1948–49 in English football

The 1948–49 season was the 69th season of competitive football in England.

Football in England

Season	1948–49
Men's football
First Division	Portsmouth
Second Division	Fulham
FA Cup	Wolves

Overview

Portsmouth won the First Division title for the first time with a team of no recognised stars and very few international players. However, it was not the first major honour for the Hampshire club, as they had been the last winners of the FA Cup before the outbreak of the war. They would retain their league title the following season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, under manager Stan Cullis and captain Billy Wright, won their first major trophy for more than 40 years when they beat Leicester City 3-1 in the final of the FA Cup. This was the beginning of a great run of success for the West Midlands side.

Honours

Competition	Winner	Runner-up
First Division	Portsmouth (1)	Manchester United
Second Division	Fulham	West Bromwich Albion
Third Division North	Hull City	Rotherham United
Third Division South	Swansea City	Reading
FA Cup	Wolverhampton Wanderers (3)	Leicester City
Charity Shield	Arsenal	Manchester United
Home Championship	Scotland	England

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

Football League

Main article: 1948–49 Football League

First Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Portsmouth	42	25	8	9	84	42	2.000	58
2	Manchester United	42	21	11	10	77	44	1.750	53
3	Derby County	42	22	9	11	74	55	1.345	53
4	Newcastle United	42	20	12	10	70	56	1.250	52
5	Arsenal	42	18	13	11	74	44	1.682	49
6	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	17	12	13	79	66	1.197	46
7	Manchester City	42	15	15	12	47	51	0.922	45
8	Sunderland	42	13	17	12	49	58	0.845	43
9	Charlton Athletic	42	15	12	15	63	67	0.940	42
10	Aston Villa	42	16	10	16	60	76	0.789	42
11	Stoke City	42	16	9	17	66	68	0.971	41
12	Liverpool	42	13	14	15	53	43	1.233	40
13	Chelsea	42	12	14	16	69	68	1.015	38
14	Bolton Wanderers	42	14	10	18	59	68	0.868	38
15	Burnley	42	12	14	16	43	50	0.860	38
16	Blackpool	42	11	16	15	54	67	0.806	38
17	Birmingham City	42	11	15	16	36	38	0.947	37
18	Everton	42	13	11	18	41	63	0.651	37
19	Middlesbrough	42	11	12	19	46	57	0.807	34
20	Huddersfield Town	42	12	10	20	40	69	0.580	34
21	Preston North End	42	11	11	20	62	75	0.827	33	Relegated to the Second Division
22	Sheffield United	42	11	11	20	57	78	0.731	33

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Second Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Fulham	42	24	9	9	77	37	2.081	57	Promoted to the First Division
2	West Bromwich Albion	42	24	8	10	69	39	1.769	56
3	Southampton	42	23	9	10	69	36	1.917	55
4	Cardiff City	42	19	13	10	62	47	1.319	51
5	Tottenham Hotspur	42	17	16	9	72	44	1.636	50
6	Chesterfield	42	15	17	10	51	45	1.133	47
7	West Ham United	42	18	10	14	56	58	0.966	46
8	Sheffield Wednesday	42	15	13	14	63	56	1.125	43
9	Barnsley	42	14	12	16	62	61	1.016	40
10	Luton Town	42	14	12	16	55	57	0.965	40
11	Grimsby Town	42	15	10	17	72	76	0.947	40
12	Bury	42	17	6	19	67	76	0.882	40
13	Queens Park Rangers	42	14	11	17	44	62	0.710	39
14	Blackburn Rovers	42	15	8	19	53	63	0.841	38
15	Leeds United	42	12	13	17	55	63	0.873	37
16	Coventry City	42	15	7	20	55	64	0.859	37
17	Bradford Park Avenue	42	13	11	18	65	78	0.833	37
18	Brentford	42	11	14	17	42	53	0.792	36
19	Leicester City	42	10	16	16	62	79	0.785	36
20	Plymouth Argyle	42	12	12	18	49	64	0.766	36
21	Nottingham Forest	42	14	7	21	50	54	0.926	35	Relegated to the Third Division South
22	Lincoln City	42	8	12	22	53	91	0.582	28	Relegated to the Third Division North

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Third Division North

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Hull City	42	27	11	4	93	28	3.321	65	Promoted to the Second Division
2	Rotherham United	42	28	6	8	90	46	1.957	62
3	Doncaster Rovers	42	20	10	12	53	40	1.325	50
4	Darlington	42	20	6	16	83	74	1.122	46
5	Gateshead	42	16	13	13	69	58	1.190	45
6	Oldham Athletic	42	18	9	15	75	67	1.119	45
7	Rochdale	42	18	9	15	55	53	1.038	45
8	Stockport County	42	16	11	15	61	56	1.089	43
9	Wrexham	42	17	9	16	56	62	0.903	43
10	Mansfield Town	42	14	14	14	52	48	1.083	42
11	Tranmere Rovers	42	13	15	14	46	57	0.807	41
12	Crewe Alexandra	42	16	9	17	52	74	0.703	41
13	Barrow	42	14	12	16	41	48	0.854	40
14	York City	42	15	9	18	74	74	1.000	39
15	Carlisle United	42	14	11	17	60	77	0.779	39
16	Hartlepools United	42	14	10	18	45	58	0.776	38
17	New Brighton	42	14	8	20	46	58	0.793	36
18	Chester	42	11	13	18	57	56	1.018	35
19	Halifax Town	42	12	11	19	45	62	0.726	35
20	Accrington Stanley	42	12	10	20	55	64	0.859	34
21	Southport	42	11	9	22	45	64	0.703	31	Re-elected
22	Bradford City	42	10	9	23	48	77	0.623	29

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Third Division South

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Swansea Town	42	27	8	7	87	34	2.559	62	Promoted to the Second Division
2	Reading	42	25	5	12	77	50	1.540	55
3	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	42	22	8	12	69	48	1.438	52
4	Swindon Town	42	18	15	9	64	56	1.143	51
5	Bristol Rovers	42	19	10	13	61	51	1.196	48
6	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	15	18	9	55	55	1.000	48
7	Ipswich Town	42	18	9	15	78	77	1.013	45
8	Millwall	42	17	11	14	63	64	0.984	45
9	Torquay United	42	17	11	14	65	70	0.929	45
10	Norwich City	42	16	12	14	67	49	1.367	44
11	Notts County	42	19	5	18	102	68	1.500	43
12	Exeter City	42	15	10	17	63	76	0.829	40
13	Port Vale	42	14	11	17	51	54	0.944	39
14	Walsall	42	15	8	19	56	64	0.875	38
15	Newport County	42	14	9	19	68	92	0.739	37
16	Bristol City	42	11	14	17	44	62	0.710	36
17	Watford	42	10	15	17	41	54	0.759	35
18	Southend United	42	9	16	17	41	46	0.891	34
19	Leyton Orient	42	11	12	19	58	80	0.725	34
20	Northampton Town	42	12	9	21	51	62	0.823	33
21	Aldershot	42	11	11	20	48	59	0.814	33	Re-elected
22	Crystal Palace	42	8	11	23	38	76	0.500	27

Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Top goalscorers

First Division

• Willie Moir (Bolton Wanderers) – 25 goals

Second Division

• Charlie Wayman (Southampton) – 32 goals

Third Division North

• Wally Ardron (Rotherham United) – 29 goals

Third Division South

• Doug McGibbon (Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic) – 30 goals