1938–39 in English football

The 1938–39 season was the 64th season of competitive football in England. It was the last completed season before the Second World War.

Football in England

Season	1938–39
Men's football
Football League	Everton
Football League Second Division	Blackburn Rovers
FA Cup	Portsmouth
← 1937–38 1939–40 →

Honours

Competition	Winner	Runner-up
First Division	Everton (5)	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division	Blackburn Rovers	Sheffield United
Third Division North	Barnsley	Doncaster Rovers
Third Division South	Newport County	Crystal Palace
FA Cup	Portsmouth (1)	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Charity Shield	Arsenal	Preston North End
Home Championship	England

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

Football League

Main article: 1938–39 Football League

First Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Relegation
1	Everton (C)	42	27	5	10	88	52	1.692	59
2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	22	11	9	88	39	2.256	55
3	Charlton Athletic	42	22	6	14	75	59	1.271	50
4	Middlesbrough	42	20	9	13	93	74	1.257	49
5	Arsenal	42	19	9	14	55	41	1.341	47
6	Derby County	42	19	8	15	66	55	1.200	46
7	Stoke City	42	17	12	13	71	68	1.044	46
8	Bolton Wanderers	42	15	15	12	67	58	1.155	45
9	Preston North End	42	16	12	14	63	59	1.068	44
10	Grimsby Town	42	16	11	15	61	69	0.884	43
11	Liverpool	42	14	14	14	62	63	0.984	42
12	Aston Villa	42	16	9	17	71	60	1.183	41
13	Leeds United	42	16	9	17	59	67	0.881	41
14	Manchester United	42	11	16	15	57	65	0.877	38
15	Blackpool	42	12	14	16	56	68	0.824	38
16	Sunderland	42	13	12	17	54	67	0.806	38
17	Portsmouth	42	12	13	17	47	70	0.671	37
18	Brentford	42	14	8	20	53	74	0.716	36
19	Huddersfield Town	42	12	11	19	58	64	0.906	35
20	Chelsea	42	12	9	21	64	80	0.800	33
21	Birmingham (R)	42	12	8	22	62	84	0.738	32	Relegation to the Second Division
22	Leicester City (R)	42	9	11	22	48	82	0.585	29

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Second Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Blackburn Rovers (C, P)	42	25	5	12	94	60	1.567	55	Promotion to the First Division
2	Sheffield United (P)	42	20	14	8	69	41	1.683	54
3	Sheffield Wednesday	42	21	11	10	88	59	1.492	53
4	Coventry City	42	21	8	13	62	45	1.378	50
5	Manchester City	42	21	7	14	96	72	1.333	49
6	Chesterfield	42	20	9	13	69	52	1.327	49
7	Luton Town	42	22	5	15	82	66	1.242	49
8	Tottenham Hotspur	42	19	9	14	67	62	1.081	47
9	Newcastle United	42	18	10	14	61	48	1.271	46
10	West Bromwich Albion	42	18	9	15	89	72	1.236	45
11	West Ham United	42	17	10	15	70	52	1.346	44
12	Fulham	42	17	10	15	61	55	1.109	44
13	Millwall	42	14	14	14	64	53	1.208	42
14	Burnley	42	15	9	18	50	56	0.893	39
15	Plymouth Argyle	42	15	8	19	49	55	0.891	38
16	Bury	42	12	13	17	65	74	0.878	37
17	Bradford (Park Avenue)	42	12	11	19	61	82	0.744	35
18	Southampton	42	13	9	20	56	82	0.683	35
19	Swansea Town	42	11	12	19	50	83	0.602	34
20	Nottingham Forest	42	10	11	21	49	82	0.598	31
21	Norwich City (R)	42	13	5	24	50	91	0.549	31	Relegation to the Third Division South
22	Tranmere Rovers (R)	42	6	5	31	39	99	0.394	17	Relegation to the Third Division North

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Third Division North

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Barnsley (C, P)	42	30	7	5	94	34	2.765	67	Promotion to the Second Division
2	Doncaster Rovers	42	21	14	7	87	47	1.851	56
3	Bradford City	42	22	8	12	89	56	1.589	52
4	Southport	42	20	10	12	75	54	1.389	50
5	Oldham Athletic	42	22	5	15	76	59	1.288	49
6	Chester	42	20	9	13	88	70	1.257	49
7	Hull City	42	18	10	14	83	74	1.122	46
8	Crewe Alexandra	42	19	6	17	82	70	1.171	44
9	Stockport County	42	17	9	16	91	77	1.182	43
10	Gateshead	42	14	14	14	74	67	1.104	42
11	Rotherham United	42	17	8	17	64	64	1.000	42
12	Halifax Town	42	13	16	13	52	54	0.963	42
13	Barrow	42	16	9	17	66	65	1.015	41
14	Wrexham	42	17	7	18	66	79	0.835	41
15	Rochdale	42	15	9	18	92	82	1.122	39
16	New Brighton	42	15	9	18	68	73	0.932	39
17	Lincoln City	42	12	9	21	66	92	0.717	33
18	Darlington	42	13	7	22	62	92	0.674	33
19	Carlisle United	42	13	7	22	66	111	0.595	33
20	York City	42	12	8	22	64	92	0.696	32
21	Hartlepools United	42	12	7	23	55	94	0.585	31	Re-elected
22	Accrington Stanley	42	7	6	29	49	103	0.476	20

Source: rsssf.com
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Third Division South

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Newport County (C, P)	42	22	11	9	58	45	1.289	55	Promotion to the Second Division
2	Crystal Palace	42	20	12	10	71	52	1.365	52
3	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	19	11	12	68	49	1.388	49
4	Watford	42	17	12	13	62	51	1.216	46
5	Reading	42	16	14	12	69	59	1.169	46
6	Queens Park Rangers	42	15	14	13	68	49	1.388	44
7	Ipswich Town	42	16	12	14	62	52	1.192	44
8	Bristol City	42	16	12	14	61	63	0.968	44
9	Swindon Town	42	18	8	16	72	77	0.935	44
10	Aldershot	42	16	12	14	53	66	0.803	44
11	Notts County	42	17	9	16	59	54	1.093	43
12	Southend United	42	16	9	17	61	64	0.953	41
13	Cardiff City	42	15	11	16	61	65	0.938	41
14	Exeter City	42	13	14	15	65	82	0.793	40
15	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	42	13	13	16	52	58	0.897	39
16	Mansfield Town	42	12	15	15	44	62	0.710	39
17	Northampton Town	42	15	8	19	51	58	0.879	38
18	Port Vale	42	14	9	19	52	58	0.897	37
19	Torquay United	42	14	9	19	54	70	0.771	37
20	Clapton Orient	42	11	13	18	53	55	0.964	35
21	Walsall	42	11	11	20	68	69	0.986	33	Re-elected
22	Bristol Rovers	42	10	13	19	55	61	0.902	33

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Top goalscorers

First Division

• Tommy Lawton (Everton) – 35 goals^[1]

Second Division

• Hugh Billington (Luton Town) – 28 goals^[1]

Third Division North

• Wally Hunt (Carlisle United) – 32 goals^[2]

Third Division South

• Ben Morton (Swindon Town) – 28 goals^[2]