1958–59 Southern Football League

The 1958–59 Southern Football League season was the 56th in the history of the league, an English football competition.

It was the first season since 1936 the league split into two divisions following the election of thirteen new clubs at the end of the previous season. Hereford United won the North-West Division, whilst Bedford Town won the South-East Division. Bedford were declared Southern League champions after defeating Hereford 2–1 in a championship play-off at Edgar Street on 9 May.[1] Nine clubs applied to join the Football League, although none were successful.

The plan for the following season was to have a Premier Division of 22 clubs and a Division One below it. As a result, the top eleven clubs in each division this season would remain in the new Premier Division, whilst clubs finishing twelfth or lower would be in the new Division One.

North-West Division

It was the first and the only North-West Division season. North-West Division consisted of 18 clubs, including 11 Southern League clubs from the previous season and seven new clubs:

At the end of the season Southern League divisions were restructured. The top eleven clubs in each division this season remained in the new Premier Division, whilst clubs finishing twelfth or lower relegated to the new Division One. Lovells Athletic left the league and switched to the Welsh football pyramid.

League table
Southern Football League
North-West Division
Season1958–59
ChampionsHereford United
RelegatedBurton Albion
Corby Town
Gloucester City
Kidderminster Harriers
Merthyr Tydfil
Rugby Town
Matches played306
Goals scored1,173 (3.83 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Hereford United 34 22 5 7 80 37 2.162 49
2 Kettering Town 34 20 7 7 83 63 1.317 47
3 Boston United 34 18 8 8 73 47 1.553 44
4 Cheltenham Town 34 20 4 10 65 47 1.383 44
5 Worcester City 34 19 4 11 74 47 1.574 42
6 Bath City 34 17 5 12 89 62 1.435 39
7 Wellington Town 34 15 9 10 74 58 1.276 39
8 Nuneaton Borough 34 17 5 12 76 66 1.152 39
9 Wisbech Town 34 16 5 13 77 54 1.426 37
10 Headington United 34 16 3 15 76 61 1.246 35
11 Barry Town 34 15 5 14 64 67 0.955 35
12 Merthyr Tydfil 34 16 3 15 54 59 0.915 35 Relegated to Division One
13 Gloucester City 34 12 6 16 50 65 0.769 30
14 Corby Town 34 10 8 16 59 79 0.747 28
15 Lovells Athletic 34 10 3 21 51 70 0.729 23 Resigned from the league
16 Rugby Town 34 7 6 21 45 93 0.484 20 Relegated to Division One
17 Kidderminster Harriers 34 7 3 24 42 94 0.447 17
18 Burton Albion 34 3 3 28 41 104 0.394 9
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal ratio.

South-East Division

It was the first and the only South-East Division season. South-East Division consisted of 17 clubs, including 11 Southern League clubs from the previous season and six new clubs:

At the end of the season Southern League divisions were restructured. The top eleven clubs in each division this season remained in the new Premier Division, whilst clubs finishing twelfth or lower relegated to the new Division One.

League table
Southern Football League
South-East Division
Season1959–60
ChampionsBedford Town
RelegatedCambridge United
Clacton Town
Exeter City II
Guildford City
Yiewsley
Trowbridge Town
Matches played272
Goals scored1,023 (3.76 per match)

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Bedford Town 32 21 6 5 90 41 2.195 48
2 Gravesend & Northfleet 32 21 2 9 79 54 1.463 44
3 Dartford 32 20 3 9 77 41 1.878 43
4 Yeovil Town 32 17 8 7 60 41 1.463 42
5 Weymouth 32 13 11 8 61 43 1.419 37
6 Chelmsford City 32 12 12 8 74 53 1.396 36
7 King's Lynn 32 14 5 13 70 63 1.111 33
8 Poole Town 32 12 8 12 60 65 0.923 32
9 Cambridge City 32 12 7 13 61 54 1.130 31
10 Hastings United 32 13 5 14 60 59 1.017 31
11 Tonbridge 32 14 3 15 51 59 0.864 31
12 Cambridge United 32 11 8 13 55 77 0.714 30 Relegated to Division One
13 Trowbridge Town 32 12 4 16 53 75 0.707 28
14 Exeter City II 32 7 12 13 47 71 0.662 26
15 Guildford City 32 7 6 19 45 67 0.672 20
16 Clacton Town 32 6 7 19 44 81 0.543 19
17 Yiewsley 32 3 7 22 36 78 0.462 13
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal ratio.

Football League election

Nine Southern League clubs applied to join the Football League. However, all four League clubs were re-elected.[2]

Club League Votes
Oldham AthleticFootball League46
SouthportFootball League34
BarrowFootball League32
AldershotFootball League31
Peterborough UnitedMidland League26
Headington UnitedSouthern League7
Worcester CitySouthern League7
Wigan AthleticLancashire Combination3
Cambridge CitySouthern League2
Gloucester CitySouthern League2
Kettering TownSouthern League1
South ShieldsMidland League1
ScarboroughMidland League1
Yeovil TownSouthern League0
Bedford TownSouthern League0
Hereford UnitedSouthern League0
King's LynnSouthern League0
MorecambeLancashire Combination0

References
  1. Champions Locking Horns In Decider Archived 2017-09-03 at the Wayback Machine Southern League
  2. A history of admission to the Football League
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