| Club: | Blackpool F.C. |
| Season: | 1952–53 |
| League: | First Division |
| Manager: | Joe Smith |
| League Result: | 7th |
| League Topscorer: | Stan Mortensen & Allan Brown (15) |
| Season Topscorer: | Stan Mortensen (18) |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Winners |
| Highest Attendance: | 36,159 vs Preston North End, First Division, 25 August 1952 |
| Lowest Attendance: | 13,284 vs Stoke City, First Division. 15 April 1953 |
| Average Attendance: | 25,835 |
| Pattern La1: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern B1: | _whitecollarplain |
| Pattern Ra1: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern So1: | _orangetop |
| Leftarm1: | ffa500 |
| Body1: | ffa500 |
| Rightarm1: | ffa500 |
| Shorts1: | ffffff |
| Socks1: | 000000 |
| Prevseason: | 1951–52 |
The 1952–53 season was Blackpool F.C.'s 45th season (42nd consecutive) in the Football League. They competed in the 22-team Division One, then the top tier of English football, finishing seventh.
They were also the winners of the FA Cup, the only time they have done so to date, beating Bolton Wanderers 4–3 in the final. Although it subsequently became known as "The Matthews Final", Stan Mortensen, Blackpool's top scorer in all competitions that season, scored a hat-trick in the match. It remained the only such feat achieved in an FA Cup Final held at the original Wembley Stadium.
Stan Mortensen was the club's top scorer for the ninth consecutive season, with eighteen goals in all competitions. He shared the accolade in the league with Allan Brown. The two scored fifteen goals apiece.
| Name | Position(s) | Nationality | Place of birth | Date of Birth | Signed from | Date signed | Fee | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||
| George Farm | GK | Slateford | June 1, 1952 | 177 | 0 | Hibernian | September 1948 | Free transfer | |
| Willie Hall | GK | Walton-le-Dale | June 1, 1952 | 0 | 0 | Preston North End | July 1949 | ||
| Harry Sharratt | GK | Wigan | June 1, 1952 | 0 | 0 | Wigan Athletic | May 1952 | ||
| Full-backs | |||||||||
| John Crosland | FB | Lytham St Annes | June 1, 1952 | 38 | 0 | Ansdell Rovers | May 1946 | ||
| David Frith | FB | Liverpool | June 1, 1952 | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | May 1949 | ||
| Tommy Garrett | LB | South Shields | June 1, 1952 | 114 | 0 | Horden Colliery Welfare | October 1944 | ||
| Roy Gratrix | FB | Salford | June 1, 1952 | 0 | 0 | Taylor Brothers | March 1953 | ||
| Dai Powell | LB | Swansea | June 1, 1952 | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | December 1952 | ||
| Eddie Shimwell | RB | Birchover | June 1, 1952 | 219 | 7 | Sheffield United | 20 December 1946 | £7,000 | |
| Jackie Wright | FB | Atherton | June 1, 1952 | 54 | 0 | Mossley | June 1946 | ||
| Half-backs | |||||||||
| Jack Ainscough | CH | Adlington | June 1, 1952 | 2 | 0 | Astley Bridge | August 1949 | ||
| Ewan Fenton | RH | Dundee | June 1, 1952 | 34 | 1 | Lochee Harp | November 1946 | ||
| Stan Hepton | WH | Leeds | June 1, 1952 | 0 | 0 | Ashley Road Methodists | March 1950 | ||
| Harry Johnston | CH/LH/RH | Manchester | June 1, 1952 | 297 | 11 | Droylsden | October 1936 | Free transfer | |
| Hughie Kelly | LH | Valleyfield | June 1, 1952 | 167 | 3 | Jeanfield Swifts | August 1944 | ||
| Cyril Robinson | LH | Bulwell | June 1, 1952 | 11 | 2 | Mansfield Town | September 1949 | ||
| Forwards | |||||||||
| Allan Brown | IF | Kennoway | June 1, 1952 | 61 | 19 | East Fife | December 1950 | £26,500 | |
| Dave Durie | IF | Blackpool | June 1, 1952 | 0 | 0 | Oxford Amateurs | May 1952 | ||
| Sandy Harris | OR | Hong Kong | June 1, 1952 | 0 | 0 | Scone | November 1951 | ||
| Albert Hobson | OR | Glossop | June 1, 1952 | 42 | 1 | Glossop | August 1945 | ||
| Stanley Matthews | OR | Stoke-on-Trent | June 1, 1952 | 164 | 5 | Stoke City | 10 May 1947 | £11,500 | |
| George McKnight | IF | Newtownards | June 1, 1952 | 41 | 10 | Coleraine | June 1946 | ||
| Stan Mortensen | CF | South Shields | June 1, 1952 | 242 | 170 | South Shields ex-schoolboys | May 1938 | ||
| Jackie Mudie | IF | Dundee | June 1, 1952 | 61 | 25 | Lochee Harp | May 1947 | ||
| Bill Perry | OL | Johannesburg | June 1, 1952 | 98 | 10 | Johannesburg Rangers | November 1949 | ||
| Alan Withers | OL | Bulwell | June 1, 1952 | 14 | 6 | Aspley Boys Club | 4 July 1949 | ||
| Graham Williams | OF | Wrexham | June 1, 1952 | 0 | 0 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | |||
| Billy Wright | OL | Blackpool | June 1, 1952 | 5 | 1 | Apprentice | May 1950 | ||
| Len Stephenson | CF | Blackpool | June 1, 1952 | 4 | 1 | Highfield Youth Club | November 1948 | ||
| Ernie Taylor | IF | Sunderland | June 1, 1952 | 31 | 5 | Newcastle United | 10 October 1951 | £25,000 | |
See main article: 1952–53 FA Cup.
| Name | First Division | FA Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| GK | 38 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
| GK | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| GK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| DF | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| DF | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| DF | 38 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 40 | 3 | ||
| DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| DF | 35 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| MF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| MF | 28 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| MF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| MF | 36 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| MF | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| MF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| FW | 26 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 17 | ||
| FW | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | ||
| FW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| FW | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | ||
| FW | 20 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 27 | 5 | ||
| FW | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| FW | 34 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 36 | 18 | ||
| FW | 20 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 27 | 6 | ||
| FW | 36 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 43 | 15 | ||
| FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| FW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| FW | 38 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 45 | 13 | ||
| Players used: | 24 | |||||||
| Goals scored: | 85 (including 3 own goals) | |||||||
| Player | First Division | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | 15 | 3 | 18 | ||
| 2 | FW | 15 | 2 | 17 | ||
| 3 | FW | 12 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 4 | FW | 11 | 2 | 13 | ||
| 5 | FW | 5 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 6 | FW | 4 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 7 | DF | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 8 | FW | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 9 | MF | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| MF | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| FW | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| Own Goals | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Total | 71 | 14 | 85 | |||
| Date | Pos. | Nat. | Name | From | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1952 | — | |||||
| May 1952 | Oxford Amateurs | — | ||||
| December 1952 | Free agency | — | ||||
| March 1953 | Taylor Brothers | — | ||||
| Graham Williams | — |
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