1927–28 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town
1927–28 season
ChairmanSir Amos Brook Hirst
ManagerJack Chaplin
StadiumLeeds Road
Football League First Division2nd
FA CupRunners-Up
(knocked out by Blackburn Rovers)
Top goalscorerLeague: George Brown (27)
All: George Brown (35)
Highest home attendance55,200 vs Middlesbrough (18 February 1928)
Lowest home attendance7,098 vs Derby County (5 November 1927)
Biggest win8–2 vs Cardiff City (1 October 1927)
7–1 vs Sheffield United (12 November 1927)
Biggest defeat0–4 vs Cardiff City (11 February 1928)

Huddersfield Town's 1927–28 campaign was the last season of Town's true dominance of English football. They finished 2nd behind Everton, although if they had won all their last 3 games, they would have won the title, but they only beat Portsmouth and lost to Sheffield United and Aston Villa. They also reached their 3rd FA Cup Final, losing to Blackburn Rovers in controversial circumstances.

Squad at the start of season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Pos. Nation Player
GK  ENG Billy Mercer
GK  ENG Hugh Turner
DF  ENG Ned Barkas
DF  ENG Billy Carr
DF  ENG Roy Goodall
DF  ENG Tommy Meads
DF  ENG Levi Redfern
DF  ENG Norman Smith
DF  ENG Bon Spence
DF  SCO David Steele
Pos. Nation Player
DF  ENG Sam Wadsworth
DF  ENG Tom Wilson
MF  EIR Laurie Cumming
MF  SCO Alex Jackson
MF  ENG Billy Smith
FW  ENG George Brown
FW  ENG Johnny Dent
FW  ENG Bob Kelly
FW  ENG Harry Raw
FW  ENG Clem Stephenson

Review

Town had just one season after relinquishing their championship title, but they were still a formidable force in the 1st Division. This was proven by their record 8–2 win over Cardiff City in October and the 7–1 win over Sheffield United in November. George Brown still continued his goalscoring exploits by scoring 35 goals during the season, including 27 in the league. They were still in the hunt for the title until late April. They needed to win their last 3 games to have a realistic chance of reclaiming their title, but defeats to Sheffield United and Aston Villa made the win over Portsmouth irrelevant. They missed out on the championship by 2 points to Everton.

Squad at the end of the season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Pos. Nation Player
GK  ENG Billy Mercer
GK  ENG Hugh Turner
DF  ENG Ned Barkas
DF  SCO Willie Campbell
DF  ENG Billy Carr
DF  ENG Roy Goodall
DF  ENG Tommy Meads
DF  ENG Bill Pickering
DF  ENG Levi Redfern
DF  ENG Bon Spence
DF  SCO David Steele
DF  ENG Sam Wadsworth
Pos. Nation Player
DF  ENG Tom Wilson
MF  EIR Laurie Cumming
MF  SCO Alex Jackson
MF  ENG Jimmy Smailes
MF  ENG Billy Smith
MF  SCO George Wilson
FW  ENG George Brown
FW  ENG Johnny Dent
FW  ENG Bob Kelly
FW  ENG Harry Raw
FW  ENG Clem Stephenson

Results

Date[1] Opponents[1] Home/
Away
[1]
Result
F - A
[1]
Scorers Attendance Position
27 August 1927 Newcastle United H 1 - 3 Brown 24,465 17th
29 August 1927 Birmingham A 1 - 3 Brown 16,432 18th
3 September 1927 West Ham United A 2 - 4 Brown, Jackson 23,925 22nd
10 September 1927 Tottenham Hotspur A 2 - 2 Dent, Brown 27,983 21st
17 September 1927 Manchester United H 4 - 2 Brown (3), Dent 17,307 20th
24 September 1927 Everton A 2 - 2 B. Smith, Jackson 37,269 20th
1 October 1927 Cardiff City H 8 - 2 Kelly (3), Jackson, Dent (2), Goodall (pen), B. Smith 12,975 16th
8 October 1927 Blackburn Rovers A 1 - 1 Jackson 28,032 16th
15 October 1927 Bolton Wanderers H 1 - 0 Jackson (pen) 19,818 11th
22 October 1927 Aston Villa H 1 - 1 Jackson 14,679 12th
29 October 1927 Sunderland A 0 - 3 22,070 16th
5 November 1927 Derby County H 2 - 1 B. Smith, Goodall (pen) 7,098 15th
12 November 1927 Sheffield United A 7 - 1 Meads, B. Smith (2), Brown (2), Jackson (2) 22,163 13th
19 November 1927 Bury H 3 - 0 Brown (2), B. Smith 12,273 9th
26 November 1927 Liverpool A 2 - 4 B. Smith, Goodall (pen) 34,128 11th
3 December 1927 Arsenal H 2 - 1 B. Smith (2) 15,140 7th
10 December 1927 Burnley A 1 - 0 Brown 19,130 5th
17 December 1927 Leicester City H 3 - 1 Brown (2), Kelly 13,717 3rd
24 December 1927 Portsmouth A 1 - 2 Brown 21,785 5th
26 December 1927 Sheffield Wednesday H 1 - 0 Jackson 21,336 4th
27 December 1927 Sheffield Wednesday A 5 - 0 Barkas (pen), B. Smith, Brown (3) 41,824 2nd
31 December 1927 Newcastle United A 3 - 2 Brown, Jackson, Barkas (pen) 33,640 2nd
2 January 1928 Middlesbrough A 1 - 3 Brown 26,032 2nd
7 January 1928 West Ham United H 5 - 2 Jackson (2), Brown (3) 10,972 2nd
21 January 1928 Tottenham Hotspur H 4 - 2 Brown, B. Smith (2), Jackson 17,892 2nd
4 February 1928 Everton H 4 - 1 Dent, B. Smith (3) 51,284 2nd
11 February 1928 Cardiff City A 0 - 4 21,073 2nd
25 February 1928 Bolton Wanderers A 1 - 0 B. Smith 44,082 2nd
7 March 1928 Manchester United A 0 - 0 35,413 2nd
10 March 1928 Sunderland H 4 - 2 Stephenson, Jackson, Kelly, Brown 17,497 1st
14 March 1928 Blackburn Rovers H 3 - 1 Goodall (pen), Jackson, Brown 10,890 1st
17 March 1928 Derby County A 0 - 0 24,684 1st
31 March 1928 Bury A 3 - 2 G. Wilson, Raw, Dent 14,636 1st
7 April 1928 Liverpool H 2 - 4 Jackson, Brown 27,290 2nd
9 April 1928 Birmingham H 2 - 0 Dent (2) 28,779 1st
10 April 1928 Middlesbrough H 2 - 4 Stephenson, Goodall (pen) 29,034 1st
14 April 1928 Arsenal A 0 - 0 38,707 1st
25 April 1928 Burnley H 1 - 2 Brown 20,643 2nd
28 April 1928 Leicester City A 2 - 1 Raw, Barkas (pen) 29,191 2nd
30 April 1928 Sheffield United H 0 - 1 22,380 2nd
2 May 1928 Aston Villa A 0 - 3 30,173 2nd
5 May 1928 Portsmouth H 4 - 1 Jackson (2), B. Smith, Barkas 11,706 2nd
Date[2] Round Opponents[2] Home/
Away
[2]
Result
F - A
[2]
Scorers Attendance
14 January 1928 Round 3 Lincoln City H 4 - 2 Brown, B. Smith, Goodall (pen), Steele 19,329
28 January 1928 Round 4 West Ham United H 2 - 1 Brown, Jackson 27,525
18 February 1928 Round 5 Middlesbrough H 4 - 0 Steele, Brown, Jackson, B. Smith 55,200
3 March 1928 Round 6 Tottenham Hotspur H 6 - 1 B. Smith (2), Brown (4) 52,390
24 March 1928 Semi-Final Sheffield United N 2 - 2 Jackson, Brown 69,260
26 March 1928 Semi-Final Replay Sheffield United N 0 - 0 53,749
2 April 1928 Semi-Final 2nd Replay Sheffield United N 1 - 0 Jackson 69,370
21 April 1928 Final Blackburn Rovers N 1 - 3 Jackson 92,041

Appearances and goals

Name Nationality Position League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ned Barkas  England DF 36 4 4 0 40 4
George Brown  England FW 32 27 6 8 38 35
Willie Campbell  Scotland DF 2 0 0 0 2 0
Billy Carr  England DF 1 0 0 0 1 0
Laurie Cumming  Ireland FW 1 0 0 0 1 0
Johnny Dent  England FW 18 8 2 0 20 8
Roy Goodall  England DF 29 5 8 1 37 6
Alex Jackson  Scotland FW 39 19 8 5 47 24
Bob Kelly  England FW 35 5 8 0 43 5
Tommy Meads  England DF 27 1 2 0 29 1
Billy Mercer  England GK 23 0 7 0 30 0
Bill Pickering  England DF 1 0 0 0 1 0
Harry Raw  England FW 10 2 0 0 10 2
Levi Redfern  England DF 23 0 7 0 30 0
Jimmy Smailes  England MF 3 0 0 0 3 0
Billy Smith  England MF 38 17 8 4 46 21
Norman Smith  England DF 6 0 0 0 6 0
Bon Spence  England DF 5 0 1 0 6 0
David Steele  Scotland DF 24 0 6 2 30 2
Clem Stephenson  England FW 31 2 8 0 39 2
Hugh Turner  England GK 19 0 1 0 20 0
Sam Wadsworth  England DF 17 0 4 0 21 0
George Wilson  Scotland MF 1 1 0 0 1 1
Tom Wilson  England DF 41 0 8 0 49 0

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Huddersfield Town match record: League Division One 1928". 11v11.com. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d "Huddersfield Town match record: FA Cup 1928". 11v11.com. Retrieved 16 March 2026.