The 1938–39 English football season was Aston Villa's 47th season in The Football League, Villa playing in the Football League First Division having won promotion in the previous season.Association Football, 27 August 1938, The Times

There were debuts for Frank Moss, George Edwards, Frank O'Donnell, Alan Wakemanhttps://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/alan-wakeman and goalkeeper Joe Rutherford.

The outbreak of World War II meant that 1939-40 season was abandoned and the three matches that had been played expunged from the records.https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/aston-villa/player/first-team/legacy-numbers The manager and players were paid off whilst Villa Park was commandeered by the War Office.

First Division

Matches

Source: avfchistory.co.uk

FA Cup

The 44 First and Second Division clubs entered the competition at the Third Round stage along with Barnsley, York City and Notts County. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 7 January 1939, although seven matches began at later dates. Eight matches were drawn and went to replays, with one of these requiring a second replay to settle the fixture. Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate9Aston Villa1–1Ipswich Town7 January 1939ReplayIpswich Town1–2Aston Villa11 January 1939 Fourth round

The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 21 January 1939. Five games were drawn and went to replays, of which two went to a second replay. Chelmsford City was the last non-league club remaining in the competition, participating in their ninth round of this tournament.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDateNotes3Preston North End2–0Aston Villa21 January 1939"An undeserved defeat at Preston".A Splendid Fight by Aston Villa The Birmingham Post, 23 January 1939, p4

Charity Cup In May 1939, Aston Villa played Coventry City for the Lord Mayor's Cup winning 1-0 in front of 5000 spectators. Lord Mayor's Cup for Villa, Sports Argus, 13 May 13 1939, p8

Friendlies In the summer of 1938 Villa toured Nazi Germany. The day before their first match, the England football team bowed to pressure from the British Foreign Office and performed the Nazi salute during a friendly match on 14 May 1938.Football, fascism and England's Nazi salute, BBC Magazine, 22 September 2003 Despite this diplomatic protocol the Birmingham Gazette reported the performance of Villa's Frank Broome beside headline, “GESTAPO”, in which it detailed the surveillance of 20,000 Germans in England by the German Secret Police.

The atmosphere in the Villa's first match against a German Select XI was in marked contrast to the England game with continual jeering and whistling. Villa's use of the offside trap was unfamiliar and frustrating to the German players and fans. When future Villa manager, Alex Massie fouled Camillo Jerusalem, the referee needed to separate the teams. Hostility from the 110,000 crowd intensified when the Villa players left the pitch without the required Nazi salute and Joseph Goebbels was called to suppress subsequent hostile German press coverage.

The second game, in Düsseldorf, passed without incident but, following the third match, in Stuttgart, SS guards and Stormtroopers were needed to protect the players from the crowd. During the war TIME Magazine would report that the Villa reserve team, all captured at Dunkirk, thrashed their captor SS guards.Game Called. TIME Magazine, 0040781X, 1/13/1941, Vol. 37, Issue 2

The pre-season Jubilee Fund matches saw Villa pitched against local rivals West Bromwich Albion. The derby match ended in a 1–1 draw with Frank Broome scoring for Aston Villa and Harry Jones grabbing one for the Baggies.Saturday's Results, 22 August 1938, The Times

Youth & Reserves Under coach Frank Barson, Villa secured the Birmingham Combination and were runners-up in the Midland Mid-Week League and won the Worcestershire Senior Cup.Ready for the Fray, Sports Argus, 12 August 1939, p3 In January 1939, Aston Villa "A" beat Kidderminster Harriers to reach the semi-finals. Worcestershire Senior Cup, Worcester News, 2 January 1939, p13

References

External links AVFC History: 1938-39