1961–62 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season
# 1961–62 Huddersfield Town A.F.C. season

Huddersfield Town's 1961–62 campaign was a thoroughly impressive season for the Town, following the previous season's near miss with relegation to Division 3. In Eddie Boot's first full season in charge, Town finished in 7th place in Division 2 with 44 points, 10 off 2nd placed Leyton Orient and a further 8 behind league champions Liverpool.

## Squad at the start of the season

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

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| -- | GK | ENG | Harry Fearnley |
| -- | GK | ENG | Ray Wood |
| -- | DF | ENG | Denis Atkins |
| -- | DF | ENG | John Coddington |
| -- | DF | ENG | Brian Gibson |
| -- | DF | ENG | Stewart Holden |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ray Holt |
| -- | DF | ENG | Bob Ledger |
| -- | DF | ENG | Bob Parker |
| -- | DF | IRL | Pat Saward |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ken Taylor |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ken Turner |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ray Wilson |
| -- | MF | ENG | John Bettany |
| -- | MF | IRL | Ollie Conmy |
| -- | MF | ENG | Peter Dinsdale |
| -- | MF | SCO | Jim Kerray |
| -- | MF | SCO | John McCann |
| -- | MF | ENG | Kevin McHale |
| -- | MF | ENG | John Milner |
| -- | MF | ENG | Michael O'Grady |
| -- | FW | ENG | Chris Balderstone |
| -- | FW | SCO | Les Massie |
| -- | FW | ENG | Derek Stokes |

## Review

After just missing out on relegation to Division 3, Eddie Boot took his first full season in charge to try to raise Town up to the top half of the Division 2. Town made a promising start with 4 wins from their first 6 games, including a 5–1 win against Plymouth Argyle and a 4–3 win at Luton Town. Derek Stokes had a great start to the season with 8 goals from the first 9 league games including a hat-trick in the 4–2 win against Walsall. An indifferent spell in October and November saw Town lose ground, but a player exchange in February would see Town surge up the table.

Jim Kerray moved to Newcastle United with experienced striker Len White returning to his native Yorkshire. His 8 goals in 16 matches propelled Town to the upper reaches of the Division 2. They would finish the season in 7th place with 44 points.

## Squad at the end of the season

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

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| -- | GK | ENG | Harry Fearnley |
| -- | GK | ENG | Ray Wood |
| -- | DF | ENG | Denis Atkins |
| -- | DF | ENG | John Coddington |
| -- | DF | ENG | Brian Gibson |
| -- | DF | ENG | Stewart Holden |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ray Holt |
| -- | DF | ENG | Bob Ledger |
| -- | DF | ENG | Bob Parker |
| -- | DF | IRL | Pat Saward |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ken Taylor |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ken Turner |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| -- | DF | ENG | Ray Wilson |
| -- | MF | ENG | John Bettany |
| -- | MF | IRL | Ollie Conmy |
| -- | MF | ENG | Peter Dinsdale |
| -- | MF | SCO | John McCann |
| -- | MF | ENG | Kevin McHale |
| -- | MF | ENG | John Milner |
| -- | MF | ENG | Michael O'Grady |
| -- | FW | ENG | Chris Balderstone |
| -- | FW | SCO | Les Massie |
| -- | FW | ENG | Derek Stokes |
| -- | FW | ENG | Len White |

## Results

### Division Two

| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance | Position |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 19 August 1961 | Swansea Town | A | 1–1 | Stokes | 18,208 | 11th |
| 23 August 1961 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 5–1 | Stokes (2), Kerray, O'Grady, Massie | 13,730 | 5th |
| 26 August 1961 | Southampton | H | 1–0 | Patrick (og) | 13,998 | 3rd |
| 30 August 1961 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 2–4 | Kerray, Stokes (pen) | 14,065 | 6th |
| 2 September 1961 | Luton Town | A | 4–3 | Dinsdale, Stokes (2), Saward | 14,436 | 4th |
| 9 September 1961 | Newcastle United | H | 2–1 | Kerray, Massie | 18,087 | 3rd |
| 16 September 1961 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–1 | | 14,003 | 6th |
| 20 September 1961 | Leyton Orient | A | 0–3 | | 8,957 | 10th |
| 23 September 1961 | Walsall | H | 4–2 | Stokes (3), Sharples (og) | 15,100 | 5th |
| 27 September 1961 | Leyton Orient | H | 1–1 | Bettany | 16,917 | 6th |
| 30 September 1961 | Derby County | A | 0–1 | | 13,455 | 6th |
| 7 October 1961 | Norwich City | H | 1–1 | McHale | 14,910 | 8th |
| 14 October 1961 | Leeds United | A | 0–1 | | 19,162 | 11th |
| 21 October 1961 | Bristol Rovers | H | 4–1 | Kerray, Stokes (2), Frowen (og) | 11,845 | 8th |
| 28 October 1961 | Stoke City | A | 0–3 | | 35,974 | 9th |
| 4 November 1961 | Sunderland | H | 0–0 | | 19,017 | 9th |
| 11 November 1961 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 2–2 | Kerray (2) | 10,742 | 10th |
| 18 November 1961 | Liverpool | H | 1–2 | McHale | 23,086 | 13th |
| 25 November 1961 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–0 | Massie, O'Grady | 12,187 | 10th |
| 2 December 1961 | Bury | H | 2–0 | Kerray, Coddington (pen) | 11,914 | 9th |
| 8 December 1961 | Rotherham United | A | 3–3 | Massie, Kerray, McHale | 10,241 | 9th |
| 23 December 1961 | Southampton | A | 1–3 | McHale | 11,262 | 12th |
| 26 December 1961 | Preston North End | A | 0–1 | | 15,524 | 13th |
| 13 January 1962 | Luton Town | H | 1–2 | Coddington (pen) | 11,140 | 14th |
| 20 January 1962 | Newcastle United | A | 1–1 | O'Grady | 31,950 | 14th |
| 3 February 1962 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–0 | | 11,619 | 14th |
| 10 February 1962 | Walsall | A | 2–2 | McHale, Balderstone | 10,864 | 16th |
| 24 February 1962 | Norwich City | A | 2–1 | White (2) | 16,112 | 13th |
| 3 March 1962 | Leeds United | H | 2–1 | White, Massie | 16,799 | 12th |
| 10 March 1962 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–1 | White | 10,712 | 12th |
| 17 March 1962 | Stoke City | H | 3–0 | White (2), Stokes | 20,261 | 10th |
| 24 March 1962 | Sunderland | A | 1–3 | Balderstone | 26,412 | 12th |
| 26 March 1962 | Swansea Town | H | 3–1 | Coddington (2 pens), Massie | 7,813 | 9th |
| 31 March 1962 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2–0 | Baxter (og), McHale | 8,187 | 9th |
| 2 April 1962 | Preston North End | H | 2–2 | McHale, Balderstone | 5,256 | 8th |
| 7 April 1962 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | Balderstone | 38,022 | 8th |
| 9 April 1962 | Derby County | H | 4–0 | Stokes, White, Coddington (2 pens) | 8,323 | 6th |
| 14 April 1962 | Charlton Athletic | H | 0–2 | | 9,127 | 7th |
| 21 April 1962 | Bury | A | 2–1 | McHale (2) | 7,630 | 6th |
| 23 April 1962 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1–2 | Stokes | 12,397 | 7th |
| 24 April 1962 | Scunthorpe United | A | 3–1 | White, O'Grady, Massie | 10,812 | 6th |
| 28 April 1962 | Rotherham United | H | 0–3 | | 8,679 | 7th |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 January 1962 | Round 3 | Rotherham United | H | 4–3 | Massie, McHale (2), Kerray | 28,071 |
| 27 January 1962 | Round 4 | Aston Villa | A | 1–2 | McHale | 38,013 |

### Football League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 12 September 1961 | Round 1 | Carlisle United | A | 1–1 | Massie | 7,360 |
| 25 September 1961 | Round 1 Replay | Carlisle United | H | 3–0 | McCann, Holt (2) | 8,880 |
| 4 October 1961 | Round 2 | Leeds United | A | 2–3 | McHale, Dinsdale | 10,023 |

## Appearances and goals

| Name | Nation | Position | League Apps | League Goals | FA Cup Apps | FA Cup Goals | League Cup Apps | League Cup Goals | Total Apps | Total Goals |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Denis Atkins | England | DF | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| Chris Balderstone | England | MF | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 |
| John Bettany | England | MF | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| John Coddington | England | DF | 38 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 6 |
| Peter Dinsdale | England | DF | 40 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 2 |
| Harry Fearnley | England | GK | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| Brian Gibson | England | DF | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ray Holt | England | DF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Jim Kerray | Scotland | MF | 26 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 9 |
| Bob Ledger | England | MF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Les Massie | Scotland | FW | 31 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 8 |
| John McCann | Scotland | MF | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| Kevin McHale | England | MF | 40 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 13 |
| John Milner | England | MF | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Michael O'Grady | England | MF | 38 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 4 |
| Bob Parker | England | DF | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Pat Saward | Republic of Ireland | MF | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 1 |
| Derek Stokes | England | FW | 37 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 14 |
| Ken Taylor | England | DF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Ken Turner | England | DF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Len White | England | FW | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 |
| Ray Wilson | England | DF | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| Ray Wood | England | GK | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
