1962–63 Southern Football League
The 1962–63 Southern Football League season was the 60th in the history of the league, an English football competition.
Cambridge City won the championship, whilst Hastings United, Hinckley Athletic, Margate and Nuneaton Borough were all promoted to the Premier Division. Seven Southern League clubs applied to join the Football League at the end of the season, but none were successful.
Premier Division
After Oxford United were elected to the Football League at the end за the previous season, the Premier Division consisted of 21 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs, promoted from Division One:
At the end of the season, Bexleyheath & Welling changed name to Bexley United.
League table
| Season | 1962–63 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Cambridge City |
| Relegated | Clacton Town Gravesend & Northfleet Poole Town |
| Matches played | 420 |
| Goals scored | 1,349 (3.21 per match) |
← 1961–62 1963–64 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cambridge City | 40 | 25 | 6 | 9 | 99 | 64 | 1.547 | 56 | |
| 2 | Cambridge United | 40 | 23 | 7 | 10 | 74 | 50 | 1.480 | 53 | |
| 3 | Weymouth | 40 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 82 | 43 | 1.907 | 51 | |
| 4 | Guildford City | 40 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 70 | 50 | 1.400 | 51 | |
| 5 | Kettering Town | 40 | 22 | 7 | 11 | 66 | 49 | 1.347 | 51 | |
| 6 | Wellington Town | 40 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 71 | 49 | 1.449 | 47 | |
| 7 | Dartford | 40 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 61 | 54 | 1.130 | 47 | |
| 8 | Chelmsford City | 40 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 63 | 50 | 1.260 | 46 | |
| 9 | Bedford Town | 40 | 18 | 8 | 14 | 61 | 45 | 1.356 | 44 | |
| 10 | Bath City | 40 | 18 | 6 | 16 | 58 | 56 | 1.036 | 42 | |
| 11 | Yeovil Town | 40 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 64 | 54 | 1.185 | 40 | |
| 12 | Romford | 40 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 73 | 68 | 1.074 | 39 | |
| 13 | Bexleyheath & Welling | 40 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 55 | 63 | 0.873 | 37 | |
| 14 | Hereford United | 40 | 14 | 7 | 19 | 56 | 66 | 0.848 | 35 | |
| 15 | Merthyr Tydfil | 40 | 15 | 4 | 21 | 54 | 71 | 0.761 | 34 | |
| 16 | Rugby Town | 40 | 14 | 5 | 21 | 65 | 76 | 0.855 | 33 | |
| 17 | Wisbech Town | 40 | 15 | 3 | 22 | 64 | 84 | 0.762 | 33 | |
| 18 | Worcester City | 40 | 12 | 9 | 19 | 47 | 65 | 0.723 | 33 | |
| 19 | Poole Town | 40 | 10 | 12 | 18 | 54 | 66 | 0.818 | 32 | Relegated to Division One |
| 20 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 40 | 10 | 3 | 27 | 62 | 91 | 0.681 | 23 | |
| 21 | Clacton Town | 40 | 3 | 7 | 30 | 50 | 135 | 0.370 | 13 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal ratio.
Division One
Division One consisted of 20 clubs, including 16 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs, relegated from the Premier Division:
At the end of the season, Tunbridge Wells United changed name to Tunbridge Wells Rangers.
League table
| Season | 1962–63 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Margate |
| Promoted | Hastings United Hinckley Athletic Margate Nuneaton Borough |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 1,281 (3.37 per match) |
← 1961–62 1963–64 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Margate | 38 | 21 | 13 | 4 | 86 | 47 | 1.830 | 55 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Hinckley Athletic | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 66 | 38 | 1.737 | 53 | |
| 3 | Hastings United | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 86 | 36 | 2.389 | 52 | |
| 4 | Nuneaton Borough | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 82 | 41 | 2.000 | 52 | |
| 5 | Tonbridge | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 81 | 51 | 1.588 | 52 | |
| 6 | Dover | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 78 | 56 | 1.393 | 51 | |
| 7 | Corby Town | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 79 | 50 | 1.580 | 46 | |
| 8 | King's Lynn | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 76 | 66 | 1.152 | 45 | |
| 9 | Cheltenham Town | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 83 | 52 | 1.596 | 43 | |
| 10 | Folkestone Town | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 79 | 57 | 1.386 | 40 | |
| 11 | Canterbury City | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 42 | 56 | 0.750 | 36 | |
| 12 | Yiewsley | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 63 | 71 | 0.887 | 32 | |
| 13 | Ramsgate Athletic | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 58 | 82 | 0.707 | 31 | |
| 14 | Trowbridge Town | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 50 | 81 | 0.617 | 31 | |
| 15 | Burton Albion | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 48 | 76 | 0.632 | 30 | |
| 16 | Gloucester City | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 42 | 78 | 0.538 | 29 | |
| 17 | Sittingbourne | 38 | 12 | 3 | 23 | 56 | 75 | 0.747 | 27 | |
| 18 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 38 | 9 | 6 | 23 | 48 | 76 | 0.632 | 24 | |
| 19 | Barry Town | 38 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 35 | 75 | 0.467 | 17 | |
| 20 | Tunbridge Wells United | 38 | 6 | 2 | 30 | 43 | 116 | 0.371 | 14 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal ratio.
Football League elections
Alongside the four League clubs facing re-election, a total of 12 non-League clubs applied for election, including seven Southern League clubs. All four League clubs were re-elected.[1]