1961–62 Southern Football League

Southern Football League

Season	1961–62
1962–63 →

The 1961–62 Southern Football League season saw Oxford United win the championship for the second successive season and be admitted to the Football League.

Final tables

Premier Division

The Premier Division featured four new clubs, all promoted from Division One the previous season:

• Bexleyheath & Welling
• Cambridge United
• Kettering Town
• Merthyr Tydfil

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv1	Pts2	Notes
1	Oxford United	42	28	5	9	118	46	2.57	61	Elected to the Football League
2	Bath City	42	25	7	10	102	70	1.46	57
3	Guildford City	42	24	8	10	79	49	1.61	56
4	Yeovil Town	42	23	8	11	97	59	1.64	54
5	Chelmsford City	42	19	12	11	74	60	1.23	50
6	Weymouth	42	20	7	15	80	64	1.25	47
7	Kettering Town	42	21	5	16	90	84	1.07	47
8	Hereford United	42	21	2	19	81	68	1.19	44
9	Cambridge City	42	18	8	16	70	71	0.99	44
10	Bexleyheath & Welling	42	19	5	18	69	75	0.92	43
11	Romford	42	15	9	18	63	70	0.9	39
12	Cambridge United	42	13	12	17	76	78	0.97	38
13	Wellington Town	42	14	10	18	75	78	0.96	38
14	Gravesend & Northfleet	42	17	4	21	59	92	0.64	38
15	Bedford Town	42	16	5	21	73	79	0.92	37
16	Worcester City	42	15	7	20	51	64	0.8	37
17	Merthyr Tydfil	42	13	11	18	62	80	0.77	37
18	Clacton Town	42	13	10	19	74	91	0.81	36
19	Tonbridge	42	10	14	18	71	92	0.77	34	Relegated to Division One
20	King's Lynn	42	12	8	22	59	74	0.79	32
21	Folkestone Town	42	12	6	24	64	103	0.62	30
22	Cheltenham Town	42	9	7	26	48	86	0.55	25

^{1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up 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

Due to the resignation of Accrington Stanley there was a free place in the Football League. Alongside the three League clubs facing re-election, a total of 26 non-League clubs applied for election, including 19 Southern League clubs. Southern League champions Oxford United were the only non-League club to be elected.

Club	League	Votes
Chester	Football League	46
Doncaster Rovers	Football League	45
Hartlepools	Football League	40
Oxford United	Southern League	39
Wigan Athletic	Cheshire League	5
Chelmsford City	Southern League	4
Gateshead	Northern Counties League	4
Cambridge City	Southern League	2
Worcester City	Southern League	2
Bath City	Southern League	1
Hereford United	Southern League	1
King's Lynn	Southern League	1
Morecambe	Lancashire Combination	1
New Brighton	Lancashire Combination	1
Bedford Town	Southern League	0
Bexleyheath & Welling	Southern League	0
Corby Town	Southern League	0
Folkestone Town	Southern League	0
Gravesend & Northfleet	Southern League	0
Guildford City	Southern League	0
Kettering Town	Southern League	0
North Shields	Northern Counties League	0
Poole Town	Southern League	0
Romford	Southern League	0
Scarborough	Northern Counties League	0
Sittingbourne	Southern League	0
South Shields	Midland League	0
Wellington Town	Southern League	0
Yeovil Town	Southern League	0

Division One

Division One featured three new clubs, all of which had been relegated from the Premier Division the previous season:

• Dartford
• Hastings United
• Wisbech Town

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv1	Pts2	Notes
1	Wisbech Town	38	21	11	6	76	42	1.81	53	Promoted to the Premier Division
2	Poole Town	38	23	6	9	81	47	1.72	52
3	Dartford	38	21	8	9	89	50	1.78	50
4	Rugby Town	38	20	9	9	82	49	1.67	49
5	Margate	38	20	6	12	74	55	1.35	46
6	Corby Town	38	19	6	13	82	60	1.37	44
7	Sittingbourne	38	16	12	10	69	51	1.35	44
8	Dover	38	19	6	13	66	55	1.2	44
9	Yiewsley	38	18	6	14	64	51	1.25	42
10	Barry Town	38	14	11	13	55	51	1.08	39
11	Ashford Town	38	14	11	13	66	70	0.94	39
12	Hinckley Athletic	38	15	8	15	75	65	1.15	38
13	Burton Albion	38	16	5	17	70	79	0.89	37
14	Nuneaton Borough	38	12	12	14	63	71	0.89	36
15	Tunbridge Wells United	38	12	7	19	61	85	0.72	31
16	Canterbury City	38	11	8	19	60	82	0.73	30
17	Ramsgate Athletic	38	10	9	19	49	70	0.7	29
18	Trowbridge Town	38	9	9	20	45	67	0.67	27
19	Gloucester City	38	6	4	28	46	104	0.44	16
20	Hastings United	38	5	4	29	46	115	0.4	14