| Club: | Chester |
| Season: | 1953–54 |
| Manager: | Louis Page |
| Stadium: | Sealand Road |
| League: | Football League Third Division North |
| League Result: | 24th (re-elected) |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | First round |
| Cup2: | Welsh Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Final |
| League Topscorer: | Don Travis (12) |
| Season Topscorer: | Don Travis (16) |
| Highest Attendance: | 14,627 vs Wrexham (3 October) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,667 vs Mansfield Town (24 March) |
| Average Attendance: | 5,503 22nd in division[1] |
| Pattern La1: | _blue_stripes |
| Pattern B1: | _bluestripes |
| Pattern Ra1: | _blue_stripes |
| Pattern So1: | _hoops_blue |
| Shorts1: | 000000 |
| Prevseason: | 1952–53 |
| Nextseason: | 1954–55 |
The 1953–54 season was the 16th season of competitive association football in the Football League played by Chester, an English club based in Chester, Cheshire.
It was the club's 16th consecutive season in the Third Division North since the election to the Football League. Alongside competing in the league, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the Welsh Cup.
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 August | Hartlepools United | H | D | 1–1 | Windle | 6,695 | |
| 26 August | Barnsley | H | D | 1–1 | Windle | 7,117 | |
| 29 August | Gateshead | A | L | 1–2 | Travis | 8,013 | |
| 2 September | Barnsley | A | L | 0–3 | 9,969 | ||
| 5 September | Workington | H | W | 3–0 | Coffin (2pens.), Pye | 5,790 | |
| 9 September | Darlington | A | L | 0–1 | 4,875 | ||
| 12 September | Scunthorpe & Lindsey United | A | L | 0–1 | 10,234 | ||
| 16 September | Darlington | H | D | 2–2 | Thomas, Travis | 3,999 | |
| 19 September | York City | H | W | 3–1 | Travis, Smith, Windle | 5,571 | |
| 23 September | Bradford Park Avenue | H | L | 2–3 | Coffin (2, 1pen.) | 4,906 | |
| 26 September | Southport | A | W | 1–0 | Pye | 5,770 | |
| 30 September | Bradford Park Avenue | A | L | 0–5 | 5,333 | ||
| 3 October | Wrexham | H | W | 2–1 | Thomas, Travis | 14,627 | |
| 10 October | Barrow | A | L | 1–2 | Thomas | 6,258 | |
| 17 October | Bradford City | H | W | 3–0 | Thomas, Coffin (pen.), Travis | 6,150 | |
| 24 October | Chesterfield | A | L | 0–4 | 8,229 | ||
| 31 October | Tranmere Rovers | H | L | 1–2 | Hilton | 6,824 | |
| 7 November | Halifax Town | A | L | 1–1 | Windle | 3,297 | |
| 14 November | Carlisle United | H | L | 0–1 | 5,104 | ||
| 28 November | Grimsby Town | H | D | 1–1 | Molyneux | 5,327 | |
| 5 December | Stockport County | A | L | 0–5 | 8,252 | ||
| 12 December | Rochdale | H | W | 2–0 | Thomas, Travis | 3,578 | |
| 19 December | Hartlepools United | A | L | 0–2 | 5,481 | ||
| 25 December | Port Vale | A | L | 0–1 | 15,322 | ||
| 26 December | Port Vale | H | L | 0–1 | 10,979 | ||
| 28 December | Rochdale | A | L | 0–4 | 7,226 | ||
| 2 January | Gateshead | H | W | 5–0 | Travis (3), Rolfe, Morrey | 4,197 | |
| 9 January | Mansfield Town | A | L | 1–2 | Morrey | 6,572 | |
| 16 January | Workington | A | L | 0–2 | 7,212 | ||
| 23 January | Scunthorpe & Lindsey United | H | D | 0–0 | 5,180 | ||
| 6 February | York City | A | L | 1–2 | Morrey (pen.) | 3,960 | |
| 13 February | Southport | H | W | 1–0 | Morrey | 4,802 | |
| 20 February | Wrexham | A | L | 1–2 | Basford | 10,225 | |
| 27 February | Barrow | H | D | 1–1 | Hilton | 3,023 | |
| 6 March | Bradford City | A | L | 0–1 | 10,971 | ||
| 13 March | Chesterfield | H | D | 2–2 | Hilton, Lee | 4,404 | |
| 20 March | Tranmere Rovers | A | L | 1–2 | Coffin | 6,773 | |
| 24 March | Mansfield Town | H | L | 0–2 | 1,667 | ||
| 27 March | Halifax Town | H | W | 3–1 | Morrey, Travis, Windle | 3,207 | |
| 3 April | Carlisle United | A | D | 1–1 | Travis | 2,329 | |
| 10 April | Accrington Stanley | H | W | 3–0 | Rolfe (2), Windle | 4,031 | |
| 16 April | Crewe Alexandra | A | L | 0–1 | 6,287 | ||
| 17 April | Grimsby Town | A | D | 0–0 | 7,330 | ||
| 19 April | Crewe Alexandra | H | W | 2–0 | Betteridge, Travis | 5,846 | |
| 24 April | Stockport County | H | L | 1–2 | Coffin | 3,545 | |
| 28 April | Accrington Stanley | A | L | 0–1 | 4,687 |
See main article: 1953–54 FA Cup.
See main article: 1953–54 Welsh Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fifth round | 13 January | Brymbo Steelworks | H | W | 6–1 | Rolfe, Morrey (pen.), Morris, Smith, Travis | 766 | |
| Quarterfinal | 3 March | Wrexham (3N) | H | W | 1–0 | Travis | 2,133 | |
| Semifinal | 17 March | Newport County (3S) | N | D | 2–2 | Travis (2) | 7,920 | |
| Semifinal replay | 5 April | N | W | 2–0 | Basford, Hilton | 3,000 | ||
| Final | 21 April | Flint Town United (WLN) | N | L | 0–2 | 15,584 |
| Player | Total | League | FA Cup | Welsh Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||||
| Bobby Jones | 52 | – | 46 | – | 1 | – | 5 | – | ||
| Field players | ||||||||||
| Tommy Astbury | 19 | – | 16 | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Jack Basford | 13 | 2 | 10 | 1 | – | – | 3 | 1 | ||
| Mick Betteridge | 9 | 1 | 8 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | ||
| Ken Brandon | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Norman Bullock | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Geoff Coffin | 22 | 7 | 21 | 7 | – | – | 1 | – | ||
| Ken Fletcher | 19 | 1 | 16 | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | ||
| Ray Gill | 52 | – | 46 | – | 1 | – | 5 | – | ||
| Joe Hilton | 24 | 4 | 20 | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | ||
| Ron Hughes | 45 | – | 39 | – | 1 | – | 5 | – | ||
| Eric Lee | 51 | 1 | 46 | 1 | 1 | – | 4 | – | ||
| John Molyneux | 18 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | ||
| Bernard Morrey | 20 | 6 | 17 | 5 | – | – | 3 | 1 | ||
| Sam Morris | 12 | 1 | 11 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | ||
| Billy Pye | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||
| Jimmy Rolfe | 20 | 4 | 17 | 3 | – | – | 3 | 1 | ||
| Harry Smith | 11 | 2 | 10 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | ||
| Fred Sutcliffe | 32 | – | 28 | – | – | – | 4 | – | ||
| Johnny Thomas | 32 | 5 | 29 | 5 | 1 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Don Travis | 48 | 16 | 43 | 12 | 1 | – | 4 | 4 | ||
| Phil Whitlock | 24 | – | 23 | – | 1 | – | – | – | ||
| Bobby Williams | 3 | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Billy Windle | 39 | 7 | 35 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | – | ||
| Own goals | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Total | 52 | 61 | 46 | 48 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 11 | ||
Book: Sumner. Chas. 125 Years on the Borderline: The Complete History of Chester City F.C. 1885-2010. 1 November 2011. Yore Publications. 978-0956984821.