Season 1949-1950 Details

The 1949-1950 season for Leeds United was marked by significant changes and notable achievements. The season began with the retirement of club stalwart Tom Holley, who embarked on a career in journalism. Young Welsh sensation John Charles was introduced as his replacement, while winger Harold Williams arrived from another club. Several other players left, including goalkeeper Jim Twomey and center forward Albert Wakefield. Frank Dudley also joined the team from Southend United.

The season had a slow start with only one win in the first eleven matches. However, United's form improved dramatically, and they finished a commendable 5th in the league with 48 points, just five points behind the promoted Sheffield Wednesday. They had a memorable FA Cup run, defeating teams like Bolton Wanderers in a replay and drawing large crowds. Their cup journey ended against Arsenal, who eventually won the cup that year. Key players included Harold Searson, John Charles, Tommy Burden, Jimmy Dunn, Frank Dudley, and Harold Williams, with Dudley and Williams leading the goal-scoring charts. Overall, this season was seen as a turning point for Leeds United, offering hope for future success.

Read more about the 1949-1950 season in the Charles & Revie section of our Leeds United history timeline. For player appearances, goals, red cards and transfers for the 1949-1950 season click here.

	Season Record	GP	W	D	L	F	A	GD	P	Pos
Division Two		42	17	13	12	54	45	9	47	5
FA Cup		5	3	1	1	12	7	5	-	QF
TOTAL		47	20	14	13	66	52	14	-	-

	Managers	First Game	P	W	D	L	Win%
	Major Frank Buckley	Queens Park Rangers (H) - 20/08/1949	20/08/1949	47	20	14	13	42.55%

	Division Two		Venue	Date		Score
	Queens Park Rangers	H	Elland Road	20/08/1949		1 : 1	D
	West Ham United	A	Upton Park	22/08/1949		1 : 3	L
	Preston North End	A	Deepdale	27/08/1949		1 : 1	D
	West Ham United	H	Elland Road	31/08/1949		2 : 2	D
	Swansea City	H	Elland Road	03/09/1949		1 : 2	L
	Sheffield United	A	Bramall Lane	05/09/1949		1 : 0	W
	Tottenham Hotspur	A	White Hart Lane	10/09/1949		0 : 2	L
	Sheffield United	H	Elland Road	14/09/1949		0 : 1	L
	Southampton	A	The Dell	17/09/1949		1 : 2	L
	Coventry City	H	Elland Road	24/09/1949		3 : 3	D
	Luton Town	A	Kenilworth Road	01/10/1949		0 : 1	L
	Cardiff City	H	Elland Road	08/10/1949		2 : 0	W
	Blackburn Rovers	A	Ewood Park	15/10/1949		1 : 0	W
	Brentford	H	Elland Road	22/10/1949		1 : 0	W
	Hull City	A	Boothferry Park	29/10/1949		0 : 1	L
	Sheffield Wednesday	H	Elland Road	05/11/1949		1 : 1	D
	Plymouth Argyle	A	Home Park	12/11/1949		2 : 1	W
	Chesterfield	H	Elland Road	19/11/1949		0 : 0	D
	Bradford Park Avenue	A	Park Avenue	26/11/1949		2 : 1	W
	Leicester City	H	Elland Road	03/12/1949		1 : 1	D
	Bury	A	Gigg Lane	10/12/1949		0 : 2	L
	Queens Park Rangers	A	Loftus Road	17/12/1949		1 : 1	D
	Preston North End	H	Elland Road	24/12/1949		3 : 1	W
	Barnsley	A	Oakwell	26/12/1949		1 : 1	D
	Barnsley	H	Elland Road	27/12/1949		1 : 0	W
	Swansea City	A	Vetch Field	31/12/1949		2 : 1	W
	Tottenham Hotspur	H	Elland Road	14/01/1950		3 : 0	W
	Southampton	H	Elland Road	21/01/1950		1 : 0	W
	Coventry City	A	Highfield Road	04/02/1950		4 : 0	W
	Luton Town	H	Elland Road	18/02/1950		2 : 1	W
	Cardiff City	A	Ninian Park	25/02/1950		0 : 1	L
	Brentford	A	Griffin Park	11/03/1950		0 : 0	D
	Hull City	H	Elland Road	18/03/1950		3 : 0	W
	Sheffield Wednesday	A	Hillsborough	25/03/1950		2 : 5	L
	Bradford Park Avenue	H	Elland Road	01/04/1950		0 : 0	D
	Grimsby Town	A	Blundell Park	07/04/1950		0 : 2	L
	Leicester City	A	Filbert Street	08/04/1950		1 : 1	D
	Grimsby Town	H	Elland Road	10/04/1950		1 : 0	W
	Plymouth Argyle	H	Elland Road	15/04/1950		1 : 1	D
	Chesterfield	A	Saltergate	22/04/1950		1 : 3	L
	Blackburn Rovers	H	Elland Road	26/04/1950		2 : 1	W
	Bury	H	Elland Road	29/04/1950		4 : 1	W

	FA Cup		Venue	Date		Score
	Carlisle United FA Cup 3rd Round	A	Brunton Park	07/01/1950		5 : 2	W
	Bolton Wanderers FA Cup 4th Round	H	Elland Road	28/01/1950		1 : 1	D
	Bolton Wanderers FA Cup 4th Round Repaly	A	Burnden Park	01/02/1950		3 : 2	W
	Cardiff City FA Cup 5th Round	H	Elland Road	11/02/1950		3 : 1	W
	Arsenal FA Cup Quarter Final	A	Highbury	04/03/1950		0 : 1	L

	Division Two Table		Pld	Pts	GD	W	D	L	F	A
1		Tottenham Hotspur	42	61	46	27	7	8	81	35
2		Sheffield Wednesday	42	52	19	18	16	8	67	48
3		Sheffield United	42	52	19	19	14	9	68	49
4		Southampton	42	52	16	19	14	9	64	48
5		Leeds United	42	47	9	17	13	12	54	45
6		Preston North End	42	45	11	18	9	15	60	49
7		Hull City	42	45	-8	17	11	14	64	72
8		Swansea City	42	43	4	17	9	16	53	49
9		Brentford	42	43	-5	15	13	14	44	49
10		Cardiff City	42	42	-3	16	10	16	41	44
11		Grimsby Town	42	40	1	16	8	18	74	73
12		Coventry City	42	39	0	13	13	16	55	55
13		Barnsley	42	39	-3	13	13	16	64	67
14		Chesterfield	42	39	-4	15	9	18	43	47
15		Leicester City	42	39	-10	12	15	15	55	65
16		Blackburn Rovers	42	38	-5	14	10	18	55	60
17		Luton Town	42	38	-10	10	18	14	41	51
18		Bury	42	37	-5	14	9	19	60	65
19		West Ham United	42	36	-8	12	12	18	53	61
20		Queens Park Rangers	42	34	-17	11	12	19	40	57
21		Plymouth Argyle	42	32	-21	8	16	18	44	65
22		Bradford Park Avenue	42	31	-26	10	11	21	51	77

	References
	Sheridan Dictates: Season Statistics 1949-50
	OzWhite: Leeds United Season Statistics and Teamsheets 1949-50
	Leeds United Programme Guide: Season 1949/50
	Leeds-Fans.org.uk: Season 1949 - 1950