1937–38 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1937–38 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League First Division. In the league, the Bees matched the previous season's finish of 6th and advanced to the 6th round of the FA Cup for the first time in club history. In 2013, the Brentford supporters voted 1937–38 as the club's second-best season.[1]

Brentford

1937–38 season
Chairman	Louis P. Simon
Manager	Harry Curtis
Stadium	Griffin Park
First Division	6th
FA Cup	Sixth round
Empire Exhibition Trophy	Quarter-final
Top goalscorer	League: McCulloch (26) All: McCulloch (29)
Highest home attendance	37,586
Lowest home attendance	14,609
Average home league attendance	23,335
Home colours

Season summary

Left half Tally Sneddon joined Brentford prior to the beginning of the season.

As in the past two off-seasons, Brentford manager Harry Curtis elected to bring in youngsters to supplement his squad, with left half Tally Sneddon and forwards George Eastham and Maurice Edelston being the only new outfield summer signings who would appear during the season. Two goalkeepers were signed to back up Jim Mathieson – Joe Crozier and Ted Gaskell.

Despite an opening-day defeat to Bolton Wanderers which left Brentford bottom of the First Division, the team rallied in mid-September 1937 and with forward David McCulloch in outstanding goalscoring form,[2] the Bees went on a six-match undefeated run which took them from 13th to the top of the table on 16 October.[3] With Bobby Reid and Billy Scott also supplementing McCulloch's goals up front,[2] Brentford remained unmoved from the top of the table between 30 September 1937 and 19 February 1938, only dropping back to 3rd position after a second defeat in three matches.[3] In the midst of the run, Brentford had advanced to the sixth round of the FA Cup for the first time in club history,[4] exiting after a 3–0 defeat to Preston North End,[3] which was played in front of a then-club record crowd of 37,586 at Griffin Park.[5]

Brentford won just four of the final 16 matches of the season and finished in 6th place,[3] matching the previous season's position.[6] The Bees took part in the one-off Empire Exhibition Trophy after the season, replacing Arsenal (who had dropped out of the competition), but fell at the first hurdle after being defeated 1–0 by Heart of Midlothian at Ibrox.[7] In 2013, the Brentford supporters voted 1937–38 as the club's second-best season.[1]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
4	Charlton Athletic	42	16	14	12	65	51	1.275	46
5	Middlesbrough	42	19	8	15	72	65	1.108	46
6	Brentford	42	18	9	15	69	59	1.169	45
7	Bolton Wanderers	42	15	15	12	64	60	1.067	45
8	Sunderland	42	14	16	12	55	57	0.965	44

Source:

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League First Division

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
1	28 August 1937	Bolton Wanderers	A	0–2	31,572
2	1 September 1937	Preston North End	H	2–1	21,228	W. Scott, Reid
3	4 September 1937	Huddersfield Town	H	2–0	26,762	McCulloch, McKenzie
4	6 September 1937	Preston North End	A	1–1	21,746	McCulloch
5	11 September 1937	Everton	A	0–3	36,038
6	16 September 1937	Blackpool	H	2–4	14,816	W. Scott, McCulloch
7	18 September 1937	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	2–1	28,945	McCulloch (2)
8	20 September 1937	Blackpool	A	1–1	20,732	McCulloch
9	25 September 1937	Leicester City	A	1–0	23,416	McCulloch
10	2 October 1937	Sunderland	H	4–0	35,584	W. Scott, McCulloch (2), Reid
11	9 October 1937	Derby County	A	3–1	19,621	McCulloch, Reid (2)
12	16 October 1937	Charlton Athletic	H	5–2	34,861	McCulloch (4), Reid
13	23 October 1937	Chelsea	A	1–2	56,810	Smith
14	30 October 1937	Portsmouth	H	2–0	24,138	Holliday, W. Scott
15	6 November 1937	Liverpool	A	4–3	30,492	Reid (3), McCulloch
16	13 November 1937	Middlesbrough	H	3–3	25,682	W. Scott (2), Reid
17	20 November 1937	Grimsby Town	A	1–0	13,206	McCulloch
18	27 November 1937	West Bromwich Albion	H	0–2	16,702
19	4 December 1937	Stoke City	A	0–3	11,970
20	11 December 1937	Leeds United	H	1–1	18,184	McCulloch
21	18 December 1937	Birmingham	A	0–0	22,531
22	25 December 1937	Manchester City	A	2–0	37,478	McKenzie (pen), Reid
23	27 December 1937	Manchester City	H	2–1	33,887	W. Scott, Reid
24	1 January 1938	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–1	23,210	Reid
25	15 January 1938	Huddersfield Town	A	3–0	11,969	Reid, Holliday, McCulloch
26	26 January 1938	Everton	H	3–0	16,917	McCulloch, W. Scott, Hopkins
27	29 January 1938	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	1–2	35,989	McCulloch
28	5 February 1938	Leicester City	H	1–1	21,309	McCulloch
29	16 February 1938	Sunderland	A	0–1	18,970
30	19 February 1938	Derby County	H	2–3	20,561	McKenzie (2 pens)
31	26 February 1938	Charlton Athletic	A	0–1	35,572
32	9 March 1938	Chelsea	H	1–1	20,401	Hopkins
33	12 March 1938	Portsmouth	A	1–4	23,366	Reid
34	19 March 1938	Liverpool	H	1–3	17,754	Hopkins
35	26 March 1938	Middlesbrough	A	1–0	29,339	Hopkins
36	2 April 1938	Grimsby Town	H	6–1	17,994	Edelston, McCulloch (2), Reid (2), McAloon
37	9 April 1938	West Bromwich Albion	A	3–4	23,602	McCulloch (2), McAloon
38	15 April 1938	Arsenal	A	2–0	51,299	McAloon, Hopkins
39	16 April 1938	Stoke City	H	0–0	21,885
40	18 April 1938	Arsenal	H	3–0	34,601	McCulloch, McAloon, Reid
41	23 April 1938	Leeds United	A	0–4	17,840
42	30 April 1938	Birmingham	H	1–2	14,609	McAloon

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorer(s)
3R	8 January 1938	Fulham	H	3–1	29,867	Hindson (og), McCulloch (2)
4R	22 January 1938	Portsmouth	H	2–1	36,718	Wilson, McCulloch
5R	12 February 1938	Manchester United	H	2–0	27,147	Holliday, Reid
6R	5 March 1938	Preston North End	H	0–3	37,586

Empire Exhibition Trophy

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Notes
QF	1 June 1938	Heart of Midlothian	N	0–1	46,000	[nb 1]

• Sources: Statto, 11v11, 100 Years of Brentford,[2] A-Z Of Bees,[5] London Hearts

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1937–38 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Joe Crozier		2 December 1914 (aged 22)	East Fife	1937
GK	James Mathieson		10 May 1904 (aged 33)	Middlesbrough	1934
Defenders
DF	Arthur Bateman		1 April 1908 (aged 29)	Southend United	1934
DF	Buster Brown		6 September 1910 (aged 26)	Huddersfield Town	1937
DF	George Poyser		6 February 1910 (aged 27)	Port Vale	1934
DF	Joe Wilson		29 September 1911 (aged 25)	Southend United	1935
Midfielders
HB	Joe James (c)		13 January 1910 (aged 27)	Battersea Church	1929
HB	Duncan McKenzie		10 August 1912 (aged 25)	Albion Rovers	1932
HB	Archie Scott		22 July 1905 (aged 31)	Derby County	1934
HB	Tally Sneddon		1 April 1914 (aged 23)	Falkirk	1937
Forwards
FW	George Eastham		13 August 1914 (aged 23)	Bolton Wanderers	1937
FW	Maurice Edelston		27 April 1918 (aged 19)	Wimbledon	1937	Amateur
FW	Jack Holliday		19 December 1908 (aged 28)	Middlesbrough	1932
FW	Idris Hopkins		11 October 1910 (aged 26)	Crystal Palace	1932
FW	Gerry McAloon		13 September 1916 (aged 20)	St Francis	1934
FW	David McCulloch		5 October 1912 (aged 24)	Heart of Midlothian	1935
FW	Bobby Reid		19 February 1911 (aged 26)	Hamilton Academical	1936
FW	Billy Scott		6 December 1907 (aged 29)	Middlesbrough	1932
FW	Les Smith		13 March 1918 (aged 19)	Petersham	1934

• Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[2] Timeless Bees,[8] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939[9]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Harry Curtis	Manager
Jimmy Bain	Assistant Manager
Bob Kane	Trainer
Jack Cartmell	Assistant Trainer
Fred Keatch	Secretary

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Crozier

Brown

Bateman

James (c)

McKenzie

Sneddon

Eastham

Scott

McCulloch

Hopkins

Reid

Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League season.

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		Empire Exh. Trophy		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Joe Crozier	35	0	4	0	1	0	40	0
GK		James Mathieson	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
DF		Arthur Bateman	31	0	4	0	1	0	36	0
DF		Buster Brown	41	0	4	0	1	0	46	0
DF		George Poyser	16	0	0	0	1	0	17	0
DF		Joe Wilson	15	0	2	1	0	0	17	1
HB		Joe James	35	0	4	0	1	0	40	0
HB		Duncan McKenzie	31	4	2	0	0	0	33	4
HB		Archie Scott	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
HB		Tally Sneddon	39	0	4	0	1	0	44	0
FW		George Eastham	38	0	1	0	1	0	40	0
FW		Maurice Edelston	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1
FW		Jack Holliday	8	2	4	1	0	0	12	3
FW		Idris Hopkins	31	5	3	0	1	0	35	5
FW		Gerry McAloon	7	5	0	0	1	0	8	5
FW		David McCulloch	41	26	3	3	1	0	45	29
FW		Bobby Reid	40	17	4	1	1	0	45	18
FW		Billy Scott	29	8	4	0	0	0	33	8
FW		Les Smith	15	1	1	0	0	0	16	1

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	FL1	FAC	EET	Total
FW		David McCulloch	26	3	0	29
FW		Bobby Reid	17	1	0	18
FW		Billy Scott	8	0	0	8
FW		Idris Hopkins	5	0	0	5
FW		Gerry McAloon	5	0	0	5
HB		Duncan McKenzie	4	0	0	4
FW		Jack Holliday	2	1	0	3
FW		Maurice Edelston	1	0	0	1
FW		Les Smith	1	0	0	1
FW		Joe Wilson	0	1	0	1
Opponents			0	1	0	1
Total			69	7	0	76

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Full

Pos.	Nat	Player	Caps	Goals	Ref
HB		Duncan McKenzie	1	0	[10]
FW		Idris Hopkins	2	0	[11]
FW		David McCulloch	1	2	[12]
FW		Bobby Reid	2	0	[13]

Amateur

Pos.	Nat	Player	Caps	Goals	Ref
FW		Maurice Edelston	1	1	[14]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Harry Curtis		28 August 1937	30 April 1938	47	21	9	17	044.68|	42	18	9	15	042.86

Summary

Games played	47 (42 First Division, 4 FA Cup, 1 Empire Exhibition Trophy)
Games won	21 (18 First Division, 3 FA Cup, 0 Empire Exhibition Trophy)
Games drawn	9 (9 First Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 Empire Exhibition Trophy)
Games lost	17 (15 First Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 Empire Exhibition Trophy)
Goals scored	76 (69 First Division, 7 FA Cup, 0 Empire Exhibition Trophy)
Goals conceded	65 (59 First Division, 5 FA Cup, 1 Empire Exhibition Trophy)
Clean sheets	14 (13 First Division, 1 FA Cup, 0 Empire Exhibition Trophy)
Biggest league win	6–1 versus Grimsby Town, 2 April 1938
Worst league defeat	4–0 versus Leeds United, 23 April 1938
Most appearances	46, Buster Brown (41 First Division, 4 FA Cup, 1 Empire Exhibition Trophy)
Top scorer (league)	26, David McCulloch
Top scorer (all competitions)	29, David McCulloch

Transfers & loans

Cricketers are not included in this list.

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
11 May 1937	GK	Joe Crozier	East Fife	£1,000	[15]
May 1937	FW	George Eastham	Bolton Wanderers	£4,000	[16]
May 1937	FW	Len Townsend	Hayes	n/a	[17]
25 June 1937	HB	Tally Sneddon	Falkirk	£4,000	[15]
30 October 1937	GK	Ted Gaskell	Buxton	£500	[18]
December 1937	FW	Maurice Edelston	Wimbledon	Amateur	[19]
1937	HB	Vic Aicken	Glentoran	£1,000	[20]
1937	DF	Doug Anderson	Hibernian	n/a	[21]
1937	FW	Magnus Mowatt	Clyde	n/a	[15]
1937	HB	Les Sinton	n/a	n/a	[22]
February 1938	FW	George Wilkins	Hayes	n/a	[23]
Players released
Date	Pos.	Name	Subsequent club	Join date	Ref.
May 1938	DF	George Dumbrell	Retired		[24]
May 1938	GK	James Mathieson	Queen of the South	1 June 1938	[15]
May 1938	FW	Magnus Mowatt	Lincoln City	1938	[15]
May 1938	HB	Joe Murray	Partick Thistle	2 June 1938	[15]
May 1938	HB	Archie Scott	Retired		[25]
May 1938	HB	Les Sinton	Gateshead	n/a	[22]

Notes

1. Match played at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow.

References

1. League, The Football. "Brentford – Football League 125". www.fl125.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
2. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 374. ISBN 0951526200.
3. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1937-1938 season - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
4. Haynes 1998, p. 48.
5. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia. Harefield, Middlesex: Yore Publications. p. 15. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
6. Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Brentford results for the 1936-1937 season - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
7. Haynes 1998, p. 46.
8. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
9. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X.
10. "Duncan McKenzie". 11v11.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
11. "Dai Hopkins". 11v11.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
12. "David McCulloch". 11v11.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
13. "Robert Reid". 11v11.com. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
14. "England Matches – The Amateurs 1906–1939". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
15. Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
16. "George Eastham". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
17. "Len Townsend". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
18. Brentford Football Supporters And Social Club Official Handbook – 1949–50. 1949. p. 30.
19. "Maurice Edelston". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
20. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 8.
21. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 11.
22. Brentford Football Club Handbook – 1937–38. 1937. p. 35.
23. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 168.
24. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 50-51.
25. Haynes & Coumbe 2006, p. 142.