Past Seasons - 1928/1929

Division: Third Division (North)

Copyright Historical Football Kits
and reproduced by kind permission

Prior to the start of the campaign the ground was redrained and levelled at the Scarisbrick New Road end where there had been a noticeable dip. The old scratching shed, which had been blown down by gales the previous February, was replaced by the stand on the popular side. Three hundred 'ons of material was used to lay the foundations of the structure and all the work was completed by a voluntary band of helpers. The finance was raised by Special Committee consisting of directors and members of the Subscribers' and Supporters' Clubs under the charmanship of director Mr. Ray Hall.

In the League, the 'Port finished in twelfth position. The feature was a fine unbeaten run of eight games which followed immediately on a 6-0 defeat at Chesterfield on Boxing Day and lasted until the visit of Wrexham at the end of February.

Harry Beadles, whose 18 goals in the League made his total 61 in £2 League games, found a scoring partner in Albert Valentine, who netted on his senior debut against Doncaster hovers on New Year's Day, and four days later followed up with a 'hat-trick against South Shields. His 17 goals in twenty League games—nine came in his first six appearances—soon had the scouts flocking to Haig Avenue and it was no surprise when Cardiff City snapped him up in July. Actually, Valentine never fulfilled- h.:3 early promise. moving on later to Wigan Borough. Crewe, Chester and Macclesfield Town.

The season was of a transitional nature for Southport, as Secretary-Manager Charles Parker left in January. 1929. to take over at Manchester Central. During his spell in office he had paid particular attention to the financial side and had made every effort to make ends meet by transferring White, Tait and Marshall. More important, his appointment of a scout in the north-east paid handsome dividends in the following years. He was succeeded in March by J. J. Cummins.

At the end of the season Jimmy Cummins had a general "clear-out," with the result that right-back Edwin Worrell left for Shirebrook. whilst centre-half Jack Martin went to Macclesfield, although he did rejoin the club briefly in 1980. Of the forwards, Albert Sissons, signed twelve months earlier hem Leeds United. departed to Northampton Town, veteran 'Harry Beadles—top scorer for the third consecutive season—joined Dundalk. centre-forward Robert 'Taylor, formerly with Middlesbrough, went to Connah'ss Quay, and Joe Laws transferred to Macclesfield. Laws, who stood exactly five feet, had been the regular outside-left for two yeas and was nicknamed the "Mighty Atom" by the crowd, with whom he was a great favourite.

After two years of Cup successes, Southport's luck ran out. Although Annfield Plain were easily accounted for. Stockport County proved too strong at Edgeley Park and won comfortably.

By and large, this was a disappointing year; the club lost almost £2,000, with expenses amounting to £200 per week and average income only £143. Too many of the close season signings had failed to come up to expectations. Clearly Jimmy Cummins had a lot of hard work ahead.

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
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Position Team P W D L F A GA Pts
1 Bradford City 42 27 9 6 128 43 2.977 63
2 Stockport County 42 28 6 8 111 58 1.914 62
3 Wrexham 42 21 10 11 91 69 1.319 52
4 Wigan Borough 42 21 9 12 82 49 1.673 51
5 Doncaster Rovers 42 20 10 12 76 66 1.152 50
6 Lincoln City 42 21 6 15 91 67 1.358 48
7 Tranmere Rovers 42 22 3 17 79 77 1.026 47
8 Carlisle United 42 19 8 15 86 77 1.117 46
9 Crewe Alexandra 42 18 8 16 80 68 1.176 44
10 South Shields 42 18 8 16 83 74 1.122 44
11 Chesterfield 42 18 5 19 71 77 0.922 41
12 Southport 42 16 8 18 75 85 0.882 40
13 Halifax Town 42 13 13 16 63 62 1.016 39
14 New Brighton 42 15 9 18 64 71 0.901 39
15 Nelson 42 17 5 20 77 90 0.856 39
16 Rotherham United 42 15 9 18 60 77 0.779 39
17 Rochdale 42 13 10 19 79 96 0.823 36
18 Accrington Stanley 42 13 8 21 68 82 0.829 34
19 Darlington 42 13 7 22 64 88 0.727 33
20 Barrow 42 10 8 24 64 93 0.688 28
21 Hartlepools United 42 10 6 26 59 112 0.527 26
22 Ashington 42 8 7 27 45 115 0.391 23

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

FINAL TABLE LANCASHIRE COMBINATION '28-'29
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 1. Chorley                    38-61 (125-52)  29  3  6  Champions    
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 2. Horwich RMI                38-50 (152-87)  24  2 12          
 3. Rossendale United          38-50 (126-74)  23  4 11          
 4. Prescot Cables             38-48  (87-49)  20  8 10          
 5. Lancaster Town             38-48  (91-65)  20  8 10          
 6. Clitheroe                  38-46  (93-79)  21  4 13          
 7. Manchester Central         38-45 (106-87)  21  3 14          
 8. Southport II               38-44  (98-63)  21  2 15          
 9. Accrington Stanley II      38-43  (77-72)  19  5 14          
10. Morecambe                  38-42  (89-73)  20  2 16          
11. Darwen                     38-39  (84-82)  17  5 16          
12. Burscough Rangers          38-39  (66-78)  15  9 14          
13. Dick Kerr's                38-34  (77-82)  13  8 17          
14. Atherton                   38-29  (80-109) 13  3 22          
15. Nelson FC II               38-29  (55-85)  12  5 21          
16. Bacup Borough              38-25  (69-109) 10  5 23          
17. Wigan Borough II           38-24  (69-99)   9  6 23          
18. Barnoldswick Town          38-24  (66-139) 10  4 24          
19. Preston North End II       38-20  (67-126)  8  4 26  left  
20. Great Harwood              38-20  (65-132)  8  4 26

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