1959–60 Burnley F.C. season

The 1959–60 season was the 78th season in Burnley Football Club's existence, and their 13th consecutive season in the top flight. Under manager Harry Potts, they were crowned champions of England for the second time, and as of 2020 for the last time. The team also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, in which they were knocked out by local rivals Blackburn Rovers in a replay, preventing a possible historical 20th century double.

Burnley
1959–60 season
Chairman Bob Lord
Manager Harry Potts
First DivisionChampions
FA CupQuarter-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: John Connelly (20)
All: John Connelly (24)
Highest home attendance52,850 v Bradford City
(23 February 1960)
Lowest home attendance20,327 v Arsenal
(19 March 1960)
Average home league attendance26,869[1]

The season

The pinnacle of a strong period in the club's history came this season. Burnley, a young team with several internationals, endured a tense season in which Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers were the other protagonists in the chase for the league title. The team ultimately clinched their second First Division championship on the last day of the season with a 2–1 victory at Manchester City, with goals from Brian Pilkington and Trevor Meredith.[2] Although the team had been in contention all season, Burnley had never led the table until this last match was played out.[3] Manager Harry Potts only used eighteen players throughout the whole season, as John Connelly became Burnley's league top scorer with 20 goals.[4] The Lancastrians' title-winning squad only cost £13,000 in transfer fees (a post-war record) — £8,000 on Jimmy McIlroy in 1950 and £5,000 on left-back Alex Elder in 1959.[5] The other players all came from the Burnley youth academy.[5] The town of Burnley became the smallest to have an English first tier champion, since it counted 80,000 inhabitants.[6] After the season finished, the club went to the United States to participate in the inaugural international football tournament in North America, the International Soccer League.[7]

Matches

Source:[8]

Football League First Division
Main article: 1959–60 Football League
Key
Results
DateOpponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
22 August 1959 Leeds UnitedA W3–2Pilkington, Connelly, Pointer 20,233
25 August 1959 EvertonH W5–2Connelly (2), Pilkington, Pointer, Robson 29,165
29 August 1959 West Ham UnitedH L1–3Connelly 26,756
2 September 1959 EvertonA W2–1Pointer (2) 39,416
5 September 1959 ChelseaA L1–4Connelly 36,023
8 September 1959 Preston North EndH W2–1Pointer, Robson 29,195
12 September 1959 West Bromwich AlbionH W2–1Robson, Pilkington 23,907
15 September 1959 Preston North EndA L0–1 27,299
19 September 1959 Newcastle UnitedA W3–1McIlroy, Connelly (2) 38,576
26 September 1959 Birmingham CityH W3–1Pointer, McIlroy, Connelly 23,848
3 October 1959 Tottenham HotspurA D1–1Miller 42,717
10 October 1959 BlackpoolH L1–4Robson 28,104
17 October 1959 Blackburn RoversA L2–3Pilkington, Douglas (o.g.) 33,316
24 October 1959 Manchester CityH W4–3Pilkington, Pointer, White (2) 28,653
31 October 1959 Luton TownA D1–1Pointer 15,638
7 November 1959 Wolverhampton WanderersH W4–1Pointer (2), Robson, Connelly 27,793
14 November 1959 Sheffield WednesdayA D1–1Robson 18,420
21 November 1959 Nottingham ForestH W8–0Robson (5), Pilkington, Pointer (2) 24,349
28 November 1959 FulhamA L0–1 29,582
5 December 1959 Bolton WanderersH W4–0Pointer, Connelly, McIlroy (2) 26,510
12 December 1959 ArsenalA W4–2Adamson (pen.), Connelly (3) 26,056
19 December 1959 Leeds UnitedH L0–1 17,398
26 December 1959 Manchester UnitedA W2–1Robson, Lawson 62,673
28 December 1959 Manchester UnitedH L1–4Robson 47,696
2 January 1960 West Ham UnitedA W5–2Lawson (2), Pilkington, Connelly (2) 25,752
16 January 1960 ChelseaH W2–1Robson (2) 21,916
23 January 1960 West Bromwich AlbionA D0–0 23,512
6 February 1960 Newcastle UnitedH W2–1Robson, Pointer 26,998
27 February 1960 Bolton WanderersA L1–2Connelly 28,772
1 March 1960 Tottenham HotspurH W2–0Pointer, Connelly 32,992
5 March 1960 Blackburn RoversH W1–0Robson 32,331
19 March 1960 ArsenalH W3–2Pointer, Miller, Connelly 20,327
30 March 1960 Wolverhampton WanderersA L1–6Pointer 33,953
2 April 1960 Sheffield WednesdayH D3–3Connelly, McIlroy (pen.), Miller 23,123
9 April 1960 Nottingham ForestA W1–0Pointer 24,640
15 April 1960 Leicester CityH W1–0Connelly 23,777
16 April 1960 Luton TownH W3–0Pointer, Robson, McIlroy (pen.) 20,893
18 April 1960 Leicester CityA L1–2Meredith 24,429
23 April 1960 BlackpoolA D1–1Meredith 23,753
27 April 1960 Birmingham CityA W1–0Pilkington 37,032
30 April 1960 FulhamH D0–0 30,807
2 May 1960 Manchester CityA W2–1Pilkington, Meredith 65,981

League table (part)

Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
1st Burnley422471185611.3955
2nd Wolverhampton Wanderers4224612106671.5854
3rd Tottenham Hotspur4221111086501.7253
4th West Bromwich Albion4219111283571.4649
5th Sheffield Wednesday4219111280591.3649
Key Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played;
W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost;
F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points
Source [9]

FA Cup
Main article: 1959–60 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Third round 9 January 1960Lincoln CityA D1–1Pointer 21,693
Third round replay 12 January 1960Lincoln CityH W2–0McIlroy (pen.), Pilkington 35,456
Fourth round 30 January 1960Swansea TownA D0–0 29,976
Fourth round replay 2 February 1960Swansea TownH W2–1Robson (2) 37,040
Fifth round 20 February 1960Bradford CityA D2–2Connelly (2) 26,244
Fifth round replay 23 February 1960Bradford CityH W5–0Pointer (2), Robson (2), Connelly 52,850
Sixth round 12 March 1960Blackburn RoversH D3–3Pilkington, Pointer, Connelly 51,501
Sixth round replay 16 March 1960Blackburn RoversA L0–2 53,892

Player details

Source:[10]

The frequently used line-up by manager Harry Potts
Players having played at least one first-team match
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK SCO Adam Blacklaw 41080490
GK ENG Jim Furnell 100010
DF ENG John Angus 41080490
DF ENG Tommy Cummings 23000230
DF NIR Alex Elder 34080420
DF NIR Billy Marshall 100010
DF ENG Brian Miller 42380503
DF SCO Bobby Seith 27080350
MF ENG Jimmy Adamson 42180501
MF ENG John Connelly 3420844224
MF ENG Gordon Harris 200020
MF NIR Jimmy McIlroy 32661387
MF ENG Trevor Meredith 730073
MF ENG Brian Pilkington 419824911
FW ENG Ian Lawson 831093
FW ENG Ray Pointer 4219845023
FW ENG Jimmy Robson 3818844622
FW ENG Billy White 621072

GK = Goalkeeper, DF = Defender, MF = Midfielder, FW = Forward

References
Specific
  1. Quelch (2015), p. 266
  2. Marshall, Tyrone (20 June 2016). "'We weren't jumping around, we'd only won the league' – Burnley legend on the day the Clarets were crowned Kings of England". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  3. Boden, Chris (29 April 2020). "Burnley legend Jimmy Robson reflects on a famous night at Maine Road when the Clarets were last crowned champions of England". The Clitheroe Advertiser and Times. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  4. Quelch (2015), p. 265
  5. Quelch (2015), pp. 202–203
  6. Quelch (2015), pp. 199–200
  7. Posnanski, Joe (14 October 2014). "David and Goliath and Burnley". NBC SportsWorld. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  8. Simpson (2007), p. 294
  9. Quelch (2015), p. 197
  10. Simpson (2007), p. 295
General
  • Quelch, Tim (2015). Never Had It So Good: Burnley's Incredible 1959/60 League Title Triumph. Pitch Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1909626546.
  • Simpson, Ray (2007). The Clarets Chronicles: The Definitive History of Burnley Football Club 1882-2007. Burnley Football Club. ISBN 978-0955746802.
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