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Blackpool F.C.
1952–53 season
Manager	Joe Smith
First Division	7th
FA Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Stan Mortensen & ; Allan Brown (15); All: Stan Mortensen (18)
Highest home attendance	36,159 vs Preston North End, First Division, 25 August 1952
Lowest home attendance	13,284 vs Stoke City, First Division. 15 April 1953
Average home league attendance	25,835
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1951–52 1953–54 →

The 1952–53 season was Blackpool F.C.'s 45th season (42nd consecutive) in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division One, then the top tier of English football, finishing seventh.

They were also the winners of the FA Cup, the only time they have done so to date, beating Bolton Wanderers 4–3 in the final. Although it subsequently became known as "The Matthews Final", Stan Mortensen, Blackpool's top scorer in all competitions that season, scored a hat-trick in the match. It remained the only such feat achieved in an FA Cup Final held at the original Wembley Stadium.

Stan Mortensen was the club's top scorer for the ninth consecutive season, with eighteen goals in all competitions. He shared the accolade in the league with Allan Brown. The two scored fifteen goals apiece.

First-team squad

Name	Position(s)	Place of birth	Date of Birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
George Farm	GK	Slateford	(1924-06-13)13 June 1924 (aged 27)	177	0	Hibernian	September 1948	Free transfer
Willie Hall	GK	Walton-le-Dale	(1926-02-06)6 February 1926 (aged 26)	0	0	Preston North End	July 1949
Harry Sharratt	GK	Wigan	(1929-12-16)16 December 1929 (aged 22)	0	0	Wigan Athletic	May 1952
Full-backs
John Crosland	FB	Lytham St Annes	(1922-11-10)10 November 1922 (aged 29)	38	0	Ansdell Rovers	May 1946
David Frith	FB	Liverpool	(1929-03-17)17 March 1929 (aged 23)	0	0	Apprentice	May 1949
Tommy Garrett	LB	South Shields	(1926-02-28)28 February 1926 (aged 26)	114	0	Horden Colliery Welfare	October 1944
Roy Gratrix	FB	Salford	(1932-02-09)9 February 1932 (aged 20)	0	0	Taylor Brothers	March 1953
Dai Powell	LB	Swansea	(1935-01-19)19 January 1935 (aged 17)	0	0	Apprentice	December 1952
Eddie Shimwell	RB	Birchover	(1920-02-27)27 February 1920 (aged 32)	219	7	Sheffield United	20 December 1946	£7,000
Jackie Wright	FB	Atherton	(1926-08-11)11 August 1926 (aged 25)	54	0	Mossley	June 1946
Half-backs
Jack Ainscough	CH	Adlington	(1926-03-26)26 March 1926 (aged 26)	2	0	Astley Bridge	August 1949
Ewan Fenton	RH	Dundee	(1929-11-17)17 November 1929 (aged 22)	34	1	Lochee Harp	November 1946
Stan Hepton	WH	Leeds	(1932-12-03)3 December 1932 (aged 19)	0	0	Ashley Road Methodists	March 1950
Harry Johnston	CH/LH/RH	Manchester	(1919-09-26)26 September 1919 (aged 32)	297	11	Droylsden	October 1936	Free transfer
Hughie Kelly	LH	Valleyfield	(1923-07-23)23 July 1923 (aged 28)	167	3	Jeanfield Swifts	August 1944
Cyril Robinson	LH	Bulwell	(1929-03-04)4 March 1929 (aged 23)	11	2	Mansfield Town	September 1949
Forwards
Allan Brown	IF	Kennoway	(1926-10-12)12 October 1926 (aged 25)	61	19	East Fife	December 1950	£26,500
Dave Durie	IF	Blackpool	(1931-08-13)13 August 1931 (aged 20)	0	0	Oxford Amateurs	May 1952
Sandy Harris	OR	Hong Kong	(1934-10-22)22 October 1934 (aged 17)	0	0	Scone	November 1951
Albert Hobson	OR	Glossop	(1925-04-07)7 April 1925 (aged 27)	42	1	Glossop	August 1945
Stanley Matthews	OR	Stoke-on-Trent	(1915-02-01)1 February 1915 (aged 37)	164	5	Stoke City	10 May 1947	£11,500
George McKnight	IF	Newtownards	(1923-11-17)17 November 1923 (aged 28)	41	10	Coleraine	June 1946
Stan Mortensen	CF	South Shields	(1921-05-26)26 May 1921 (aged 31)	242	170	South Shields ex-schoolboys	May 1938
Jackie Mudie	IF	Dundee	(1930-04-10)10 April 1930 (aged 22)	61	25	Lochee Harp	May 1947
Bill Perry	OL	Johannesburg	(1930-09-10)10 September 1930 (aged 21)	98	10	Johannesburg Rangers	November 1949
Alan Withers	OL	Bulwell	(1930-10-20)20 October 1930 (aged 21)	14	6	Aspley Boys Club	4 July 1949
Graham Williams	OF	Wrexham	(1936-12-31)31 December 1936 (aged 15)	0	0	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Billy Wright	OL	Blackpool	(1931-03-04)4 March 1931 (aged 21)	5	1	Apprentice	May 1950
Len Stephenson	CF	Blackpool	(1930-07-14)14 July 1930 (aged 21)	4	1	Highfield Youth Club	November 1948
Ernie Taylor	IF	Sunderland	(1925-09-02)2 September 1925 (aged 26)	31	5	Newcastle United	10 October 1951	£25,000

Source: ^[1]

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
First Division	23 August 1952	25 April 1953	Matchday 1	7th	42	19	9	14	71	70	+1	045.24
FA Cup	10 January 1953	2 May 1953	Third round	Winners	7	6	1	0	14	8	+6	085.71
Total					49	25	10	14	85	78	+7	051.02

Source: Competitions

Football League First Division

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
5	Charlton Athletic	42	19	11	12	77	63	1.222	49
6	Burnley	42	18	12	12	67	52	1.288	48
7	Blackpool	42	19	9	14	71	70	1.014	47
8	Manchester United	42	18	10	14	69	72	0.958	46
9	Sunderland	42	15	13	14	68	82	0.829	43

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

Results

In summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
42	19	9	14	71	70	1.014	47	13	5	3	45	22	31	6	4	11	26	48	16

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

By matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A
Result	W	D	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	L	W	L	L	D	L	W	D	D	W	L	W	D	L	L	L	D	D	W	W	L	W	W	L	L	W	W	W	D	L	D	W	L
Position	1	2	1	3	6	4	3	2	1	3	2	2	3	4	6	5	6	6	4	5	4	4	5	7	8	9	10	8	7	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	5	7	5	4	7

Source: 11v11
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

In detail

23 August 1952 (1952-08-23) 1	Portsmouth	0–2	Blackpool	Portsmouth
			Brown 4' Mortensen 49'	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 43,478 Referee: R.J. Leafe

25 August 1952 (1952-08-25) 2	Blackpool	1–1	Preston North End	Blackpool
	Mortensen		Wayman 37'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 36,159 Referee: C. Fletcher

30 August 1952 (1952-08-30) 3	Blackpool	3–0	Bolton Wanderers	Blackpool
	Taylor Matthews Barrass (o.g.)			Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 31,317 Referee: F. Thurman

6 September 1952 (1952-09-06) 4	Aston Villa	1–5	Blackpool	Aston
	Dixon		Taylor Mortensen Brown	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 52,688 Referee: A.E. Ellis

10 September 1952 (1952-09-10) 5	Chelsea	4–0	Blackpool	Fulham
	Bentley 5' Gray 11' McNichol 69', 90'			Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 47,632 Referee: F.L. Overton

13 September 1952 (1952-09-13) 6	Blackpool	2–0	Sunderland	Blackpool
	Mortensen Perry			Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 35,350 Referee: A.W. Luty

15 September 1952 (1952-09-15) 7	Blackpool	3–1	Chelsea	Blackpool
	Perry Mortensen Matthews		Bentley 4'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 28,892 Referee: F.L. Overton

20 September 1952 (1952-09-20) 8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2–5	Blackpool	Wolverhampton
	Flowers 42' Swinbourne 64'		Mortensen 28' Matthews 34' Perry 49' Taylor 68' Brown 80'	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 48,598 Referee: C. Fletcher

27 September 1952 (1952-09-27) 9	Blackpool	8–4	Charlton Athletic	Blackpool
	Hammond 6' (o.g.) Brown 7', 43', 44' Mortensen 26' Garrett 46' Matthews 63' Taylor 65'		Evans 29', 70' Lock 75' (pen.) Vaughan 82'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 33,498 Referee: C.W. Bucknall

4 October 1952 (1952-10-04) 10	Arsenal	3–1	Blackpool	Highbury
	Logie Roper		Taylor 20'	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 66,642 Referee: J.R. Dunbar

11 October 1952 (1952-10-11) 11	Blackpool	4–2	Burnley	Blackpool
	Mortensen 33' Perry 60', 70' Brown 82' (pen.)		Elliott 62' (pen.) Shannon 72'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 35,671 Referee: G. Black

18 October 1952 (1952-10-18) 12	Tottenham Hotspur	4–0	Blackpool	Tottenham
	Ramsey (pen.) Duquemin Baily			Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 53,928 Referee: P.F. Power

25 October 1952 (1952-10-25) 13	Blackpool	0–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Blackpool
			Woodhead	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 28,162 Referee: T.W. Glendenning

1 November 1952 (1952-11-01) 14	Cardiff City	2–2	Blackpool	Cardiff
	Northcott Chisholm		Taylor Hobson	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 43,662 Referee: H. Ball

8 November 1952 (1952-11-08) 15	Blackpool	0–2	Newcastle United	Blackpool
			Robledo Brander	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 26,362 Referee: T. Seymour

15 November 1952 (1952-11-15) 16	West Bromwich Albion	0–1	Blackpool	West Bromwich
			Mortensen	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 33,712 Referee: L.N. Peake

22 November 1952 (1952-11-22) 17	Blackpool	1–1	Middlesbrough	Blackpool
	Brown 7'		Norris 9'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 19,934 Referee: A. Wilkinson

29 November 1952 (1952-11-29) 18	Liverpool	2–2	Blackpool	Liverpool
	Payne		Perry Taylor	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 32,336 Referee: H. Jackson

6 December 1952 (1952-12-06) 19	Blackpool	4–1	Manchester City	Blackpool
	Brown Mortensen Taylor		Williamson	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 19,496 Referee: R.P. Hartley

13 December 1952 (1952-12-13) 20	Stoke City	4–0	Blackpool	Stoke-on-Trent
	Mountford Oscroft Fenton (o.g.)			Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 19,118 Referee: B.J. Flanagan

20 December 1952 (1952-12-20) 21	Blackpool	3–2	Portsmouth	Blackpool
	Fenton Perry Taylor		Harris 37' Froggatt 88'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 13,562 Referee: R.J. Leafe

25 December 1952 (1952-12-25) 22	Blackpool	0–0	Manchester United	Blackpool
				Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 27,778 Referee: W.H.E. Evans

26 December 1952 (1952-12-26) 23	Manchester United	2–1	Blackpool	Manchester
	Carey 40' Lewis 80'		Mortensen 10'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 49,934 Referee: W.H.E. Evans

1 January 1953 (1953-01-01) 24	Preston North End	4–2	Blackpool	Preston
	Wayman Morrison Finney		Hobson Perry	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 30,696 Referee: C. Fletcher

3 January 1953 (1953-01-03) 25	Bolton Wanderers	4–0	Blackpool	Bolton
	Wheeler Moir			Stadium: Burnden Park Attendance: 36,572 Referee: F. Thurman

17 January 1953 (1953-01-17) 26	Blackpool	1–1	Aston Villa	Blackpool
	Mudie		Gibson	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 21,258 Referee: A.E. Ellis

24 January 1953 (1953-01-24) 27	Sunderland	1–1	Blackpool	Sunderland
	Wright		Hepton	Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 53,653 Referee: A.W. Luty

7 February 1953 (1953-02-07) 28	Blackpool	2–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Blackpool
	Brown 4', 84'			Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 21,702 Referee: C. Fletcher

21 February 1953 (1953-02-21) 29	Blackpool	3–2	Arsenal	Blackpool
	Mudie 20', 27' Brown 85'		Mercer 54' Goring 77'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 30,034 Referee: J.R. Dunbar

23 February 1953 (1953-02-23) 30	Charlton Athletic	2–0	Blackpool	Charlton
	Firmani 7' Kiernan 31'		Hepton	Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 15,913 Referee: C.W. Bucknall

3 March 1953 (1953-03-03) 31	Burnley	0–1	Blackpool	Burnley
			Perry 65'	Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 20,874 Referee: G. Black

7 March 1953 (1953-03-07) 32	Blackpool	2–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Blackpool
	Mudie Perry			Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 26,796 Referee: P.F. Power

14 March 1953 (1953-03-14) 33	Sheffield Wednesday	2–0	Blackpool	Sheffield
	Marriott Sewell		Perry 65'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 40,961 Referee: T.W. Glendenning

25 March 1953 (1953-03-25) 34	Blackpool	0–1	Cardiff City	Blackpool
			Northcott	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 15,227 Referee: H. Ball

28 March 1953 (1953-03-28) 35	Newcastle United	0–1	Blackpool	Newcastle upon Tyne
			Taylor	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 41,205 Referee: T. Seymour

3 April 1953 (1953-04-03) 36	Blackpool	2–1	Derby County	Blackpool
	Taylor Mortensen		McLaren	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 27,382 Referee: E. Plinston

4 April 1953 (1953-04-04) 37	Blackpool	2–0	West Bromwich Albion	Blackpool
	Mortensen			Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 30,592 Referee: L.N. Peake

6 April 1953 (1953-04-06) 38	Derby County	1–1	Blackpool	Derby
	Lee		Mortensen	Stadium: The Baseball Ground Attendance: 24,795 Referee: E. Plinston

11 April 1953 (1953-04-11) 39	Middlesbrough	1–1	Blackpool	Middlesbrough
	Mannion 14' Fitzsimons 32', 43' Spuhler 36', 79'		Durie 11'	Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 38,847 Referee: A. Wilkinson

15 April 1953 (1953-04-15) 40	Blackpool	1–1	Stoke City	Blackpool
	Perry		Mountford	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 13,284 Referee: B.J. Flanagan

18 April 1953 (1953-04-18) 41	Blackpool	3–1	Liverpool	Blackpool
	Garrett Perry Mudie		Smyth	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 20,073 Referee: G. Gibson

25 April 1953 (1953-04-25) 42	Manchester City	5–0	Blackpool	Manchester
	Cuncliffe McCourt Spurdle Williamson			Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 35,507 Referee: R.P. Hartley

FA Cup

10 January 1953 (1953-01-10) Third round	Sheffield Wednesday	1–2	Blackpool	Sheffield
	Sewell 75'		Matthews Taylor	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 60,199 Referee: H. Jackson

31 January 1953 (1953-01-31) Fourth round	Blackpool	1–0	Huddersfield Town	Blackpool
	Garrett			Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 29,293 Referee: B.M. Griffiths

14 February 1953 (1953-02-14) Fifth round	Blackpool	1–1	Southampton	Blackpool
	Perry		Horton	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 27,543 Referee: B.J. Flanagan

18 February 1953 (1953-02-18) Fifth round replay	Southampton	1–2	Blackpool	Southampton
	Walker		Horton 47' (o.g.) Brown 49'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 29,223 Referee: B.J. Flanagan

28 February 1953 (1953-02-28) Sixth round	Arsenal	1–2	Blackpool	London
	Logie		Brown Taylor	Stadium: Highbury Stadium Attendance: 69,158 Referee: A.W. Luty

21 March 1953 (1953-03-21) Semi-final	Blackpool	2–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Aston
	Perry 8' Mudie 89'		Duquemin 50'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 68,221 Referee: A.E. Ellis

2 May 1953 (1953-05-02) Final	Blackpool	4–3	Bolton Wanderers	Wembley
15:00 BST	Mortensen 35', 68', 89' Perry 90+2'		Lofthouse 2' Moir 40' Bell 55'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 100,000 Referee: B.M. Griffiths

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Nat.	Name	First Division		FA Cup		Total
Pos.	Nat.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		George Farm	38	0	7	0	45	0
GK		Willie Hall	3	0	0	0	3	0
GK		Harry Sharratt	1	0	0	0	1	0
DF		John Crosland	25	0	3	0	28	0
DF		David Frith	10	0	0	0	10	0
DF		Tommy Garrett	38	2	7	1	40	3
DF		Roy Gratrix	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF		Dai Powell	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF		Eddie Shimwell	35	0	7	0	42	0
DF		Jackie Wright	0	0	0	0	0	0
MF		Jack Ainscough	4	0	0	0	4	0
MF		Ewan Fenton	28	1	6	0	34	1
MF		Stan Hepton	1	1	0	0	1	1
MF		Harry Johnston	36	0	7	0	43	0
MF		Hughie Kelly	31	0	3	0	34	0
MF		Cyril Robinson	2	0	1	0	3	0
FW		Allan Brown	26	15	5	2	31	17
FW		Dave Durie	8	1	0	0	8	1
FW		Sandy Harris	2	0	0	0	2	0
FW		Albert Hobson	17	2	0	0	17	2
FW		Stanley Matthews	20	4	7	1	27	5
FW		George McKnight	2	0	1	0	3	0
FW		Stan Mortensen	34	15	2	3	36	18
FW		Jackie Mudie	20	5	7	1	27	6
FW		Bill Perry	36	12	7	3	43	15
FW		Alan Withers	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW		Graham Williams	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW		Billy Wright	7	0	0	0	7	0
FW		Len Stephenson	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW		Ernie Taylor	38	11	7	2	45	13
Players used:		24
Goals scored:		85 (including 3 own goals)

Goalscorers

Rank	Pos.	Player	First Division	FA Cup	Total
1	FW	Stan Mortensen	15	3	18
2	FW	Allan Brown	15	2	17
3	FW	Bill Perry	12	3	15
4	FW	Ernie Taylor	11	2	13
5	FW	Jackie Mudie	5	1	6
6	FW	Stanley Matthews	4	1	5
7	DF	Tommy Garrett	2	1	3
8	FW	Albert Hobson	2	0	2
9	MF	Ewan Fenton	1	0	1
	MF	Stan Hepton	1	0	1
	FW	Dave Durie	1	0	1
Own Goals			2	1	3
Total			71	14	85

Clean sheets

Rank	Pos.	Player	First Division	FA Cup	Total
1	GK	George Farm	10	1	11

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
May 1952	GK	Harry Sharratt	Wigan Athletic	—
May 1952	IF	Dave Durie	Oxford Amateurs	—
December 1952	LB	Dai Powell	Free agency	—
March 1953	FB	Roy Gratrix	Taylor Brothers	—
	OF	Graham Williams	Wolverhampton Wanderers	—

Transfers out

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Name	To	Fee
May 1952	CH		Eric Hayward	Retired	—

References

General

Books

Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992. Breedon Books Sport. ISBN 1-873626-07-X.

Websites

Blackpool F.C. 1952–53 season at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
"All Blackpool players: 1953". 11v11.com.
"Blackpool match record: 1953". 11v11.com.

Specific

^ Blackpool F.C. 1952–53 Squad at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

[ENFA_Squad-1] Blackpool F.C. 1952–53 Squad at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

[1]

1952–53 Blackpool F.C. season