First Division 1948/49

Portsmouth won the 1948/49 First Division with 58 points, 5 points ahead of Manchester United. Preston North End and Sheffield United were relegated. The season's 462 matches produced 1,303 goals, 2.82 a game.

Portsmouth

Champions

1,303

Goals

2.82

Goals a game

50%

Home wins

Final table


1	PortsmouthPortsmouth	42	25	8	9	84	42	+42	58
2	Manchester UnitedMan United	42	21	11	10	77	44	+33	53
3	Derby CountyDerby County	42	22	9	11	74	55	+19	53
4	Newcastle UnitedNewcastle	42	20	12	10	70	56	+14	52
5	ArsenalArsenal	42	18	13	11	74	44	+30	49
6	Wolverhampton WanderersWolves	42	17	12	13	79	66	+13	46
7	Manchester CityMan City	42	15	15	12	47	51	-4	45
8	SunderlandSunderland	42	13	17	12	49	58	-9	43
9	Charlton AthleticCharlton	42	15	12	15	63	67	-4	42
10	Aston VillaAston Villa	42	16	10	16	60	76	-16	42
11	Stoke CityStoke	42	16	9	17	66	68	-2	41
12	LiverpoolLiverpool	42	13	14	15	53	43	+10	40
13	ChelseaChelsea	42	12	14	16	69	68	+1	38
14	Bolton WanderersBolton	42	14	10	18	59	68	-9	38
15	BurnleyBurnley	42	12	14	16	43	50	-7	38
16	BlackpoolBlackpool	42	11	16	15	54	67	-13	38
17	Birmingham CityBirmingham	42	11	15	16	36	38	-2	37
18	EvertonEverton	42	13	11	18	41	63	-22	37
19	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	42	11	12	19	46	57	-11	34
20	Huddersfield TownHuddersfield	42	12	10	20	40	69	-29	34
21	Preston North EndPreston North End	42	11	11	20	62	75	-13	33
22	Sheffield UnitedSheffield Utd	42	11	11	20	57	78	-21	33

▌ Champions ▌ Relegated. Two points for a win, one for a draw; clubs level on points are split by goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), as they were then. Sort and filter it on the all-time table →

The 1948/49 title race

The top four's points, match day by match day. Pick other clubs or measures on the race chart →

Points, Sat 7 May 1949

Portsmouth

Man United

Derby County

Newcastle

Hover the chart to read any match day, or a club to highlight its line.

1948/49 · Sat 7 May 1949

An MP4 of this race to post on X, TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.

The 1948/49 scoreline grid

Every result of the season, home goals along the bottom and away goals up the side. Each square counts the matches that finished that way. Select a square to see those matches.

Away goals

4 2 3

1 3 6 2 1

9 11 5 8 4 3

10 10 21 17 2 1

30 62 34 25 13 3 2 1

41 58 27 22 10 7 3

Home goals

Times it's happened

Never

Once

3–4

5–9

10–19

20+

First-ever results

Every result in 1948/49 had happened before.

Biggest wins

October 2, 1948Wolves 7–1 Huddersfield6-goal home win

September 11, 1948Chelsea 6–0 Everton6-goal home win

December 11, 1948Middlesbrough 6–0 Aston Villa6-goal home win

April 19, 1949Wolves 6–0 Sheffield Utd6-goal home win

September 4, 1948Preston North End 6–1 Middlesbrough5-goal home win

Highest-scoring matches

October 2, 1948Wolves 7–1 Huddersfield8 goals

December 4, 1948Bolton 5–3 Preston North End8 goals

January 15, 1949Arsenal 5–3 Sheffield Utd8 goals

February 5, 1949Chelsea 5–3 Preston North End8 goals

March 5, 1949Middlesbrough 4–4 Wolves8 goals

Most common results

#11–1 draw62 · 13%

#21–0 home win58 · 13%

#30–0 draw41 · 9%

#42–1 home win34 · 7%

#50–1 away win30 · 6%

How 1948/49 compares

At 2.82 goals a game, 1948/49 was the 36th lowest-scoring of the 93 old First Division seasons (the average is 3.07). Home sides won 50% of matches, against 52% across all seasons; 29% were draws and 21% away wins.

Every season 1948/49 table Race chart