1952 British Home Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1952 British Home Championship
was an international football
tournament played between the British Home Nations
during the 1951/52 season. In an unusual conclusion, Wales
shared the championship with England
, one of only four tournaments Wales would share victory in post-war. Ireland
by contrast endured one of their worst championships of the period, losing all three games and failing to score. Scotland
too underperformed, although their two losses were both hard fought.
Scotland had kicked off the competition with an easy victory over Ireland in the first match. England and Wales by contrast split the points, failing to breach a 1–1 draw at Ninian Park
. England exerted their authority over the Irish in their second game with a simple win, whilst Wales performed the impressive feat of beating Scotland on their home turf with a hard-won 1–0 success. The final games were tensely contested, as Wales, hoping for an England failure at Hampden Park
in their final game took the play to the Irish and ran out 3–0 winners. In Glasgow
between England and Scotland, the tournament was decided by two Stan Pearson
goals which gave England the victory and their half of the trophy. Had goal difference
been used at this time to further separate the teams, then Wales would have won a rare individual victory, but this method of scoring was not introduced to the British Home Championship until the Seventies.
The points system worked as follows:
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British Home Championship
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
was an international football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
tournament played between the British Home Nations
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...
during the 1951/52 season. In an unusual conclusion, Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
shared the championship with England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, one of only four tournaments Wales would share victory in post-war. Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
by contrast endured one of their worst championships of the period, losing all three games and failing to score. Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
too underperformed, although their two losses were both hard fought.
Scotland had kicked off the competition with an easy victory over Ireland in the first match. England and Wales by contrast split the points, failing to breach a 1–1 draw at Ninian Park
Ninian Park
Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
. England exerted their authority over the Irish in their second game with a simple win, whilst Wales performed the impressive feat of beating Scotland on their home turf with a hard-won 1–0 success. The final games were tensely contested, as Wales, hoping for an England failure at Hampden Park
Hampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
in their final game took the play to the Irish and ran out 3–0 winners. In Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
between England and Scotland, the tournament was decided by two Stan Pearson
Stan Pearson
Stanley Clare Pearson was an English football player. He was born in Salford.Pearson was signed by Manchester United as an amateur in December 1935 and turned professional in May 1937. His first senior game came against Chesterfield in 1937. When his career was interrupted by the war, he served...
goals which gave England the victory and their half of the trophy. Had goal difference
Goal difference
In sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
been used at this time to further separate the teams, then Wales would have won a rare individual victory, but this method of scoring was not introduced to the British Home Championship until the Seventies.
Table
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | −8 |
The points system worked as follows:
- 2 points for a win
- 1 point for a draw
Results
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