1902–03 Football League

15th season of the Football League April 2023 July 2013 The Football League 1902–03 The Wednesday Doncaster Rovers 1901–02 1903–04 The 1902–03 season was the 15th season of The Football League. Final league tables Beginning in the 1894–95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976–77 season. During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893–94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league. First Division First Division 1902–03 The Wednesday1st English title Grimsby TownBolton Wanderers Sam Raybould(31 goals) Aston Villa 7–0 Newcastle United(29 November 1902)Liverpool 9–2 Grimsby Town(6 December 1902) Nottingham Forest 1–4 The Wednesday(1 November 1902) Liverpool 9–2 Grimsby Town(6 December 1902) 306 885 6 matchesWest Bromwich Albion 13 matchesSunderland 10 matchesBolton Wanderers 50,000Aston Villa 0–3 West Bromwich Albion(1 November 1902) 500Derby County 2–2 Grimsby Town(22 April 1903) 11,656 1901–02 1903–04 main WDL First Division World Football THW, AVL, SUN, SHU, LIV, STK, WBA, BRY, DER, NFO, WOL, EVE, MID, NEW, NTC, BLA, GRI, BOL 1st REL REL complete 19 3 12 61 40 12 5 17 44 63 8 3 23 37 73 16 3 15 54 43 16 3 15 50 47 13 6 15 45 47 8 9 17 43 62 17 4 13 68 49 14 4 16 41 50 14 4 16 41 51 14 7 13 49 47 12 7 15 41 49 17 5 12 58 44 15 7 12 46 38 16 9 9 51 36 19 4 11 54 36 16 4 14 54 53 14 5 15 48 57 C R R Aston Villa Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Bury Derby County Everton Grimsby Town Liverpool Middlesbrough Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Notts County Sheffield United Stoke Sunderland The Wednesday West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers 5 2 y 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored R yellow red1 Relegation to the Second Division Results main FBR grey AST BLB BOL BRY DER EVE GRI LIV MID NEW NOT NTC SHU STK SUN WED WBA WOL Aston Villa 5–0 4–2 2–2 0–0 2–1 2–2 1–2 5–0 7–0 3–1 2–1 4–2 2–0 0–1 1–0 0–3 3–1 Blackburn Rovers 0–2 4–2 0–3 2–4 3–2 2–0 3–1 0–1 3–1 2–2 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–0 Bolton Wanderers 0–1 1–2 1–0 2–0 1–3 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–3 2–0 0–2 0–1 4–1 Bury 0–1 1–1 3–0 1–0 4–2 2–1 3–1 3–1 1–0 3–1 3–1 3–1 2–1 3–1 4–0 1–2 4–0 Derby County 2–0 1–0 5–0 2–0 0–1 2–2 2–1 3–2 0–0 0–1 4–1 1–0 2–0 5–2 1–0 1–0 3–1 Everton 0–1 0–3 3–1 3–0 2–1 4–2 3–1 3–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 0–3 1–1 3–1 2–1 Grimsby Town 0–2 4–1 1–1 2–1 4–1 0–0 3–1 2–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–2 2–2 2–4 0–1 4–0 1–2 Liverpool 2–1 5–2 5–1 2–0 3–1 0–0 9–2 5–0 3–0 2–1 0–2 2–4 1–1 1–1 4–2 0–2 4–1 Middlesbrough 1–2 4–0 4–3 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 0–2 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 Newcastle United 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 1–0 1–2 0–1 0–2 6–1 0–0 5–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 2–4 Nottingham Forest 2–0 2–0 1–2 3–0 2–3 2–2 2–1 1–0 1–0 3–2 0–0 2–2 1–3 5–2 1–4 3–1 2–0 Notts County 2–1 4–0 1–3 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–1 3–0 0–0 0–3 3–1 0–0 Sheffield United 2–4 2–1 7–1 1–0 3–2 0–2 3–0 2–0 1–3 2–1 2–0 3–0 1–3 1–0 2–3 1–2 3–0 Stoke 1–0 0–2 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 5–0 3–2 0–2 0–1 1–1 4–0 3–0 3–0 Sunderland 1–0 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–0 2–1 5–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 3–0 The Wednesday 4–0 0–0 3–0 2–0 0–1 4–1 1–1 3–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 3–1 1–1 West Bromwich Albion 1–2 5–3 2–1 1–3 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 6–1 2–0 3–2 3–3 2–1 0–3 2–3 2–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 2–0 3–1 3–2 3–0 1–1 3–0 0–2 2–0 3–0 2–1 2–0 1–3 1–0 3–3 2–1 1–2 Maps England none 369 Locations of the Football League First Division teams England 52.49 -1.88 right England 53.75 -2.48 right England 53.59 -2.56 right England 53.58 -2.295 right England 52.92 -1.476 right England 53.48 -2.97 right England 53.56 -0.068 right England 53.53 -2.99 right England 54.57 -1.23 right England 54.98 -1.62 right England 53.01 -1.137 right England 52.942 -1.137 right England 53.00 -2.18 right England 54.914 -1.388 right England 53.38 -1.47 right England 53.32 -1.47 right England 52.509 -1.964 right England 52.59 -2.13 right Aston Villa Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Bury Derby County Everton Grimsby Town Liverpool Middlesbrough Newcastle Nottingham Forest Notts County Sheffield United Stoke Sunderland The Wednesday (Sheffield) West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers Second Division Football LeagueSecond Division 1902–03 Manchester City (2nd title) Billie Gillespie, (Manchester City), 30https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engtops.html English League Leading Goalscorers Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2010-10-31 Failed re-election Doncaster Rovers Small Heath – Doncaster Rovers 12–0 (11 Apr 1903) Burton United – Manchester City 0–5 (7 Mar 1903) Small Heath – Doncaster Rovers 12–0 (11 Apr 1903) 306 939 6 matchesManchester City (24 Jan 1903 – 7 Mar 1903) 10 matchesManchester City (17 Jan 1903 – 4 Apr 1903) Woolwich Arsenal (27 Dec 1902 – 7 Mar 1903) 5 matchesBarnsley (11 Oct 1902 – 24 Nov 1902) Stockport County (6 Dec 1902 – 1 Jan 1903)Leicester Fosse (7 Feb 1903 – 7 Mar 1903) 1901–02 1903–04 main WDL Second Division PR 5 y 2 MCI Manchester City SMH Small Heath ARS Woolwich Arsenal BRI Bristol City MU Manchester United CHF Chesterfield Town PNE Preston North End BAR Barnsley BPV Burslem Port Vale LIN Lincoln City GLP Glossop GAI Gainsborough Trinity BRT Burton United BLP Blackpool LEI Leicester Fosse DON Doncaster Rovers STP Stockport County BRN Burnley 25 4 5 95 29 24 3 7 74 36 20 8 6 66 30 17 8 9 59 38 15 8 11 53 38 14 9 11 67 40 13 10 11 56 40 13 8 13 55 51 13 8 13 57 62 12 6 16 46 53 11 7 16 43 57 11 7 16 41 59 11 7 16 39 59 9 10 15 44 59 10 8 16 41 65 9 7 18 35 72 7 6 21 38 74 6 8 20 30 77 CP P R green1 Promotion to the First Division P P red1 Failed re-election and demoted FAIL red2 Re-elected REE REE complete Results main FBR grey BAR BLP BRI BRN BPV BRT CHF DON GAI GLP LEI LIN MCI MUN PNE SMH STP WOO Barnsley 6–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 4–0 2–2 2–0 2–3 0–1 1–2 0–0 0–3 0–0 3–0 3–0 2–1 1–1 Blackpool 3–3 0–1 2–0 2–5 3–3 2–1 4–0 4–0 2–2 2–0 2–3 0–3 2–0 2–2 0–1 2–0 0–0 Bristol City 3–3 0–1 3–0 3–0 3–1 2–1 4–2 1–0 1–1 6–1 0–2 3–2 3–1 2–1 1–1 7–1 1–0 Burnley 1–2 1–1 0–0 3–3 4–1 1–1 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–3 1–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–1 3–2 0–3 Burslem Port Vale 2–0 1–1 2–0 3–1 4–2 2–1 3–0 3–1 1–0 2–0 5–1 1–4 1–1 0–0 2–2 3–1 1–1 Burton United 1–1 2–0 0–3 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 3–0 2–1 2–3 2–2 0–5 3–1 2–1 0–1 5–1 2–1 Chesterfield 3–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 10–0 5–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 4–2 1–1 4–1 2–2 Doncaster Rovers 2–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 3–2 1–1 3–4 0–0 4–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 2–2 1–2 1–0 2–0 0–1 Gainsborough Trinity 1–2 0–0 2–1 3–0 1–1 3–1 3–2 3–0 1–1 5–1 4–0 0–3 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 Glossop 2–2 1–0 0–2 2–0 2–1 3–0 0–3 3–0 4–2 1–2 2–0 0–1 1–3 1–0 0–1 3–1 1–2 Leicester Fosse 1–2 2–1 2–2 2–1 2–0 0–1 0–2 0–1 4–1 3–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–3 0–2 0–2 Lincoln City 1–3 0–2 1–1 4–1 4–1 4–0 0–0 4–2 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–3 2–3 0–1 3–1 2–2 Manchester City 3–2 2–0 2–2 6–0 7–1 2–0 4–2 4–1 9–0 5–2 3–1 3–1 0–2 1–0 4–0 5–0 4–1 Manchester United 2–1 2–2 1–2 4–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 4–0 3–1 1–1 5–1 1–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 3–0 Preston North End 3–0 3–1 1–0 5–0 5–1 1–1 1–1 5–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 0–1 0–2 3–1 2–1 6–1 2–2 Small Heath 2–1 5–1 2–0 3–0 5–1 2–0 2–1 12–0 1–0 3–1 4–3 3–1 4–0 2–1 3–1 2–0 2–0 Stockport County 4–1 4–0 0–1 3–0 0–4 0–2 2–2 1–0 1–1 2–3 2–2 3–1 0–2 2–1 1–1 1–2 0–1 Woolwich Arsenal 4–0 2–1 2–1 5–1 3–0 3–0 3–0 3–0 6–1 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 3–1 6–1 3–1 Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980. Wikidata Maps England none 369 Locations of the Football League Second Division teams England 53.55 -1.48 right England 53.81 -3.05 right England 51.45 -2.58 right England 53.04 -2.19 right England 53.79 -2.25 right England 52.80 -1.68 right England 53.24 -1.43 right England 53.52 -1.133 right England 53.40 -0.77 right England 53.44 -1.95 right England 52.62 -1.14 right England 53.23 -0.54 right England 53.49 -2.22 right England 53.47 -2.30 right England 53.75 -2.7 right England 52.56 -1.82 right England 53.41 -2.16 right England 51.50 0.068 right Barnsley Blackpool Bristol City Burnley Burslem Port Vale Burton United Chesterfield Doncaster Rovers Gainsborough Trinity Glossop Leicester Fosse Lincoln City Manchester City Manchester United Preston North End Small Heath (Birmingham) Stockport County Woolwich Arsenal Attendances Source:https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng1903.htm Historical attendances European-football-statistics.co.uk 9 August 2026 Division One No. Club Average 1 Aston Villa FC 19,790 2 Newcastle United FC 17,450 3 Liverpool FC 15,645 4 Everton FC 15,430 5 Sunderland AFC 15,305 6 West Bromwich Albion FC 14,465 7 The Wednesday 14,015 8 Middlesbrough FC 12,670 9 Sheffield United FC 11,160 10 Bolton Wanderers FC 10,530 11 Derby County FC 9,735 12 Bury FC 9,540 13 Notts County FC 9,440 14 Nottingham Forest FC 8,470 15 Blackburn Rovers FC 8,080 16 Stoke City FC 8,050 17 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 6,855 18 Grimsby Town FC 5,055 See also 1902–03 in English football 1902 in association football 1903 in association football References Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980. 1902–03 League