Huddersfield Town's 1956–57 campaign was a fairly poor season for the Town under Andy Beattie and then his assistant Bill Shankly, following the previous season's relegation from Division 1. They finished in 12th place with 42 points, 12 points behind 2nd placed Nottingham Forest, but only 12 points ahead of 20th placed Notts County.

Squad at the start of the season

Review Following the previous season's relegation from Division 1, Andy Beattie tried to get Town back into the 1st Division at the first attempt. A mixed start to the season saw Town gain some memorable wins including an opening day 3–2 win at Anfield over Liverpool. Beattie resigned in early November and was replaced by his assistant Bill Shankly, who would then lead Liverpool to greatness in the 1960s and 1970s. Memorable wins during the season for Town were a 5–0 away win at Barnsley and a 6–2 win over West Ham United, where defender Ken Taylor, playing as an emergency striker, scored 4 goals.

This season also marked the debuts of Town's future stalwarts Kevin McHale and Les Massie and future British transfer record holder Denis Law. Law broke the record for the youngest player ever to make a first-team appearance when he came on at the age of 16 years, 303 days, beating McHale's record by 26 days, which he set earlier in the season.

Town also had a good run in the FA Cup, where they reached the fifth round, before bowing out to Burnley in a 2–1 defeat in front of over 55,000 fans at Leeds Road. Town finished the league season in 12th position with 44 points, but it would be nearly 15 years until Town returned to the big time.

Squad at the end of the season

Results Division Two DateOpponentsHome/AwayResultF – AScorersAttendancePosition18 August 1956LiverpoolA3–2Simpson, Hickson, Davie49,3447th20 August 1956Leicester CityH1–2Simpson18,9788th25 August 1956Leyton OrientH3–0Metcalfe (pen), Hickson, Watson15,1647th29 August 1956Leicester CityA2–2Hickson, McHale28,3016th1 September 1956FulhamA0–117,6069th3 September 1956Bristol RoversH2–1Hickson (2)14,5605th8 September 1956BuryA3–1Hickson (2), Frear17,4344th10 September 1956Bristol RoversA0–427,5535th15 September 1956Grimsby TownH2–1Frear, McHale18,3125th22 September 1956Doncaster RoversA0–419,7549th29 September 1956Stoke CityH2–2Hickson, McHale16,2028th6 October 1956Nottingham ForestH1–0Hickson17,6007th13 October 1956West Ham UnitedA2–0Marriott, Hickson22,6436th20 October 1956Lincoln CityH0–116,9998th27 October 1956Bristol CityA1–2Hickson24,8739th3 November 1956Sheffield UnitedH1–4Hickson18,85310th10 November 1956BarnsleyA5–0Hickson, Massie, Marriott, Simpson (2)15,2349th17 November 1956Port ValeH3–1Marriott, Sproson (og), Hickson14,0448th24 November 1956Rotherham UnitedA3–3Hickson, Metcalfe, Quested12,9778th1 December 1956Blackburn RoversH0–214,41810th8 December 1956Swansea TownA2–4Simpson (2)13,78112th15 December 1956LiverpoolH0–311,57713th22 December 1956Leyton OrientA1–3Metcalfe (pen)14,72514th24 December 1956Notts CountyA2–1Simpson (2)9,16512th26 December 1956Notts CountyH3–0Hickson, Connor, Law7,48312th29 December 1956FulhamH1–1Hickson16,50312th12 January 1957BuryH1–2Metcalfe (pen)16,28213th19 January 1957Grimsby TownA2–1Simpson (2)14,92912th2 February 1957Doncaster RoversH0–117,88813th9 February 1957Stoke CityA1–5Hickson27,50314th21 February 1957Nottingham ForestA0–014,75413th23 February 1957West Ham UnitedH6–2Taylor (4), Massie, McGarry5,87813th2 March 1957Lincoln CityA2–1McGarry, Massie9,91712th9 March 1957Bristol CityH2–1Taylor, Metcalfe (pen)14,21811th16 March 1957Sheffield UnitedA0–219,03812th23 March 1957BarnsleyH2–0Simpson, Conwell16,77211th30 March 1957Port ValeA2–1Massie, Taylor10,50011th6 April 1957Rotherham UnitedH1–0Taylor13,0089th13 April 1957Blackburn RoversA2–3Taylor, Woods (og)24,18110th20 April 1957Swansea TownH2–2Law, Simpson13,51611th22 April 1957MiddlesbroughA2–7Hickson, Massie20,65112th23 April 1957MiddlesbroughH0–113,81812th

FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsHome/AwayResultF – AScorersAttendance5 January 1957Round 3Sheffield UnitedH0–024,2207 January 1957Round 3 ReplaySheffield UnitedA1–1Simpson25,53714 January 1957Round 3 2nd ReplaySheffield UnitedN2–1Quested, Hickson12,27026 January 1957Round 4Peterborough UnitedH3–1Law, Hickson, Simpson48,73516 February 1957Round 5BurnleyH1–2Hickson55,168

Appearances and goals NameNationalityPositionLeagueFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsRon CockerillDF20050250Jack ConnorDF10140141Tony ConwellDF31150361Tom DaleyGK100010Willie DavieFW510051Harry FearnleyGK21050260Bryan FrearFW420042Brian GibsonDF29050340Dave HicksonFW2819533322Laurie KellyDF11000110Sandy KennonGK20000200Denis LawMF13251183Jackie MarriottMF11300113Les MassieFW16500165Bill McGarryDF35210362Kevin McHaleMF27350323Vic MetcalfeMF42550475Len QuestedDF41151462Ron SimpsonFW3412523914Ken TaylorDF33800338Jimmy WatsonMF17100171Ray WilsonDF13000130

References