1903–04 Football League

The 1903–04 season was the 16th season of The Football League.

The Football League

Season	1903–04
Champions	The Wednesday
Relegated	Stockport County
New Club in League	Bradford City
← 1902–03 1904–05 →

Final league tables

Beginning in the 1894–95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976–77 season.

During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893–94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.

First Division

First Division

Season	1903–04
Champions	The Wednesday 2nd English title
Relegated	Liverpool West Bromwich Albion
Matches played	306
Goals scored	939 (3.07 per match)
Top goalscorer	Steve Bloomer (20 goals)
Biggest home win	Middlesbrough 6–0 Manchester City (24 October 1903) Sunderland 6–0 Bury (23 January 1904)
Biggest away win	Nottingham Forest 3–7 Aston Villa (19 December 1903) Nottingham Forest 0–4 Everton (27 February 1904)
Highest scoring	Nottingham Forest 3–7 Aston Villa (19 December 1903)
Longest winning run	8 matches Sheffield United
Longest unbeaten run	8 matches Manchester City Sheffield United
Longest losing run	5 matches Liverpool
Highest attendance	40,000 Aston Villa 2–1 The Wednesday (26 December 1903) Everton 5–2 Liverpool (1 April 1904)
Lowest attendance	1,500 Nottingham Forest 4–2 Stoke (25 November 1903)
Average attendance	12,899
← 1902–03 1904–05 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Relegation
1	The Wednesday (C)	34	20	7	7	48	28	1.714	47
2	Manchester City	34	19	6	9	71	45	1.578	44
3	Everton	34	19	5	10	59	32	1.844	43
4	Newcastle United	34	18	6	10	58	45	1.289	42
5	Aston Villa	34	17	7	10	70	48	1.458	41
6	Sunderland	34	17	5	12	63	49	1.286	39
7	Sheffield United	34	15	8	11	62	57	1.088	38
8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	34	14	8	12	44	66	0.667	36
9	Nottingham Forest	34	11	9	14	57	57	1.000	31
10	Middlesbrough	34	9	12	13	46	47	0.979	30
11	Small Heath	34	11	8	15	39	52	0.750	30
12	Bury	34	7	15	12	40	53	0.755	29
13	Notts County	34	12	5	17	37	61	0.607	29
14	Derby County	34	9	10	15	58	60	0.967	28
15	Blackburn Rovers	34	11	6	17	48	60	0.800	28
16	Stoke	34	10	7	17	54	57	0.947	27
17	Liverpool (R)	34	9	8	17	49	62	0.790	26	Relegation to the Second Division
18	West Bromwich Albion (R)	34	7	10	17	36	60	0.600	24

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	AST	BLB	BRY	DER	EVE	LIV	MCI	MID	NEW	NOT	NTC	SHU	SMH	STK	SUN	WED	WBA	WOL
Aston Villa		2–3	0–2	3–0	3–1	2–1	0–1	2–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	6–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–1	3–1	2–0
Blackburn Rovers	0–3		2–2	2–1	0–2	2–3	2–5	1–1	4–0	3–1	3–0	3–0	1–1	2–0	1–3	0–0	2–0	1–1
Bury	2–2	3–0		2–2	0–0	2–2	1–3	1–1	0–3	2–2	3–0	0–1	1–0	2–2	3–1	1–0	2–1	0–0
Derby County	2–2	3–0	2–2		0–1	2–0	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–6	0–1	3–5	4–1	5–0	7–2	0–2	4–2	2–1
Everton	1–0	3–1	2–1	0–1		5–2	1–0	2–0	4–1	0–2	3–1	2–0	5–1	0–1	0–1	2–0	4–0	2–0
Liverpool	1–1	1–2	3–0	3–1	2–2		2–2	1–0	1–0	0–0	2–1	3–0	0–2	0–0	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–2
Manchester City	1–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	1–3	3–2		1–1	1–3	0–0	3–0	0–1	4–0	2–2	2–1	1–1	6–3	4–1
Middlesbrough	2–1	0–2	1–0	0–0	3–0	1–0	6–0		1–3	1–1	1–0	4–1	3–1	2–0	2–3	0–1	2–2	1–2
Newcastle United	1–1	2–1	3–2	0–0	1–0	1–1	1–0	2–1		3–1	4–1	0–1	3–1	1–0	1–3	4–0	1–0	3–0
Nottingham Forest	3–7	0–1	2–2	5–1	0–4	2–1	0–3	1–1	1–0		0–1	1–1	0–1	4–2	3–0	0–1	2–0	5–0
Notts County	0–0	4–2	0–0	2–2	0–3	4–2	0–3	3–2	3–2	1–3		2–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	2–3	0–2
Sheffield United	1–2	2–2	0–0	3–2	2–1	2–1	5–3	3–0	2–2	2–0	3–1		1–1	1–1	1–2	1–1	4–0	7–2
Small Heath	2–2	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	1–2	0–3	2–2	3–0	3–3	2–0	1–3		1–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	3–0
Stoke	2–0	6–2	4–1	1–1	2–3	5–2	1–2	0–0	2–3	2–3	0–2	3–4	1–0		3–1	3–1	5–0	5–1
Sunderland	6–1	2–0	6–0	0–3	2–0	2–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	4–1	2–1	3–1	3–0		0–1	1–1	2–1
The Wednesday	4–2	3–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	4–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	3–0	3–2	1–0	0–0		1–0	4–0
West Bromwich Albion	1–3	2–1	3–2	0–0	0–0	2–2	2–1	0–0	1–2	1–1	0–0	2–2	0–1	3–0	1–1	0–1		1–2
Wolverhampton Wanderers	3–2	1–0	0–0	2–2	2–2	4–2	1–6	2–2	3–2	3–2	1–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	2–1	2–1	1–0

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [1]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aston Villa

Blackburn Rovers

Bury

Derby County

Everton

Liverpool

Manchester City

Middlesbrough

Newcastle

Nottingham Forest

Notts County

Sheffield United

Small Heath (Birmingham)

Stoke

Sunderland

The Wednesday (Sheffield)

West Bromwich Albion

Wolverhampton Wanderers

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Locations of the Football League First Division teams

Second Division

Football League
Second Division

Season	1903–04
Champions	Preston North End (1st title)
Failed re-election	Stockport County
Matches played	306
Goals scored	942 (3.08 per match)
Top goalscorer	Percy Smith (Preston North End), 26^[1]
Biggest home win	Woolwich Arsenal – Burton United 8–0 (19 Sept 1903) Woolwich Arsenal – Leicester Fosse 8–0 (26 Oct 1903)
Biggest away win	Blackpool – Burnley 0–5 (13 Feb 1904) Glossop – Manchester United 0–5 (19 Sept 1903)
Highest scoring	Woolwich Arsenal – Burton United 8–0 (19 Sept 1903) Woolwich Arsenal – Leicester Fosse 8–0 (26 Oct 1903) Glossop – Burnley 6–2 (21 Nov 1903) Burslem Port Vale – Leicester Fosse 6–2 (27 Feb 1904)
Longest winning run	8 matches Woolwich Arsenal (5 Sep 1903 – 26 Oct 1903)
Longest unbeaten run	13 matches Preston North End (5 Sep 1903 – 5 Dec 1903)
Longest losing run	5 matches Burnley (29 Feb 1904 – 26 Mar 1904)
← 1902–03 1904–05 →

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Preston North End	34	13	4	0	38	10	7	6	4	24	14	2.583	50	Division Champions
2	Woolwich Arsenal	34	15	2	0	67	5	6	5	6	24	17	4.136	49	Promoted
3	Manchester United	34	14	2	1	42	14	6	6	5	23	19	1.970	48
4	Bristol City	34	14	2	1	53	12	4	4	9	20	29	1.780	42
5	Burnley	34	12	2	3	31	20	3	7	7	19	35	0.909	39
6	Grimsby Town	34	12	5	0	39	12	2	3	12	11	37	1.020	36
7	Bolton Wanderers	34	10	3	4	38	11	2	7	8	21	30	1.439	34
8	Barnsley	34	10	5	2	25	12	1	5	11	13	45	0.667	32
9	Gainsborough Trinity	34	10	2	5	34	17	4	1	12	19	43	0.883	31
10	Bradford City^[a]	34	8	5	4	30	25	4	2	11	15	34	0.763	31
11	Chesterfield Town	34	8	5	4	22	12	3	3	11	15	33	0.822	30
12	Lincoln City	34	9	4	4	25	18	2	4	11	16	40	0.707	30
13	Burslem Port Vale	34	10	3	4	44	20	0	6	11	10	32	1.038	29
14	Burton United	34	8	6	3	33	16	3	1	13	12	45	0.738	29
15	Blackpool	34	8	2	7	25	27	3	3	11	15	40	0.597	27
16	Stockport County^[b]	34	7	7	3	28	23	1	4	12	12	49	0.556	27	Failed re-election
17	Glossop	34	7	4	6	42	25	3	2	12	15	39	0.891	26	Re-elected
18	Leicester Fosse	34	5	8	4	26	21	1	2	14	16	61	0.512	22

Source: ^[2]
Notes:

1. New club in the league
2. Upon failing to be re-elected to the Football League, Stockport County joined The Combination. Doncaster Rovers took their place for the following season.

Results

Home \ Away	BAR	BLP	BOL	BRA	BRI	BRN	BPV	BRT	CHF	GAI	GLP	GRI	LEI	LIN	MUN	PNE	STP	WOO
Barnsley		2–2	1–0	1–2	2–0	1–1	1–0	2–1	0–0	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–1	0–2	1–0	0–0	2–1
Blackpool	0–2		1–4	0–1	0–1	0–5	1–0	4–1	0–0	2–1	3–2	3–0	1–2	2–1	2–1	0–3	4–1	2–2
Bolton Wanderers	5–1	3–0		1–0	1–1	1–1	5–0	3–0	4–0	5–0	0–1	4–0	3–1	1–2	0–0	0–2	0–1	2–1
Bradford City	3–1	0–2	3–3		1–0	3–0	1–1	3–0	2–6	1–3	2–1	1–0	4–0	2–1	3–3	1–1	0–0	0–3
Bristol City	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1		6–0	2–1	4–0	3–2	2–1	5–0	4–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	3–1	6–0	0–4
Burnley	2–2	1–4	0–0	3–2	2–3		1–0	2–1	2–1	2–0	2–4	2–0	2–1	3–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–0
Burslem Port Vale	3–0	5–0	2–3	5–2	3–1	2–2		3–1	3–0	3–0	1–1	1–2	6–2	2–2	1–0	0–1	2–0	2–3
Burton United	1–1	1–1	2–1	0–2	2–3	1–2	0–0		4–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	0–0	5–2	2–2	0–0	7–0	3–1
Chesterfield	1–0	2–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–1		6–1	0–0	0–1	2–0	0–1	0–2	0–1	4–1	1–0
Gainsborough Trinity	4–2	3–1	3–1	3–0	3–1	1–2	3–0	1–2	1–0		0–1	4–2	4–0	0–0	0–1	2–0	2–2	0–2
Glossop	7–0	0–1	3–3	2–0	1–1	6–2	4–1	0–1	0–2	0–2		1–1	5–0	5–0	0–5	2–2	5–1	1–3
Grimsby Town	5–1	4–0	0–0	2–0	2–0	0–0	3–1	4–0	1–0	3–1	2–0		4–3	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–1	2–2
Leicester Fosse	2–0	5–1	2–2	1–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	1–3	0–0	2–2	4–2	1–1		2–2	0–1	1–4	3–0	0–0
Lincoln City	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–6	3–1	3–2	1–0	0–2	0–1	3–1	2–1	6–1		0–0	0–0	3–1	0–2
Manchester United	4–0	3–1	0–0	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–2	3–1	2–0	5–2	2–0		0–2	3–1	1–0
Preston North End	1–1	1–0	3–1	4–0	3–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–1	2–0	3–0	2–0	4–3	2–1	1–1		1–1	0–0
Stockport County	2–2	2–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–4	3–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	0–3	1–5		0–0
Woolwich Arsenal	3–0	3–0	3–0	4–1	2–0	4–0	0–0	8–0	6–0	6–0	2–1	5–1	8–0	4–0	4–0	0–0	5–2

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barnsley

Blackpool

Bolton Wanderers

Bradford City

Bristol City

Burnley

Burslem Port Vale

Burton United

Chesterfield

Gainsborough Trinity

Glossop

Grimsby Town

Leicester Fosse

Lincoln City

Manchester United

Preston North End

Stockport County

Woolwich Arsenal

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Locations of the Football League Second Division teams

See also

• 1903–04 in English football
• 1903 in association football
• 1904 in association football

References

1. "English League Leading Goalscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
2. "1903–04 Football League". fchd.info. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

• Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980.