First Division 1952/53

Arsenal won the 1952/53 First Division with 54 points, level with Preston North End but ahead on goal average. Stoke City and Derby County were relegated. The season's 462 matches produced 1,508 goals, 3.26 a game.

Arsenal

Champions

1,508

Goals

3.26

Goals a game

52%

Home wins

Final table


1	ArsenalArsenal	42	21	12	9	97	64	+33	54
2	Preston North EndPreston North End	42	21	12	9	85	60	+25	54
3	Wolverhampton WanderersWolves	42	19	13	10	86	63	+23	51
4	West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom	42	21	8	13	66	60	+6	50
5	Charlton AthleticCharlton	42	19	11	12	77	63	+14	49
6	BurnleyBurnley	42	18	12	12	67	52	+15	48
7	BlackpoolBlackpool	42	19	9	14	71	70	+1	47
8	Manchester UnitedMan United	42	18	10	14	69	72	-3	46
9	SunderlandSunderland	42	15	13	14	68	82	-14	43
10	Tottenham HotspurTottenham	42	15	11	16	78	69	+9	41
11	Aston VillaAston Villa	42	14	13	15	63	61	+2	41
12	Cardiff CityCardiff	42	14	12	16	54	46	+8	40
13	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	42	14	11	17	70	77	-7	39
14	Bolton WanderersBolton	42	15	9	18	61	69	-8	39
15	PortsmouthPortsmouth	42	14	10	18	74	83	-9	38
16	Newcastle UnitedNewcastle	42	14	9	19	59	70	-11	37
17	LiverpoolLiverpool	42	14	8	20	61	82	-21	36
18	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wed	42	12	11	19	62	72	-10	35
19	ChelseaChelsea	42	12	11	19	56	66	-10	35
20	Manchester CityMan City	42	14	7	21	72	87	-15	35
21	Stoke CityStoke	42	12	10	20	53	66	-13	34
22	Derby CountyDerby County	42	11	10	21	59	74	-15	32

▌ 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 1952/53 title race

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

Points, Sat 2 May 1953

Arsenal

Preston North End

Wolves

West Brom

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

1952/53 · Sat 2 May 1953

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The 1952/53 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; ringed squares are results the English top flight had never seen before this season. Select a square to see those matches.

Away goals

2 3 3 1 1

1 4 3 3 1 1

4 6 9 7 3 5

15 26 31 22 5 5 3

24 53 43 28 6 9

24 31 37 18 14 5 2

Home goals

Times it's happened

Never

Once

3–4

5–9

10–19

20+

First-ever results

One result in 1952/53 had never happened in the English top flight before, counting home and away separately:

September 27, 1952Blackpool 8–4 CharltonFirst 8–4 home win

Biggest wins

December 25, 1952Tottenham 7–1 Middlesbrough6-goal home win

February 18, 1953Aston Villa 6–0 Portsmouth6-goal home win

February 21, 1953Cardiff 6–0 Man City6-goal home win

September 20, 1952Bolton 0–5 Portsmouth5-goal away win

October 18, 1952Preston North End 0–5 Man United5-goal away win

Highest-scoring matches

September 27, 1952Blackpool 8–4 Charlton12 goals

November 8, 1952Wolves 7–3 Man City10 goals

December 25, 1952Bolton 4–6 Arsenal10 goals

September 13, 1952Middlesbrough 5–4 Man City9 goals

December 26, 1952Sheffield Wed 4–5 West Brom9 goals

Most common results

#11–1 draw53 · 11%

#22–1 home win43 · 9%

#32–0 home win37 · 8%

#42–2 draw31 · 7%

#51–0 home win31 · 7%

How 1952/53 compares

At 3.26 goals a game, 1952/53 was the 35th highest-scoring of the 93 old First Division seasons (the average is 3.07). Home sides won 52% of matches, against 52% across all seasons; 25% were draws and 23% away wins.

Every season 1952/53 table Race chart