See main article: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1874–1961).
| Club: | Aston Villa |
| Season: | 1923–24 |
| Chairman: | Frederick Rinder |
| Stadium: | Villa Park |
| League: | First Division |
| League Result: | 6th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Finalists |
| Prevseason: | 1922–23 |
| Nextseason: | 1924–25 |
| League Result: | 12--7--6 |
| Nextseason: | 1924–25 |
The 1923–24 English football season was Aston Villa's 32nd season in The Football League.
On 11 November 1923, Aston Villa centre-half Tommy Ball was shot dead by his neighbour, thus becoming the only Football League player to have been murdered.[1]
By December, consecutive victories over Nottingham Forest enhanced Cardiff's lead in the table. However, the form of rivals Aston Villa, Huddersfield Town and Everton meant that Cardiff were unable to extend their lead by more than two points.[2]
Villa's 1–3 victory over Huddersfield Town A.F.C. on 17 April 1924 was the biggest loss for the Yorkshire club that season.
Dicky York scored five goals in 43 games in 1923–24.[3] He also appeared at Wembley in the 1924 FA Cup Final.[3]
There were debuts for Alec Talbot (264),[4] Teddy Bowen (203),[5] Vic Milne (156), Billy Armfield (12), Albert Surtees (11), Percy Varco (10), Alex McClure (7), Joe Corbett (8), Archie Campbell (4), Bert Singleton (2), and Norman Mackay (2).[6]
Aston Villa's visit to Small Heath on 25 August 1923 produced the Highest home attendance that season for the local rivals. Villa lost the away fixture 3-0.[7] The 59,147 crowd watched a goalless draw at Villa Park.[8]
| Date | Venue | Score | Competition | Attendance | |||||
| 1 September 1923 | Villa Park | bgcolor=808080 style="text-align:center; color:white;" | 0–0 | First Division | 59,157 | ||||
| Date | Venue | Score | Competition | Attendance | |||||
| 15 August 1923 | St Andrew's | bgcolor=0000cc style="text-align:center; color:white;" | 3–0 | First Division | 41,306 | ||||
| 1924 FA Cup final | |
| Event: | 1923–24 FA Cup |
| Team1: | Newcastle United |
| Team1score: | 2 |
| Team2: | Aston Villa |
| Team2score: | 0 |
| Date: | 26 April 1924 |
| Stadium: | Wembley Stadium |
| City: | London |
| Referee: | W. E. Russell |
| Attendance: | 91,695 |
| Weather: | Rain |
Villa contested the 1924 FA Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley. Newcastle won 2 - 0, with the goals scored by Neil Harris and Stan Seymour. The referee was Swindon-born William E. Russell.
The match has become commonly known as the "Rainy Day Final" due to the weather that day, a consequence of which has led to there being very few good condition programmes left for the game (many fans used their match programmes as makeshift umbrellas). The value of the programme is the highest for any Wembley final with recent sales attaining over £6,000 at auction.
| Round 1 | Ashington | 1 - 5 | Aston Villa | ||
| Round 2 | Swansea Town | 0 - 2 | Aston Villa | ||
| Round 3 | Aston Villa | 3 - 0 | Leeds United | ||
| Quarter-final | West Bromwich Albion | 0 - 2 | Aston Villa | ||
| Semi-final | Aston Villa | 3 - 0 | Burnley | ||
| (at Bramall Lane) | |||||
| GK | Bill Bradley | |||
| DF | Billy Hampson | |||
| DF | Frank Hudspeth (c) | |||
| MF | Peter Mooney | |||
| MF | Charlie Spencer | |||
| MF | Willie Gibson | |||
| FW | James Low | |||
| FW | Billy Cowan | |||
| FW | Neil Harris | |||
| FW | Tommy McDonald | |||
| FW | Stan Seymour | |||
| Manager: | ||||
| Selection Committee | ||||
| GK | Tommy Jackson | |||
| DF | Tommy Smart | |||
| DF | Tommy Mort | |||
| MF | Frank Moss | |||
| MF | Vic Milne | |||
| MF | George Blackburn | |||
| FW | Dicky York | |||
| FW | Billy Kirton | |||
| FW | Len Capewell | |||
| FW | Billy Walker (c) | |||
| FW | Arthur Dorrell | |||
| Secretary-Manager: | ||||
| George Ramsay | ||||