1959–60 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season
| 1959–60 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Stephen Lister |
| Manager | Bill Shankly (until 1 December 1959) Eddie Boot (from 19 January 1960) |
| Stadium | Leeds Road |
| Football League Second Division | 6th |
| FA Cup | Fourth round (knocked out by Luton Town) |
| Top goalscorer | League: Les Massie (18) All: Les Massie (20) |
| Highest home attendance | 30,526 vs West Ham United (9 January 1960) |
| Lowest home attendance | 9,336 vs Derby County (14 November 1959) |
| Biggest win | 6–1 vs Bristol City (12 December 1959) |
| Biggest defeat | 0–4 vs Aston Villa (6 February 1960) |
Huddersfield Town's 1959–60 campaign was Town's best season following their relegation from Division 1 4 years earlier. The main points of the season were the resignation of Bill Shankly, who would then lead Liverpool to greatness in his years in charge.[1] Their FA Cup win over West Ham United in the third round replay at Upton Park, which would inadvertently lead to the departure of Denis Law to Manchester City for a record-breaking fee of £55,000.
Squad at the start of the season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Review
Bill Shankly made good progress with Town at the start of the season, leading them to 5 wins in their first 7 league games. A dreadful run of only 1 win in 10 games saw Town slide down the table and then on 1 December, Shankly resigned to take charge of league rivals Liverpool. Shankly's last match in charge of Town was against the Anfield outfit. Ex-Town player Eddie Boot took charge of Town for the rest of the season. He led Town on a charge up the table mainly consisting of alternating wins and losses. However, Town's form led them to a finish of 6th place, their best finish since relegation 4 years earlier.
Another highlight of the season was the astonishing win over West Ham United in the FA Cup third round replay at Upton Park with a score of 5 goals to 1. This win showcased the amazing talents of Denis Law, who within 2 months broke the transfer record for a British player after transferring to Manchester City for £55,000.
Squad at the end of the season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Results
| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away |
Result F – A |
Scorers | Attendance | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 August 1959 | Ipswich Town | A | 4–1 | Ledger, Low, Hawksworth (2) | 14,441 | 1st |
| 26 August 1959 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2–0 | McHale, Dinsdale | 15,221 | 2nd |
| 29 August 1959 | Scunthorpe United | H | 2–0 | Massie (2) | 14,370 | 1st |
| 2 September 1959 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 2–3 | Dinsdale, Wilson | 22,588 | 3rd |
| 5 September 1959 | Leyton Orient | H | 1–1 | Dinsdale | 15,192 | 3rd |
| 9 September 1959 | Swansea Town | H | 4–3 | Massie, Ledger (2), Sinclair | 12,369 | 3rd |
| 12 September 1959 | Lincoln City | A | 2–0 | Massie (2) | 10,406 | 2nd |
| 17 September 1959 | Swansea Town | A | 1–3 | Sinclair | 15,250 | 5th |
| 19 September 1959 | Aston Villa | H | 0–1 | 22,522 | 6th | |
| 26 September 1959 | Sunderland | A | 0–0 | 31,655 | 7th | |
| 3 October 1959 | Portsmouth | H | 6–3 | Connor (2), Massie (2), McHale, Taylor | 15,452 | 4th |
| 10 October 1959 | Rotherham United | A | 1–1 | Law | 17,029 | 4th |
| 17 October 1959 | Cardiff City | H | 0–1 | 18,367 | 6th | |
| 24 October 1959 | Hull City | A | 1–1 | Howard | 15,864 | 5th |
| 31 October 1959 | Sheffield United | H | 0–1 | 18,466 | 8th | |
| 7 November 1959 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–1 | 23,077 | 11th | |
| 14 November 1959 | Derby County | H | 2–2 | France, Coddington (pen) | 9,336 | 10th |
| 21 November 1959 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 3–1 | McHale (2), Law | 18,250 | 6th |
| 28 November 1959 | Liverpool | H | 1–0 | Massie | 16,185 | 5th |
| 5 December 1959 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–1 | Law | 12,333 | 5th |
| 12 December 1959 | Bristol City | H | 6–1 | Dinsdale, Law, Massie (2), Taylor, Coddington (pen) | 10,705 | 5th |
| 19 December 1959 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–1 | Hawksworth, Massie, Coddington (pen) | 10,648 | 4th |
| 26 December 1959 | Stoke City | A | 1–1 | McHale | 20,183 | 5th |
| 28 December 1959 | Stoke City | H | 2–3 | Massie (2) | 25,728 | 5th |
| 2 January 1960 | Scunthorpe United | A | 2–0 | McHale, Massie | 12,228 | 5th |
| 16 January 1960 | Leyton Orient | A | 1–2 | Connor | 11,652 | 5th |
| 23 January 1960 | Lincoln City | H | 3–0 | McHale, Massie, Gibson | 14,995 | 5th |
| 6 February 1960 | Aston Villa | A | 0–4 | 44,879 | 5th | |
| 13 February 1960 | Sunderland | H | 1–1 | Law | 9,648 | 6th |
| 20 February 1960 | Portsmouth | A | 2–0 | Law, Coddington (pen) | 14,062 | 5th |
| 27 February 1960 | Rotherham United | H | 1–1 | Coddington (pen), Law | 19,560 | 5th |
| 5 March 1960 | Cardiff City | A | 1–2 | Balderstone | 32,733 | 7th |
| 12 March 1960 | Hull City | H | 1–0 | Massie | 12,167 | 3rd |
| 19 March 1960 | Liverpool | A | 2–2 | McHale, Balderstone | 30,009 | 6th |
| 26 March 1960 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–0 | McHale, Massie | 13,887 | 3rd |
| 2 April 1960 | Derby County | A | 2–3 | Massie, McHale | 13,297 | 7th |
| 9 April 1960 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 2–0 | McHale, Balderstone | 10,660 | 4th |
| 15 April 1960 | Bristol Rovers | A | 0–2 | 16,069 | 4th | |
| 16 April 1960 | Bristol City | A | 3–2 | McHale, Etheridge (og), Massie | 17,483 | 4th |
| 18 April 1960 | Bristol Rovers | H | 0–1 | 13,820 | 4th | |
| 23 April 1960 | Charlton Athletic | H | 4–0 | Balderstone, Massie, Connor (2) | 10,932 | 5th |
| 30 April 1960 | Sheffield United | A | 0–2 | 16,393 | 6th |
| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away |
Result F – A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 January 1960 | Round 3 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | Law | 30,526 |
| 13 January 1960 | Round 3 Replay | West Ham United | A | 5–1 | Massie (2), McGarry, Connor (2) | 22,605 |
| 30 January 1960 | Round 4 | Luton Town | H | 0–1 | 28,220 |
Appearances and goals
| Name | Nationality | Position | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Denis Atkins |  England |
DF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Balderstone | England |
MF | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| Terry Caldwell | England |
DF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| John Coddington | England |
DF | 41 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 5 |
| Jack Connor | England |
DF | 23 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 7 |
| Peter Dinsdale | England |
DF | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 4 |
| Harry Fearnley | England |
GK | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Tony France | England |
FW | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Brian Gibson | England |
DF | 36 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| Derek Hawksworth | England |
MF | 22 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 3 |
| Stan Howard | England |
MF | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Denis Law |  Scotland |
MF | 24 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 8 |
| Bob Ledger | England |
MF | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| Gordon Low | Scotland |
DF | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| Les Massie | Scotland |
FW | 40 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 43 | 22 |
| Bill McGarry | England |
DF | 35 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 1 |
| Kevin McHale | England |
MF | 32 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 14 |
| Michael O'Grady | England |
MF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bob Parker | England |
DF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Willie Sinclair | Scotland |
FW | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| Ken Taylor | England |
DF | 31 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 2 |
| Ray Wilson | England |
DF | 41 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 1 |
| Ray Wood | England |
GK | 39 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 0 |