Wing half Matt Crowe transferred to Brentford for a £5,000 fee in July 1962.
After suffering relegation for the Fourth Division at the end of the 1961–62 season, Brentford was at one of the lowest points in its history. The relegation completed a 15-year fall from the First Division to the bottom tier and the average attendance at Griffin Park had fallen by 18,000 in that time. Chairman Jack Dunnett pledged that he and his directors would invest money in the first team squad, which had been ravaged by a mass clearout over the previous year (in a bid to cut costs amidst the abolition of the maximum wage ). Club legend George Francis was sold to Gillingham for a £4,000 fee, ending a six-year Brentford career in which he scored 136 goals in 280 matches. Funds were made available to manager Malky MacDonald and he spent £5,000 on Norwich City wing half Matt Crowe and £10,000 on Leeds United 's former Northern Ireland centre forward Billy McAdams . Tommy Cavanagh was appointed as trainer to replace the departed Fred Monk .
Three wins and four defeats from the opening seven matches led to the chequebook opening again, with the £17,500 purchase of West Ham United 's experienced inside left John Dick breaking Brentford's incoming transfer record. The transfer meant the Fourth Division Bees could field a forward line of former international players – Dick (Scotland ), McAdams (Northern Ireland) and Brooks (England ). The team showed excellent form between September 1962 and the end of the year, rising from mid-table to 2nd place.[ 4] John Dick had as yet failed to live up to his status, but Billy McAdams ended the year on 15 goals and Johnny Brooks on 12.
The football calendar was frozen out between late December 1962 and February 1963, but when league play got back underway, Brentford solidified their position in the promotion places.[ 4] Another £18,500 was spent on new signings John Fielding and Mel Scott in March. John Dick came into form in mid-March and supported by McAdams and Brooks,[ 5] his 15 goals in the final 17 matches helped fire Brentford to the Fourth Division title. The title win made Brentford the first club to win each of the Second , Third and Fourth Division championships.
Three records were set or equalled during the season:
Most points in a league season: 62 (two points for a win)[ 6]
Most league goals scored in a season: 98[ 7]
Most consecutive league appearances: 168 – Gerry Cakebread (1 November 1958 – 18 August 1963)
Brentford's goal tally listed first.
No.
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorer(s)
1
18 August 1962
Doncaster Rovers
A
2–0
8,247
McAdams (2)
2
21 August 1962
Gillingham
H
1–2
11,914
Edgley
3
25 August 1962
Mansfield Town
H
1–3
8,340
McAdams
4
29 August 1962
Gillingham
A
4–1
8,832
Brooks (3), Block
5
1 September 1962
Workington
A
1–3
3,373
Summers
6
8 September 1962
Exeter City
H
3–1
11,153
McAdams , Dick , Hughes (og )
7
12 September 1962
Crewe Alexandra
A
0–3
6,673
8
15 September 1962
Chesterfield
A
1–1
6,114
McAdams
9
18 September 1962
Stockport County
H
2–1
10,146
Dick , McAdams
10
22 September 1962
Rochdale
H
1–0
10,753
McLeod
11
29 September 1962
Barrow
H
2–1
9,541
Dick (2)
12
2 October 1962
Hartlepools United
H
4–0
10,729
Dick (2), McAdams , Block
13
6 October 1962
Darlington
A
3–1
4,683
Brooks (2, 1 pen ), Block
14
13 October 1962
Southport
H
3–3
11,651
McAdams , Brooks (2, 1 pen )
15
20 October 1962
Aldershot
A
0–0
8,609
16
27 October 1962
Newport County
H
3–1
11,312
McAdams (2), Block
17
10 November 1962
Bradford City
H
5–2
8,396
McAdams (3), McLeod , Brooks (pen )
18
24 November 1962
Stockport County
A
1–2
3,337
Block
19
1 December 1962
Lincoln City
A
3–1
5,470
Brooks , Summers , McAdams
20
8 December 1962
Oldham Athletic
H
2–1
12,144
Anthony , Brooks
21
15 December 1962
Doncaster Rovers
H
1–0
9,589
Meadows (og )
22
22 December 1962
Mansfield Town
A
2–1
9,468
Brooks (2)
23
26 December 1962
Chester
H
2–1
9,724
Dick , McAdams
24
16 February 1963
Barrow
A
1–1
4,187
Summers
25
23 February 1963
Darlington
H
1–3
9,272
Dick
26
2 March 1963
Southport
A
0–1
3,136
27
4 March 1963
Tranmere Rovers
A
2–1
8,226
Summers (2)
28
9 March 1963
Aldershot
H
4–2
8,390
Brooks (2, 1 pen ), Henry (og ), McAdams
29
12 March 1963
Torquay United
H
2–2
13,084
Block , Brooks
30
16 March 1963
Newport County
A
4–1
2,891
McAdams , Dick (2), Brooks (pen )
31
20 March 1963
Rochdale
A
5–3
5,680
Dick (3), McAdams , Brooks
32
23 March 1963
Oxford United
H
4–0
13,756
Block , Higginson , McAdams (2)
33
29 March 1963
Torquay United
A
1–1
5,570
McAdams
34
3 April 1963
Chester
A
2–1
5,991
Dick (2)
35
6 April 1963
Tranmere Rovers
H
4–0
13,383
McLeod (2), Dick , Brooks (pen )
36
12 April 1963
York City
A
1–1
7,757
Brooks (pen )
37
13 April 1963
Bradford City
A
1–2
3,070
Dick
38
15 April 1963
York City
H
2–1
15,070
Dick (2)
39
20 April 1963
Lincoln City
H
3–2
11,384
Dick , Block , McAdams
40
22 April 1963
Hartlepools United
A
1–2
3,755
Dick
41
27 April 1963
Oldham Athletic
A
1–2
17,771
Brooks
42
30 April 1963
Crewe Alexandra
H
3–1
15,820
Brooks (pen ), Dick
42
4 May 1963
Chesterfield
H
2–1
13,903
Dick , Fielding
44
11 May 1963
Oxford United
A
1–2
11,247
Summers
45
18 May 1963
Exeter City
A
2–2
3,600
Hales , Scott
46
23 May 1963
Workington
H
4–3
13,158
Fielding (2), Hales , Brown (og )
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
1R
3 November 1962
Aldershot
A
0–1
12,200
Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1962–63 season.
Sources: 100 Years Of Brentford,[ 5] Timeless Bees[ 9]
Appearances and goals
edit
Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the Football League season.
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[ 5]
Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[ 5]
Name
Nat
From
To
Record All Comps
Record League
P
W
D
L
W %
P
W
D
L
W %
Malky MacDonald
18 August 1962
23 May 1963
49
28
8
13
0 57.14
46
27
8
11
0 58.70
Games played
49 (46 Fourth Division , 1 FA Cup , 2 League Cup )
Games won
28 (27 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Games drawn
8 (8 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup)
Games lost
13 (11 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Goals scored
102 (98 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 4 League Cup)
Goals conceded
69 (64 Fourth Division, 1 FA Cup, 4 League Cup)
Clean sheets
8 (7 Fourth Division, 0 FA Cup, 1 League Cup)
Biggest league win
4–0 on three occasions
Worst league defeat
3–0 versus Crewe Alexandra , 12 September 1962
Most appearances
49, Ken Coote , Tommy Higginson , George McLeod (46 Fourth Division, 2 FA Cup, 3 League Cup)
Top scorer (league)
23, John Dick
Top scorer (all competitions)
24, John Dick
^ a b "Brentford results for the 1962–1963 season" . Statto.com . Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2016 .
^ a b c d e White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford . Brentford FC. p. 387. ISBN 0951526200 .
^ Wickham, Chris. "Brentford FC 2013/14 squad break a string of Club Records" . www.brentfordfc.com . Retrieved 3 December 2016 .
^ Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopedia . Yore Publications. p. 63. ISBN 1 874427 57 7 .
^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006 . Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914 .
^ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies . Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 254–255. ISBN 978-1906796709 .
^ a b "Player's Transfers – 1962" . Scottish Football Historical Archive . Retrieved 22 February 2019 .