1936–37 Stoke City F.C. season


The 1936–37 season was Stoke City's 37th season in the Football League and the 23rd in the First Division.
After the club's best ever season last campaign Stoke struggled to live up to their previous success and finished the season in a mid-table position of 10th. However it was a to be a season of record making with three being set during the 1936–37 season. A record attendance of 51,373 made it into the Victoria Ground on 29 March to watch a 0–0 draw with Arsenal. However the most remarkable achievement was that of a 10–3 victory over Staffordshire rivals West Bromwich Albion and thirdly, Freddie Steele finished the season with 33 league goals.

Season review

League

During the summer of 1936 there was a change at boardroom level with Mr H. Booth replacing Mr A. Sherwin as chairman. After the club's best ever season in 1935–36 Stoke found it difficult in the 1936–37 season to improve and a disappointing 10th-place finish was the final outcome. Stoke were hampered by a poor away record with only three wins forthcoming during the season and an equal record of 15 wins and defeats a mid-table finish was the obvious outcome.
During the 1936–37 season Stoke made three new club records which all still stand. A record attendance of 51,373 made it into the Victoria Ground on 29 March to watch a 0–0 draw with Arsenal. However the most remarkable achievement was that of a 10–3 victory over Staffordshire rivals West Bromwich Albion and thirdly, Freddie Steele finished the season with 33 league goals.

Record league victory

A 10–3 win over West Bromwich Albion is Stoke City's record League victory here is a summary of the match.
Stoke gave debuts to Scottish keeper Douglas Westland and full-back James Harbot. Stoke went into the match as narrow favourites but went on to outclass Albion in all positions. The first goal came after 10 minutes as Steele headed in a Stanley Matthews cross. Albion levelled just a minute later through Richardson following a fine move. Stoke re-took the lead through a copy of their first on 20 minutes as Albion struggled to contain Matthews. After 32 minutes Stoke went 3–1 up, Steele was brought down in the area by Bill Richardson and Arthur Turner scored from the spot. Four minutes before half-time Steele claimed his hat-trick. In the second half Stoke made it 5–1 through England winger Joe Johnson before Steele missed an open goal. Wally Boyes pulled one back to 5–2 however Steele got his fourth and fifth to make it 7–2 on 67 minutes. Richardson made it 7–3 before Johnson again and George Antonio got on the score sheet. With 15 minutes left the score line was 9–3 and with the crowd chanting for more it duly arrived when Antonio made it 10–3 to complete a historic result.

FA Cup

Stoke beat Birmingham 4–1 in the third round with Freddie Steele bagging a hat trick. However Stoke were on the end of a heavy defeat themselves in the next round as they lost 5–1 to eventual runners-up Preston North End.

Final league table

Key: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

Results

Stoke's score comes first

Legend

Football League First Division

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
129 August 1936LiverpoolA1–223,000Johnson
231 August 1936Charlton AthleticH1–123,524Steele
35 September 1936Leeds UnitedH2–119,080Liddle, Milburn
47 September 1936Charlton AthleticA0–220,000
512 September 1936BirminghamA4–210,000Steele, Matthews
614 September 1936Grimsby TownH2–018,229Steele
719 September 1936MiddlesbroughH6–229,106Steele, Matthews, Johnson
826 September 1936West Bromwich AlbionA2–227,086Steele, Johnson
93 October 1936Manchester CityH2–236,292Steele, Matthews
1010 October 1936PortsmouthA0–118,000
1117 October 1936Preston North EndH0–219,518
1224 October 1936Sheffield WednesdayA0–018,000
1331 October 1936Manchester UnitedH3–022,464Davies, Matthews, Johnson
147 November 1936Derby CountyA2–220,000Johnson, Steele
1514 November 1936Wolverhampton WanderersH2–121,349Johnson, Steele
1621 November 1936SunderlandA0–325,000
1728 November 1936Huddersfield TownH1–113,644Fursland
185 December 1936EvertonA1–115,000Robson
1912 December 1936Bolton WanderersH2–28,359Matthews
2019 December 1936BrentfordA1–225,000Robson
2125 December 1936ChelseaH2–024,789Johnson
2226 December 1936LiverpoolH1–138,940Robson
2328 December 1936ChelseaA0–118,000
242 January 1937Leeds UnitedA1–220,000Johnson
259 January 1937BirminghamH2–015,211Turner, Westland
2623 January 1937MiddlesbroughA0–114,000
274 February 1937West Bromwich AlbionH10–38,224Steele, Turner, Johnson, Antonio
286 February 1937Manchester CityA1–230,000Turner
2913 February 1937PortsmouthH2–418,237Steele
3024 February 1937Preston North EndA1–08,000Steele
316 March 1937Manchester UnitedA1–215,000Steele
3213 March 1937Derby CountyH1–220,106Steele
3320 March 1937Wolverhampton WanderersA1–220,000Steele
3426 March 1937ArsenalA0–040,000
3527 March 1937SunderlandH5–329,292Westland, Tutin, Steele
3629 March 1937ArsenalH0–051,373
373 April 1937Huddersfield TownA1–212,000Steele
385 April 1937Sheffield WednesdayH1–011,573Westland
3910 April 1937EvertonH2–117,646Westland, Mercer
4017 April 1937Bolton WanderersA0–012,000
4124 April 1937BrentfordH5–118,349Steele, Antonio, Matthews
421 May 1937Grimsby TownA3–18,000Steele, Johnson

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R316 January 1937BirminghamH4–131,480Steele, Johnson
R430 January 1937Preston North EndA1–523,866Johnson

Squad statistics