Northampton Town

1952–53 season
Chairman	E.C. Hawtin
Manager	Bob Dennison
Stadium	County Ground
Division Three (S)	3rd
FA Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Willie O'Donnell (27) All: Willie O'Donnell (27)
Highest home attendance	19,242 vs Reading
Lowest home attendance	6,100 vs Hendon
Average home league attendance	12,031
← 1951–52 1953–54 →

The 1952–53 season was Northampton Town's 56th season in their history and the twenty-fifth successive season in the regional Third Division South. Alongside competing in Division Three South, the club also participated in the FA Cup.

As of match played 30 April 1953.

Name	Position	Nat.	Place of Birth	Date of Birth (Age)	Apps	Goals	Previous club	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Alf Wood	GK		Aldridge	(1915-05-14)14 May 1915 (aged 37)	63	0	Coventry City	Summer 1951	£2,100[1]
Full backs
Ron Patterson	LB		Gateshead	(1929-10-30)30 October 1929 (aged 23)	49	0	Middlesbrough	Summer 1952
Jack Southam	RB		Willenhall	(1917-08-19)19 August 1917 (aged 35)	104	1	Birmingham City	Summer 1949
Half backs
Maurice Candlin	CH		Jarrow	(1921-11-11)11 November 1921 (aged 31)	152	2	Partick Thistle	Summer 1949
Ben Collins	CH		Kislingbury	(1928-03-09)9 March 1928 (aged 25)	78	0	Apprentice	Summer 1948	N/A
John Croy	WH		Falkirk	(1925-02-23)23 February 1925 (aged 28)	5	0	Third Lanark	Summer 1951
James Davie	WH		Cambuslang	(1922-09-07)7 September 1922 (aged 30)	76	1	Preston North End	Summer 1950
Norman Dodgin	WH		Gateshead	(1921-11-01)1 November 1921 (aged 31)	19	1	Reading	Summer 1951
Gwyn Hughes	WH		Blaenau Ffestiniog	(1922-05-07)7 May 1922 (aged 30)	140	15	Blaenau Ffestiniog Amateur	Summer 1946
Tom McLain	WH		Morpeth	(1922-01-19)19 January 1922 (aged 31)	35	2	Sunderland	Summer 1952
John Smith	WH		Leicester	(1928-09-04)4 September 1928 (aged 24)	10	1	Apprentice	Summer 1950	N/A
Frank Upton	WH		Atherstone	(1934-10-18)18 October 1934 (aged 18)	4	0	Nuneaton Borough	Summer 1952
Inside/Outside forwards
Jack English	OF		South Shields	(1923-03-19)19 March 1923 (aged 30)	151	64	Apprentice	Summer 1947	N/A
Tommy Fowler	OF		Prescot	(1924-12-16)16 December 1924 (aged 28)	200	40	Everton	Summer 1946
Felix Staroscik	OF		Silesia	(1920-05-20)20 May 1920 (aged 32)	25	7	Third Lanark	Summer 1951
Don Adams	IF		Northampton	(1931-02-15)15 February 1931 (aged 22)	9	4	Apprentice	Summer 1951	N/A
Larry Baxter	IF		Leicester	(1931-11-24)24 November 1931 (aged 21)	11	2	Apprentice	Summer 1952	N/A
Maurice Edelston	IF		Kingston upon Hull	(1918-04-27)27 April 1918 (aged 35)	33	15	Reading	Summer 1952
Ken Leek	IF		Ynysybwl	(1935-07-26)26 July 1935 (aged 17)	0	0	Apprentice	Summer 1952	N/A
Fred Ramscar	IF		Salford	(1919-01-24)24 January 1919 (aged 34)	95	47	Preston North End	Summer 1951
Centre forwards
Willie O'Donnell	CF		Clydebank	(1924-08-09)9 August 1924 (aged 28)	71	37	Partick Thistle	Summer 1951

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Bristol Rovers	46	26	12	8	92	46	2.000	64	Division Champions, promoted
2	Millwall	46	24	14	8	82	44	1.864	62
3	Northampton Town	46	26	10	10	109	70	1.557	62
4	Norwich City	46	25	10	11	99	55	1.800	60
5	Bristol City	46	22	15	9	95	61	1.557	59

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
46	26	10	10	109	70	1.557	62	18	4	1	75	30	40	8	6	9	34	40	22

  Win   Draw   Loss

Pos	Player	Division Three (S)		FA Cup		Total
		Starts	Goals	Starts	Goals	Starts	Goals
GK	Alf Wood	46	–	3	–	49	–
FB	Ron Patterson	46	–	3	–	49	–
FB	Jack Southam	46	1	3	–	49	1
HB	Maurice Candlin	28	–	3	–	31	–
HB	Ben Collins	19	–	–	–	19	–
HB	John Croy	2	–	–	–	2	–
HB	James Davie	11	–	–	–	11	–
HB	Norman Dodgin	14	1	–	–	14	1
HB	Gwyn Hughes	29	1	3	–	32	1
HB	Tom McLain	32	2	3	–	35	2
HB	John Smith	–	–	–	–	–	–
HB	Frank Upton	4	–	–	–	4	–
OF	Jack English	45	24	3	–	48	24
OF	Tommy Fowler	46	11	3	1	49	12
OF	Felix Staroscik	1	1	–	–	1	1
IF	Don Adams	2	1	–	–	2	1
IF	Larry Baxter	11	2	–	–	11	2
IF	Maurice Edelston	30	15	3	–	33	15
IF	Fred Ramscar	45	22	3	1	48	23
IF	Ken Leek	–	–	–	–	–	–
CF	Willie O'Donnell	46	27	3	–	49	27
Players who left before end of season:
IF	Tommy Mulgrew	3	–	–	–	3	–

Books

• Grande, Frank (1997). Northampton Town F.C.: The Official Centenary History. London: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1874427674.