1959–60 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

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. 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.

Huddersfield Town
1959–60 season
ChairmanEngland Stephen Lister
ManagerScotland Bill Shankly (until 1 December 1959)
England Eddie Boot (from 19 January 1960)
Football League Second Division6th
FA CupFourth round
(knocked out by Luton Town)
Top goalscorerLeague: Les Massie (18)
All: Les Massie (20)
Highest home attendance30,526 vs West Ham United (9 January 1960)
Lowest home attendance9,336 vs Derby County (14 November 1959)
Biggest win6–1 vs Bristol City (12 December 1959)
Biggest defeat0–4 vs Aston Villa (6 February 1960)

Squad at the start of the season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK England ENG Harry Fearnley
-- GK England ENG Ray Wood
-- DF England ENG Terry Caldwell
-- DF England ENG John Coddington
-- DF England ENG Jack Connor
-- DF England ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF England ENG Bob Ledger
-- DF Scotland SCO Gordon Low
-- DF England ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF England ENG Bob Parker
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- DF England ENG Ken Taylor
-- DF England ENG Ray Wilson
-- MF England ENG Peter Dinsdale
-- MF England ENG Kevin McHale
-- FW England ENG Tony France
-- FW England ENG Derek Hawksworth
-- FW England ENG Stan Howard
-- FW Scotland SCO Denis Law
-- FW Scotland SCO Les Massie
-- FW Scotland SCO Willie Sinclair

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. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
-- GK England ENG Harry Fearnley
-- GK England ENG Ray Wood
-- DF England ENG Denis Atkins
-- DF England ENG John Coddington
-- DF England ENG Jack Connor
-- DF England ENG Brian Gibson
-- DF England ENG Bob Ledger
-- DF Scotland SCO Gordon Low
-- DF England ENG Bill McGarry
-- DF England ENG Bob Parker
No. Pos. Nation Player
-- DF England ENG Ken Taylor
-- DF England ENG Ray Wilson
-- MF England ENG Peter Dinsdale
-- MF England ENG Kevin McHale
-- MF England ENG Michael O'Grady
-- FW England ENG Chris Balderstone
-- FW England ENG Tony France
-- FW England ENG Stan Howard
-- FW Scotland SCO Les Massie
-- FW Scotland SCO Willie Sinclair

Results

Division Two

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

FA Cup

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

NameNationPositionLeague AppsLeague GoalsFA Cup AppsFA Cup GoalsTotal AppsTotal Goals
Denis Atkins EnglandDF100010
Chris Balderstone EnglandMF840084
Terry Caldwell EnglandDF400040
John Coddington EnglandDF41530445
Jack Connor EnglandDF23522257
Peter Dinsdale EnglandDF16410174
Harry Fearnley EnglandGK300030
Tony France EnglandFW410041
Brian Gibson EnglandDF36130391
Derek Hawksworth EnglandMF22330253
Stan Howard EnglandMF910091
Denis Law ScotlandMF24731278
Bob Ledger EnglandMF24210252
Gordon Low ScotlandDF19100191
Les Massie ScotlandFW4020324322
Bill McGarry EnglandDF35031381
Kevin McHale EnglandMF3214203414
Michael O'Grady EnglandMF100010
Bob Parker EnglandDF200020
Willie Sinclair ScotlandFW730073
Ken Taylor EnglandDF31230342
Ray Wilson EnglandDF41130441
Ray Wood EnglandGK39030420
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