League Details

Top Scorers

- Tommy Lawton 34 goals
- Torry Gillick 14 goals
- Alex Stevenson 11 goals

Highest Scores

- 6-2 v Sunderland at home
- 5-1 v Portsmouth at home 
- 4-4 v Middlesbrough at home

The Everton squad of 1938-39 who were not able to defend their title  due to the outbreak of
the Second World War. 

Everton made a blistering start to the 1938-39 breaking the first division record by winning their first six games; scoring 17 goals in doing so and only conceded 3. The fans had a new hero in Tommy Lawton and he was revelling in the role; helping himself to eight goals in the first six games. The first Merseyside derby took place on the 1 st October and with both teams in the top three 64.977 were attracted to the game, Everton won 2-1 through goals from Bentham and Boyes but many thoughts were elsewhere.

Europe was on the brink of war as Hitler’s Germany continued to make threatening advances towards neighbouring countries. As an expression of the countries hopes for peace the Nation Anthem was played at all sporting events.

Indifferent form for the rest of the 1938 saw Everton lose their top place in the league and by the end the end of the year they trailed the leaders, Derby County, by five points but had a game in hand. Derby had taken three points out of four from the Blues over the Christmas period but an FA Cup tie on 7 th January between the two teams was to prove pivotal for the whole season. Everton travelled to the Baseball Ground and came home with a 1-0 win but what was more significant was that Derby’s confidence had been shaken and they only managed to pick up eleven more points throughout the remaining games of the season.

Everton meanwhile went on a winning run that saw them win seven of their next eight games, and following a comprehensive 3-0 win at Anfield at the beginning of February, they found themselves back on top of the table. The Easter period proved to be the most profitable for ten years and the team came through it with an eight point lead over Wolverhampton Wanderers. The title was won two weeks later when Wolvers could only draw with Bolton Wanderers, despite the Blues losing at Charlton Athletic. Everton now had an unassailable lead of five points with just two games left, a margin they held until the end of the campaign. On a personal level Tommy Lawton was going from strength to strength and he finished the season as Everton’s and the league’s top scorer for the second season running, with 35 goals in 38 games.

Thoughts of a league and cup double were ignited following the victory over Derby County in early January and were not extinguished in the next round when third division north side Doncaster Rovers were easily despatched, 8-0. Next up was an away game at struggling Birmingham City and Everton had to settle for a 2-2 draw, the replay took place four days later and saw the Blues progress with a 2-0 victory. The quarter final draw saw Everton and title rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers drawn against each other with the game to be played at Molineux. The match took place only ten days after Everton had suffered a humiliated 7-0 defeat at the same venue, the result this time was the same but by a closer 2-0 margin.

After the championship was secured Everton promoted secretary Theo Kelly to become the club’s first manager and were the last of the countries top sides to do so. Kelly, as club secretary, was a great organiser and one of the best public relations men in football, but he was not the most popular man as far as the players were concerned and was cited as one of the reasons some players left the club.