Huddersfield Town's 1957–58 campaign was a fairly mediocre season for the Town under Bill Shankly, taking charge for his first full season at Leeds Road. The season will be best remembered for the match against Charlton Athletic at The Valley on 21 December 1957. The match finished 7–6 to Charlton, after Charlton had only ten men for the majority of the match and the fact that with 27 minutes remaining, Town were leading 5–1 before losing the match. This remains the only match in professional football where a team has scored 6 goals and went on to lose the match.
Squad at the start of the season
Review In Bill Shankly's first full season in charge, the team experienced a mixture of results, ultimately finishing the season in 9th place with 44 points, 12 points behind 2nd placed Blackburn Rovers. The season also saw Vic Metcalfe make his last appearance in a Town shirt in March against Sheffield United.
A significant highlight of the season was the match against Charlton Athletic at The Valley on 21 December 1957. Despite playing with only ten men for the majority of the match, Charlton claimed a 7–6 victory. Notably, with only 27 minutes remaining, Town were leading 5–1 before they went on to lose the match. This remains the only match in professional football, where a team has scored 6 goals and still lost. Incredibly, Town and Charlton played each other 4 times that season, and 24 goals were scored in those matches.
Squad at the end of the season
Results Division Two DateOpponentsHome/AwayResultF – AScorersAttendancePosition24 August 1957Charlton AthleticH3–3Bain, Simpson, Taylor16,92111th28 August 1957LiverpoolA1–1Massie41,44711th31 August 1957Doncaster RoversA3–0Massie (2), Simpson14,6317th4 September 1957LiverpoolH2–1Howard (2)16,6144th7 September 1957Rotherham UnitedH1–3Bain20,4149th11 September 1957Cardiff CityA0–110,07312th14 September 1957Notts CountyA1–1Bain15,58412th18 September 1957Cardiff CityH1–1Baker (og)9,82111th21 September 1957Grimsby TownA1–4Hepton14,38014th28 September 1957Stoke CityH1–0Connor12,46711th5 October 1957Bristol CityA3–1Wilson, Massie, Bain21,34110th12 October 1957Ipswich TownH3–0Deacon (og), McHale, Bain15,2768th19 October 1957Blackburn RoversA1–1Massie20,6067th26 October 1957Sheffield UnitedH1–1Cockerill17,1497th2 November 1957West Ham UnitedA2–5Connor, Cockerill21,52510th9 November 1957BarnsleyH0–521,66211th16 November 1957FulhamA1–2Bain18,24312th23 November 1957Swansea TownH2–2Simpson, McGarry12,86013th30 November 1957Derby CountyA4–2Law (2, 1 pen), Massie, Simpson20,56612th7 December 1957Bristol RoversH0–011,02812th14 December 1957Lincoln CityA1–1Law8,47311th21 December 1957Charlton AthleticA6–7Massie, Bain (2), McGarry (pen), Ledger, Howard12,53513th25 December 1957MiddlesbroughH1–0Massie16,28111th26 December 1957MiddlesbroughA1–0Ledger22,96410th28 December 1957Doncaster RoversH2–2Ledger, Howard16,68211th11 January 1958Rotherham UnitedA1–1Connor8,83312th18 January 1958Notts CountyH3–0Simpson, France, McGarry9,17310th1 February 1958Grimsby TownH1–0Simpson14,3338th8 February 1958Stoke CityA1–1Simpson16,4899th19 February 1958Bristol CityH0–05,9718th22 February 1958Swansea TownA1–1Law13,4007th5 March 1958Blackburn RoversH2–1McGarry, Massie6,4315th8 March 1958Sheffield UnitedA2–3Law, McGarry (pen)19,8348th15 March 1958West Ham UnitedH3–1Ledger (2), Simpson19,0937th22 March 1958BarnsleyA3–2Massie, McHale, Simpson16,5497th29 March 1958FulhamH0–319,2158th4 April 1958Leyton OrientA1–3Massie16,8408th5 April 1958Ipswich TownA0–415,71210th8 April 1958Leyton OrientH2–0Massie, McGarry14,8869th12 April 1958Derby CountyH0–012,4419th19 April 1958Bristol RoversA1–1Low16,1857th26 April 1958Lincoln CityH0–18,4649th
FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsHome/AwayResultF – AScorersAttendance4 January 1958Round 3Charlton AthleticH2–2Law, Massie20,2238 January 1958Round 3 ReplayCharlton AthleticA0–126,637
Appearances and goals NameNationalityPositionLeagueFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAlex BainFW19810208John BattyeDF100010Ron CockerillDF19100191John CoddingtonDF300030Jack ConnorDF31320333Tony ConwellDF31100311Harry FearnleyGK300030Tony FranceFW410041Brian GibsonDF19020210Stan HeptonMF510051Stan HowardMF13410144Sandy KennonGK39020410Denis LawMF18521206Bob LedgerMF21510225Gordon LowDF510051Les MassieFW3912214113Bill McGarryDF34620366Kevin McHaleMF23210242Vic MetcalfeMF23000230Ron SimpsonFW41920439Ken TaylorDF40120421Ray WilsonDF31120331
References