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.
| 1959–60 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Stephen Lister |
| Manager |  Bill Shankly (until 1 December 1959) Eddie Boot (from 19 January 1960) |
| 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) |
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.
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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. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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
| Name | Nation | Position | League Apps | League Goals | FA Cup Apps | FA Cup Goals | Total Apps | Total 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 |