List of Mansfield Town F.C. seasons
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English association football club based in the Nottinghamshire town of Mansfield. Founded in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans, the team first entered the Mansfield & District Amateur League in 1902. Four years later, the club turned professional, tweaked its name to Mansfield Wesley, and joined the Notts & District League. The team made their debut in the FA Cup in 1909–10, and joined the Central Alliance in 1911, by which time the club had adopted its current name of Mansfield Town. In the first post-First World War season, they moved to the Field Mill ground and won the Central Alliance title, and in 1921, they were accepted into the Midland League. Three years later, they won the Midland League title, repeated the feat the following year, and were runners-up the next. Applications for election to the Football League were unsuccessful, but in the hope of a better class of football, they had one season in the Midland Combination, primarily a reserve league for Football League clubs, before returning to the Midland League. In 1928–29, Mansfield won the Midland League title by a nine-point margin and beat two Football League clubs on the way to their first appearance in the fourth round of the FA Cup, in which they lost 2–0 to Arsenal at Highbury.
History of Mansfield Town F.C.
In the following 6 years, the club had mainly mediocre seasons in the League, finishing in the top half only once, and nearly having to apply for re-election in their first season. A merry-go-round of managers occurred as Mansfield struggled, although two players stood out above the rest. Harry Johnson was signed for the Stags' first season and managed 104 goals in three years. When he retired he was replaced by Ted Harston, who managed 81 in two seasons, including 55 goals in the 1936–37 season before being transferred to Liverpool. Harry Crawshaw, Harston's replacement, managed 25 goals in his one season for Mansfield before leaving for Nottingham Forest. Short up front in 1938–39, Mansfield managed only 44 goals, finishing 16th in the last season before football was abandoned for World War Two.