1957–58 in English football

The 1957–58 season was the 78th season of competitive football in England.

The season ended with Wolverhampton Wanderers as First Division champions and Bolton Wanderers as FA Cup winners. However, the season is remembered most for the Munich air disaster which occurred on 6 February 1958 and involved Manchester United on the return flight from a European Cup quarter-final win in Yugoslavia. 23 people died as a result of their injuries in the crash, including eight of the club's players.

Overview

In this season, Sunderland was relegated for the first time in their history. This was the last season in which Division 3 was split, North and South. Teams finishing between 2nd and 12th were placed in Division 3 the following season, the remainder in Division 4

Diary of the season

31 August 1957: The Manchester derby at Old Trafford sees United beat City 4-1 with goals from Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor, Johnny Berry and Dennis Viollet.^[1]

1 December 1957: Harry Gregg becomes the world's most expensive goalkeeper in a £23,500 transfer from Doncaster Rovers to Manchester United.^[2]

1 February 1958: A thrilling First Division match at Highbury sees Manchester United defeat Arsenal 5–4.^[3]

5 February 1958: Manchester United reach the European Cup semi-finals with a 3–3 draw (5–4 win on aggregate) in the quarter-final second leg against Red Star Belgrade in Yugoslavia.

6 February 1958: The Manchester United team plane crashes at Munich Airport in West Germany. 21 people are killed, including seven of the team's players (Roger Byrne, Geoff Bent, Eddie Colman, Bill Whelan, Tommy Taylor, David Pegg and Mark Jones) and three club officials (secretary Walter Crickmer, coach Tom Curry and trainer Bert Whalley). Also among the dead is journalist Frank Swift, the former Manchester City and England goalkeeper. 10 other players are injured, with doctors being particularly concerned about the conditions of winger Johnny Berry and left-half Duncan Edwards.^[4] Manager Matt Busby is also seriously injured.^[5]

19 February 1958: In their first game since the Munich air disaster, Manchester United (with a side mostly made up of reserve players) defeat Sheffield Wednesday 3–0 in the FA Cup fifth round at Old Trafford. However, the victory is overshadowed by news from Munich that the condition of Duncan Edwards has deteriorated once more.^[6]

21 February 1958: Duncan Edwards (aged 21) dies in hospital from injuries sustained 15 days ago in the Munich air disaster.

3 May 1958: Nat Lofthouse scores both goals as Bolton Wanderers beat Manchester United 2–0 at Wembley Stadium to win the FA Cup for the fourth time.

Notable debutants

24 August 1957: Jimmy Greaves, 17-year-old forward, makes his debut for Chelsea in a First Division fixture against Tottenham Hotspur and scores.^[7]

21 December 1957: Kenny Morgans, 18-year-old winger, makes his debut for Manchester United in First Division home match against Leicester City.^[8]

19 February 1958: Shay Brennan, 20-year-old full-back or winger, scores twice on his debut for Manchester United as they beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 in the FA Cup third round, their first game after the Munich air disaster.^[9]

Awards

Football Writers' Association

• Footballer of the Year – Danny Blanchflower (Tottenham Hotspur)

Top goalscorer

• Bobby Smith (Tottenham Hotspur), 36

Honours

Competition	Winner	Runner-up
First Division	Wolverhampton Wanderers (2)	Preston North End
Second Division	West Ham United	Blackburn Rovers
Third Division North	Scunthorpe & Lindsey United	Accrington Stanley
Third Division South	Brighton & Hove Albion	Brentford
FA Cup	Bolton Wanderers (4)	Manchester United
Charity Shield	Manchester United	Aston Villa
Home Championship	Shared by  England &  Northern Ireland

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

League table

First Division

The First Division title went to Wolves, still captained by Billy Wright and managed by Stan Cullis. Preston North End finished runners-up, while Tottenham Hotspur finished third thanks largely to the influence of captain and FWA Player of the Year, Danny Blanchflower. West Bromwich Albion finished fourth and the top five was completed by Manchester City. After the Munich air disaster, Manchester United won only one more league game and dipped to ninth place, although they did reach the FA Cup final, where they were beaten by Bolton Wanderers.

Sheffield Wednesday propped up the First Division and were the first side to go down, being joined soon after by a Sunderland side who had enjoyed the longest run in the First Division totaling nearly 70 years.

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	28	8	6	103	47	2.191	64
2	Preston North End	42	26	7	9	100	51	1.961	59
3	Tottenham Hotspur	42	21	9	12	93	77	1.208	51
4	West Bromwich Albion	42	18	14	10	92	70	1.314	50
5	Manchester City	42	22	5	15	104	100	1.040	49
6	Burnley	42	21	5	16	80	74	1.081	47
7	Blackpool	42	19	6	17	80	67	1.194	44
8	Luton Town	42	19	6	17	69	63	1.095	44
9	Manchester United	42	16	11	15	85	75	1.133	43
10	Nottingham Forest	42	16	10	16	69	63	1.095	42
11	Chelsea	42	15	12	15	83	79	1.051	42
12	Arsenal	42	16	7	19	73	85	0.859	39
13	Birmingham City	42	14	11	17	76	89	0.854	39
14	Aston Villa	42	16	7	19	73	86	0.849	39
15	Bolton Wanderers	42	14	10	18	65	87	0.747	38
16	Everton	42	13	11	18	65	75	0.867	37
17	Leeds United	42	14	9	19	51	63	0.810	37
18	Leicester City	42	14	5	23	91	112	0.813	33
19	Newcastle United	42	12	8	22	73	81	0.901	32
20	Portsmouth	42	12	8	22	73	88	0.830	32
21	Sunderland	42	10	12	20	54	97	0.556	32
22	Sheffield Wednesday	42	12	7	23	69	92	0.750	31

Second Division

West Ham United topped the Second Division to secure First Division football for the first time in the postwar era, while Blackburn Rovers finished one point behind them in second place. Charlton Athletic missed out on an immediate return to the First Division by a single point, while Liverpool missed out on promotion by two points.

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	West Ham United	42	23	11	8	101	54	1.870	57
2	Blackburn Rovers	42	22	12	8	93	57	1.632	56
3	Charlton Athletic	42	24	7	11	107	69	1.551	55
4	Liverpool	42	22	10	10	79	54	1.463	54
5	Fulham	42	20	12	10	97	59	1.644	52
6	Sheffield United	42	21	10	11	75	50	1.500	52
7	Middlesbrough	42	19	7	16	83	74	1.122	45
8	Ipswich Town	42	16	12	14	68	69	0.986	44
9	Huddersfield Town	42	14	16	12	63	66	0.955	44
10	Bristol Rovers	42	17	8	17	85	80	1.063	42
11	Stoke City	42	18	6	18	75	73	1.027	42
12	Leyton Orient	42	18	5	19	77	79	0.975	41
13	Grimsby Town	42	17	6	19	86	83	1.036	40
14	Barnsley	42	14	12	16	70	74	0.946	40
15	Cardiff City	42	14	9	19	63	77	0.818	37
16	Derby County	42	14	8	20	60	81	0.741	36
17	Bristol City	42	13	9	20	63	88	0.716	35
18	Rotherham United	42	14	5	23	65	101	0.644	33
19	Swansea Town	42	11	9	22	72	99	0.727	31
20	Lincoln City	42	11	9	22	55	82	0.671	31
21	Notts County	42	12	6	24	44	80	0.550	30
22	Doncaster Rovers	42	8	11	23	56	88	0.636	27

Third Division North

Scunthorpe & Lindsey United sealed the Third Division North title by a comfortable margin and secured their place in the Second Division, while runners-up Accrington Stanley had the consolation of at least being able to play in the third of the league's fourth tiers following the decision to reorganize into four national divisions for the 1958-59 season.

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Scunthorpe & Lindsey United	46	29	8	9	88	50	1.760	66
2	Accrington Stanley	46	25	9	12	83	61	1.361	59
3	Bradford City	46	21	15	10	73	49	1.490	57
4	Bury	46	23	10	13	94	62	1.516	56
5	Hull City	46	19	15	12	78	67	1.164	53
6	Mansfield Town	46	22	8	16	100	92	1.087	52
7	Halifax Town	46	20	11	15	83	69	1.203	51
8	Chesterfield	46	18	15	13	71	69	1.029	51
9	Stockport County	46	18	11	17	74	67	1.104	47
10	Rochdale	46	19	8	19	79	67	1.179	46
11	Tranmere Rovers	46	18	10	18	82	76	1.079	46
12	Wrexham	46	17	12	17	61	63	0.968	46
13	York City	46	17	12	17	68	76	0.895	46
14	Gateshead	46	15	15	16	68	76	0.895	45
15	Oldham Athletic	46	14	17	15	72	84	0.857	45
16	Carlisle United	46	19	6	21	80	78	1.026	44
17	Hartlepools United	46	16	12	18	73	76	0.961	44
18	Barrow	46	13	15	18	66	74	0.892	41
19	Workington	46	14	13	19	72	81	0.889	41
20	Darlington	46	17	7	22	78	89	0.876	41
21	Chester	46	13	13	20	73	81	0.901	39
22	Bradford Park Avenue	46	13	11	22	68	95	0.716	37
23	Southport	46	11	6	29	52	88	0.591	28
24	Crewe Alexandra	46	8	7	31	47	93	0.505	23

Third Division South

Brighton won promotion to the Second Division as champions of the Third Division South.

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	24	12	10	88	64	1.375	60
2	Brentford	46	24	10	12	82	56	1.464	58
3	Plymouth Argyle	46	25	8	13	67	48	1.396	58
4	Swindon Town	46	21	15	10	79	50	1.580	57
5	Reading	46	21	13	12	79	51	1.549	55
6	Southampton	46	22	10	14	112	72	1.556	54
7	Southend United	46	21	12	13	90	58	1.552	54
8	Norwich City	46	19	15	12	75	70	1.071	53
9	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	46	21	9	16	81	74	1.095	51
10	Queens Park Rangers	46	18	14	14	64	65	0.985	50
11	Newport County	46	17	14	15	73	67	1.090	48
12	Colchester United	46	17	13	16	77	79	0.975	47
13	Northampton Town	46	19	6	21	87	79	1.101	44
14	Crystal Palace	46	15	13	18	70	72	0.972	43
15	Port Vale	46	16	10	20	67	58	1.155	42
16	Watford	46	13	16	17	59	77	0.766	42
17	Shrewsbury Town	46	15	10	21	49	71	0.690	40
18	Aldershot	46	12	16	18	59	89	0.663	40
19	Coventry City	46	13	13	20	61	81	0.753	39
20	Walsall	46	14	9	23	61	75	0.813	37
21	Torquay United	46	11	13	22	49	74	0.662	35
22	Gillingham	46	13	9	24	52	81	0.642	35
23	Millwall	46	11	9	26	63	91	0.692	31
24	Exeter City	46	11	9	26	57	99	0.576	31

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

References

2. http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={847FFC5F-947A-470D-A13B-E757FD63C2A8}&bioid=92143
3. http://www.thebusbybabes.com/highbury/highbury.htm
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/6/newsid_2535000/2535961.stm