The day football came back, 31 August 1946 revisited | OneFootball

Professional football returned on 31 August 1946 after a seven-year hiatus, with crowds approaching a million nationwide. A new book by Brian Halford retraces that opening day and the wartime scars clubs had to overcome.

"It's such a fascinating era," "And so little has been written about it before." "So many volunteers round the country had to get bomb-damaged grounds ready to host league football again." He told BBC Radio Lancashire's Scott Read.

Wolves set a thunderous tone, 50,845 at Molineux watching Billy Wright's side dismantle Arsenal 6-1. Manchester United, still at Maine Road after bomb damage to Old Trafford, beat Grimsby 2-1 as the top flight crackled back into life.

Wilf Mannion decided Middlesbrough's 1-0 win at Aston Villa, while Tommy Lawton scored twice for Chelsea and Nat Lofthouse twice for Bolton in a 4-3 home win at Stamford Bridge. At Deepdale, Tom Finney netted as Preston beat Leeds 3-2.

In Division Two, Jackie Milburn scored in Newcastle's 4-1 win at Millwall, George Robledo hit the day's only hat-trick for Barnsley against Nottingham Forest, and Newport versus Southampton was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Liverpool ultimately took the 1946-47 title on 31 May 1947, one point clear of Manchester United and Wolves. Halford's Kicking Off Again recounts every Football League game from that day and the context around them.

Source: BBC UK

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