Wigan Athletic 1933/34 Season

The first known team group of Wigan Athletic: the team that won the Cheshire League Championship in 1933-34, with a playing record of:

P42 W30 D6 L6 F109 A46 Pts 66Players to wear the red and white halved shirts and black shorts included Anderton, Bentham, Caunce, Cherry, Cowper, Doyle, Felton, Glidden, Harrison, Hitchen, H Jones, W Jones, Kavanagh, O’Dell, O’Donnell, O’Rourke, Prosser, Quinn, Robinson, Robson, Scott, Snaith, Spencer, Talbot and Wallbanks.

The manager was Charlie Spencer, who was appointed in August 1932.  Charlie was a former centre-half with Newcastle and Manchester United who gained two caps for England in the mid-1920s.  He won an FA Cup winners medal in 1924 and a League Championship in 1927 with the Magpies.  He lived in Blackpool, and was one of the few people to have a car.  He would tell his players to report for training at 10 o’clock each morning, but he used to arrive 10 minutes late himself.  The players lounged around in the dressing room until they heard the familiar sound of his car arriving, so that when he walked in all the players were changed and ready for training!  He left Latics in 1937 to join Grimsby Town, later moving on to York City.

Charlie SpencerTop scorer in 1933-4 was Teddy Felton who was signed from Darlington in 1933.  He formed a brilliant left-wing partnership with George Scott who had also had League experience with South Shields, Newcastle and Gilingham. Felton netted 36 goals in League and Cup games in the season, including 4 in a 5-1 Cheshire League Cup victory over Northwich Victoria.

It is quoted that midway through the 1935-36 season he was transferred to Huddersfield Town, having made 113 Cheshire League appearances for the Latics, scoring 75 goals.  There is no record of him making any appearances for the Yorkshire club, but he played 4 games for Gateshead in the League in 1937/38 season.

The 1934/35 team Back row:  Andy Patterson, Rutter, Norman Watson, Lewis Caunce, Teddy Robinson, Sid Tuffnell Front row: Sammy Armes, Norman Robson, Jack Roberts, Teddy Felton, Georgie ScottIn the following season, 1934/35, the team reached the Third round of the FA Cup beating Carlisle United 6-1 at Brunton Park and Torquay United 3-2 at home on the way, finally losing 4-1 to Millwall at Springfield Park.  They again won the Cheshire League, a feat they repeated in the next season.

The 1934/1935 team – photo colourised by me