1978–79 Wigan Athletic F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Wigan Athletic F.C. 1978–79 Ian McNeill Arthur Horrocks Football League Division Four 6th FA Cup First Round League Cup Second Round Peter Houghton (13) Peter Houghton (14) 9,427 (vs Barnsley, 3 March 1979) 4,459 (vs Scunthorpe United, 30 September 1978) 1979–80 _bluestripes _blue_stripes _blue_stripes _whitesides FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF 0000FF FFFFFF The 1978–79 season was the 41st season in the history of Wigan Athletic F.C. and their first as a professional club in the Football League. After finishing 2nd in the Northern Premier League during the previous season, the club was nominated to apply for Football League status, and were elected into the league to replace Southport. After a poor start, the club exceeded expectations in the league, and towards the end of the season, a second consecutive promotion seemed possible. The club eventually fell short, finishing the season in 6th place with a total of 55 points. Wigan entered the FA Cup in the first round, but were knocked out by Bury following a replay. The club also entered the League Cup for the first time, winning against Tranmere Rovers before being defeated in the second round by Luton Town. The club's first signing as a member of the Football League was Ian Purdie, who along with Tommy Gore and Jeff Wright, went on to play every league game during the club's first season. Peter Houghton was the team's top goalscorer with a total of 13 league goals (14 in all competitions). Background In the 1977–78 season, Wigan competed in the Northern Premier League, and secured a second-place finish in the last game of the season with a 1–0 win against Matlock Town. Under normal circumstances, league winners Boston United would have applied for Football League status, but the League Management Committee had decided that their ground was not up to the required standards.Cherry The League: At Last 27 As a result, runners-up Wigan became the Northern Premier League's nomination to apply for Football League status. At the time, the only way a team could be promoted into the Football League was if their application received more votes than one of the bottom four teams of the Football League in an annual election system. In practice, this process was usually a formality, and very few teams were promoted – Wigan's application to join the league had been rejected on 34 previous occasions. The vote took place on 2 June 1978.Cherry The League: At Last 28 In the first poll, York City, Rochdale and Hartlepool United were all re-elected, Southport and Wigan tied, and Bath City, the Southern League nomination, received the fewest votes and were eliminated. A revote took place to determine whether Southport or Wigan would be elected into the Football League. Wigan Athletic received 29 votes to Southport's 20, confirming that Wigan would replace Southport in the Fourth Division next season. It is believed that Wigan's strong performance in the FA Cup, where they reached the third round, earned them the support they needed to be elected into the Football League.Cherry The League: At Last 26 Match results Legend WinDrawLoss Friendlies +DateOpponentVenueResult3 August 1978SpVgg ErkenschwickHome2–011 October 1978Zambia national teamHome2–16 November 1978DundeeHome2–2 League 1978–79 Football League On 19 August 1978, Wigan Athletic played their first Football League game against Hereford United at Edgar Street, captained by the club's appearance record holder Ian Gillibrand.Cherry The League: At Last 30 The match finished 0–0. Their first home League game was against Grimsby Town ended with a 3–0 defeat. Wigan were awarded a penalty with the scoreline at 2–0, but was missed by Ian Purdie.Cherry The League: At Last 31 A defeat against Reading followed. On 2 September, in the club's fourth game of the season against Newport County, Joe Hinnigan became Wigan's first ever League goal scorer, but the team went on to lose the match 3–2. After losing 2–1 away at Wimbledon, the club's fourth consecutive defeat, Wigan found themselves at the bottom of the table.Cherry The League: At Last 133 The club recorded its first League victory in the next match against Rochdale, winning the match 3–0 following the dismissal of Rochdale defender Bob Scott.Wigan break duck https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1978UKEnglish/Sep%2014%201978%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2360406%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n7/mode/1up 5 January 2024 The Times 14 September 1978 London 8 Internet Archive In October 1978, Wigan played a friendly against the Zambian national team, coached by former Latics manager Brian Tiler. On 13 April 1979, Wigan came back to beat Port Vale 5–3 after being three goals down with 25 minutes remaining.Cherry The League: At Last 68 + Fourth Division match detailsRollin 1979 402–403GameDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers119 August 1978Hereford UnitedAway0–05,674223 August 1978Grimsby TownHome0–39,227326 August 1978ReadingAway0–24,78842 September 1978Newport CountyHome2–35,319Hinnigan, Purdie59 September 1978WimbledonAway1–23,217Corrigan613 September 1978RochdaleHome3–05,746Wright, Corrigan, Hinnigan716 September 1978Bradford CityHome1–37,090Purdie823 September 1978York CityAway1–03,307Gore926 September 1978PortsmouthAway0–113,9021030 September 1978Scunthorpe UnitedHome1–04,459Brownbill117 October 1978Huddersfield TownAway1–15,150Brownbill1214 October 1978Doncaster RoversHome1–05,788Ward1318 October 1978Halifax TownHome1–05,216Hinnigan1421 October 1978BarnsleyAway0–09,8411528 October 1978Northampton TownHome2–06,264Purdie (2, 1 pen.)163 November 1978Stockport CountyAway1–08,357Hinnigan1710 November 1978Newport CountyAway1–24,142Houghton1818 November 1978ReadingHome3–05,858Houghton (2), Ward199 December 1978DarlingtonAway1–11,967Moore2016 December 1978Halifax TownAway2–12,437Moore, Purdie2126 December 1978Crewe AlexandraHome1–07,586Houghton2230 December 1978AldershotHome3–27,289Moore, Houghton (2)239 January 1979Port ValeAway1–23,744Wright (pen.)243 February 1979PortsmouthHome2–08,289Wright, Corrigan2514 February 1979WimbledonHome1–26,704Purdie (pen.)2617 February 1979Huddersfield TownHome2–17,420Ward (2)2724 February 1979Doncaster RoversAway1–04,612Wright2828 February 1979York CityHome1–15,896Houghton293 March 1979BarnsleyHome1–19,427Wright3010 March 1979Northampton TownAway4–22,275Brownbill (2), Purdie, Corrigan3114 March 1979Torquay UnitedHome3–15,722Moore (2), Hinnigan3217 March 1979Stockport CountyHome2–07,610Wright, Smart3319 March 1979RochdaleAway2–03,621Purdie, Moore3424 March 1979Grimsby TownAway1–38,252Wigginton (o.g.)3528 March 1979Hereford UnitedHome0–04,8763631 March 1979BournemouthHome1–05,527Houghton373 April 1979Hartlepool UnitedAway1–12,081Houghton387 April 1979Torquay UnitedAway1–12,969Houghton3913 April 1979Port ValeHome5–38,452Houghton (3), Brownbill, Moore4014 April 1979Crewe AlexandraAway1–14,604Purdie (pen.)4116 April 1979Hartlepool UnitedHome2–28,217Wright, Purdie4221 April 1979AldershotAway0–15,4664328 April 1979DarlingtonHome2–26,153Moore, Brownbill441 May 1979Scunthorpe UnitedAway1–01,582Gore455 May 1979BournemouthAway1–23,063Purdie467 May 1979Bradford CityAway1–13,748Moore FA Cup 1978–79 FA Cup +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersFirst25 November 1978BuryHome2–210,142Gore, HoughtonFirst (replay)29 November 1978BuryAway1–49,339Moore League Cup 1978–79 Football League Cup As a newly promoted Football League club, Wigan Athletic were also entered into the League Cup for the first time in their history, and were drawn in the First round against Third Division side Tranmere Rovers. The first leg of the tie was played at Prenton Park, and was Wigan's first competitive fixture as a League club. The match finished 1–1, with Tommy Gore scoring a late equaliser with an effort from long range.Roberts John It can’t be said Wigan was agog . . . one woman was reading a Bagley novel http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2010/01/29/it-cant-be-said-wigan-was-agog-one-woman-was-reading-a-bagley-novel-290101/ Sporting Intelligence 3 March 2013 Wigan progressed to the next round after winning the return leg 2–1. In the Second Round, Wigan played Luton Town of the Second Division at Kenilworth Road, but despite producing a strong performance they were ultimately defeated 2–0. +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersFirst (1st leg)12 August 1978Tranmere RoversAway1–14,902GoreFirst (2nd leg)16 August 1978Tranmere RoversHome2–18,512Corrigan (2)Wigan won 3–2 on aggregateSecond29 August 1978Luton TownAway0–26,618 Final league table Fourth Division WIG Player statistics Note: Numbers in brackets are appearances as a substitute. Source:http://www.enfa.co.uk/ The English National Football Archive Soccerdata 20 February 2013 Nat.Pos.PlayerAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotal ENG GK John Brown John Brown (footballer born 1947) 42 0 2 0 3 0 47 0 ENG FW Derek Brownbill 20 (10) 6 0 (1) 0 0 0 20 (11) 6 ENG MF Frank Corrigan 45 4 2 0 3 2 50 6 ENG MF Alan Crompton 7 (6) 0 0 0 2 0 9 (6) 0 ENG DF John Curtis John Curtis (footballer born 1954) 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 ENG DF Neil Davids 10 (2) 0 0 0 1 (2) 0 11 (4) 0 ENG DF David Fretwell 33 0 2 0 0 0 35 0 ENG MF Geoff Gay 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 ENG DF Ian Gillibrand 7 0 0 0 3 0 10 0 ENG MF Tommy Gore 46 2 2 1 3 1 51 4 ENG GK Mark Grew 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 ENG DF Joe Hinnigan 39 5 2 0 2 0 43 5 ENG FW Peter Houghton Peter Houghton (footballer) 23 (3) 13 2 1 3 0 28 (3) 14 ENG FW Mick Moore footballer 40 (1) 9 2 1 0 0 42 (1) 10 SCO MF Ian Purdie 46 11 2 0 3 0 51 11 ENG MF Ian Seddon 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 ENG DF Kevin Smart 40 1 2 0 1 0 43 1 NIR DF Noel Ward 44 4 2 0 2 0 48 4 SCO FW John Wilkie John Wilkie (footballer) 3 (1) 0 0 0 3 0 6 (1) 0 ENG MF Micky Worswick 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 ENG MF Jeff Wright Jeff Wright (footballer) 46 7 2 0 3 0 51 7 Transfers In PlayerPosPrevious clubDate Alan Crompton MF Blackburn Rovers July 1978 Neil Davids DF Swansea City July 1978Wigan snap up David https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19780717/513/0016 Liverpool Echo 17 July 1978 16 British Newspaper Archive subscription Ian Purdie MF Motherwell July 1978First signing https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005119/19780705/234/0013 Belfast News-Letter 5 July 1978 13 British Newspaper Archive subscription Kevin Smart DF Plymouth Argyle July 1978Untitled https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005475/19780720/011/0011 Liverpool Daily Post 20 July 1978 11 British Newspaper Archive subscription Ian Seddon MF Rochdale July 1978 Geoff Gay MF Southport July 1978Wigan Trial https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19780725/519/0016 Liverpool Echo 25 July 1978 16 British Newspaper Archive subscription Mick Moore FW Port Vale September 1978Wigan snap up Moore https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19780901/824/0030 Liverpool Echo 1 September 1978 30 British Newspaper Archive subscription Derek Brownbill FW Cleveland Cobras September 1978Chester, Rovers In Tough Tests https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19780908/676/0030 Liverpool Echo 8 September 1978 30 British Newspaper Archive subscription Dave Fretwell DF California Sunshine September 1978Athletic clear a major obstacle https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0005011/19780915/014/0014 Liverpool Daily Post 15 September 1978 14 British Newspaper Archive subscription Out PlayerPosToDate Geoff Gay MF Macclesfield Town 1978 Micky Worswick FW Chorley 1978 Ian Gillibrand DF Retired End of season John Wilkie FW Retired End of season Loans in PlayerPosFromDateDuration Mark Grew GK West Bromwich Albion December 1978 One month John Curtis DF Blackburn Rovers March 1979 End of season References General The League: At Last Cherry D. B. 1979 D.B.C. Enterprises Rollin Jack Rothmans Football Yearbook 1979–80 1979 Queen Anne Press London 0-354-09083-6 https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball0000jack Wigan Athletic Results 1978 - 1979 Specific Category:Wigan Athletic F.C. seasons Wigan Athletic F.C.