1959–60 Burnley F.C. season

In the 1950s, Burnley became one of the most progressive clubs around.[2] Underlying this were the appointments of manager Alan Brown in 1954, and in 1955, chairman Bob Lord, later described as "the Khrushchev of Burnley" as a result of his authoritative attitude.[3] On account of manager Alan Brown and Lord, Burnley became one of the first clubs to construct a purpose-built training centre (Gawthorpe), which opened its doors in July 1955,[4] while most teams trained on public parks or at their own grounds.[2] Gawthorpe was built on the outskirts of the town and as well as using paid labour, manager Brown helped to dig out the ground himself.[5] Brown also "volunteered" several of his players to help out. Further, Burnley became, after foundations were again laid by Lord and Brown,[6] renowned for their youth policy and scouting system, which yielded many young players over the years such as Jimmy Adamson, Jimmy McIlroy, and John Connelly.[7] In his relatively short spell at the club from 1954 to 1957, Brown also introduced short corners and a huge array of free kick routines, which were soon copied across the land.[8] In 1958, former Burnley player Harry Potts was appointed manager. The team became mainly revolved around the midfield duo of one-club man Jimmy Adamson and playmaker Jimmy McIlroy. Potts often employed the, at the time unfashionable, 4–4–2 formation and he introduced Total Football to English football in his first managerial seasons at Burnley.[4][9]

Blacklaw

Cummings

Miller

Angus

Elder

Adamson

McIlroy

Connelly

Pilkington

Robson

Pointer

The frequently used line-up by manager Harry Potts

The pinnacle of a strong period in the club's history came this season. Burnley, a young team with several internationals, endured a tense season in which Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers were the other protagonists in the chase for the league title. The team ultimately clinched their second First Division championship on the last day of the season with a 2–1 victory at Manchester City, with goals from Brian Pilkington and Trevor Meredith.[10] Although the team had been in contention all season, Burnley had never led the table until this last match was played out.[11] Potts only used eighteen players throughout the whole season, as John Connelly became Burnley's top scorer with 20 goals.[12] The Lancastrians' title-winning squad only cost £13,000 in transfer fees (a post-war record) — £8,000 on McIlroy in 1950 and £5,000 on left-back Alex Elder in 1959.[13] The other players all came from the Burnley youth academy.[13] The town of Burnley became the smallest to have an English first tier champion, since it counted 80,000 inhabitants.[14] After the season finished, Burnley went to the United States to participate in the inaugural international football tournament in North America, the International Soccer League.[15]

Source:[16]

Source:[17]

Football League First Division

Key

In Result column, Burnley's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match

pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal

Results

Date	Opponents	Result	Goalscorers	Attendance
22 August 1959	Leeds United (A)	3–2	Pilkington  23', Connelly  34', Pointer  84'	20,233
25 August 1959	Everton (H)	5–2	Connelly  14', 87', Pilkington  18', Pointer  20', Robson  72'	29,165
29 August 1959	West Ham United (H)	1–3	Connelly  3'	26,756
2 September 1959	Everton (A)	2–1	Pointer  36', 86'	39,416
5 September 1959	Chelsea (A)	1–4	Connelly  21'	36,023
8 September 1959	Preston North End (H)	2–1	Pointer  71', Robson  84'	29,195
12 September 1959	West Bromwich Albion (H)	2–1	Robson  55', Pilkington  64'	23,907
15 September 1959	Preston North End (A)	0–1		27,299
19 September 1959	Newcastle United (A)	3–1	McIlroy  33', Connelly  47', 85'	38,576
26 September 1959	Birmingham City (H)	3–1	Pointer  9', McIlroy  69', Connelly  89'	23,848
3 October 1959	Tottenham Hotspur (A)	1–1	Miller  87'	42,717
10 October 1959	Blackpool (H)	1–4	Robson  5'	28,104
17 October 1959	Blackburn Rovers (A)	2–3	Pilkington  14', Douglas  48' (o.g.)	33,316
24 October 1959	Manchester City (H)	4–3	Pilkington  15', Pointer  18', White  85', 86'	28,653
31 October 1959	Luton Town (A)	1–1	Pointer  25'	15,638
7 November 1959	Wolverhampton Wanderers (H)	4–1	Pointer  22', 44', Robson  25', Connelly  72'	27,793
14 November 1959	Sheffield Wednesday (A)	1–1	Robson  14'	18,420
21 November 1959	Nottingham Forest (H)	8–0	Robson  3', 35', 40', 44', 60', Pilkington  13', Pointer  53', 82'	24,349
28 November 1959	Fulham (A)	0–1		29,582
5 December 1959	Bolton Wanderers (H)	4–0	Pointer  22', Connelly  53', McIlroy  74', 89'	26,510
12 December 1959	Arsenal (A)	4–2	Adamson  67' (pen.), Connelly  72', 78', 88'	26,056
19 December 1959	Leeds United (H)	0–1		17,398
26 December 1959	Manchester United (A)	2–1	Robson  22', Lawson  35'	62,673
28 December 1959	Manchester United (H)	1–4	Robson  28'	47,696
2 January 1960	West Ham United (A)	5–2	Lawson  11', 75', Pilkington  32', Connelly  44', 89'	25,752
16 January 1960	Chelsea (H)	2–1	Robson  38', 64'	21,916
23 January 1960	West Bromwich Albion (A)	0–0		23,512
6 February 1960	Newcastle United (H)	2–1	Robson  4', Pointer  67'	26,998
27 February 1960	Bolton Wanderers (A)	1–2	Connelly  10'	28,772
1 March 1960	Tottenham Hotspur (H)	2–0	Pointer  62', Connelly  70'	32,992
5 March 1960	Blackburn Rovers (H)	1–0	Robson  27'	32,331
19 March 1960	Arsenal (H)	3–2	Pointer  7', Miller  54', Connelly  75'	20,327
30 March 1960	Wolverhampton Wanderers (A)	1–6	Pointer  15'	33,953
2 April 1960	Sheffield Wednesday (H)	3–3	Connelly  55', McIlroy  78' (pen.), Miller  88'	23,123
9 April 1960	Nottingham Forest (A)	1–0	Pointer  61'	24,640
15 April 1960	Leicester City (H)	1–0	Connelly  8'	23,777
16 April 1960	Luton Town (H)	3–0	Pointer  16', Robson  33', McIlroy  63' (pen.)	20,893
18 April 1960	Leicester City (A)	1–2	Meredith  74'	24,429
23 April 1960	Blackpool (A)	1–1	Meredith  32'	23,753
27 April 1960	Birmingham City (A)	1–0	Pilkington  81'	37,032
30 April 1960	Fulham (H)	0–0		30,807
2 May 1960	Manchester City (A)	2–1	Pilkington  4', Meredith  31'	65,981

League table

Main article: 1959–60 Football League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Burnley	42	24	7	11	85	61	1.393	55	League Champions, qualified for 1960–61 European Cup First round
2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	24	6	12	106	67	1.582	54	FA Cup winners, qualified for 1960–61 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Quarter-finals
3	Tottenham Hotspur	42	21	11	10	86	50	1.720	53
4	West Bromwich Albion	42	19	11	12	83	57	1.456	49
5	Sheffield Wednesday	42	19	11	12	80	59	1.356	49

Source:

FA Cup

Main article: 1959–60 FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	Result	Goalscorers	Attendance
9 January 1960	Round 3	Lincoln City (A)	1–1	Pointer  29'	21,693
12 January 1960	Round 3 Replay	Lincoln City (H)	2–0	McIlroy  26' (pen.), Pilkington  37'	35,456
30 January 1960	Round 4	Swansea Town (A)	0–0		29,976
2 February 1960	Round 4 replay	Swansea Town (H)	2–1	Robson  28', 47'	37,040
20 February 1960	Round 5	Bradford City (A)	2–2	Connelly  78', 89'	26,244
23 February 1960	Round 5 replay	Bradford City (H)	5–0	Pointer  5', 63', Robson  8', 70', Connelly  64'	52,850
12 March 1960	Round 6	Blackburn Rovers (H)	3–3	Pilkington  48', Pointer  57', Connelly  61'	51,501
16 March 1960	Round 6 replay	Blackburn Rovers (A)	0–2		53,892

The following season, Burnley played in European competition for the first time, in the European Cup,[18] beating former finalists Reims, before losing to Hamburger SV in the quarter-finals. The club finished fourth in the league, and lost the FA Cup semi-final to Tottenham, who became the first English club in the 20th century to win the double.[19] Burnley finished the 1961–62 season as runners-up (after winning only two of the last thirteen league matches)[20] to newly promoted Ipswich Town and had a run to the FA Cup Final, where a Jimmy Robson goal, the 100th FA Cup Final goal at Wembley,[21] was the only reply to three goals from Tottenham. Jimmy Adamson was, however, named Footballer of the Year in English football after the season ended.[22] Burnley also had, due to their success in this period, several players with international caps, including, for England Ray Pointer, Colin McDonald, and John Connelly, for Northern Ireland Jimmy McIlroy and for Scotland Adam Blacklaw.[23]

Nonetheless, although far from a two-man team, the controversial departure of McIlroy to Stoke City and retirement of Adamson coincided with a decline in fortunes. Even more damaging was the impact of the abolition of the maximum wage in 1961, meaning clubs from small towns, like Burnley, could no longer compete financially with teams from bigger towns and cities.[4][24] The club managed, however, to retain a First Division place throughout the decade finishing third in 1965–66, with Willie Irvine becoming the league's top goal scorer that season.[25]

Specific

General

• Quelch, Tim (2015). Never Had It So Good: Burnley's Incredible 1959/60 League Title Triumph. Pitch Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1909626546.
• Simpson, Ray (2007). The Clarets Chronicles: The Definitive History of Burnley Football Club 1882-2007. Burnley Football Club. ISBN 978-0955746802.

• Programmes - Season 1959/60 – Clarets Mad
• Champions of England – Clarets Mad
• 1959/60 Series – The Longside