1947–48 Southern Football League
The 1947–48 season was the 45th in the history of the Southern League. Merthyr Tydfil won the championship.[1] Eight Southern League clubs applied to join the Football League at the end of the season, but none were successful.
Final table
| Season | 1947-48 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Merthyr Tydfil (1st title) |
| Promoted | none |
| Relegated | none |
| Matches played | 306 |
| Goals scored | 1,132 (3.7 per match) |
← 1946–47 1948–49 → | |
A total of 18 teams contest the division, including 16 sides from previous season, and two new teams.
Newly elected teams:
- Lovells Athletic - returned to the league after 17 seasons of absence
- Torquay United II
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv1 | Pts2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merthyr Tydfil | 34 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 84 | 38 | 2.21 | 53 |
| 2 | Gillingham | 34 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 81 | 43 | 1.88 | 47 |
| 3 | Worcester City | 34 | 21 | 3 | 10 | 74 | 45 | 1.64 | 45 |
| 4 | Colchester United | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 88 | 41 | 2.15 | 44 |
| 5 | Hereford United | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 77 | 53 | 1.45 | 42 |
| 6 | Lovells Athletic | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 74 | 50 | 1.48 | 40 |
| 7 | Exeter City II | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 65 | 57 | 1.14 | 37 |
| 8 | Yeovil Town | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 56 | 50 | 1.12 | 35 |
| 9 | Chelmsford City | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 62 | 58 | 1.07 | 35 |
| 10 | Cheltenham Town | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 71 | 71 | 1 | 35 |
| 11 | Bath City | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 55 | 62 | 0.89 | 32 |
| 12 | Barry Town | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 60 | 70 | 0.86 | 29 |
| 13 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 52 | 81 | 0.64 | 28 |
| 14 | Guildford City | 34 | 11 | 4 | 19 | 69 | 74 | 0.93 | 26 |
| 15 | Dartford | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 35 | 62 | 0.56 | 26 |
| 16 | Gloucester City | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 45 | 78 | 0.58 | 22 |
| 17 | Torquay United II | 34 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 43 | 95 | 0.45 | 21 |
| 18 | Bedford Town | 34 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 41 | 104 | 0.39 | 15 |
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Football League elections
Eight Southern League clubs applied to join the Football League, but all four League clubs were re-elected.[2]