–2

3–3

Sunderland !Sunderland

3–1

5–1

1–0

0–0

0–0

4–4

1–1

3–2

4–3

0–0

4–1

1–2

0–3

2–2

1–6

4–2

2–2

3–2

3–2

2–1

1–1

Tottenham Hotspur !Tottenham Hotspur

3–1

4–3

0–1

1–1

0–3

0–1

1–1

2–3

4–0

1–1

1–2

2–1

2–1

1–2

3–1

1–1

0–4

3–1

2–3

4–1

2–1

West Bromwich Albion !West Bromwich Albion

2–1

1–0

0–2

1–2

2–0

1–0

2–1

3–3

3–0

2–0

1–2

3–1

0–4

1–4

1–1

4–0

3–2

2–1

3–0

1–0

1–1

Wolverhampton Wanderers !Wolverhampton Wanderers

3–3

0–0

1–0

2–3

4–2

3–1

0–2

2–0

2–1

1–0

4–0

1–2

7–2

0–2

2–1

3–1

2–1

3–2

3–1

5–1

3–2

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

Maps

Second Division

Football League
Second Division

Season	1955–56
Champions	Sheffield Wednesday (4th title)
Promoted	Leeds United
Relegated	Hull City, Plymouth Argyle
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,628 (3.52 per match)
Top goalscorer	Willie Gardiner (Leicester City), 34 [3]
← 1954–55 1956–57 →

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GA	GD		Pts
1	Sheffield Wednesday	42		13	5	3	60	28		8	8	5	41	34		101	62	1.629	+39		55
2	Leeds United	42		17	3	1	51	18		6	3	12	29	42		80	60	1.333	+20		52
3	Liverpool	42		14	3	4	52	25		7	3	11	33	38		85	63	1.349	+22		48
4	Blackburn Rovers	42		13	4	4	55	29		8	2	11	29	36		84	65	1.292	+19		48
5	Leicester City	42		15	3	3	63	23		6	3	12	31	55		94	78	1.205	+19		48
6	Bristol Rovers	42		13	3	5	53	33		8	3	10	31	37		84	70	1.200	+16		48
7	Nottingham Forest	42		9	5	7	30	26		10	4	7	38	37		68	63	1.079	+14		47
8	Lincoln City	42		14	5	2	49	17		4	5	12	30	48		79	65	1.215	+5		46
9	Fulham	42		15	2	4	59	27		5	4	12	30	52		89	79	1.127	+14		46
10	Swansea Town	42		14	4	3	49	23		6	2	13	34	58		83	81	1.025	+10		46
11	Bristol City	42		14	4	3	49	20		5	3	13	31	44		80	64	1.250	+2		45
12	Port Vale	42		12	4	5	38	21		4	9	8	22	37		60	58	1.034	+2		45
13	Stoke City	42		13	2	6	47	27		7	2	12	24	35		71	62	1.145	+16		44
14	Middlesbrough	42		11	4	6	46	31		5	4	12	30	47		76	78	0.974	–2		40
15	Bury	42		9	5	7	44	39		7	3	11	42	51		86	90	0.956	–4		40
16	West Ham United	42		12	4	5	52	27		2	7	12	22	42		74	69	1.072	+5		39
17	Doncaster Rovers	42		11	5	5	45	30		1	6	14	24	66		69	96	0.719	–27		35
18	Barnsley	42		10	5	6	33	35		1	7	13	14	49		47	84	0.560	–37		34
19	Rotherham United	42		7	5	9	29	34		5	4	12	27	41		56	75	0.747	–19		33
20	Notts County	42		8	5	8	39	37		3	4	14	16	45		55	82	0.671	–27		31
21	Plymouth Argyle	42		7	6	8	33	25		3	2	16	21	62		54	87	0.621	–33		28
22	Hull City	42		6	4	11	32	45		4	2	15	21	52		53	97	0.546	–44		26

P = 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
	Relegated

Results

Home ╲ Away

Barnsley !BAR

Blackburn Rovers !BLB

Bristol City !BRI

Bristol Rovers !BRO

Bury !BRY

Doncaster Rovers !DON

Fulham !FUL

Hull City !HUL

Leeds United !LEE

Leicester City !LEI

Lincoln City !LIN

Liverpool !LIV

Middlesbrough !MID

Nottingham Forest !NOT

Notts County !NTC

Plymouth Argyle !PLY

Port Vale !PTV

Rotherham United !ROT

Sheffield Wednesday !SHW

Stoke City !STK

Swansea Town !SWA

West Ham United !WHU

Barnsley !Barnsley

2–1

0–0

4–3

3–3

2–2

3–0

2–1

2–1

0–1

1–0

0–5

0–4

1–1

3–1

1–2

1–2

3–2

0–3

1–0

3–2

1–1

Blackburn Rovers !Blackburn Rovers

5–1

4–6

2–0

3–1

1–1

1–0

2–0

2–3

2–3

0–2

3–3

2–1

2–2

2–0

2–1

7–1

3–1

2–2

3–0

3–0

4–1

Bristol City !Bristol City

2–0

2–0

1–1

3–1

4–1

2–1

5–2

0–1

1–1

5–1

2–1

2–0

0–0

1–3

6–0

0–0

5–2

3–2

0–1

2–1

3–1

Bristol Rovers !Bristol Rovers

1–1

1–0

0–3

4–2

4–2

2–2

4–2

4–1

2–1

3–0

1–2

7–2

4–1

2–0

2–1

1–2

1–4

4–2

4–2

1–2

1–1

Bury !Bury

3–0

0–4

1–1

0–1

5–1

1–5

3–2

1–0

3–1

3–3

1–4

1–1

1–2

4–0

7–1

2–2

2–1

2–5

1–0

2–4

1–1

Doncaster Rovers !Doncaster Rovers

1–1

2–2

3–2

2–1

2–3

4–2

3–0

1–2

6–2

2–0

1–0

0–1

1–3

1–1

3–1

3–0

1–1

2–2

2–4

3–1

2–1

Fulham !Fulham

5–1

3–0

3–0

3–5

3–1

4–0

5–0

1–2

3–2

3–0

3–1

4–1

4–3

1–1

2–1

1–4

1–1

1–2

2–0

4–1

3–1

Hull City !Hull City

4–1

0–3

1–3

1–2

2–3

1–1

2–2

1–4

2–4

2–1

1–2

2–2

0–3

2–0

0–1

2–1

0–3

2–2

3–2

1–4

3–1

Leeds United !Leeds United

3–1

1–2

2–1

2–1

1–0

3–0

6–1

1–0

4–0

1–0

4–2

2–0

3–0

1–0

4–2

1–1

4–1

2–1

1–0

2–2

3–3

Leicester City !Leicester City

0–0

0–2

2–2

4–2

5–0

3–0

2–1

1–2

5–2

4–0

3–1

1–1

5–2

4–0

5–1

4–1

3–1

1–2

3–1

6–1

2–1

Lincoln City !Lincoln City

4–0

3–0

2–0

2–0

4–2

1–1

6–1

2–0

1–1

7–1

2–0

1–2

1–3

2–0

1–0

1–0

1–1

2–2

2–1

3–1

1–1

Liverpool !Liverpool

1–1

1–2

2–1

0–2

4–2

1–2

7–0

3–0

1–0

3–1

2–1

1–1

5–2

2–1

4–1

4–1

2–0

0–3

2–2

4–1

3–1

Middlesbrough !Middlesbrough

1–1

1–0

2–1

0–1

1–3

4–1

1–1

5–1

5–3

4–3

4–2

1–2

3–2

3–0

1–2

1–1

0–1

2–2

1–3

4–1

2–0

Nottingham Forest !Nottingham Forest

1–0

1–1

0–2

1–1

0–2

5–0

1–0

2–1

2–0

2–0

2–2

1–3

2–4

0–2

3–1

2–2

1–0

0–1

2–3

2–1

0–0

Notts County !Notts County

2–2

1–2

3–2

5–2

2–1

3–2

3–4

0–2

2–1

1–1

2–2

2–1

5–0

1–3

3–0

0–0

1–2

1–1

1–3

1–5

0–1

Plymouth Argyle !Plymouth Argyle

3–0

1–0

5–0

0–1

1–4

2–2

0–0

1–1

4–3

0–1

1–4

4–0

4–0

1–2

1–1

1–1

3–1

1–1

0–1

0–1

0–1

Port Vale !Port Vale

1–2

4–1

2–0

1–1

1–1

2–0

2–1

0–1

2–0

2–3

1–1

1–1

3–2

0–2

3–1

3–1

4–1

0–1

1–0

3–0

2–1

Rotherham United !Rotherham United

0–0

3–2

1–3

1–0

1–3

3–3

2–3

0–2

0–2

3–1

2–2

0–1

2–1

2–1

1–1

0–0

1–0

2–3

0–1

2–3

3–2

Sheffield Wednesday !Sheffield Wednesday

3–0

5–1

2–1

4–2

3–3

5–2

2–3

4–1

4–0

1–1

5–3

1–1

3–1

1–2

1–0

5–2

4–0

0–2

4–0

2–2

1–1

Stoke City !Stoke City

2–1

1–2

4–2

1–2

0–2

5–2

1–2

4–1

2–1

2–0

3–0

3–2

2–5

1–1

0–2

4–1

1–1

1–0

2–0

5–0

3–0

Swansea Town !Swansea Town

3–1

2–1

2–1

1–2

5–3

2–0

2–0

4–1

1–1

6–1

0–2

2–1

2–1

0–1

5–1

2–2

0–0

4–1

2–1

0–0

4–2

West Ham United !West Ham United

4–0

2–3

3–0

2–1

3–2

6–1

2–1

1–1

1–1

1–3

2–4

2–0

1–0

1–2

6–1

4–0

0–2

1–1

3–3

2–0

5–1

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

Maps

Third Division North

Football League
Third Division North

Season	1955–56
Champions	Grimsby Town (2nd title)
Failed re-election	none
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,771 (3.21 per match)
Top goalscorer	Bob Crosbie (Grimsby Town), 36 [3]
← 1954–55 1956–57 →

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GA	GD		Pts
1	Grimsby Town	46		20	1	2	54	10		11	5	7	22	19		76	29	2.621	+47		68
2	Derby County	46		18	4	1	67	23		10	3	10	43	32		110	55	2.000	+55		63
3	Accrington Stanley	46		17	4	2	61	19		8	5	10	31	38		92	57	1.614	+35		59
4	Hartlepools United	46		18	2	3	47	15		8	3	12	34	45		81	60	1.350	+21		57
5	Southport	46		12	9	2	39	18		11	2	10	27	35		66	53	1.245	+13		57
6	Chesterfield	46		18	1	4	61	21		7	3	13	33	45		94	66	1.424	+28		54
7	Stockport County	46		16	4	3	65	22		5	5	13	25	39		90	61	1.475	+29		51
8	Bradford City	46		16	5	2	57	25		2	8	13	21	39		78	64	1.219	+14		49
9	Scunthorpe & Lindsey United	46		12	4	7	40	26		8	4	11	35	37		75	63	1.190	+12		48
10	Workington	46		13	4	6	47	20		6	5	12	28	43		75	63	1.190	+12		47
11	York City	46		12	4	7	44	24		7	5	11	41	48		85	72	1.181	+13		47
12	Rochdale	46		13	5	5	46	39		4	8	11	20	45		66	84	0.786	–18		47
13	Gateshead	46		15	4	4	56	32		2	7	14	21	52		77	84	0.917	–7		45
14	Wrexham	46		11	5	7	37	28		5	5	13	29	45		66	73	0.904	–7		42
15	Darlington	46		11	6	6	41	28		5	3	15	19	45		60	73	0.822	–13		41
16	Tranmere Rovers	46		11	4	8	33	25		5	5	13	26	59		59	84	0.702	–25		41
17	Chester	46		10	8	5	35	33		3	6	14	17	49		52	82	0.634	–30		40
18	Mansfield Town	46		13	6	4	59	21		1	5	17	25	60		84	81	1.037	+3		39
19	Halifax Town	46		10	6	7	40	27		4	5	14	26	49		66	76	0.868	–10		39
20	Oldham Athletic	46		7	12	4	48	36		3	6	14	28	50		76	86	0.884	–10		38
21	Carlisle United	46		11	3	9	45	36		4	5	14	26	59		71	95	0.747	–24		38
22	Barrow	46		11	6	6	44	25		1	3	19	17	58		61	83	0.735	–22		33
23	Bradford Park Avenue	46		13	4	6	47	38		0	3	20	14	84		61	122	0.500	–61		33
24	Crewe Alexandra	46		9	4	10	32	35		0	6	17	18	70		50	105	0.476	–55		28

P = 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
	New club in the league (none)
	Re-elected
	Failed re-election (none)

Results

Home ╲ Away

Accrington Stanley !ACC

Barrow !BRW

Bradford City !BRA

Bradford Park Avenue !BPA

Carlisle United !CRL

Chester !CHE

Chesterfield !CHF

Crewe Alexandra !CRE

Darlington !DAR

Derby County !DER

Gateshead !GAT

Grimsby Town !GRI

Halifax Town !HAL

Hartlepool !HAR

Mansfield Town !MAN

Oldham Athletic !OLD

Rochdale !ROC

Scunthorpe & Lindsey United !SCU

Southport !SOU

Stockport County !STP

Tranmere !TRA

Workington !WRK

Wrexham !WRE

York City !YOR

Accrington Stanley !Accrington Stanley

2–0

2–0

7–0

1–0

4–0

5–1

5–1

2–1

2–0

2–2

0–1

2–2

1–0

3–1

2–2

3–0

2–0

4–2

3–1

0–0

5–1

3–1

1–3

Barrow !Barrow

3–1

3–1

2–2

0–0

1–2

3–1

5–0

0–1

1–2

4–0

0–0

2–2

3–2

4–1

4–1

2–0

2–2

0–2

2–0

1–1

2–0

0–3

0–1

Bradford City !Bradford City

2–1

1–1

5–0

0–0

1–1

3–5

3–1

3–0

2–1

3–1

0–2

2–0

2–0

4–2

0–0

2–2

4–3

2–0

4–1

5–0

2–0

4–3

3–1

Bradford Park Avenue !Bradford Park Avenue

1–0

3–2

1–1

2–1

1–1

0–5

2–0

3–0

2–4

3–1

2–1

1–1

1–3

0–3

4–1

3–3

2–0

0–3

2–0

4–5

4–0

4–2

2–1

Carlisle United !Carlisle United

0–4

2–0

0–0

4–1

4–1

1–1

4–1

2–0

0–3

2–1

1–2

2–2

0–3

5–2

3–1

1–2

1–2

4–0

4–1

0–3

2–4

0–1

3–1

Chester !Chester

1–1

1–0

1–1

0–0

3–3

2–1

0–0

2–1

2–5

3–0

2–0

1–0

0–1

4–3

3–2

0–0

3–5

1–3

1–4

0–0

1–0

2–1

2–2

Chesterfield !Chesterfield

0–1

2–0

1–1

5–1

2–1

2–1

8–0

2–1

2–0

3–0

1–0

3–0

2–3

2–1

1–0

7–2

2–0

5–1

2–3

2–0

2–4

2–0

3–1

Crewe Alexandra !Crewe Alexandra

0–3

0–1

1–4

4–2

3–1

0–0

0–3

1–1

2–1

1–0

0–0

1–4

1–3

2–1

1–2

2–0

1–2

1–1

3–1

4–0

2–1

1–2

1–2

Darlington !Darlington

2–0

4–2

1–1

4–1

3–5

0–1

2–1

4–1

1–0

0–0

0–1

1–2

0–0

3–1

2–1

2–0

1–0

0–1

0–0

6–2

2–2

2–2

1–4

Derby County !Derby County

6–2

2–1

4–1

4–0

3–0

3–1

3–0

3–3

6–2

4–1

1–3

4–1

3–2

4–0

2–0

2–0

2–2

2–0

2–0

0–0

2–2

2–0

3–2

Gateshead !Gateshead

4–0

3–2

4–1

3–0

2–3

1–1

3–3

4–1

0–1

2–4

2–0

1–1

2–1

3–0

1–3

4–1

1–0

2–0

2–1

3–3

4–3

2–1

3–2

Grimsby Town !Grimsby Town

3–0

3–0

2–0

2–0

1–0

6–1

3–0

5–1

1–0

2–1

3–1

4–0

1–0

2–0

5–1

1–1

0–1

2–0

3–0

1–0

1–2

1–0

2–1

Halifax Town !Halifax Town

2–0

1–0

3–2

6–0

2–2

0–1

3–0

2–0

3–0

2–2

3–3

0–1

0–2

1–1

5–1

1–1

0–3

0–1

1–0

0–2

2–0

1–1

2–4

Hartlepool !Hartlepool

0–0

1–0

1–0

3–1

3–0

3–1

3–0

6–1

3–0

2–0

3–1

1–2

3–2

4–2

1–0

1–0

0–2

1–0

0–0

4–0

1–0

3–2

0–1

Mansfield Town !Mansfield Town

3–2

4–0

0–0

5–0

0–1

3–0

0–1

1–1

3–3

1–1

3–1

0–2

3–1

5–1

2–0

6–0

3–2

0–1

2–2

6–0

0–0

6–1

3–1

Oldham Athletic !Oldham Athletic

1–3

6–1

1–1

5–1

2–2

4–1

2–2

1–1

3–3

1–1

1–2

1–1

1–3

3–2

1–1

2–2

2–1

1–1

3–2

4–1

0–1

1–1

2–2

Rochdale !Rochdale

1–1

5–1

3–1

4–2

5–2

4–2

1–5

1–0

1–0

0–5

1–1

2–0

2–1

1–4

1–1

4–4

3–2

1–3

0–0

1–3

1–0

1–0

3–1

Scunthorpe United !Scunthorpe United

2–3

2–0

2–0

4–2

4–0

2–1

2–0

1–1

0–1

0–2

1–1

0–1

1–0

5–1

3–0

2–1

1–2

0–1

1–5

2–1

3–1

1–1

1–1

Southport !Southport

1–1

2–1

3–1

3–0

3–0

1–0

1–0

5–0

0–1

2–5

2–0

2–0

2–0

0–0

1–1

1–1

2–0

2–2

1–1

1–0

0–0

1–1

3–3

Stockport County !Stockport County

1–2

4–1

1–0

0–0

8–1

2–1

2–1

2–1

2–1

2–1

1–2

0–0

3–1

4–0

7–2

0–0

0–0

3–2

4–0

7–0

4–5

4–0

4–1

Tranmere !Tranmere

4–1

1–1

1–1

4–1

0–1

4–0

0–1

2–1

0–1

0–1

1–1

0–1

2–1

2–2

1–0

0–3

2–1

2–1

1–2

2–1

2–0

0–2

2–1

Workington !Workington

0–0

6–1

2–1

4–0

4–0

0–0

0–1

1–0

2–0

0–3

6–1

0–0

2–0

5–1

2–1

4–3

0–1

1–2

2–3

0–1

3–0

3–1

0–0

Wrexham !Wrexham

1–4

0–0

2–1

1–0

5–2

0–0

3–0

4–2

2–1

3–1

1–1

1–0

1–2

1–3

2–0

1–1

0–0

0–1

2–1

0–1

3–1

0–1

4–5

York City !York City

0–1

3–2

0–2

5–0

3–1

3–0

3–1

1–1

4–0

1–0

1–0

3–4

5–0

3–0

1–1

2–0

1–2

0–0

0–1

1–0

2–4

1–1

1–3

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

Maps

Third Division South

Football League
Third Division South

Season	1955–56
Champions	Leyton Orient (1st title)
Failed re-election	none
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,772 (3.21 per match)
Top goalscorer	Sammy Collins (Torquay United), 40 [3]
← 1954–55 1956–57 →

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GA	GD		Pts
1	Leyton Orient	46		18	3	2	76	20		11	5	7	30	29		106	49	2.163	+57		66
2	Brighton & Hove Albion	46		20	2	1	73	16		9	5	9	39	34		112	50	2.240	+62		65
3	Ipswich Town	46		16	6	1	59	28		9	8	6	47	32		106	60	1.767	+46		64
4	Southend United	46		16	4	3	58	25		5	7	11	30	55		88	80	1.100	+8		53
5	Torquay United	46		11	10	2	48	21		9	2	12	38	42		86	63	1.365	+23		52
6	Brentford	46		11	8	4	40	30		8	6	9	29	36		69	66	1.045	+3		52
7	Norwich City	46		15	4	4	56	31		4	9	10	30	51		86	82	1.049	+4		51
8	Coventry City	46		16	4	3	54	20		4	5	14	19	40		73	60	1.217	+13		49
9	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	46		13	6	4	39	14		6	4	13	24	37		63	51	1.235	+12		48
10	Gillingham	46		12	3	8	38	28		7	7	9	31	43		69	71	0.972	–2		48
11	Northampton Town	46		14	3	6	44	27		6	4	13	23	44		67	71	0.944	–4		47
12	Colchester United	46		14	4	5	56	37		4	7	12	20	44		76	81	0.938	–5		47
13	Shrewsbury Town	46		12	9	2	47	21		5	3	15	22	45		69	66	1.045	+3		46
14	Southampton	46		13	6	4	60	30		5	2	16	31	51		91	81	1.123	+10		44
15	Aldershot	46		9	9	5	36	33		3	7	13	34	57		70	90	0.778	–20		40
16	Exeter City	46		10	6	7	39	30		5	4	14	19	47		58	77	0.753	–19		40
17	Reading	46		10	2	11	40	37		5	7	11	30	42		70	79	0.886	–9		39
18	Queens Park Rangers	46		10	7	6	44	32		4	4	15	20	54		64	86	0.744	–22		39
19	Newport County	46		12	2	9	32	26		3	7	13	26	53		58	79	0.734	–21		39
20	Walsall	46		13	5	5	43	28		2	3	18	25	56		68	84	0.810	–16		38
21	Watford	46		8	5	10	31	39		5	6	12	21	46		52	85	0.612	–33		37
22	Millwall	46		13	4	6	56	31		2	2	19	27	69		83	100	0.830	–17		36
23	Crystal Palace	46		7	3	13	27	32		5	7	11	27	51		54	83	0.651	–29		34
24	Swindon Town	46		4	10	9	18	22		4	4	15	16	56		34	78	0.436	–44		30

P = 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
	New club in the league (none)
	Re-elected
	Failed re-election (none)

Results

Home ╲ Away

Aldershot !ALD

Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic !BOU

Brentford !BRE

Brighton & Hove Albion !BHA

Colchester United !COL

Coventry City !COV

Crystal Palace !CRY

Exeter City !EXE

Gillingham !GIL

Ipswich Town !IPS

Leyton Orient !LEY

Millwall !MIL

Newport County !NPC

Northampton Town !NOR

Norwich City !NOR

Queens Park Rangers !QPR

Reading !REA

Shrewsbury Town !SHR

Southampton !SOU

Southend !STD

Swindon Town !SWI

Torquay United !TOR

Walsall !WAL

Watford !WAT

Aldershot !Aldershot

1–3

4–1

0–3

1–0

2–2

1–1

1–0

2–2

0–3

1–1

2–1

1–0

2–0

0–0

1–2

4–4

2–0

3–2

3–3

1–1

1–2

2–1

1–1

Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic !Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic

2–2

0–0

2–0

3–1

0–1

1–0

0–0

1–2

1–1

3–1

4–0

0–0

0–0

0–1

1–0

2–1

2–0

1–3

4–1

4–0

2–0

2–0

4–0

Brentford !Brentford

2–0

2–1

4–2

2–2

1–1

3–0

2–0

1–4

3–2

1–0

2–2

1–1

2–1

1–2

2–0

2–2

1–1

2–1

2–1

1–2

1–3

2–2

0–0

Brighton & Hove Albion !Brighton & Hove Albion

5–2

4–1

3–0

2–0

2–1

5–0

1–0

5–0

3–0

1–1

2–1

4–1

4–0

6–0

1–1

3–1

3–2

5–0

4–0

2–0

3–2

3–0

2–3

Colchester United !Colchester United

4–0

1–0

0–3

3–3

2–0

2–4

5–1

1–1

3–3

2–1

1–2

2–1

2–0

3–2

4–1

0–3

2–0

3–2

3–6

5–0

3–2

1–1

4–1

Coventry City !Coventry City

1–1

3–1

2–1

3–2

2–0

1–3

2–2

2–0

3–1

3–0

5–1

3–0

0–1

5–3

4–1

0–0

2–1

2–0

0–0

6–0

1–2

1–0

3–0

Crystal Palace !Crystal Palace

1–0

1–3

0–2

1–2

1–1

3–0

0–1

1–3

1–0

1–2

2–2

1–0

2–3

2–0

1–1

2–3

0–1

0–2

1–2

0–2

3–0

2–0

1–2

Exeter City !Exeter City

2–1

2–0

2–3

0–5

0–0

2–3

6–1

2–1

2–2

1–1

3–1

2–0

3–1

1–1

2–0

0–2

3–0

3–2

0–1

1–2

0–0

1–1

1–2

Gillingham !Gillingham

2–0

2–1

1–2

1–0

2–1

1–1

1–1

2–1

0–0

0–1

4–3

3–2

0–2

3–1

0–2

2–0

3–1

1–2

2–3

4–0

1–3

0–1

3–0

Ipswich Town !Ipswich Town

2–1

1–0

1–1

2–1

3–1

1–0

3–3

2–2

1–1

2–0

6–2

3–2

1–0

4–1

4–1

3–3

2–1

4–2

3–0

6–2

0–2

5–2

0–0

Leyton Orient !Leyton Orient

8–3

3–0

2–1

0–1

6–0

3–1

8–0

1–1

2–0

1–2

2–1

3–1

1–1

2–2

7–1

1–0

5–2

4–0

3–0

4–0

3–2

4–0

3–1

Millwall !Millwall

3–3

4–0

4–0

2–4

0–1

0–2

1–1

2–0

5–0

0–5

5–0

2–4

4–1

1–0

2–0

4–0

1–2

3–2

5–0

1–1

3–2

3–2

1–1

Newport County !Newport County

0–1

1–0

1–2

1–0

0–0

4–2

0–1

1–2

3–2

2–1

3–0

1–4

0–1

2–2

2–1

2–3

1–2

1–0

2–0

1–0

2–1

2–0

0–1

Northampton Town !Northampton Town

3–2

2–1

1–0

3–0

0–2

2–1

1–1

3–0

0–2

0–5

0–1

4–0

5–0

1–1

5–2

1–2

1–0

3–1

1–1

2–1

2–0

3–1

1–3

Norwich City !Norwich City

0–1

0–2

1–0

3–3

1–1

1–0

3–1

2–1

5–1

3–2

2–2

4–1

2–3

4–1

1–0

2–1

3–1

1–4

7–2

4–1

0–0

3–2

4–1

Queens Park Rangers !Queens Park Rangers

2–2

0–1

1–1

2–1

6–2

1–2

0–3

1–0

2–2

1–1

0–1

4–0

0–0

3–2

2–3

3–3

1–1

4–0

1–2

1–0

3–1

3–2

3–2

Reading !Reading

0–5

0–2

5–2

0–2

1–3

1–0

1–0

1–2

1–2

1–5

0–1

4–1

3–0

4–1

2–2

3–1

0–1

1–1

4–1

0–1

0–3

2–0

6–1

Shrewsbury Town !Shrewsbury Town

3–3

1–1

1–1

2–1

2–1

3–0

2–0

2–0

3–1

1–1

1–4

3–1

5–0

1–1

6–0

1–1

3–0

2–0

1–1

1–1

1–2

2–1

0–0

Southampton !Southampton

3–1

3–2

1–1

1–2

3–0

3–0

3–1

5–0

1–1

2–2

1–2

3–0

3–3

2–3

2–5

4–0

5–2

1–1

0–0

2–1

6–2

4–1

2–0

Southend !Southend

3–2

4–1

2–2

1–2

4–0

3–0

4–3

6–0

2–2

2–3

0–0

3–1

4–1

2–0

3–1

5–1

1–0

1–0

2–1

0–0

2–3

3–2

1–0

Swindon Town !Swindon Town

1–1

2–2

0–1

0–0

3–1

1–1

0–0

0–1

0–1

0–1

1–2

1–0

1–2

0–1

1–1

0–1

0–0

2–1

1–1

1–1

2–1

1–2

0–0

Torquay United !Torquay United

5–0

0–0

3–1

0–0

1–2

0–0

1–1

3–1

1–1

2–2

1–3

3–0

1–1

3–1

1–1

2–0

0–0

5–0

3–2

2–2

4–0

3–2

4–1

Walsall !Walsall

4–2

0–0

1–2

2–2

0–0

2–0

4–0

3–1

2–1

1–3

0–2

2–1

3–3

2–0

2–0

2–2

1–0

1–0

1–3

3–1

4–0

1–4

2–1

Watford !Watford

1–1

0–2

0–2

1–3

1–1

2–1

0–2

2–3

0–1

0–2

0–4

4–2

1–1

2–2

1–1

0–1

1–0

3–4

1–0

3–2

2–1

2–1

4–2

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

Maps

See also

• 1955-56 in English football

References

• Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.