A recent request for a list of Chester’s highest attendances prompted me to look through the records and expand the search to find the top 20. I thought the results might provide interesting reading:
1 – 20,378 Chelsea FA Cup 3rd Round replay 18/01/52 L 2-3
2= 19,000 Leeds United League Cup 4th Round 13/11/74 W 3-0
2= 19,000 Newcastle United League Cup 5th Round 18/12/74 W 1-0
2= 19,000 Aston Villa League Cup Semi-Final 22/01/75 D 2-2
5 – 18,816 Sheffield Wednesday FA Cup 4th Round replay 25/01/39 D 1-1
6 – 18,706 Stoke City FA Cup 4th Round 25/01/47 D 0-0
7 – 18,251 Newcastle United FA Cup 3rd Round 22/01/66 L 1-3
8 – 18,004 Wrexham Division 3 North 29/08/36 W 4-1
9 – 18,000 Plymouth Argyle FA Cup 3rd Round 11/01/47 W 2-0
10 – 16,835 Wrexham Division 3 North 04/02/33 L 0-3
11 – 16,375 Tranmere Rovers Division 3 North 28/03/36 D 1-1
12 – 16,283 Wigan Athletic FA Cup 2nd Round 04/12/65 W 2-1
13 – 16,160 Wrexham Division 3 North 28/02/48 W 4-1
14 – 15,882 Derby County FA Cup 3rd Round 02/01/71 L 1-2
15 – 15,255 Stockport County Division 3 North 24/04/37 D 1-1
16 – 15,202 Wrexham Division 3 North 01/10/55 W 2-1
17 – 15,106 Wrexham Division 3 North 29/09/34 W 6-2
18 – 15,024 Wrexham Division 4 26/12/69 W 2-0
19 – 14,921 Wrexham Welsh Cup Final 03/05/33 W 2-0
20 – 14,782 Wrexham Division 4 27/02/65 W 6-1
I have seen various figures quoted for the Chelsea FA Cup tie in 1952 but have gone for the more precise figure of 20,378 rather than the rounded up one of 20,500 that is often used. I have also little doubt that the attendances of 19,000 for all three League Cup ties were probably based on the capacity of the ground at the time rather than a fully accurate total.
Given that there is a general belief that Chester always lose when there is a larger than expected attendance It is interesting to see that only four of the top 20 games resulted in defeat and three of these were against teams at least two divisions higher.
Chester Football History 