1936–37 Charlton Athletic F.C. season

Charlton Athletic
1936–37 season
ManagerJimmy Seed
StadiumThe Valley
First Division2nd
FA CupThird round

The 1936–37 season was the 18th season in the history of Charlton Athletic Football Club, an association football club based in Charlton, London, England. Following a second-place finish in the 1935–36 Second Division, Charlton were promoted to play in the First Division, the top tier of English football, for the first time in the club's history. Charlton finished second in the First Division, three points behind title winners Manchester City. This second-place finish remains Charlton's best ever season in the top tier of English football.

Season summary

Charlton secured consecutive promotions to reach the First Division for the first time in the club's history, winning the Third Division South in 1934–35 and finishing as runners-up in the Second Division in 1935–36, and were the first side to achieve successive promotions from the Third Division to the First Division in Football League history.[1] Ahead of the season, the club signed forward George Tadman from Gillingham for a fee of £1,000, and also signed Len Williams and Ronnie Green for smaller fees, whilst forward Ralph Allen was sold to Reading for £828.[2] Charlton had success adopting a defensive style of play and were top of the league at the start of March, having picked up numerous 1–0 wins.[3] However, following a 5–0 defeat to Derby County on 20 March and a 3–0 defeat to Chelsea on 26 March, Charlton lost top spot to Manchester City, and would not regain it despite only losing once in their final seven matches.[4] Charlton finished 2nd on 54 points, and George Tadman finished the season as their top scorer with 11 goals.[5]

The attendance recorded for the club's home league match against Arsenal on 17 October was 68,160, the highest attendance ever recorded at The Valley. It has been suggested that the actual attendance for this match was closer to 80,000.[5]

On 11 April 1937, Charlton played a friendly match against the French national team at the Parc des Princes; after France's match against Italy was cancelled at 48 hours notice, they arranged a match against Charlton in its place. Charlton won 5–2.[6]

Competitions

First Division

Main article: 1936–37 Football League First Division

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Manchester City (C) 42 22 13 7 107 61 1.754 57
2 Charlton Athletic 42 21 12 9 58 49 1.184 54
3 Arsenal 42 18 16 8 80 49 1.633 52
4 Derby County 42 21 7 14 96 90 1.067 49
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 21 5 16 84 67 1.254 47
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions

Matches

First Division match details[5]
Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
29 August 1936 Grimsby Town A W 1–0 Prior 12,696
31 August 1936 Stoke City A D 1–1 Prior 23,642
5 September 1936 Liverpool H D 1–1 Boulter 31,301
7 September 1936 Stoke City H W 2–0 Prior, Boulter 20,540
12 September 1936 Leeds United A L 0–2 13,789
17 September 1936 Brentford A L 2–4 Prior, Boulter 21,373
19 September 1936 Birmingham H D 2–2 Jobling, Prior 35,421
26 September 1936 Middlesbrough A D 1–1 Prior 22,795
3 October 1936 West Bromwich Albion H W 4–2 Hobbis (2), Tadman, Boulter 37,435
10 October 1936 Manchester City A D 1–1 Tadman 33,664
17 October 1936 Arsenal H L 0–2 68,160
24 October 1936 Preston North End A D 0–0 22,730
31 October 1936 Sheffield Wednesday H W 1–0 Tadman 12,930
7 November 1936 Manchester United A D 0–0 26,084
14 November 1936 Derby County H W 2–0 Tadman, Robinson 34,300
21 November 1936 Wolverhampton Wanderers A L 1–6 Hobbis 16,031
28 November 1936 Sunderland H W 3–1 Hobbis (2), Stephenson 38,519
5 December 1936 Huddersfield Town A W 2–1 Wilkinson (2) 11,609
12 December 1936 Everton H W 2–0 Boulter, Hobbis 25,991
19 December 1936 Bolton Wanderers A L 1–2 Tadman 25,202
25 December 1936 Portsmouth H D 0–0 31,204
26 December 1936 Grimsby Town H W 1–0 Pearce 30,733
28 December 1936 Portsmouth A W 1–0 Pearce 16,998
2 January 1937 Liverpool A W 2–1 Wilkinson, Pearce 29,850
9 January 1937 Leeds United H W 1–0 Boulter 26,760
23 January 1937 Birmingham A W 2–1 Wilkinson, John Oakes (pen) 16,976
30 January 1937 Middlesbrough H D 2–2 Tadman, Hobbis 16,559
6 February 1937 West Bromwich Albion A W 2–1 Welsh, Tadman 26,459
13 February 1937 Manchester City H D 1–1 Tadman 35,509
24 February 1937 Arsenal A D 1–1 Robinson 60,568
27 February 1937 Preston North End H W 3–1 Tadman, Hobbis, Jobling (pen) 25,702
6 March 1937 Sheffield Wednesday A L 1–3 R. Green 15,966
13 March 1937 Manchester United H W 3–0 Wilkinson (2), R. Green 25,943
20 March 1937 Derby County A L 0–5 21,110
26 March 1937 Chelsea A L 0–3 63,463
27 March 1937 Wolverhampton Wanderers H W 4–0 Welsh 2, Stephenson, Hobbis 35,055
29 March 1937 Chelsea H W 1–0 Wilkinson 45,860
3 April 1937 Sunderland A L 0–1 26,203
10 April 1937 Huddersfield Town H W 1–0 Welsh 24,995
17 April 1937 Everton A D 2–2 Tadman (2) 11,105
24 April 1937 Bolton Wanderers H W 1–0 Welsh 23,684
1 May 1937 Brentford H W 2–1 Robinson (2) 26,195

FA Cup

Main article: 1936–37 FA Cup
FA Cup match details[5]
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
Third round 16 January 1937 Coventry City A L 0–2 29,072

References

  1. ^ Redden, Richard (1990). The story of Charlton Athletic 1905–1990. Derby: Breedon. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-907969-67-9.
  2. ^ Redden, Richard (1990). The story of Charlton Athletic 1905–1990. Derby: Breedon. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-907969-67-9.
  3. ^ Murray, Scott (7 September 2017). The Title: The Story of the First Division. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4729-3662-2.
  4. ^ Clayton, Paul (18 August 2001). The Essential History of Charlton Athletic. Headline. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-7553-1020-3.
  5. ^ a b c d Clayton, Paul (18 August 2001). The Essential History of Charlton Athletic. Headline. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-7553-1020-3.
  6. ^ Burnton, Simon (12 April 2020). "The forgotten story of ... when Charlton played France and won 5–2". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
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