1958–59 Southern Football League
The 1958–59 Southern Football League season saw the league split into two divisions for the first time since 1936 following the election of thirteen new clubs at the end of the previous season. Hereford United won the North-west Division, whilst Bedford Town won the South-east Division. Bedford were declared Southern League champions after defeating Hereford 2-1 in a championship play-off at Hereford on 9 May.[1] Nine clubs applied to join the Football League, although none were successful.
The plan for the following season was to have a Premier Division of 22 clubs and a Division One below it. As a result, the top eleven clubs in each division this season would remain in the new Premier Division, whilst clubs finishing twelfth or lower would be in the new Division One.
Contents
Final tables
North-west Division
The North-west Division featured seven new clubs:
- Boston United (from the Midland League)
- Burton Albion (from the Birmingham & District League)
- Corby Town (from the Midland League)
- Nuneaton Borough (from the Birmingham & District League)
- Rugby Town (from the Birmingham & District League)
- Wellington Town (from the Cheshire League)
- Wisbech Town (from the Midland League)
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv1 | Pts2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hereford United | 34 | 22 | 5 | 7 | 80 | 37 | 2.16 | 49 | |
| 2 | Kettering Town | 34 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 83 | 63 | 1.32 | 47 | |
| 3 | Boston United | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 73 | 47 | 1.55 | 44 | |
| 4 | Cheltenham Town | 34 | 20 | 4 | 10 | 65 | 47 | 1.38 | 44 | |
| 5 | Worcester City | 34 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 74 | 47 | 1.57 | 42 | |
| 6 | Bath City | 34 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 89 | 62 | 1.44 | 39 | |
| 7 | Wellington Town | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 74 | 58 | 1.28 | 39 | |
| 8 | Nuneaton Borough | 34 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 76 | 66 | 1.15 | 39 | |
| 9 | Wisbech Town | 34 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 77 | 54 | 1.43 | 37 | |
| 10 | Headington United | 34 | 16 | 3 | 15 | 76 | 61 | 1.25 | 35 | |
| 11 | Barry Town | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 64 | 67 | 0.96 | 35 | |
| 12 | Merthyr Tydfil | 34 | 16 | 3 | 15 | 54 | 59 | 0.92 | 35 | Relegated to Division One |
| 13 | Gloucester City | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 50 | 65 | 0.77 | 30 | |
| 14 | Corby Town | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 59 | 79 | 0.75 | 28 | |
| 15 | Lovells Athletic | 34 | 10 | 3 | 21 | 51 | 70 | 0.73 | 23 | Left league at end of season |
| 16 | Rugby Town | 34 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 45 | 93 | 0.48 | 20 | Relegated to Division One |
| 17 | Kidderminster Harriers | 34 | 7 | 3 | 24 | 42 | 94 | 0.44 | 17 | |
| 18 | Burton Albion | 34 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 41 | 104 | 0.39 | 9 |
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
South-east Division
The North-west Division featured six new clubs:
- Cambridge City (from the Athenian League)
- Cambridge United (from the Eastern Counties League)
- Clacton Town (from the Eastern Counties League)
- King's Lynn (from the Midland League)
- Trowbridge Town (from the Western League)
- Yiewsley (from the Corinthian League)
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv1 | Pts2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bedford Town | 32 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 90 | 41 | 2.2 | 48 | |
| 2 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 32 | 21 | 2 | 9 | 79 | 54 | 1.46 | 44 | |
| 3 | Dartford | 32 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 77 | 41 | 1.88 | 43 | |
| 4 | Yeovil Town | 32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 60 | 41 | 1.46 | 42 | |
| 5 | Weymouth | 32 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 61 | 43 | 1.42 | 37 | |
| 6 | Chelmsford City | 32 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 74 | 53 | 1.4 | 36 | |
| 7 | King's Lynn | 32 | 14 | 5 | 13 | 70 | 63 | 1.11 | 33 | |
| 8 | Poole Town | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 60 | 65 | 0.92 | 32 | |
| 9 | Cambridge City | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 61 | 54 | 1.13 | 31 | |
| 10 | Hastings United | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 60 | 59 | 1.02 | 31 | |
| 11 | Tonbridge | 32 | 14 | 3 | 15 | 51 | 59 | 0.86 | 31 | |
| 12 | Cambridge United | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 55 | 77 | 0.71 | 30 | Relegated to Division One |
| 13 | Trowbridge Town | 32 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 53 | 75 | 0.71 | 28 | |
| 14 | Exeter City II | 32 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 47 | 71 | 0.66 | 26 | |
| 15 | Guildford City | 32 | 7 | 6 | 19 | 45 | 67 | 0.67 | 20 | |
| 16 | Clacton Town | 32 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 44 | 81 | 0.54 | 19 | |
| 17 | Yiewsley | 32 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 36 | 78 | 0.46 | 13 |
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Football League election
Nine Southern League clubs applied to join the Football League. However, all four League clubs were re-elected.[2]
References
- ↑ Bedford Town at the Football Club History Database
- ↑ A history of admission to the Football League
