1950's West Bromwich Albion

1950’s – Games, results and tables

by The WBA Chronicle | Posted on

1950 – 1951

The 1950-51 season was a carbon copy of the previous season not much in the way to cheer, with relegation looking a major threat near the end of the season, seventeenth being the final position. The main highlight was the five-goal thrashing of the reigning champions, Portsmouth.

vintage, retro and classic west brom football shirts

Once again, after forcing a good away draw in the third round of the Cup, The replay at t the Hawthorns, Albion were dumped out of the cup by unfancied Derby County.

A few players left that season Dave Walsh, to Villa, Arthur Smith, to Plymouth, Elliott and Cyril Williams, unable to regain form after their serious injuries, and Jim Pemberton, sadly injured in the opening game of the season at Villa Park.

Many new faces were also appearing; the injury to Pemberton made way for Stan Rickaby, signed from Middlesbrough the previous season and later to become an England International; Frank Griffin from Shrewsbury Town, and Norman Heath, a brilliant young goalkeeper.

Division 1 final table: 1950-51

                              P   W  D  L   F   A   W  D  L   F   A  Pts
 1. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR        42  17  2  2  54  21   8  8  5  28  23   60
 2. Manchester United        42  14  4  3  42  16  10  4  7  32  24   56
 3. Blackpool                42  12  6  3  43  19   8  4  9  36  34   50
 4. Newcastle United         42  10  6  5  36  22   8  7  6  26  31   49
 5. Arsenal                  42  11  5  5  47  28   8  4  9  26  28   47
 6. Middlesbrough            42  12  7  2  51  25   6  4 11  25  40   47
 7. Portsmouth               42   8 10  3  39  30   8  5  8  32  38   47
 8. Bolton Wanderers         42  11  2  8  31  20   8  5  8  33  41   45
 9. Liverpool                42  11  5  5  28  25   5  6 10  25  34   43
10. Burnley                  42   9  7  5  27  16   5  7  9  21  27   42
11. Derby County             42  10  5  6  53  33   6  3 12  28  42   40
12. Sunderland               42   8  9  4  30  21   4  7 10  33  52   40
13. Stoke City               42  10  5  6  28  19   3  9  9  22  40   40
14. Wolverhampton Wanderers  42   9  3  9  44  30   6  5 10  30  31   38
15. Aston Villa              42   9  6  6  39  29   3  7 11  27  39   37
16. West Bromwich Albion     42   7  4 10  30  27   6  7  8  23  34   37
17. Charlton Athletic        42   9  4  8  35  31   5  5 11  28  49   37
18. Fulham                   42   8  5  8  35  37   5  6 10  17  31   37
19. Huddersfield Town        42   8  4  9  40  40   7  2 12  24  52   36
20. Chelsea                  42   9  4  8  31  25   3  4 14  22  40   32
21. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY      42   9  6  6  43  32   3  2 16  21  51   32
22. EVERTON                  42   7  5  9  26  35   5  3 13  22  51   32

Source: Football Statistics Archive (rsssf.com). Info by Stuart Jackson

Games and results

DateEventHomeScoreAway
19-08- 1950Aston Villa2-0West Brom
23-08-1950Newcastle1-1West Brom
26-08-1950West Brom1-1Stoke
30-08-1950West Brom2-1Newcastle
02-09-1950Everton0-3West Brom
06-09-1950Middlesbrough2-1West Brom
09-09-1950West Brom5-0Portsmouth
13-09-1950West Brom2-3Middlesbrough
16-09-1950Chelsea1-1West Brom
23-09-1950West Brom2-1Burnley
30-09-1950Arsenal3-0West Brom
07-10-1950Derby1-1West Brom
14-10-1950West Brom1-1Liverpool
21-10-1950Blackpool2-1West Brom
28-10-1950West Brom1-2Tottenham
04-11-1950Fulham0-1West Brom
11-11-1950West Brom0-1Bolton
18-11-1950Charlton2-3West Brom
25-11-1950West Brom0-1Man UTD
02-12-1950Wolves3-1West Brom
09-12-1950West Brom3-1Sunderland
16-12-1950West Brom2-0Aston Villa
23-12-1950Stoke1-1West Brom
25-12-1950West Brom1-3Sheffield Wed
26-12-1950Sheffield Wed3-0West Brom
30-12-1950West Brom0-1Everton
06-01-1951FA Cup 3rd RoundDerby2-2West Brom
10-01-1951FA Cup 3rd Round, ReplyWest Brom0-1Derby
13-01-1951Portsmouth2-2West Brom
20-01-1951West Brom1-1Chelsea
03-02-1951Burnly0-1West Brom
17-02-1951West Brom2-0Arsenal
24-02-1951West Brom1-2Derby
03-03-1951Liverpool1-1West Brom
17-03-1951Tottenham5-0West Brom
24-03-1951West Brom0-0Fulham
26-03-1951West Brom0-2Huddersfield
27-03-1951Huddersfield1-2West Brom
31-03-1951Bolton0-2West Brom
04-04-1951West Brom1-3Blackpool
07-04-1951West Brom3-0Charlton
14-04-1951Man UTD3-0West Brom
21-04-1951West Brom3-2Wolves
28-04-1951Sunderland1-1West Brom

Players

SandersRichardson
PembertonSmith
MillardGordon
KennedyRyan
VernonBentbridge
BarlowHeath
ElliotDudley
WilliamsWilcox
WalshGuy
AllenHorne
LeeMcCall
RickabyGriffin

1951 – 1952

Albion season started brightly doing well to share six goals with the champions of the previous season, Manchester United, but heavy defeats at Tottenham 1-3, Burnley 1-6, Arsenal 3-6 and Manchester United 1-5 soon, dampened any spark the club was trying to ignite.

 But there were moments of glory, what was becoming a custom the thrashing of Portsmouth, 5-0 again, and a great 5-2 win over Liverpool at Anfield Albion’s defence was insecure at times, but the attack was finding its feet at last in the First Division, and this was in evidence when the club turned to the Cup, beating Bolton by four clear goals at home and little Gateshead away.

Hope was high that Albion might at last end its longest ever spell without a semi-final appearance, but the Baggies’ hopes were knocked back at Ewood Park, where Blackburn squeezed through with a penalty 1- 0 in a hard-fought match in the fifth round. Johnny Nicholls made his debut, in place of Ronnie Allen, who had injured an eye in pre-match training at Whitley Bay sands.

Despite finishing thirteenth in the League, the club was in a healthy state, they were not content to be a middle-of-the-table side, but there was still something missing.

Jack Smith resigned as team manager and former Blackburn and Newcastle defender Jesse Carver was appointed team coach, after a very successful stint with Juventus, and it was Carver and his successor, Vic Buckingham who introduced powerful new coaching and tactical methods to transform the team into a match-winning machine, feared and respected at home and abroad.

West Bromwich Albion 1951-52

Division 1 Table: 1951-52

                              P   W  D  L   F   A   W  D  L   F   A  Pts
 1. MANCHESTER UNITED        42  15  3  3  55  21   8  8  5  40  31   57
 2. Tottenham Hotspur        42  16  1  4  45  20   6  8  7  31  31   53
 3. Arsenal                  42  13  7  1  54  30   8  4  9  26  31   53
 4. Portsmouth               42  13  3  5  42  25   7  5  9  26  33   48
 5. Bolton Wanderers         42  11  7  3  35  26   8  3 10  30  35   48
 6. Aston Villa              42  13  3  5  49  28   6  6  9  30  42   47
 7. Preston North End        42  10  5  6  39  22   7  7  7  35  32   46
 8. Newcastle United         42  12  4  5  62  28   6  5 10  36  45   45
 9. Blackpool                42  12  5  4  40  27   6  4 11  24  37   45
10. Charlton Athletic        42  12  5  4  41  24   5  5 11  27  39   44
11. Liverpool                42   6 11  4  31  25   6  8  7  26  36   43
12. Sunderland               42   8  6  7  41  28   7  6  8  29  33   42
13. West Bromwich Albion     42   8  9  4  38  29   6  4 11  36  48   41
14. Burnley                  42   9  6  6  32  19   6  4 11  24  44   40
15. Manchester City          42   7  5  9  29  28   6  8  7  29  33   39
16. Wolverhampton Wanderers  42   8  6  7  40  33   4  8  9  33  40   38
17. Derby County             42  10  4  7  43  37   5  3 13  20  43   37
18. Middlesbrough            42  12  4  5  37  25   3  2 16  27  63   36
19. Chelsea                  42  10  3  8  31  29   4  5 12  21  43   36
20. Stoke City               42   8  6  7  34  32   4  1 16  15  56   31
21. HUDDERSFIELD TOWN        42   9  3  9  32  35   1  5 15  17  47   28
22. FULHAM                   42   5  7  9  38  31   3  4 14  20  46   27

Source: Football Statistics Archive (rsssf.com). Info by Stuart Jackson

Games and results

DateEventHomeScoreAway
18-08-1951West Brom3-3Man Utd
20-08-1951Stoke1-1West Brom
25-08-1951Tottenham3-1West Brom
29-08-1951West Brom1-0Stoke
01-09-1951West Brom1-1Preston
05-09-1951West Brom3-3Newcastle
08-09-1951Burnley6-1West Brom
15-09-1951West Brom1-1Charlton
22-09-1951Fulham1-0West Brom
29-09-1951West Brom2-3Middlesbrough
06-10-1951West Brom0-0Huddersfield
13-10-1951Chelsea1-3West Brom
20-10-1951West Brom5-0Portsmouth
27-10-1951Liverpool2-5West Brom
03-11-1951West Brom1-1Blackpool
10-11-1951Arsenal6-3West Brom
17-11-1951West Brom3-2Man City
24-11-1951Derby2-1West Brom
01-12-1951West Brom1-2Aston Villa
08-12-1951Sunderland3-3West Brom
15-12-1951Man Utd5-1West Brom
22-12-1951West Brom3-1Tottenham
25-12-1951Bolton3-2West Brom
26-12-1951West Brom3-2Bolton
29-12-1951Preston1-0West Brom
05-01-1952West Brom1-1Burnley
12-01-1952FA Cup 3rd RoundWest Brom4-0Bolton
19-01-1952Charlton3-3West Brom
26-01-1952West Brom0-2Fulham
06-02-1952FA Cup 4th RoundGateshead0-2West Brom
09-02-1952Middlesbrough0-1West Brom
16-02-1952Huddersfield3-0West Brom
23-02-1952FA Cup 5th RoundBlackbourn1-0West Brom
01-03-1952West Brom0-1Chelsea
12-03-1952Portsmouth1-1West Brom
15-03-1952West Brom3-3Liverpool
22-03-1952Plackpool2-0West Brom
05-04-1952Man City1-2West Brom
12-04-1952Derby1-0West Brom
14-04-1952West Brom2-1Wolves
15-04-1952Wolves1-4West Brom
19-04-1952Aston Villa2-0West Brom
21-04-1952West Brom3-1Arsenal
23-04-1952Newcastle1-4West Brom
26-04-1952West Brom1-1Sunderland

Players

SandersGordon
RickabyKennedy
MillardHeath
DudleyBarlow
VernonCarter
RyanGriffin
AllenHorne
SmithWilliams
RichardsonNicholls
McCallCutler
LeeCorbett

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