1962–63 Aston Villa F.C. season
English football club season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1962–63 English football season was Aston Villa's 64th season in The Football League. Villa played in the First Division. Winning the League Cup in 1961 had been the recent pinnacle for the club. Decline would see them finish in 15th place in 1963.[1]
| 1962–63 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Joe Mercer |
| Stadium | Villa Park |
| First Division | 15th |
| FA Cup | Fourth round |
| League Cup | Runner-up |
The Big Freeze of 1962–1963, was one of the coldest winters on record[2] and greatly affected Villa's season.[3] Football matches in the English and Scottish leagues suffered because of the severe effects of the winter weather.[2] Some matches in the FA Cup were rescheduled ten or more times.[4] Matches in the fifth and sixth rounds, scheduled for 16 February and 9 March respectively, were played on 16 and 30 March. A board known as the Pools Panel was set up to adjudicate postponed matches to provide the football pool results.[4] From 15 December to 12 January, Villa completed no competitive matches. The delays occurred before under-soil heating became widespread at major venues. When the thaw arrived, a backlog of fixtures had to be hastily determined. The Football League season was extended by four weeks from its original finishing date of 27 April. The final league fixtures took place one day before the rescheduled FA Cup final.
In the Second City derby both teams won their home fixture.[5]
There were debuts for Lew Chatterley (153), Phil Woosnam (106), Cammie Fraser (33), John Gavan (12),[6] and George Graham (8).[7]
First Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Blackpool | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 58 | 64 | 0.906 | 40 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 71 | 79 | 0.899 | 39 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 62 | 68 | 0.912 | 38 |
| 16 | Fulham | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 50 | 71 | 0.704 | 38 |
| 17 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 59 | 78 | 0.756 | 35 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Matches
| 18 August 1962 | Aston Villa | 3–1 | West Ham | Villa Park |
| Derek Dougan 1', Jimmy MacEwan 2', Bobby Thomson 46' | Report | |||
| Note: [8] | ||||
| 20 August 1962 | Aston Villa | 2–1 | Tottenham | Villa Park |
| Derek Dougan 51', 52' | Report |
| 25 August 1962 | Manchester City | 0–2 | Aston Villa | Maine Road |
| Report | Bobby Thomson 63', Harry Burrows 70' |
| 29 August 1962 | Tottenham | 4–2 | Aston Villa | White Hart Lane |
| Derek Dougan 61', Alan Deakin 80' |
| 1 September 1962 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | Blackpool | Villa Park |
| Jimmy MacEwan 18' |
| 4 September 1962 | Arsenal | 1–2 | Aston Villa | Highbury |
| Bobby Thomson 6', 25' |
| 8 September 1962 | Blackburn | 4–1 | Aston Villa | Ewood Park |
| Harry Burrows 42' |
| 10 September 1962 | Aston Villa | 3–1 | Arsenal | Villa Park |
| Bobby Thomson, Harry Burrows, Jimmy MacEwan |
| 15 September 1962 | Aston Villa | 1–2 | Sheffield United | Villa Park |
| Own goal 83' |
| 22 September 1962 | Nottingham Forest | 3–1 | Aston Villa | City Ground |
| Harry Burrows 88' (pen) |
| 29 September 1962 | Aston Villa | 4–2 | Ipswich Town | Villa Park |
| Ron Wylie 2', Bobby Thomson 20', 69', Derek Dougan 61' |
| 6 October 1962 | Aston Villa | 2–0 | West Bromwich Albion | Villa Park |
| Alan Baker 10', Harry Burrows 58' (pen) |
| 13 October 1962 | Everton | 1–1 | Aston Villa | Goodison Park |
| Alan Baker 77' |
| 20 October 1962 | Aston Villa | 1–0 | Orient | Villa Park |
| Harry Burrows 77' | Report |
| 27 October 1962 | Birmingham City | 3–2 | Aston Villa | St Andrew's |
| Report | Alan O’Neill 55', Harry Burrows 60' (pen) |
| 3 November 1962 | Aston Villa | 1–2 | Fulham | Villa Park |
| Harry Burrows 83' (pen) | Report |
| 10 November 1962 | Sheffield Wednesday | 0–0 | Aston Villa | Hillsborough |
| — | Report |
| 17 November 1962 | Aston Villa | 2–1 | Burnley | Villa Park |
| Harry Burrows 7', Derek Dougan 20' | Report |
| 24 November 1962 | Manchester United | 2–2 | Aston Villa | Old Trafford |
| Report | Own goal 5', Derek Dougan 52' |
| 1 December 1962 | Aston Villa | 5–0 | Bolton | Villa Park |
| Harry Burrows 12', Jimmy MacEwan 60', 77', Bobby Thomson 62', Derek Dougan 72' | Report |
| 8 December 1962 | Leicester City | 3–3 | Aston Villa | Filbert Street |
| Report | Own goal 1', Jimmy MacEwan 19', Harry Burrows 56' |
| 15 December 1962 | West Ham | 1–1 | Aston Villa | Boleyn Ground |
| Bobby Thomson 65' |
| 19 January 1963 | Aston Villa | 0–0 | Blackburn | Villa Park |
| — |
| 13 February 1963 | Liverpool | 4–0 | Aston Villa | Anfield |
| — |
| 9 March 1963 | Orient | 0–2 | Aston Villa | Brisbane Road |
| Phil Woosnam 7', Ron Wylie 37' |
| 16 March 1963 | Aston Villa | 4–0 | Birmingham City | Villa Park |
| Phil Woosnam 23', Alan Deakin 27', Alan Baker 31', Harry Burrows 51' (pen) |
| 23 March 1963 | Fulham | 1–0 | Aston Villa | Craven Cottage |
| Report | — |
| 29 March 1963 | Blackpool | 4–0 | Aston Villa | Bloomfield Road |
| Report | — |
| 1 April 1963 | Aston Villa | 0–2 | Everton | Villa Park |
| — | Report |
| 6 April 1963 | Burnley | 3–1 | Aston Villa | Turf Moor |
| Report | Vic Crowe 19' |
| 9 April 1963 | Aston Villa | 1–2 | Manchester United | Villa Park |
| Bobby Thomson 75' | Report |
| 13 April 1963 | Aston Villa | 0–2 | Sheffield Wednesday | Villa Park |
| — | Report |
| 15 April 1963 | Wolves | 3–1 | Aston Villa | Molineux |
| Report | Own goal 44' |
| 16 April 1963 | Aston Villa | 0–2 | Wolves | Villa Park |
| — | Report |
| 20 April 1963 | Bolton | 4–1 | Aston Villa | Burnden Park |
| Harry Burrows |
| 1 May 1963 | Sheffield United | 2–1 | Aston Villa | Bramall Lane |
| Harry Burrows 38' |
| 4 May 1963 | Aston Villa | 0–2 | Nottingham Forest | Villa Park |
| — |
| 8 May 1963 | Aston Villa | 3–1 | Manchester City | Villa Park |
| Alan Baker 15', Harry Burrows 21' (pen), 23' (pen) |
| 11 May 1963 | West Bromwich Albion | 1–0 | Aston Villa | The Hawthorns |
| — |
| 15 May 1963 | Aston Villa | 3–1 | Leicester City | Villa Park |
| Cammie Fraser 67', Derek Dougan 69', Gordon Lee 79' |
| 18 May 1963 | Aston Villa | 2–0 | Liverpool | Villa Park |
| George Graham 78', Bobby Thomson 84' |
| 21 May 1963 | Ipswich Town | 1–1 | Aston Villa | Portman Road |
| Bobby Thomson 69' | ||||
| Note: [8] | ||||
FA Cup
Third round
The 44 First and Second Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 5 January 1963, but due to the Big Freeze of 1963, only three games were completed at this date.[9][10] The bulk of matches were not completed until February and March, with the final non-replay tie being played on 7 March. There were nine replays in total, of which the earliest possible playing date was 30 January, and the latest the 11 March.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bristol City | 1–1 | Aston Villa | 16 January 1963 |
| Replay | Aston Villa | 3–2 | Bristol City | 7 March 1963 |
Fourth round
The matches were originally scheduled for Saturday, 26 January 1963, but due to the earlier, ongoing problems with the winter of 1963, most of the third-round games had still not been played and only one tie, the Burnley – Liverpool match, was able to be played on that day. This and three other games went to replays, with the Portsmouth – Coventry City match requiring a second replay, which was the last match of the round. Gravesend & Northfleet was the last non-league club left in the competition.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Manchester United | 1–0 | Aston Villa | 11 March 1963 |
League Cup
Second round
| Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 6–1 | Peterborough United | 24-09-1962 |
Third round
| Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 3–1 | Stoke City | 17-10-1962 |
Fourth round
| Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 6–2 | Preston North End | 12-11-1962 [11] |
Fifth round
| Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 4–1 | Norwich City | 03-12-1962 |
Semi-finals - First leg
| Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunderland | 1–3 | Aston Villa | 12-01-1963 |
Second leg
| Home team | Score | Away team | Date | Agg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 0–0 | Sunderland | 22-04-1963 | 3–1 |
Final
| 28--19--22 | |
The final was played over two legs. The first leg was held at St Andrew's, Birmingham on 23 May 1963 and the second leg was held at Villa Park, Birmingham, on 27 May 1963.
Birmingham City won 3–1 on aggregate.