The 1926–27 season was the 46th season in the history of Nelson Football Club and their sixth campaign as a professional club in the Football League. Nelson ended the season with a record of 22 wins, 7 draws and 13 defeats, helping the team to a total of 51 points. The team started the campaign well—winning six of the first nine matches—and lost only three matches during the first five months of the campaign. In the 1926–27 season, Nelson recorded several large victories, including a 7–0 win over Accrington Stanley and a 7–1 defeat of Crewe Alexandra. Nelson were consistently near the top of the league table throughout the campaign, but were never able to supplant Stoke City from the top position, and a run of six consecutive losses at the end of the season saw them finish in fifth-place in the league.

In addition to the league campaign, Nelson also entered the FA Cup and reached the second round for the first time in their history, beating Stockport County in the first round before being knocked out by Ashington. Nelson used 24 different players during the season, many of whom had also played for the club during the previous campaign. Forwards Jimmy Hampson and Buchanan Sharp were the top goalscorers in the league, each scoring 23 goals, with Hampson's two strikes in the Cup giving him a total of 25. No player appeared in all 44 competitive matches; former England international George Wilson played the highest number of matches with 42 appearances. The highest attendance of the season at the club's Seedhill stadium was 12,415 for the 1–0 win over Bradford (Park Avenue) on 12 February 1927, while the lowest gate was 2,385 for the final game of the season against Tranmere Rovers.

Football League Third Division North

Key

H = Home match A = Away match

In Result column, Nelson's score shown first Goalscorers shown in order of first goal scored

Match results Date Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance 28 August 1926 Wigan Borough (A) 1–2 Sharp 6,788 4 September 1926 Doncaster Rovers (H) 5–1 Earle (3), Bottrill, Stevenson 6,982 11 September 1926 Stoke City (A) 1–4 Sharp 11,199 13 September 1926 Ashington (H) 4–0 Earle, Sharp (2), Bottrill 5,595 15 September 1926 New Brighton (H) 2–0 Sharp (2) 5,244 18 September 1926 Rotherham United (H) 5–3 Baker (2), Bottrill, Sharp, Stevenson 6,395 25 September 1926 Bradford (Park Avenue) (A) 2–2 Earle, Bottrill 11,992 2 October 1926 Walsall (H) 3–2 Sharp, Stevenson, Earle 6,295 9 October 1926 Lincoln City (A) 4–1 Harris, Stevenson, Hampson, Earle 4,920 16 October 1926 Durham City (A) 1–1 Baker 5,517 23 October 1926 Accrington Stanley (A) 5–0 Hoad (2), Stevenson (2), Sharp 6,804 30 October 1926 Halifax Town (H) 0–0 7,316 6 November 1926 Barrow (A) 1–0 Stevenson 3,526 13 November 1926 Crewe Alexandra (H) 7–1 Hampson (4), Stevenson, Baker, Sharp 4,149 20 November 1926 Hartlepools United (A) 2–3 Sharp, Hampson 3,171 4 December 1926 Southport (A) 4–3 Hampson (2), Wilson, Earle 4,438 18 December 1926 Tranmere Rovers (A) 3–2 Hampson, Stevenson, Sharp 3,970 27 December 1926 Wrexham (A) 2–2 Sharp (2) 10,362 1 January 1927 Wrexham (H) 3–0 Stevenson (2), Sharp 6,485 8 January 1927 Stockport County (H) 6–1 Hampson (3), Keers, Sharp (2) 4,129 15 January 1927 Wigan Borough (H) 4–0 Baker, Sharp, Keers, Hampson 5,205 22 January 1927 Doncaster Rovers (A) 0–6 4,977 29 January 1927 Stoke City (H) 1–0 Sharp 9,974 5 February 1927 Rotherham United (A) 3–2 Sharp, Hampson, Keers 4,345 12 February 1927 Bradford (Park Avenue) (H) 1–0 Baker 12,415 19 February 1927 Walsall (A) 1–4 Sharp 3,498 26 February 1927 Lincoln City (H) 2–1 Stevenson (2), Sharp 5,784 5 March 1927 Durham City (A) 3–3 Hampson (2), Sharp 1,135 12 March 1927 Accrington Stanley (H) 7–0 Hampson (3), Bedford (2), Wilson, White 7,046 19 March 1927 Halifax Town (A) 1–4 White 13,602 23 March 1927 Ashington (A) 1–1 White 1,047 26 March 1927 Barrow (H) 3–0 Hampson, White, Bedford 3,668 2 April 1927 Crewe Alexandra (A) 1–2 Stevenson 5,225 5 April 1927 Rochdale (H) 3–1 Hampson (2), White 5,871 9 April 1927 Hartlepools United (H) 6–2 White (3), Hampson, Stevenson, Wilson 4,369 15 April 1927 Chesterfield (A) 1–1 Bedford 12,744 16 April 1927 Stockport County (H) 1–4 Wilson 10,546 18 April 1927 Chesterfield (H) 0–3 6,699 23 April 1927 Southport (H) 1–2 Stevenson 3,473 27 April 1927 New Brighton (A) 2–7 Stevenson (2) 3,104 30 April 1927 Rochdale (A) 1–2 Wilson 3,871 5 May 1927 Tranmere Rovers (H) 0–2 2,385

Final league position

FA Cup

Key

H = Home match A = Away match

In Result column, Nelson's score shown first Goalscorers shown in order of first goal scored

Match results Round Date Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance First round 27 November 1926 Stockport County (H) 4–1 Hampson (2), Sharp, Stevenson 8,757 Second round 11 December 1926 Ashington (A) 1–2 Stevenson 5,265

Player statistics Key to positions

CF = Centre forward FB = Fullback GK = Goalkeeper

HB = Half-back IF = Inside forward OF = Outside forward

Statistics Nat.PositionPlayerThird Division NorthFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGKHarry Abbott35020370HBFrank Bailey300030HBJim Baker28620306OFLewis Bedford14400144IFBilly Bottrill19420214FBFred Broadhurst24010250OFJohn Brown200020OFEdwin Earle17820198CFJimmy Hampson3523223725HBAmbrose Harris20100201OFSid Hoad26200262FBJohn Keers830083GKFred Mace700070HBRonald Mitchell32020340FBJames Pearson23010240CFThomas Pickering100010FBClement Rigg37020390CFPercy Roberts100010IFBuchanan Sharp3523213724HBEdwin Simpson200020IFJohn Stevenson3517223719OFHarold Taylor500050IFHenry White13800138HBGeorge Wilson40520425

See also List of Nelson F.C. seasons

References