1948/49 Season Summary

After taking thirteen points from their first twelve outings, the defence was severely weakened by Arthur Turner’s departure to Crewe Alexandra as Manager-Trainer in October. While Turner was at centre-half blocking the path to goal Southport had some measure of success.

They finished next to the foot of the table but at least the club found a player of promise in Bill Bellas who made his debut on March 19th at Oldham. ;Bellas won many admirers and proved to be more than just a “stopper”; as Ted Blagg, the former Nottingham Forest pivot, was not settling down, Bellas kept the position on merit. Blagg had been signed in November following Turner’s release for a then record fee of £2,300 but he failed to make any impression and was released at the end of the season.

Young Jimmy Meadows, after some promising displays in the reserves, justified his promotion to the senior side. Trevor Hitchen, signed for £1,000 from Wellington Town in October as a centre-forward, later did much good work at wing-half, as also did Bob Hacking who was to spend six seasons with the club after arriving from Brighton in the close season. Albert Dainty, who added craft at inside-forward when acquired from Stockport County, proved a decided asset.

Southport almost had a nasty shock in the F.A. Cup; Horden Colliery Welfare, 1-0 down at half time, went on all-out attack right from the restart and equalised; then Cummins – later to join Southport-was brought down, but Humble drove the spot-kick against the upright; the ‘Port eventually scrambled through with a Wyles penalty three minutes from time.

In the second round, after drawing 2-2 at Haig Avenue, Southport beat York City 2-0 in the replay the following Saturday. Goalkeeper Wilf Birkett and his co-defenders performed heroics after the luckless Jack Marriott – in only his fifth outing in twelve months – had given Southport the lead in four minutes. Towards the end Cec Wyles broke away to score the second goal.

In January. the third round 4-1 defeat at Derby County in front of a 28,000 crowd had its financial compensations, but the league matches that followed did not bring victory until March 26th, when Accrington Stanley were defeated 3-0. Twenty league games had passed without a win – 4 draws, 16 defeats, including a run of eight home games which produced only one point — putting Southport in a hopeless position; even a final flourish which brought six wins from the last seven games could not save them from having to apply for re-election.

Of the close season departures, Les Owens was transferred to Hartlepools United for £700, little Harold Iddon joined Morecambe and the dependable Ronnie Hodgson went to Crewe Alexandra. In October. Dick Rimmer, director from 1937 to 1941 rejoined the board, A. S. James having resigned some time earlier. By the end of the season a loss of almost £3,000 had been sustained. On a happier note, Sam Banner, a popular figure with his famous straw boater, was presented with a silver salver to commemorate his 23 years as a director. Mr. Banner. who helped form the Subscribers’ Club in 1927, had been a member of the original board in 1921 and had continued in office with only one five-year break from 1926 to 1931.

Southport were re-elected with 42 votes, together with Bradford City (45). Among the unsuccessful applicants were Shrewsbury Town and Scunthorpe United with five and four votes respectively. Both were elected the following year when the third divisions were increased to 24 clubs.

Season Summary reproduced with Permission from: The Sandgrounder (Southport FC Matchday Programme) Article Series. Southport through the seasons. The League History of Southport FC, Compiled by Michael p. Braham and Geoffrey S. Wilde

Source: Wikipedia the free encyclopedia and reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

FINAL TABLE LANCASHIRE COMBINATION (DIVISION 1) '48-'49
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 1. Netherfield                42-62 (112-46)  26 10  6  Champions    
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 2. Chorley                    42-58  (72-55)  23 12  7          
 3. Morecambe                  42-50  (80-60)  22  6 14          
 4. Nelson                     42-49  (87-68)  20  9 13          
 5. Darwen                     42-49  (81-65)  21  7 14          
 6. Wigan Athletic             42-47  (73-68)  19  9 14          
 7. Bangor City                42-46  (75-71)  18 10 14          
 8. Prescot Cables             42-45  (89-72)  19  7 16          
 9. Lancaster City             42-44  (58-50)  15 14 13          
10. Rochdale II                42-44  (75-71)  17 10 15          
11. Fleetwood                  42-42  (81-66)  17  8 17          
12. Rossendale United          42-42  (85-78)  17  8 17          
13. Barrow II                  42-42  (73-69)  16 10 16          
14. Oldham Athletic II         42-41  (80-71)  13 15 14          
15. Ashton United              42-41  (73-79)  14 13 15          
16. Southport II               42-41  (60-69)  17  7 18          
17. Marine Crosby              42-38  (73-83)  14 10 18          
18. Clitheroe                  42-35  (74-99)  13  9 20          
19. Accrington Stanley II      42-34  (69-86)  14  6 22          
20. New Brighton II            42-31  (53-82)   9 13 20          
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21. Leyland Motors             42-23  (49-94)   7  9 26  Relegated    
22. Bacup Borough              42-20  (49-119)  7  6 29  Relegated    

Source: The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.Author Dinant Abbink