1953–54 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1953–54 campaign is Town's best ever finish in a season since World War II. Following the previous season's promotion onslaught, Town and especially Jimmy Glazzard made sure that the previous season's achievements weren't forgotten in a hurry. They finished in 3rd place in Division 1 with 51 points, just 6 points behind the champions Wolverhampton Wanderers. The goalscoring feats of Jimmy Glazzard, who scored 29 goals and the assistance of Vic Metcalfe, who himself scored 11 goals helped Town finish in their highest post-war finish to date.

Huddersfield Town
1953–54 season
Chairman Dick Parker
Manager Andy Beattie
Football League First Division3rd
FA CupThird round
(knocked out by West Ham United)
Top goalscorerLeague: Jimmy Glazzard (29)
All: Jimmy Glazzard (29)
Highest home attendance48,237 vs West Bromwich Albion (27 February 1954)
Lowest home attendance20,896 vs Charlton Athletic (27 March 1954)
Biggest win5–1 vs Portsmouth (29 August 1953)
4–0 vs Aston Villa (3 October 1953)
Biggest defeat0–4 vs West Bromwich Albion (10 October 1953)
0–4 vs West Ham United (9 January 1954)
0–4 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (19 April 1954)

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. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK  ENG Harry Mills
-- GK  ENG Jack Wheeler
-- DF  ENG John Battye
-- DF  ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF  ENG George Howe
-- DF  ENG Laurie Kelly
-- DF  ENG Don McEvoy
-- DF  ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF  ENG Len Quested
-- DF  ENG Ron Staniforth
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF  SCO Willie Davie
-- MF  SCO Alistair Gunn
-- MF  ENG Vic Metcalfe
-- FW  ENG Tommy Cavanagh
-- FW  ENG Bryan Frear
-- FW  ENG Jimmy Glazzard
-- FW  ENG Roy Shiner
-- FW  ENG Ron Simpson
-- FW  SCO Jimmy Watson

Review

Andy Beattie's team were on an all-time high following their immediate return to Division 1 after just one season in Division 2. The start of the season continued where the previous season left off and after 4 games, Town were top of the table with 3 wins, including a 5-1 win over Portsmouth, where Jimmy Glazzard got the first of his 3 hat-tricks that he would achieve during the season. His other 2 came in the space of 3 matches against Sheffield United and Aston Villa.

The team's performances kept them up in the upper realms of the division, with the chance of winning the title, not being too unrealistic. The season ground to a halt near the end, when Vic Metcalfe was forced to miss the last 7 games of the season and many say this was the reason that Town failed to win the title for the first time in 28 years. They did however finish 3rd, just 6 points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers, who Town actually beat in their penultimate game of the season.

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. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK  ENG Harry Mills
-- GK  ENG Jack Wheeler
-- DF  ENG John Battye
-- DF  ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF  ENG George Howe
-- DF  ENG Laurie Kelly
-- DF  ENG Don McEvoy
-- DF  ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF  ENG Len Quested
-- DF  ENG Ron Staniforth
-- DF  ENG Ken Taylor
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- MF  NIR Gerry Burrell
-- MF  SCO Willie Davie
-- MF  SCO Alistair Gunn
-- MF  ENG Vic Metcalfe
-- FW  ENG Tommy Cavanagh
-- FW  ENG Bryan Frear
-- FW  ENG Jimmy Glazzard
-- FW  ENG Roy Shiner
-- FW  ENG Ron Simpson
-- FW  SCO Jimmy Watson

Results

Division One
Date Opponents Home/
Away		 Result
F - A		 Scorers Attendance Position
19 August 1953 Preston North End A 2 - 1 Watson (2) 35,925 6th
22 August 1953 Arsenal A 0 - 0 54,847 4th
26 August 1953 Cardiff City H 2 - 0 Watson, Metcalfe 30,089 1st
29 August 1953 Portsmouth H 5 - 1 Glazzard (3), Davie, Watson 22,474 1st
2 September 1953 Cardiff City A 1 - 2 Glazzard 29,446 2nd
5 September 1953 Blackpool A 1 - 3 Davie 34,507 6th
9 September 1953 Manchester City H 1 - 1 Metcalfe 24,341 7th
12 September 1953 Chelsea H 3 - 1 Davie, Glazzard, Watson 29,631 3rd
16 September 1953 Manchester City A 1 - 0 McGarry 24,580 3rd
19 September 1953 Sheffield United A 6 - 3 Glazzard (3), Metcalfe (2), Davie 40,065 2nd
26 September 1953 Middlesbrough H 2 - 1 Glazzard (2) 37,054 2nd
3 October 1953 Aston Villa H 4 - 0 Glazzard (3), Metcalfe 36,534 2nd
10 October 1953 West Bromwich Albion A 0 - 4 47,043 4th
17 October 1953 Liverpool H 2 - 0 Glazzard, Metcalfe 30,115 3rd
24 October 1953 Newcastle United A 2 - 0 Glazzard, Brennan (og) 46,644 2nd
31 October 1953 Manchester United H 0 - 0 34,175 3rd
7 November 1953 Charlton Athletic A 1 - 2 Glazzard 23,733 3rd
14 November 1953 Sheffield Wednesday H 2 - 0 Glazzard (2) 30,671 3rd
21 November 1953 Tottenham Hotspur A 0 - 1 42,503 3rd
28 November 1953 Burnley H 3 - 1 Glazzard, Davie (2) 34,666 3rd
5 December 1953 Bolton Wanderers A 0 - 0 36,077 3rd
12 December 1953 Preston North End H 2 - 2 Cavanagh, Metcalfe (pen) 26,972 3rd
19 December 1953 Arsenal H 2 - 2 Glazzard (2) 34,018 3rd
25 December 1953 Sunderland A 1 - 1 Watson 36,751 4th
26 December 1953 Sunderland H 2 - 1 Cavanagh, Metcalfe 40,898 3rd
2 January 1954 Portsmouth A 2 - 5 Mansell (og), Quested 27,533 3rd
16 January 1954 Blackpool H 0 - 0 25,733 3rd
23 January 1954 Chelsea A 2 - 2 Glazzard (2) 45,041 3rd
6 February 1954 Sheffield United H 2 - 2 Frear (2) 27,335 4th
13 February 1954 Middlesbrough A 3 - 0 Metcalfe, Burrell, Glazzard 18,717 3rd
20 February 1954 Aston Villa A 2 - 2 Metcalfe, Glazzard 24,118 3rd
27 February 1954 West Bromwich Albion H 0 - 2 48,237 3rd
6 March 1954 Liverpool A 3 - 1 Burrell (2), Cavanagh 46,074 3rd
13 March 1954 Newcastle United H 3 - 2 Cavanagh (2), Glazzard 25,710 3rd
20 March 1954 Manchester United A 1 - 3 Metcalfe (pen) 41,184 3rd
27 March 1954 Charlton Athletic H 4 - 1 McGarry, Frear (2), Cavanagh 20,896 3rd
3 April 1954 Sheffield Wednesday A 4 - 1 Glazzard, Frear (2, 1 pen), Cavanagh 31,106 3rd
10 April 1954 Tottenham Hotspur H 2 - 5 Glazzard, Shiner 26,232 3rd
17 April 1954 Burnley A 1 - 2 Cavanagh 26,180 3rd
19 April 1954 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0 - 4 42,862 4th
20 April 1954 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2 - 1 Glazzard, McGarry 35,814 3rd
24 April 1954 Bolton Wanderers H 2 - 1 McGarry (pen), Cavanagh 25,635 3rd

FA Cup
Date Round Opponents Home/
Away		 Result
F - A		 Scorers Attendance
9 January 1954 Round 3 West Ham United A 0 - 4 25,250

Appearances and goals
NameNationPositionLeague AppsLeague GoalsFA Cup AppsFA Cup GoalsTotal AppsTotal Goals
John Battye EnglandDF300030
Gerry Burrell Northern IrelandMF19310203
Tommy Cavanagh EnglandFW29900299
Willie Davie ScotlandFW30610316
Bryan Frear EnglandFW14600146
Brian Gibson EnglandDF200020
Jimmy Glazzard EnglandFW3729103829
Alistair Gunn ScotlandMF23000230
George Howe EnglandDF600060
Laurie Kelly EnglandDF36010370
Don McEvoy EnglandDF35010360
Bill McGarry EnglandDF42410434
Vic Metcalfe EnglandMF3511103611
Harry Mills EnglandGK38010390
Len Quested EnglandDF26110271
Roy Shiner EnglandFW510051
Ron Simpson EnglandFW100010
Ron Staniforth EnglandDF40010410
Ken Taylor EnglandDF700070
Jimmy Watson ScotlandMF30610316
Jack Wheeler EnglandGK400040
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