Stoke City needed a win over Sheffield United to take the First Division title, needing to pip Liverpool, but the Potters lost 1-2 and that was that.
The first First Division title, post war, went to Anfield for the fifth time and classically, neighbours Everton had won the 1939 season, book ending the war years.
Needless to say there was a gap in official football for those few years in between, while other battles in Europe were held.
Champions Liverpool had played 42 matches won 27, drawn 7, and scored 84 conceding 52 goals were on top with 57 pts.
Stoke having lost their last game, finished on 55 points, winning 24 drawing 7 scoring 90 and letting in 53. In those days a win was worth 2 points and goal "average" or "ratio" (a method used since 1894-5) would have been calculated if the points had been equal. Stoke (1.698 v 1.615) would have won the division by that calculation had they beaten the Blades.
Stoke had beaten Liverpool 2-1 at home in the league but lost away.
The Football League changed Goal Average/Ratio in 1976-7 to Goal Difference (goals For minus Against).
The first division top looked like this: Liverpool 57, Manchester Utd 56, Wolves 56, Stoke 55, Blackpool 50, Sheffield Utd 49.
Leeds were root with 18 points, with Brentford at 25 next , Huddersfield 33, and Charlton 34 above them.
In the First Division the following teams were playing south of the Midlands-Portsmouth, Brentford, Chelsea, Charlton and Arsenal. Stoke, Wolves, Derby and Villa were Midland clubs the rest came from north of Sheffield, including Grimsby!!
Charlton Athletic won the Cup beating Burnley 1-0 in 1947 having lost the Cup the previous year to Derby 4-1. They became the 10th club to lose the cup one year and return to win it the next! Name the rest up to 1947.
The post-war Government had banned mid week football for a while to help boost production.
This should have been published yesterday!
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