The 1912–13 season was the first season in which Swansea Town (now known as Swansea City) took part in league and cup football. The club was elected to Division Two of the Southern Football League.
| 1912–13 season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | John William Thorpe | |
| Player-Manager | Walter Whittaker | |
| Stadium | Vetch Field | |
| Southern Football League | 3rd | |
| Welsh Cup | Winners | |
| Top goalscorer | League: Billy Ball (8) All: Billy Ball (19) | |
|
| ||
Swansea's first official match was played on 7 September 1912 against local rivals Cardiff City at the Vetch Field. All of Swansea's home games for the 1912–13 season were played on a 'Clinker pitch'.[1]
After a 24-game season the club finished third, narrowly missing out on promotion. The club also entered the Welsh Cup and won it at the first attempt, beating Pontypridd 1–0 in a re-played final.
Southern Football League edit
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Game | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A |
Goalscorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 September 1912 | Cardiff City | H | D | 1–1 | Ball | 8,000 |
| 2 | 14 September 1912 | Ton Pentre | A | W | 2–1 | Grierson 2 | |
| 3 | 21 September 1912 | Newport County | A | W | 1–0 | Grierson | 5,000 |
| 4 | 5 October 1912 | Mid-Rhondda | H | W | 1–0 | Ball | 6,000 |
| 5 | 9 November 1912 | Pontypridd | H | D | 0–0 | ||
| 6 | 25 December 1912 | Llanelly | H | D | 1–1 | Coleman | |
| 7 | 28 December 1912 | Aberdare Athletic | H | W | 5–4 | Ball 3, Coleman, Grierson | |
| 8 | 18 January 1913 | Mardy | H | W | 1–0 | Grierson | 6,000 |
| 9 | 23 January 1913 | Aberdare Athletic | A | D | 2–2 | Coleman, Grierson | |
| 10 | 1 February 1913 | Southend United | A | L | 1–3 | Grierson | |
| 11 | 8 February 1913 | Luton Town | A | W | 4–0 | Messer, Coleman 2, Grierson | 6,000 |
| 12 | 20 February 1913 | Pontypridd | A | D | 0–0 | ||
| 13 | 1 March 1913 | Newport County | H | W | 2–1 | Ball 2(1p) | 10,200 |
| 14 | 8 March 1913 | Mid-Rhondda | A | L | 0–1 | ||
| 15 | 15 March 1913 | Cardiff City | A | D | 0–0 | 12,000 | |
| 16 | 21 March 1913 | Croydon Common | H | W | 1–0 | Hamilton | 10,000 |
| 17 | 22 March 1913 | Treharris | A | W | 3–1 | Anderson 2, Messer | |
| 18 | 24 March 1913 | Croydon Common | A | L | 0–3 | 10,000 | |
| 19 | 29 March 1913 | Luton Town | H | W | 2–0 | Ball, Anderson | 8,000 |
| 20 | 1 April 1913 | Mardy | A | L | 0–4 | 2,000 | |
| 21 | 8 April 1913 | Llanelly | A | L | 0–1 | 6,000 | |
| 22 | 26 April 1913 | Southend United | H | W | 1–0 | Anderson | |
| 23 | 28 April 1913 | Ton Pentre | H | D | 0–0 | ||
| 24 | 30 April 1913 | Treharris | H | W | 1–0 | Jepp |
Source:[2]
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff City | 24 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 54 | 15 | 3.600 | 41 | Promoted to Division One |
| 2 | Southend United | 24 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 43 | 23 | 1.870 | 34 | |
| 3 | Swansea Town | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 29 | 23 | 1.261 | 31 | |
| 4 | Croydon Common | 24 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 51 | 29 | 1.759 | 30 | |
| 5 | Luton Town | 24 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 52 | 39 | 1.333 | 30 |
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Welsh Cup edit
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A |
Goalscorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PreQ | 31 October 1912 | Milford | H | W | 3–1 | Ball 3 | 1,000 |
| 1 | 2 November 1912 | Mond Nickel | H | D | 2–2 | Messer, Davidson | |
| 1r | 7 November 1912 | Mond Nickel | A | W | 5–0 | Ball 2, Grierson 2, Swarbrick | |
| 2 | 7 December 1912 | Llanelly | H | W | 2–1 | Messer (p), Ball | 3,000 |
| 3 | 4 January 1913 | Wrexham | A | W | 3–1 | Ball 2, Swarbrick | 2,000 |
| 4 | 25 January 1913 | Merthyr Town | A | W | 3–0 | Soady 2, Coleman | |
| SF | 15 February 1913 | Cardiff City | N | W | 4–2 | Ball 3, Grierson | |
| F | 19 April 1913 | Pontypridd | N | D | 0–0 | 8,310 | |
| Fr | 24 April 1913 | Pontypridd | N | W | 1–0 | Grierson | 10,000 |
Source:[3]
Player details edit
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | Welsh Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1 | - |  D Anderson
|
7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| 2 | FW | Billy Ball
|
19 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 26 | 19 |
| 3 | - | T Brazell
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Arthur Cleverley
|
18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 5 | - | J Coleman
|
18 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 26 | 6 |
| 6 | - | H Davidson
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | John Duffy
|
23 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| 8 | GK | E Fisher
|
17 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 9 | - | G Fyfe
|
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 10 | - | RT Grierson
|
19 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 27 | 12 |
| 11 | DF | Jock Hamilton
|
19 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | Sam Jepp
|
20 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| 13 | - | P Jones
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | FW |  Willie Messer
|
19 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 26 | 4 |
| 15 | DF | Jack Nicholas
|
21 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| 16 | - | F Prideaux
|
10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 17 | - | Soady
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 18 | - | A Sutherland
|
9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Jimmy Swarbrick
|
22 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 31 | 2 |
| 20 | - | J Weir
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | Walter Whittaker
|
7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
Source:[4]
Transfers edit
Out edit
| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 June 1913 | F Prideaux | Released | |||
| 27 June 1913 | RT Grierson | Released | |||
| 27 June 1913 | Soady | Released |
See also edit
References edit
- General
- Rundle, Richard. "Swansea Town". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- Bibliography
- Jones, Colin (2012). Swansea Town & City Football Club: The Complete Record, 1912–2012. From Southern League to Premier League. Dinefwr Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-904323-26-6.
- Jenkins, Geraint H. (2012). Proud to be a Swan, The History of Swansea City AFC. Ceredigion: Y Lolfa Cyf. ISBN 978-1-84771-481-7.
- Specific