1963–64 Gillingham F.C. season

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

FA Cup
First Round
League CupFourth Round
Top goalscorerLeague: Brian Gibbs (17)
All: Brian Gibbs (18)
Highest home attendance17,421 vs Carlisle United (9 October 1963)
Lowest home attendance5,274 vs Chester (7 March 1964)

During the

league table
, where they remained for much of the season, although some fans were unhappy with the team's defensive style of play.

In April, the postponement of several games allowed other teams to overtake Gillingham and push them out of the

goal average
. Gillingham won their final game and won the Fourth Division championship as their goal average was fractionally better than Carlisle's. It was the club's first Football League divisional championship; Gillingham would not win another until 2013.

Gillingham also competed in two

John Simpson made the most appearances; both played in every game of the season. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium
, was 17,421 for a game against Carlisle on 9 October 1963.

Background and pre-season

Football ground Priestfield Stadium
Floodlights were installed for the first time at Priestfield Stadium.
(photo c. 1986)

The 1963–64 season was Gillingham's 32nd season playing in the Football League and the 14th since the club was elected back into the League in 1950 after being voted out in 1938.[1] It was the club's sixth consecutive season in the Football League Fourth Division,[1] which had been created in 1958 when the parallel Third Division South and Third Division North were merged and reorganised into two national divisions at the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system.[2]

trainer.[7]

The team wore Gillingham's traditional blue shirts and white shorts, the only change in design from the previous season being the style of collar and the placement of the club badge on the shirt.[8] Redevelopment work took place at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, between seasons as floodlights were installed for the first time, at a cost of £14,000 (equivalent to £310,000 in 2021).[9] The club had been one of the few in the Football League yet to install lights, which had become prevalent in English professional football since the mid-1950s, and when they were switched on for a game for the first time (September 1963) it made Gillingham the 89th out of 92 Football League clubs to play a home match under lights.[10]

Fourth Division

Brunton Park football stadium in Carlisle
Gillingham's lengthy unbeaten league run came to an end at Brunton Park, home of Carlisle United.
(photo 2011)

August–December

Gillingham's first two matches of the season were both at home to teams from the city of

goal average.[11][13] Hudson scored the winner, the only goal he scored in more than 300 Football League matches.[14][15] At this point Gillingham had conceded only one goal in seven Fourth Division games.[13][16] The team concluded September with a victory over Darlington and a draw against Tranmere Rovers.[11]

Gillingham began October with four consecutive victories, defeating Lincoln, Halifax Town, Carlisle United, and Doncaster Rovers. George Francis scored five goals in three games at the start of the month.[11] After 13 consecutive Fourth Division games without defeat, Gillingham lost for the first time on 15 October when they were beaten 3–1 by Carlisle; they were the final team in the Football League's four divisions to lose a game during the 1963–64 season.[17][18] The team won their next two matches without conceding a goal, but then lost two consecutive games without scoring one.[11] Despite the two defeats, Gillingham remained top of the Fourth Division at the end of October, one point ahead of Carlisle.[19] Gibbs was the team's top league goalscorer at this point in the season, his four goals in the month taking his total to eight.[11]

Gillingham won three out of four matches in November and remained top of the division.

hat-trick of the season.[11][21] Gillingham's final two matches of 1963 were both against Chesterfield. On 26 December Pulley scored twice as Gillingham won 3–0 at their opponents' Saltergate stadium, and two days later Gillingham won 1–0 at Priestfield with Gibbs scoring the only goal, his 14th Fourth Division goal of the season.[11] Gillingham finished the year top of the Fourth Division, one point ahead of second-placed Carlisle. They had conceded only 15 goals, the best defensive record in the division; only four other teams in the Fourth Division had conceded fewer than 30.[22]

The Goldstone Ground, Brighton
Gillingham's first defeat of 1964 came at the Goldstone Ground, home of Brighton & Hove Albion.
(photo 1976)

January–May

Gillingham's first two games of 1964 both resulted in goalless draws, at home to

Rochdale and away to Exeter,[11] after which they were still top of the table, one point ahead of Carlisle, although Carlisle had played one fewer game.[23] On 18 January Gillingham won 2–0 at home to Hartlepools with two goals from Newman, the team's fifth consecutive game without conceding a goal.[11] After this the team underwent their longest run of the season without a win; they drew the first four games of February and then ended the month by losing 2–1 away to Brighton & Hove Albion, ending a run of ten games without defeat.[11] During the draw against Doncaster Rovers at Priestfield on 22 February, Cox was barracked by fans unhappy at the team's defensive style of play; he responded by throwing a bucket of water over them, and later told the press "They deserved it. Some people here know nothing about football."[24] Despite the winless run, Gillingham remained top of the table at the end of February.[25]

Gillingham beat Chester 2–1 in their first match of March, the team's first win since 18 January. The attendance of 5,274 was the lowest recorded at Priestfield during the season.[11] The team's next two scheduled games were both postponed,[26][27] allowing Carlisle to overtake them and top the table at the end of March.[28] Gillingham's scheduled match against Oxford United on 4 April was also postponed,[29] and after the matches which did take place on that day the team had slipped to fifth in the table, outside the promotion places.[30][31] These postponements led to Gillingham being required to play eight games in just over three weeks at the end of the season, beginning with a 3–1 win at home to Barrow on 8 April.[11] The result took the team back up to second place in the table, one point behind Carlisle,[32] but Gillingham then only won one of their next four games to slip to fourth, the lowest position which would result in promotion, although they did have the advantage of having more games still to play than all the other teams in the top half of the table.[11][30][33]

On 25 April, Gillingham lost 2–1 away to Rochdale, but Bradford City's defeat to

Newport County on 30 April. Before the match, Gillingham were two points behind league leaders Carlisle, who had already played their final game of the season. A win for Gillingham would mean that they would end the season level on points with Carlisle and the championship would go to the team with the better goal average.[38][39] A goal from Francis gave Gillingham a 1–0 victory and meant that they won the Fourth Division championship as their goal average of 1.967 was superior to Carlisle's 1.948.[40][41] It was the first Football League divisional championship the club had won as well as the first time the club had won promotion to a higher division in 32 seasons in the League.[4]

Match details

Key
Results[11]
Date Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance
24 August 1963
Bradford (Park Avenue)
(H) 		2–0 Pulley, Gibbs 8,562
28 August 1963 Bradford City (H) 0–0 7,923
31 August 1963 Southport (A) 1–1 Farrall 4,123
7 September 1963 Exeter City (H) 0–0 8,381
11 September 1963 Bradford City (A) 2–0 Gibbs, Godfrey 2,399
14 September 1963 Hartlepools United (A) 0–0 3,022
18 September 1963 Lincoln City (H) 1–0 Hudson 6,949
21 September 1963 Darlington (H) 2–1
Newman
 8,269
27 September 1963 Tranmere Rovers (A) 0–0 10,277
2 October 1963 Lincoln City (A) 3–0 Francis (2), Gibbs 8,968
5 October 1963
Halifax Town
(H) 		2–1 Francis (2) 10,745
9 October 1963 Carlisle United (H) 2–0 Marsden (o.g.), Francis 17,421
12 October 1963 Doncaster Rovers (A) 2–1 Gibbs (2) 6,670
15 October 1963 Carlisle United (A) 1–3 Gibbs 11,900
19 October 1963 Brighton & Hove Albion (H) 1–0
White
 13,451
23 October 1963 Torquay United (H) 2–0 Yeo, Gibbs 15,338
26 October 1963 Chester (A) 0–1 8,395
30 October 1963 Torquay United (A) 0–1 4,892
2 November 1963 York City (H) 1–0 Ballagher 9,548
9 November 1963
Barrow
(A) 		3–0 Gibbs (2), Pulley 3,606
23 November 1963 Oxford United (A) 1–3 Gibbs 8,567
30 November 1963
Workington
(H) 		3–1
Hunt
 9,852
14 December 1963
Bradford (Park Avenue)
(A) 		0–1 4,930
21 December 1963 Southport (H) 5–1 Newman (3), Yeo, Pulley 5,529
26 December 1963 Chesterfield (A) 3–0 Pulley (2), Newman 6,590
28 December 1963 Chesterfield (H) 1–0 Gibbs 10,792
4 January 1964
Rochdale
(H) 		0–0 8,099
11 January 1964 Exeter City (A) 0–0 10,915
18 January 1964 Hartlepools United (H) 2–0 Newman (2) 7,536
1 February 1964 Darlington (A) 1–1 Pulley 2,814
8 February 1964 Tranmere Rovers (H) 2–2 Newman, Francis 8,166
15 February 1964
Halifax Town
(A) 		0–0 2,080
22 February 1964 Doncaster Rovers (H) 1–1 Gibbs 7,681
29 February 1964 Brighton & Hove Albion (A) 1–2 Ballagher 15,349
7 March 1964 Chester (H) 2–1 Ridley, Ballagher 5,274
27 March 1964 Aldershot (H) 2–0 Newman, Hunt 12,171
28 March 1964 Stockport County (A) 0–2 2,649
30 March 1964 Aldershot (A) 1–1 Newman 7,183
8 April 1964
Barrow
(H) 		3–1 Hunt, Burgess, Ridley 11,583
11 April 1964
Workington
(A) 		0–1 6,536
15 April 1964 Oxford United (H) 2–0 Gibbs, Ballagher 12,051
18 April 1964
Newport County
(H) 		1–1 Gibbs 9,584
22 April 1964 Stockport County (H) 0–0 12,846
25 April 1964
Rochdale
(A) 		1–2 Godfrey 2,737
27 April 1964 York City (A) 1–0 Newman 3,317
30 April 1964
Newport County
(A) 		1–0 Francis 3,229

Partial league table

Main article: 1963–64 Football League § Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division final table, leading positions[42]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Gillingham 46 23 14 9 59 30 1.967 60 Division Champions, promoted
2 Carlisle United 46 25 10 11 113 58 1.948 60 Promoted
3
Workington
 46 24 11 11 76 52 1.462 59
4 Exeter City 46 20 18 8 62 37 1.676 58
5
Bradford City
 46 25 6 15 76 62 1.226 56

Cup matches

FA Cup

As a Fourth Division club, Gillingham entered the 1963–64 FA Cup in the first round; they were beaten 4–1 by Queens Park Rangers of the Third Division.[30][43]

Match details

Key
Results[11]
Date Round Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance
16 November 1963 First Queens Park Rangers (A) 1–4 Arnott 12,141

Football League Cup

Gillingham entered the

Bury of the Second Division; despite playing a team from two divisions higher, Gillingham won 3–0.[30][45] Their third round opponents were Bristol Rovers of the Third Division;[30] the initial match at Eastville Stadium in Bristol ended in a 1–1 draw, necessitating a replay at Priestfield, which Gillingham won 3–1 to reach the fourth round (last 16) of the competition.[46] Their opponents at this stage were Leicester City of the First Division, the highest level of English football.[30] Playing at their opponents' Filbert Street stadium, Gillingham lost 4–1 and were eliminated from the competition. Although Leicester were missing five regular starters, the correspondent from the Daily Herald noted that they "made rings round Gillingham's defence".[47]

Match details

Key
Results[11]
Date Round Opponents Result Goalscorers Attendance
4 September 1963 First Bristol City (H) 4–2 Stringfellow (2), Waldock, Gibbs 5,940
25 September 1963 Second Bury (H) 3–0 Pulley (2), Eastham (o.g.) 14,979
4 November 1963 Third Bristol Rovers (A) 1–1 Ballagher 10,149
6 November 1963 Third (replay) Bristol Rovers (H) 3–1
Newman (2), Pulley
 10,771
27 November 1963 Fourth Leicester City (A) 1–4 Francis 10,356

Players

During the season, 22 players made at least one appearance for Gillingham.

John Simpson made the most; both played in all 52 competitive matches. Alec Farrall and Gibbs both missed only one game and four other players made more than 40 appearances. Taylor was the sole player to make only one appearance; he played once in November, after which he did not feature in the first team for nearly 18 months.[48]

Gibbs finished the season as the team's top scorer, with 18 goals in all competitions. His 17 goals scored in Fourth Division matches took his total number of Football League goals for Gillingham over 100, the first player to achieve this feat.[9] Newman was the second-highest scorer with 11 goals in the Fourth Division and 13 in all competitions.[11]

Player statistics[11]
Player Position
Fourth Division
 FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
John Arnott HB 43 0 1 1 5 0 49 1
John Ballagher FW 17 4 1 0 1 1 19 5
Mike Burgess HB 46 1 1 0 5 0 52 1
Don Campbell FB 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
Alec Farrall HB 45 1 1 0 5 0 51 1
George Francis FW 16 7 0 0 3 1 19 8
Brian Gibbs FW 46 17 1 0 4 1 51 18
Peter Godfrey FW 13 2 0 0 0 0 13 2
Geoff Hudson FB 36 1 1 0 4 0 41 1
Denis Hunt FB 43 3 1 0 5 0 49 3
John Meredith FW 11 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
Roy Moss FW 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Ron Newman
 		FW 37 11 1 0 4 2 42 13
Gordon Pulley FW 31 6 1 0 5 3 37 9
Bob Ridley FW 7 2 0 0 2 0 9 2
John Simpson
 		GK 46 0 1 0 5 0 52 0
Terry Stacey FB 12 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
Peter Stringfellow FW 25 0 0 0 3 2 28 2
Rod Taylor HB 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Ronnie Waldock FW 6 0 0 0 1 1 7 1
Jimmy White FB 11 1 1 0 2 0 14 1
Brian Yeo FW 11 2 0 0 0 0 11 2

FW = Forward, HB = Half-back, GK = Goalkeeper, FB = Full-back

Aftermath

With the Fourth Division championship not confirmed until the final match, Gillingham did not receive the trophy until June, when it was presented to club chairman

Football League Two) in the 2012–13 season.[54][55]

References

  1. ^ a b Rollin 1990, p. 253.
  2. ^ Soar & Tyler 1983, p. 221.
  3. ^ Elligate 2009, p. 105.
  4. ^ a b c Soar & Tyler 1983, p. 110.
  5. ^ Triggs 2001, p. 164.
  6. ^ Triggs 2001, pp. 114, 335, 344.
  7. ^ Triggs 2001, p. 62.
  8. ^ Triggs 1999, pp. 92–93.
  9. ^ a b Triggs 1999, p. 95.
  10. ^ Elligate 2009, p. 149.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Brown 2003, p. 73.
  12. Newspapers.com
    .
  13. ^ a b "League Division Four table after close of play on 18 September 1963". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  14. ^ Triggs 2001, p. 165.
  15. ^ Elligate 2009, p. 146.
  16. Newspapers.com
    .
  17. ^ Elligate 2009, p. 160.
  18. ^ "Everton Now Share Second Place in Table". The Times. 16 October 1963. p. 3. Retrieved 29 July 2022 – via Gale.
  19. ^ "League Division Four table after close of play on 31 October 1963". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  20. ^ "League Division Four table after close of play on 30 November 1963". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  21. Newspapers.com
    .
  22. ^ "League Division Four table after close of play on 31 December 1963". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  23. ^ "League Division Four table after close of play on 11 January 1964". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  24. ^ Elligate 2009, p. 38.
  25. ^ "League Division Four table after close of play on 29 February 1964". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  26. ^ "Association Football Results". The Times. 16 March 1964. p. 3. Retrieved 23 July 2022 – via Gale.
  27. ^ "Saturday's Football Results". The Times. 23 March 1964. p. 4. Retrieved 23 July 2022 – via Gale.
  28. ^ "League Division Four table after close of play on 31 March 1964". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  29. ^ "Saturday's Football Results". The Times. 6 April 1964. p. 4. Retrieved 22 July 2022 – via Gale.
  30. ^
    Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original
    on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  31. ^ "League Division Four table after close of play on 4 April 1964". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  32. Newspapers.com
    .
  33. ^ "League Division Four table after close of play on 22 April 1964". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  34. ^ "Birmingham Beat Champions". The Times. 23 April 1964. p. 4. Retrieved 29 July 2022 – via Gale.
  35. ^ "League Division Four table after close of play on 25 April 1964". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  36. ^ Elligate 2009, p. 70.
  37. Newspapers.com
    .
  38. Newspapers.com
    .
  39. Newspapers.com
    .
  40. Newspapers.com
    .
  41. ^ Elligate 2009, p. 74.
  42. ^ Soar & Tyler 1983, p. 227.
  43. ^ "Association Football Results and Tables". The Times. 18 November 1963. p. 4. Retrieved 8 July 2022 – via Gale.
  44. Newspapers.com
    .
  45. Newspapers.com
    .
  46. Newspapers.com
    .
  47. Newspapers.com
    .
  48. ^ Brown 2003, pp. 73–74.
  49. ^ Conway 1980, p. 41.
  50. ^ Triggs 1999, p. 94.
  51. Newspapers.com
    .
  52. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original
    on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  53. ^ Rollin 1997, p. 173.
  54. ^ "Gillingham manager Martin Allen wants to save celebratory bus tour for promotion to the Championship". Kent Online. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  55. ^ Cawdell, Luke (20 April 2013). "Gillingham 2 AFC Wimbledon 2". Kent Online. Retrieved 5 July 2022.

Works cited

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1963–64_Gillingham_F.C._season&oldid=1219996619"