1931–32 NHL season, League business
Meanwhile, the American Hockey Association, which had become the American Hockey League (AHL) in 1930–31, had declared itself a major league. NHL president Frank Calder condemned the AHL as an outlaw league, citing the team putting a franchise in Chicago, which had an NHL franchise, and a franchise in Buffalo where the NHL had a minor league affiliate. The AHL proposed a Stanley Cup challenge, and the Stanley Cup trustees ordered the NHL to play off. However, the Buffalo team collapsed and Calder entered into negotiations to merge the Chicago Shamrocks, owned by James Norris, with the bankrupt Detroit Falcons. The AHL signed an agreement with the NHL to become its minor league affiliate.


1931–32 NHL season, Regular season
Howie Morenz was as effective as ever for the Montreal Canadiens and won the Hart Trophy again, as the Habs once again finished first. The Rangers finished first in the American Division. But it was to be the year of Toronto, with the NHL's leading scorer Harvey "Busher" Jackson leading the way. The Maple Leaf Gardens was built and opened in November 1931, a remarkable achievement.


1931–32 NHL season, Regular season
At one point, the whole project was near collapse, but when Conn Smythe and Frank Selke convinced the unions to accept stock in the Gardens as partial payment of wages, Maple Leaf Gardens was built. Chicago spoiled the home opener with a 2–1 win and it was the Black Hawks Mush March who scored the Gardens first goal.


1931–32 NHL season, Regular season
The Montreal Maroons were very interested in obtaining Eddie Shore from Boston. James Strachan, president of the Maroons, said he was willing to pay up to $40,000 for his contract. However, there was no deal. As Boston had fallen to the bottom of the league, it was doubtful that the Bruins would part with their ace defenceman.


1931–32 NHL season, Playoffs
This was the only time since 1926–27 that three of the final four teams remaining in the playoffs were based in Canada.


1931–32 NHL season, Playoffs, Stanley Cup Finals
The Toronto Maple Leafs swept the best-of-five series against the New York Rangers three games to none. The first two games were to be played in New York City but because the circus was in town, the second game was played in Boston. The third and final game was played in Toronto. It was called the "Tennis Series", because the Leafs scored 6 goals in each game.


1931–32 NHL season, Awards
Howie Morenz won the Hart Trophy for the second time in his career. Joe Primeau won the Lady Byng, the one time he would win the trophy in his career. Chuck Gardiner won the Vezina, the first of two times he would win the trophy.


1931–32 NHL season, Player statistics, Leading scorers
Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes


1931–32 NHL season, Player statistics, Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average


1931–32 NHL season, Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1931–32 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):


1931–32 NHL season, Debuts
Another notable debut in 1931 was Canadian national radio coverage of Toronto Maple Leafs games on the Canadian National Railway radio network. The program, originally known as the General Motors Hockey Broadcast, evolved over time into the modern CBC TV broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada.


1931–32 NHL season, Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1931–32 (listed with their last team):


1931–32 NHL transactions
The following is a list of all team-to-team transactions that have occurred in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1931–32 NHL season. It lists which team each player has been traded to and for which player(s) or other consideration(s), if applicable.


1931–32 National Football League (Ireland)
The 1931–32 National Football League was the 5th staging of the National Football League, a Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.


1931–32 National Football League (Ireland), Format
There were four divisions – Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western. Division winners played off for the NFL title.


1931–32 Nationalliga, Overview
It was contested by 18 teams, and Lausanne Sports won the championship.


1931–32 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Overview
It was contested by 12 teams, and Ferencvárosi TC won the championship.


1931–32 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, League standings
This is the only time that team won the all matches in one of European leagues.


1931–32 Netherlands Football League Championship
The Netherlands Football League Championship 1931–1932 was contested by 50 teams participating in five divisions. The national champion would be determined by a play-off featuring the winners of the eastern, northern, southern and two western football divisions of the Netherlands. AFC Ajax won this year's championship by beating Feijenoord, SC Enschede, PSV Eindhoven and Veendam.


1931–32 New York Americans season
The 1931–32 New York Americans season was the Americans' seventh season of play. The team again finished out of the playoffs, finishing fourth in the Canadian Division.


1931–32 New York Americans season, Regular season, Final standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.


1931–32 New York Rangers season
The 1931–32 New York Rangers season was the sixth season for the team in the National Hockey League. In the regular season, the Rangers won the American Division with a 23–17–8 record. New York qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs, where the Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3–1 to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in franchise history. In the Cup Finals, New York lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, three games to none.


1931–32 New York Rangers season, Regular season, Final standings
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals AgainstTeams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.


1931–32 New York Rangers season, Playoffs, Finals
The Toronto Maple Leafs swept the best-of-five series against the New York Rangers three games to none. The first two games were to be played in New York City but because the circus was in town, the second game was played in Boston. The third and final game was played in Toronto. It was called the "Tennis Series", because the Leafs scored 6 goals in each game. The Rangers scored 4 times in their own building, twice at Boston Garden, and four more in Toronto.


1931–32 New York Rangers season, Player statistics
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only. ‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.


1931–32 Newport County A.F.C. season
The 1931–32 season saw Newport County return to the Southern League following their failure to be re-elected to the Football League. However, after this one season hiatus they were re-elected for the 1932–33 season.


1931–32 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team
The 1931–32 Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team represented Niagara University during the 1931–32 NCAA college men's basketball season. The head coach was John Gallagher, coaching his first season with the Purple Eagles.


1931–32 Northern Football League
The 1931–32 Northern Football League season was the 39th in the history of the Northern Football League, a football competition in Northern England.


1931–32 Northern Football League, Clubs
The league featured 12 clubs which competed in the last season, along with two new clubs:


1931–32 Northern Rugby Football League season
The 1931–32 Rugby Football League season was the 37th season of rugby league football in northern England.


1931–32 Northern Rugby Football League season, Season summary
St. Helens won their first championship when they defeated Huddersfield 9-5 in the play-off final.


1931–32 Northern Rugby Football League season, Season summary
The Challenge Cup Winners were Leeds who beat Swinton 11-8 in the final.


1931–32 Northern Rugby Football League season, Season summary
St. Helens won the Lancashire League, and Hunslet won the Yorkshire League. Salford beat Swinton 10–8 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Huddersfield beat Hunslet 4–2 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.


1931–32 Northern Rugby Football League season, Challenge Cup
Leeds beat Swinton 11-8 in the Challenge Cup Final played at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 9 April 1932 before a crowd of 29,000.


1931–32 Northern Rugby Football League season, Challenge Cup
This was Leeds’ third Cup Final win in as many Cup Final appearances.


1931–32 Palestine League
The 1931–32 Palestine League was the first complete season of league football in the British Mandate for Palestine, and the first played in an autumn-spring format. Although in previous seasons several leagues were contested, none are recognized by the Israeli Football Association.


1931–32 Palestine League
The season began on 7 November 1931 and its final matches were played on 27 May 1932. Seven matches were left un-played as a dispute between Hapoel and Maccabi factions within the EIFA following the punishment given to Hapoel Haifa following the events that led to the abandonment of the cup final halted all EIFA activities.


1931–32 Palestine League
The championship was won by British Police, who finished the season unbeaten.


1931–32 Panhellenic Championship
The 1931–32 Panhellenic Championship was the 4th season of the highest football league of Greece. It was held as a national division, in which 8 teams from the 3 founding Associations of the HFF, participated and resulted as follows:


1931–32 Panhellenic Championship
These teams did not participate in the regional championships and their stay in the national division was judged by a play-off round. According to the regulations of the time, whoever finished in a lower position than the other teams of the same Association had to play a two-legged round against the winner of the corresponding regional championship to decide who will qualify for the 1932–33 Panhellenic Championship.


1931–32 Panhellenic Championship
Aris won its 2nd championship. On the other hand, AEK Athens, Olympiacos and PAOK qualified for the relegation play-offs for the Athenian, Piraeus' and Macedonian Association, respectively. AEK and Olympiacos prevailed in the play-off matches and remained in the national division.


1931–32 Panhellenic Championship
On the contrary, PAOK did not take part in the play-off matches against Megas Alexandros, which were scheduled for September 18 and 22, 1932, protesting against the decision of the HFF, which was issued on July 22, 1932, while PAOK had ended his league games, canceling his 3-2 win over Iraklis on June 5, 1932, following Iraklis' objection for the referee that kept only 1 minute stoppage time due to entrance of the club's men on the pitch and the police intervention  to restore order.


1931–32 Panhellenic Championship
The match was scheduled to be repeated at the neutral stadium of AEK in Athens on September 11. PAOK did not appear in the match and Iraklis was declared the winner without a match by the decision of the HFF, overtaking PAOK in the standings. PAOK was then appointed by the HFF to give double qualifying matches with the then champion of Macedonia Megas Alexandros, however it did not show up again in either of the two matches, as a result of which it lost both games without a match. Thus, PAOK was relegated to the regional championship of Macedonia for the first time in its history.


1931–32 Panhellenic Championship
The point system was: Win: 2 points - Draw: 1 point - Loss: 0 points.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season
The 1931–32 season was Port Vale's 26th season of football in the English Football League, and their second successive season (25th overall) in the Second Division. Aiming to build on their fifth place finish in 1930–31 and to win promotion, they finished in 20th place, only avoiding relegation on the last day thanks to their superior goal average – having a 0.048 better average than Barnsley.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season
Their one highlight of the season was a 3–0 home win over rivals Stoke City that helped to deny Stoke a promotion place – however City comfortably took revenge at the last end of season North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup match, beating Vale 7–0. Manager Tom Morgan was also let go at this time, replaced by former manager Tom Holford. The season was notable for the debut of Tom Nolan, whose goalscoring exploits at the club would be a point of pride in an otherwise miserable pre-war period.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season, Overview, Second Division
The pre-season saw the departure of Phil Griffiths to Second Division champions Everton for £6,000; whilst Jack Simms and Harry Anstiss departed for Swansea Town. In came Dickie York, Arthur Dorrell, Billy Easton, Tom Tippett, and George Poyser. Dorrell and York arrived from First Division runners-up Aston Villa, and the ageing wingers had England caps to their names. Easton had a proven goalscoring record at Swansea, and Tippett and Pyser arrived from Rochdale and Mansfield Town respectively. Big things were expected, and season ticket sales were up by 300% on the previous season.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season, Overview, Second Division
The season began with a 3–1 win at Plymouth Argyle's Home Park, with Sam Jennings scoring a brace. The first home match took place in front of a new £10,351 stand; yet Leeds United took home the points. In September Jennings was sold to Stockport County, and Stewart Littlewood took his place in the first eleven. Two close run victories followed that saw eleven goals scored, however performances tailed off until 26 September when Stoke City romped to a 4–0 victory at the Victoria Ground.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season, Overview, Second Division
"Inferior in all departments", the "Valiants" changed their line-up following the defeat, 'resting' Littlewood – this resulted in a four match unbeaten streak. The next month saw the arrival of centre-forward Tom Nolan from Manchester Central. Harry Marshall was attracting praise for his performances in the half-back role, however Tippett was criticized for his lack of goals. Due to the Great Depression, the bank refused to allow an extension to the club's £5,000 overdraft, and so the club controversially sent notice to other clubs that it would consider offers for its players in order to raise the funds to buy new players.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season, Overview, Second Division
On 21 November they lost 9–3 to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. This twelve goal match is still a club record. On 12 December they suffered the division's biggest home defeat of the season, going down 7–1 to eventual free-scoring champions Wolverhampton Wanderers. Going into their Boxing day win over Notts County they had lost seven of their previous nine games, conceding 33 goals. A holiday break in Llandudno seemed the raise the team's spirits, as two further 2–0 victories followed. In January Wilf Kirkham was re-signed from Stoke, to the delight of fans.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season, Overview, Second Division
On 6 February he took part in a morale-boosting 3–0 home win over Stoke in front of 21,089 fans – an attendance that raised £1,350 of funds. The referee T.Crew also enjoyed the game, congratulating both sides on a sporting display that "was the most pleasurable game he had ever officiated". Vale followed this by picking just four points in their next thirteen games to almost certainly doom the club to relegation – crucially though were the two points they earned from a 3–0 win over Barnsley.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season, Overview, Second Division
With two games to go they were three points (and inferior goal average) behind the tykes. After a 2–1 win over Chesterfield matched by a 4–1 home defeat by Barnsley, they were just behind by a single point. Vale's final game of the season was against already promoted second place Leeds United – a 'convincing' 2–0 victory followed at Elland Road. Barnsley only managed a 2–2 draw, and so Vale leapfrogged Barnsley to reach the safety of 20th place.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season, Overview, Second Division
They finished 20th due to their superior goal average. However with 58 goals scored, their attack was the third worst in the division; whilst their 89 goals conceded made them the second leakiest defence in the division. Lacking a consistent goalscorer, top-scorers Nolan and Tippett failed to reach twenty goals between them. Losing half their games, their statistic of nine home defeats was particularly worrying.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season, Overview, Second Division
Lucky to still be a second tier club, a clear-out followed. Impressive Harry Marshall was sold to Tottenham Hotspur, whilst 323 league-game eleven-year club veteran Bob Connelly was handed a free transfer to Congleton Town. Joseph Chell and Clarence Spencer were also released, signing for Stoke City and Norwich City respectively. Arthur Dorrell and Richard York's best days were well behind them, as Dorrell retired and York signed with Brierley Hill Alliance. Manager Tom Morgan meanwhile reverted to his old position as assistant secretary, replaced at the helm by former manager Tom Holford.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season, Overview, Finances
On the financial side, gate receipts were at £12,170 – their lowest total since re-joining the Football League in 1919. However 'rigid economy' ensured a profit of £873.


1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season, Overview, Cup competitions
In the FA Cup, they travelled to Brighton & Hove Albion's Goldstone Ground of the Third Division South. They progressed with a 2–1 victory thanks to two strikes from Nolan. Coming up against First Division Leicester City in the Fourth Round, they were defeated 2–1 in front of 20,637 deafening supporters. On 9 May they lost the last North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup friendly with Stoke, losing 7–0 in a match they "scarcely tried" to win.


1931–32 Prima Divisione
The 1931–32 Prima Divisione was the third level league of the 32nd Italian football championship.


1931–32 Prima Divisione
In 1928, FIGC had decided a reform of the league structure of Italian football. The top-level league was the National Division, composed by the two divisions of Serie A and Serie B. Under them, there were the local championship, the major one being the First Division, that in 1935 will take the name of Serie C. Starting from 1930-31 season, the winners of the six groups of First Division would be admitted to the final rounds, where three tickets of promotion to Serie B were available, whereas the scheduled relegations were annulled by the Federation which expanded the division.


1931–32 Prima Divisione, Teams
The championship rose from 80 to 90 clubs with a special guest. Five new teams had arrived from the regional leagues.


1931–32 Prima Divisione, Regulation
Six groups of 15 teams with two three final groups, thirty-six matchdays. Final group winners were promoted, ultimate clubs in the regular season should be relegated.


1931–32 Primera Fuerza season, Overview
It was contested by 8 teams, and Atlante won the championship.


1931–32 Primera Fuerza season, League standings, Championship Playoff
The championship playoff was played between the top two teams.


1931–32 Primera Fuerza season, League standings, Top goalscorers
Players sorted first by goals scored, then by last name.


1931–32 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team
The 1931–32 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1931–32 NCAA men's basketball season. The head coach was Albert Wittmer and the team captain was Lloyd Rosenbaum. The team played its home games in the University Gymnasium on the university campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The team was the winner of the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (EIBL).


1931–32 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team
The team posted an 18–4 overall record and a 9–2 conference record. After ending the regular season tied for the conference lead, the team won a one-game playoff against Columbia on March 17, 1932, in Philadelphia by a 38–35 margin for the EIBL championship.


1931–32 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team
The 1931–32 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team represented Purdue University during the 1931–32 NCAA men's basketball season in the United States. The head coach was Ward Lambert, coaching in his 15th season with the Boilermakers. The team finished the season with a 17–1 record and was retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.


1931–32 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team
Future Basketball Hall of Famer as both a player and a coach, John Wooden, was a senior on this team. He was named the national player of the year after leading the successful Boilermakers with an impressive 12.1 points per game average (back when scoring was much lower than it is today, 12 points was a significant average).


1931–32 Rangers F.C. season
The 1931–32 season was the 58th season of competitive football by Rangers.


1931–32 Rochdale A.F.C. season
The 1931–32 season saw Rochdale compete for their 11th season in the Football League Third Division North where they finished in 21st position with 11 points.


1931–32 Rochdale A.F.C. season
Rochdale finished bottom of the Third Division North after managing just four wins. During the season they went on a record-breaking run of 17 straight defeats.


1931–32 Rugby Union County Championship
The 1931–32 Rugby Union County Championship was the 39th edition of England's premier rugby union club competition at the time.


1931–32 Rugby Union County Championship
Gloucestershire won the competition for the eighth time (and third in succession) after defeating Durham County in the final.


1931–32 SK Rapid Wien season
The 1931–32 SK Rapid Wien season was the 34th season in club history.


1931–32 SM-sarja season
The 1931–1932 SM-sarja season was again played as a cup. There was 6 Teams from 3 Cities.


1931–32 Scottish Cup
The 1931–32 Scottish Cup was the 54th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Rangers who defeated Kilmarnock in the replayed final.


1931–32 Scottish Districts season
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Aedis1 (talk | contribs) at 08:18, 8 April 2020 (→History). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


1931–32 Scottish Districts season
The 1931–32 Scottish Districts season is a record of all the rugby union matches for Scotland's district teams.


1931–32 Scottish Districts season, History
The principal dates for season 1931-32 will be:—- October 28, Glasgow District v. South Africans; October 31, South of Scotland v. South Africans at Melrose; November 7, North v. Midlands at Dundee; November 21, North v. South at Selkirk; December 19, Scotland (Probables) v. Rest (Possibles) at Murrayfield; January 9, North of Scotland v. South Africans at Aberdeen; January 16. Scotland v. South Africa at Murrayfield; February 7, Scotland v. Wales at Murrayfield; February 21. Scotland v. Ireland at Murrayfield: March i 9, Scotland v. England Twickenham.


1931–32 Scottish Division One
The 1931–32 Scottish Division One season was won by Motherwell by five points over nearest rival Rangers. Dundee United and Leith Athletic finished 19th and 20th respectively and were relegated to the 1932–33 Scottish Division Two.


1931–32 Scottish Division Two
The 1931–32 Scottish Second Division was won by East Stirlingshire who, along with second placed St Johnstone, were promoted to the First Division. Edinburgh City finished bottom.


1931–32 Segunda División
The 1931–32 Segunda División season saw 10 teams participate in the second flight Spanish league. Betis was promoted to Primera División. Catalunya was relegated to Tercera División.


1931–32 Serie A (ice hockey) season
The 1931–32 Serie A season was the sixth season of the Serie A, the top level of ice hockey in Italy. SG Cortina won the championship by defeating Hockey Club Milano in the final.


1931–32 Serie B
The 1931–32 Serie B was the third tournament of this competition played in Italy since its creation.


1931–32 Serie B, Teams
Como, Vigevano and Cagliari had been promoted from Prima Divisione, while Livorno and Legnano had been relegated from Serie A.


1931–32 Sheffield Shield season
The 1931–32 Sheffield Shield season was the 36th season of the Sheffield Shield, the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. New South Wales won the championship by virtue of having a better average.


1931–32 Slovenian Republic League
The 1931–32 Slovenian Republic League was the 13th season of the Slovenian Republic League. Ilirija have won the league.


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland
The 1931–32 South Africa tour of Britain and Ireland was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the South Africa national team against the four British Home Nation teams. The tour also took in several matches against British and Irish club, county and invitational teams. This was the fourth South Africa tour and the third tour of the Northern Hemisphere.


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland
The tour was extremely successful for the South Africans, as the team only lost a single match. In the tests played the team beat all four home nations. The only team to beat the Springboks was the invitational East Midlands county team. The final tour record saw 26 matches played, with South Africa winning 23, losing one and drawing two.


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, Criticism of playing style
Although very successful on the pitch, the touring South Africans were unloved by their hosts and the press back home. Bennie Osler, the South African captain, introduced a style of play which centred on a continual kicking game; either into touch in an attempt to support his large pack or diagonally across the pitch for his wings to chase. This was seen by many critics of the time as 10-man tactics, with the backs taken out of the match, and thus the entertainment brought by previous South African tours removed.


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, Criticism of playing style
Welsh journalist 'Old Stager' stated "The Africans, by adherence to ten-man rugby, are winning their matches, but are not capturing the hearts and the imagination of rugby followers...". O.L. Owen in his History of the RFU concurred with these thoughts, "The least spectacular and, so far as back play was concerned, the most disappointing of the South African touring sides..."


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Newport
Newport: WA Everson, Jack Morley (capt. ), K Richards, JR Edwards, K Watkins, Dicky Ralph, R Tovey, JC Slade, J Hughes, JA Addison, Harry Peacock, R Newton, DA Jones, P Hordern, Sam Danahar


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Newport
South Africa: GH Brand, M Zimerman, JH van der Westhuizen, JC van der Westhuizen, FW Wearing, BL Osler, P de Villiers, MM Louw, PJ Mostert, SC Louw, JN Bierman, SR du Toit, PJ Nel, AJ van der Merwe, GM Daneel


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Swansea
Swansea: Iorrie Herbert, Rhys Evans, Jack Rees (capt. ), Claude Davey, Jim Dark, Dennis Manley, Idwal Rees, Bryn Evans, Tom Day, Glyn Jones, Gwynfor Lewis, Dai Thomas, Will Davies, Joe White, Edgar Long


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Swansea
South Africa: JC Tindall, JH van der Westhuizen, JC van der Westhuizen (capt. ), FW Wearing, GH Brand, MG Francis, DH Craven, MM Louw, HG Kipling, SC Louw, AJ van der Merwe, V Geere, HM Forrest, GM Daneel, JAJ McDonald


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Abertillery and Cross Keys
Abertillery/Cross Keys: Jimmy O'Neill (Abertillery) (capt. ), Jim Bird (Abertillery), George Thompson (Cross Keys), Gerald Lewis (Cross Keys), JR Davies (Cross Keys), Syd Watkins (Cross Keys), Albert Hockey (Abertillery), Mel Meek (Abertillery), Lonza Bowdler (Cross Keys), Ken Salmon (Cross Keys), Steve Morris (Cross Keys), Trevor Thomas (Abertillery), Eddie Lloyd (Abertillery), RT Probert (Cross Keys), Albert Fear (Abertillery)


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Abertillery and Cross Keys
South Africa: JC Tindall, JH van der Westhuizen, BG Gray, J White, M Zimmerman, BL Osler (capt. ), DH Craven, PJ Mostert, HG Kipling, SR du Toit, V Geere, PJ Nel, LC Strachan, JB Dold, AJ van der Merwe


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Leicestershire and East Midlands
Leicestershire and East Midlands:Bobby Barr (Leicester); Jeff Hardwicke (Leicester), Ralph Buckingham (Leicester), Charlie Brumwell (Bedford), Len Ashwell (Bedford); Charles Slow (Northampton), Bernard Gadney (Leicester); Henry Greenwood (Leicester), Doug Norman (Leicester), Ray Longland (Northampton), Thomas Harris (Northampton), Anthony Roncoroni (West Herts), William Weston (Northampton),  George Beamish (Leicester), Eric Coley (Northampton)South Africa: Tindall; Venter, van der Westhuizen, Gray, Zimmerman; Francis, Craven; Louw, Mostert, du Toit, Nel, Strachan, Bierman, Dold, Daneel


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Cardiff
Cardiff: Tommy Stone, Ronnie Boon, Graham Jones, Bernard Turnbull, John Roberts, Harry Bowcott (capt. ), Maurice Turnbull, Tom Lewis, Don Tarr, Tom Gadd, Archie Skym, Viv Osmond, Colin Ross, Bob Barrell, Iorrie Isaacs


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Cardiff
South Africa: GH Brand, M Zimerman, BG Gray, JC van der Westhuizen, D Owen Williams, BL Osler (capt. ), P de Villiers, MM Louw, PJ Mostert, SR du Toit, AJ van der Merwe, WF Bergh, V Geere, JN Bierman, JAJ McDonald


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Llanelli
Llanelli: Bryn Howells, Wattie Lewis, Sid Howells, Tom Evans, Horace Fairhurst, Dai John, Bert Jones, Bryn Evans, Jack Williams, Edgar Jones, Cliff Treharne, Alf Parker, Will Lang, Jim Lang, Ivor Jones (capt.)


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Llanelli
South Africa: GH Brand, D Williams, BG Gray, JH van der Westhuizen, FW Waring, MM Louw (capt. ), DH Craven, MG Francis, HG Kipling, V Geere, GM Daneel, PJ Nel, WF Bergh, JN Bierman, LC Strachan


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Neath and Aberavon
Neath & Aberavon: Phil Lloyd (Neath), Dan Jones (Neath), Glyn Daniels (Neath), Gwyn Moore (Neath), Fred Nicholas (Aberavon), Wilf Selby (Aberavon), Tal Harris (Aberavon), Tom Arthur (Neath), Miah McGrath (Aberavon), Ned Jenkins (Aberavon), Walter Vickery (Aberavon), Gordon Hopkins (Neath), Arthur Lemon (Neath), Cyril Griffiths (Aberavon) (Capt. ), Glyn Prosser (Neath)


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Neath and Aberavon
South Africa: JC Tindall, M Zimerman, J White, JC van der Westhuizen, FD Venter, BL Osler (capt. ), DH Craven, SR du Toit, HG Kipling, PJ Mostert, AJ van der Merwe, PJ Nel, WF Bergh, JB Dold, JAJ McDonald


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Wales
Wales: Jack Bassett (Penarth) (capt. ), Jack Morley (Newport), Claude Davey (Swansea), Frank Williams (Cardiff), Ronnie Boon (Cardiff), Dicky Ralph (Newport), Wick Powell (London Welsh), Tom Day (Swansea), Lonza Bowdler, (Cross Keys), Archie Skym (Cardiff), Ned Jenkins (Aberavon), Tom Arthur (Neath), Arthur Lemon (Neath), Watcyn Thomas (Swansea), Will Davies (Swansea)


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Wales
South Africa: GH Brand, M Zimerman, BG Gray, J White, FD Ventor, DH Craven, PJ Mostert, BL Osler (capt. ), HG Kipling, MM Louw, AJ van der Marwe, WF Bergh, PJ Nel, GM Daneel, JAJ McDonald


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Ireland
Ireland: Major Egan, Edward Lightfoot, Eugene Davy, Morgan Crowe, Joxer Arigho, Laurence McMahon, Paul Murray, Hal Withers, Victor Pike, Jimmy Farrell, Jack Russell, Jack Siggins, Noel Murphy, George Beamish (c), Jamie Clinch


1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland, The matches, Ireland
South Africa: Gerry Brand, Morris Zimerman, Franky Waring, C van der Westhuizen, Ponie van der Westhuizen, Bennie Osler (c), Danie Craven, Boy Louw, Bert Kipling, Phil Mostert, Flip Nel, Ferdie Bergh, Nick Bierman, Andre McDonald, George Daneel


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season
The 1931–32 season was the 37th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's tenth in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing in the top half of the Second Division league table for the past three seasons, the Saints struggled to challenge in 1931–32 and ended up finishing in 14th place, closer to relegation than promotion. Southampton's first season with manager George Kay started strongly, as the team picked up four wins in their first five matches and reached the top of the Second Division league table for the first time in the club's history. Form quickly deteriorated, however, and the club was briefly involved in a fight for survival in the new year. After picking up a few more wins, Southampton secured their safety and finished in 14th place with 14 wins, 14 draws and 14 losses.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season
In the 1931–32 FA Cup, Southampton again travelled to Roker Park to face First Division side Sunderland in the third round. This time the Saints forced a replay at The Dell after a goalless draw, but lost 4–2 to face elimination at the first hurdle for the fifth season running. The club ended the season with the annual Rowland Hospital Cup and Hampshire Benevolent Cup matches against local rivals Portsmouth, which they drew and lost, respectively.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season
The Saints also competed in the inaugural Hampshire Combination Cup in April, beating Portsmouth in the semi-final and losing to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in the final. Southampton played another four friendly matches during the campaign, beating sides from the Royal Air Force and the Southern Command, and losing to Exeter City and a side representing the Dutch FA.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season
Southampton used 34 different players during the 1931–32 season and had sixteen different goalscorers. Their top scorer was outside-left Johnny Arnold, who scored 20 goals in the Second Division and one in the Hampshire Combination Cup. Arthur Haddleton scored ten goals in the competition, followed by Arthur Wilson with seven league goals. Eleven players were signed by the club during the campaign, with eight released and sold to other clubs. The average attendance at The Dell during the 1931–32 season was 11,003. The highest attendance was 22,927 against Sunderland in the FA Cup third round replay. The highest league attendance was 22,353 against Chesterfield on 26 December 1931. The lowest attendance was 6,128 against Manchester United on 7 May 1931, in the final game of the Second Division season.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Background and transfers
At the end of the 1930–31 season, several players left Southampton. Scottish inside-right Jerry Mackie retired from football, having scored 24 times in 84 appearances during a three-year career with the Saints. Inside-left Laurie Cumming, who had fallen out of favour after "his temperament became suspect", joined Scottish club Alloa Athletic. Left-back Ted Hough, who had been at the club for almost ten years, signed for Southampton's local rivals Portsmouth in the First Division, who paid £200 for the player. Inside-left Ernie Warren also left the Saints for a second time, signing for Southern League side Peterborough & Fletton United. Centre-half Bill Stoddart joined Third Division South club Bristol Rovers in July, and inside-right Billy Stage left to join Great Harwood in the Lancashire Combination in August.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Background and transfers
New Saints manager George Kay also signed three players during the summer. First was inside-right Frank Osborne from Tottenham Hotspur in June, who cost the club £450. Also brought in was amateur centre-forward Ted Drake from Winchester City, who signed a professional contract in November. In August, inside-forward Henry O'Grady joined from Port Vale in August. Later, in September, Welsh winger Frank Matson signed from Cardiff City, having previously made a guest appearance for the Saints in the 1931 Hampshire Benevolent Cup.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Background and transfers
Arthur Holt also signed from Hampshire League side Totton on amateur terms the same month, although would not turn professional until the following October. Also in September, outside-left Reg Watson was transferred to Rochdale. In October, the club signed Charlie Sillett from Barking Town, who initially filled in at centre-forward and later played in several other positions. Amateur forward Bill Charlton joined from Middlesex Wanderers in December.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Background and transfers
During a period described by club historians as an "injury crisis", former centre-half George Harkus rejoined the club in February, alongside new Saints Supporters Club-funded outside-right Dick Neal from Derby County. With relegation to the Third Division South still a possibility, Southampton added another forward in March when they signed Tom Brewis from York City, after securing a loan from a club director due to financial difficulties. Outside-right Peter Cowper left around the same time to join Southport, having submitted a transfer request more than a year earlier. The final transfer was a trial for Witton Albion right-half Henry Belcher in April.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Second Division
Southampton started the 1931–32 Second Division season with their strongest beginning to a campaign in the Football League to date, picking up four wins in their opening five games and reaching the top of the table for the first time in the club's history.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Second Division
The run started on 29 August 1931 with a 3–0 victory at home to promotion hopefuls Burnley; continued with a 3–2 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, who had just been relegated from the First Division; included a 2–1 home defeat of Tottenham Hotspur, who had finished just three points shy of promotion the previous year; and ended in a 2–1 home win over mid-table side Bury.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Second Division
The stint at the top of the table was short, however, and after five more games the Saints were just hanging onto a top-ten position following defeats at the hands of promotion hopefuls Spurs, Stoke City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bradford Park Avenue.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Second Division
During the first ten games of the season, Arthur Haddleton set a new club record when he scored in eight consecutive games, which lasted until it was surpassed by Ron Davies in 1966, who scored ten consecutive matches in the club's first season in the top flight, on the way to finishing as the division's top scorer that year.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Second Division
The Saints were never able to keep up a good run of results due to ongoing illness and injury problems – according to club historians, manager George Kay used a total of 30 players during the league campaign, including two goalkeepers, three right-backs, five left-backs, five right-halves, five centre-halves, two left-halves, nine outside-rights, nine inside-rights, six centre-forwards, seven inside-lefts and four outside-lefts.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Second Division
On 28 November the team lost 5–0 at Notts County, who had been recently promoted from the Third Division South, before suffering their biggest home league defeat the next week when they were thrashed 6–0 by Plymouth Argyle, who were fifth in the table at the time. By March the Saints were facing a battle against relegation, sitting 18th in the table just five points above the drop.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Second Division
However, a strong finish to the campaign saw the side pick up wins over Swansea Town, Nottingham Forest, Notts County and Plymouth Argyle, losing just once in their last eight fixtures and securing their Second Division status for another year. Southampton finished the season in 14th place with 14 wins, 14 draws and 14 losses – the same record as they had managed in 1922–23, their first season in the division.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, FA Cup
Southampton entered the 1931–32 FA Cup in the third round against First Division side Sunderland, who had knocked them out at the same stage the previous season. The match took place at Roker Park on 9 January and ended as a goalless draw, with club historians highlighting the defensive performances of goalkeeper Bert Scriven, right-back Bill Adams and centre-half Arthur Bradford, while suggesting that "Had Charlie Sillett made the most of his opportunities then there would have been no need for a replay".


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, FA Cup
In the replay at The Dell four days later, the top-flight visitors quickly asserted their dominance in the first half with three goals against the "sluggish" hosts. The Saints reacted in the second half, with goals from Sillett and Michael Keeping giving the Second Division side a chance of a comeback, however a "glorious opportunity" missed by Johnny Arnold and a penalty for Sunderland later on sent Southampton out of the tournament in the third round for the fifth consecutive season.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Other matches
Outside of the league and the FA Cup, Southampton played eight additional first-team matches during the 1931–32 season. The first was a friendly match against a Royal Air Force side at The Dell in November, which the Saints won 4–0 thanks to a brace from Frank Matson and goals from Peter Dougall and Arthur Holt.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Other matches
A second friendly in January against Third Division South club Exeter City ended in a 2–0 loss, which was followed in March by a 6–1 thrashing at the hands of a team representing the Dutch FA in Rotterdam (the only goal for the visitors scored by Arthur Wilson). A final friendly, at a side representing the Southern Command, took place in April and ended in a 3–1 win for Southampton, thanks to goals from Johnny Arnold, Tom Brewis and Ted Drake.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Other matches
Five days after the final friendly, Southampton hosted local rivals Portsmouth in the inaugural Hampshire Combination Cup, which also featured Third Division South sides Aldershot and Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic. The Second Division hosts beat their top-flight visitors by a single goal, which was scored by Arnold in the 67th minute after Pompey goalkeeper Jock Gilfillan saved a shot from Matson.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Other matches
Portsmouth's Alec Mackie was involved in two incidents during the game, first committing a foul on Arnold in the first-half which led to the referee introducing a police officer on standby, and later being sent off following an "unfortunate incident". In the final at The Dell, the Saints lost 3–2 to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic despite a strike from Drake and an own goal.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Other matches
Southampton and Portsmouth met again on 9 May in the Rowland Hospital Cup, the first of their annual end-of-season charity cup matches. Saints regulars Drake, Arnold and Frank Campbell were injured, leading manager George Kay to give official debuts to Holt at centre-forward and Henry Belcher at right-half. Dick Neal gave the hosts the lead before Jimmy Easson equalised for the visitors, and later Holt's first official goal was cancelled out by another leveller from Fred Worrall. Two days later, the sides met for the third time in a month at Fratton Park for the Hampshire Benevolent Cup.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Other matches
The hosts thrashed the Saints 5–1, with the visitors once again playing with alumni George Harkus and Bill Rawlings in the absence of a full squad. Southampton went ahead after just four minutes, when Neal headed in a cross from Bill Luckett after a move started by Rawlings, but were quickly dominated by Pompey who scored through Frederick Cook, Jack Weddle, Worrall and Easson (twice).


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Player details
Southampton used 34 different players during the 1931–32 season, 16 of whom scored during the campaign. The team played in a 2–3–5 formation throughout, using two full-backs, three half-backs, two outside forwards, two inside forwards and a centre-forward. Club captain Bill Adams made the most appearances for the club during the campaign, playing in every match of the season except the Hampshire Benevolent Cup. Left-half Bill Luckett appeared in all but four league games, and outside-left Johnny Arnold featured in all but five league fixtures, the Hampshire Benevolent Cup and the Rowland Hospital Cup.


1931–32 Southampton F.C. season, Player details
Arnold finished as the season's top scorer with 20 goals in the Second Division and one in the Hampshire Combination Cup, followed by Arthur Haddleton on ten league goals and Arthur Wilson, who scored seven in the competition. Johnny McIlwaine was the highest-scoring half-back of the season with two goals, while full-backs Charlie Sillett and Michael Keeping scored five and three goals, respectively.


1931–32 Southern Conference men's basketball season
The 1931–32 Southern Conference men's basketball season consisted of a record 23 member institutions. The regular season champions were Maryland and Kentucky. They each had .900%. The tournament champion was Georgia.


1931–32 Southern Conference men's basketball season, Conference Tournament
The tournament was seeded so that no team would face a school that they had faced in the regular season in the first round of the tournament.


1931–32 Southern Football League
The 1931–32 season was the 34th in the history of the Southern League. The league consisted of Eastern and Western Divisions. Dartford won the Eastern Division for the second successive season, whilst newly elected Yeovil & Petters United won the Western Division. Dartford were declared Southern League champions after winning a championship play-off 2–1.


1931–32 Southern Football League
Five clubs from the Southern League applied to join the Football League, with Aldershot Town and Newport County being successful.


1931–32 Southern Football League, Eastern Division
A total of 10 teams contest the division, including 8 sides from previous season and two new teams.


1931–32 Southern Football League, Western Division
A total of 13 teams contest the division, including 11 sides from previous season and two new teams.


1931–32 Southern Football League, Football League election
As Wigan Borough (resigned) and Thames (disbanded) had left the Football League, there were two places available, one in the Third Division North and one in the Third Division South. However, Mansfield Town were transferred from the South to the North division, meaning both vacant positions were in the South division. Five Southern League clubs applied, with Aldershot Town and Newport County (a year after being voted out) being successful in the vote.


1931–32 St. Louis Soccer League
Final league standings for the 1932–33 St. Louis Soccer League.


1931–32 Stoke City F.C. season
The 1931–32 season was Stoke City's 32nd season in the Football League and the 12th in the Second Division.


1931–32 Stoke City F.C. season
It was a good season for Stoke as they were finally able to mount a serious promotion challenge. They were involved in the race throughout the season and just missed out finishing third, two points behind second-placed Leeds United. Too many winnable matches were drawn with fourteen matches ending on level terms.


1931–32 Stoke City F.C. season
In March 1932 away at Bury, 17-year-old Stanley Matthews made his professional debut and he would go on to become one of the greatest players in English football.


1931–32 Stoke City F.C. season, Season review, League
The 1931–32 season proved to be an entertaining season for Stoke as they were involved in the hunt for promotion throughout the campaign, just missing out in third spot in the final placings. Their draw tally of 14 cost Stoke dearly in the end and on a number of occasions Stoke were denied victory due to last minute equalisers from their opponents. There were a number of good things to come out of the season, including 25 goals from Joe Mawson and a 14 match unbeaten run from mid-November to the beginning of February. Manager Tom Mather was able to select the same starting eleven for 16 consecutive matches, a club record. Stoke, suffered the fewest defeats in the Second Division.


1931–32 Stoke City F.C. season, Season review, League
The directors, who had used cash resources carefully, allowed Mather to build up his squad, and he duly pulled off three excellent deals, the returning Harry Davies from Huddersfield Town, goalkeeper Roy John and winger Joe Johnson. Johnson was perhaps the shrewdest of the three, for Stoke became aware that his club Bristol City were struggling for money and after a goalless draw at Ashton Gate in April 1932 Stoke paid Bristol a mere £250 for his signature.


1931–32 Stoke City F.C. season, Season review, League
It was at Bury on 19 Match 1932 that Stoke introduced their latest local talent, Stanley Matthews who at the time was described at the time as a 'promising outside right'. Matthews had signed professional contract forms on his 17th birthday (1 February 1932) and was deputising for the injured Bobby Liddle.


1931–32 Stoke City F.C. season, Season review, FA Cup
Stoke, beat Hull City 3–0 and Sunderland 2–1 in a 2nd replay before been knocked out 3–0 by Bury.


1931–32 Sussex County Football League
The 1931–32 Sussex County Football League season was the 12th in the history of the competition.


1931–32 Sussex County Football League, Clubs
The league featured 12 clubs which competed in the last season, no new clubs joined the league this season.


1931–32 Svenska mästerskapet (men's handball)
The 1931–32 Svenska mästerskapet was the first season of Svenska mästerskapet, a tournament held to determine the Swedish Champions of men's handball. Teams qualified by winning their respective District Championships. The District Champions of Scania, Blekinge, Gothenburg, Västergötland, Stockholm and Ångermanland competed in the tournament. The first two rounds were played in Karlskrona and Sollefteå, with Stockholm being predetermined as the venue for the final. Flottans IF Karlskrona won the title, defeating Stockholms-Flottans IF in the final. The final was played on 29 March in Skeppsholmshallen in Stockholm, and was watched by about 1,000 spectators.


1931–32 Svenska mästerskapet (men's handball), Champions
The following players for Flottans IF Karlskrona received winner's medals: Chronzell, Beckman, Fredriksson, Albin Persson (6 goals in the final), Holger Larsson (4), Eve Linder, Malte Hagberg (3), Hasselberg (1) and Waerme (1).


1931–32 Swedish football Division 2
Statistics of Swedish football Division 2 for the 1931–32 season.


1931–32 Swedish football Division 2, League standings, Division 2 Norra 1931–32
Teams from a large part of northern Sweden, approximately above the province of Medelpad, were not allowed to play in the national league system until the 1953–54 season, and a championship was instead played to decide the best team in Norrland.


1931–32 Swedish football Division 3
Statistics of Swedish football Division 3 for the 1931–32 season.


1931–32 Swiss International Ice Hockey Championship
The 1931–32 Swiss International Ice Hockey Championship was the 17th edition of the international ice hockey championship in Switzerland. HC Davos won the championship by finishing first in the final round.


1931–32 Swiss National Ice Hockey Championship
The 1931–32 Swiss National Ice Hockey Championship was the 22nd edition of the national ice hockey championship in Switzerland. HC Davos won the championship by defeating HC Châteaux-d'Oex in the final.


1931–32 Swiss National Ice Hockey Championship, First round, Eastern Series, Group 1
HC Davos qualified for the Eastern Final as the only team in Group 1.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season
The 1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season was Toronto's 15th season in the NHL. The Maple Leafs were coming off their best regular season in team history in 1930–31, and the club set team records in wins and points, with 23 and 53 respectively, finishing in second place in the Canadian Division. Toronto then won three playoff rounds to win the Stanley Cup, first as the Maple Leafs, and third in the history of the franchise.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Offseason
Prior to the season, the NHL announced that the schedule would increase from 44 games to 48. Also, the Maple Leafs announced they were moving from the Arena Gardens, which had been their home since entering the NHL in 1917, to the newly constructed Maple Leaf Gardens.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season
Toronto started the season off slowly, going win-less in their first five games, which cost head coach Art Duncan his job. He was replaced by former Chicago Black Hawks head coach Dick Irvin. Having to travel from his home in Winnipeg, Irvin joined the club for the December 1 game after Smythe coached the team to their first win of the season against the Boston Bruins. The hiring of Irvin would pay off immediately, as the Leafs got hot and had an 8–3–2 record in his first month behind the bench.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season
The Leafs continued to play good hockey for the remainder of the season, finishing with a team record 23 victories, and tying the club record with 53 points. Toronto finished in second place in the Canadian Division, behind the Montreal Canadiens, and qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season
The Leafs offense was led by Busher Jackson, who led the NHL with 53 points, scoring 28 goals and added 25 assists in 48 games. Linemate Joe Primeau led the league with 37 assists to finish second to Jackson in league scoring with 50 points. Charlie Conacher posted an NHL high 34 goals, and finished fourth in league scoring with 48 points. Defenceman King Clancy anchored the blueline, scoring 10 goals and 19 points, while Red Horner provided the team toughness, getting a club high 97 penalty minutes. In goal, Lorne Chabot had another very solid season, winning a team high 22 games while posting a 2.36 GAA and earning four shutouts along the way.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season, Maple Leaf Gardens
Overseen by  Leafs managing director Conn Smythe, the new Maple Leaf Gardens was built in a six-month period during 1931 at a total cost of $1.5 million. The site was purchased from The T. Eaton Co. Ltd. for a price said to be $150,000 below market value. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Ross and Macdonald. Construction was partly funded through a public offering of 7% preferred shares in a new corporation "Maple Leaf Gardens Limited" at $10 each, with a free common share for each five preferred shares purchased. Smythe and the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club Ltd. transferred ownership of the hockey team to the new corporation in return for shares.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season, Maple Leaf Gardens
The contract to construct the building was awarded to Thomson Brothers Construction of Port Credit in Toronto Township. Thomson Bros bid just under $990,000 for the project, the lowest of ten tenders received, mainly due to the fact that amongst the Thomson Brothers' various enterprises they had much of the sub contract work covered, others could not compete in this manner. That price did not include steel work, which was estimated at an additional $100,000. Construction began at midnight on June 1, 1931. In what is to this day considered to be an outstanding accomplishment, the Gardens was built in under five months and two weeks.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season, Maple Leaf Gardens
W. A. Hewitt, sports editor of the Toronto Star, was hired as general manager to oversee all events other than professional hockey. His son, Foster Hewitt, was hired to run the radio broadcasts.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season, Maple Leaf Gardens
The Gardens opened on November 12, 1931, with the Maple Leafs losing 2–1 to the Chicago Black Hawks. Reported attendance on opening night was 13,542. The Leafs would go on to win their first Stanley Cup (third of the Toronto franchise) that season.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Regular season, Season standings
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Playoffs
The Maple Leafs would open the playoffs against the Chicago Black Hawks in a two-game, total goal series. The Black Hawks had a record of 18–19–11, earning 47 points, and finished in second place in the American Division. The Leafs dropped the opening game by a close 1–0 score at Chicago Stadium, however, they returned home for the second game, and Toronto easily defeated the Black Hawks 6–1, and won the total goal series by a score of 6–2, advancing to the second round of the playoffs.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Playoffs
Toronto's next opponent was the Montreal Maroons in another two game, total goal series. The Maroons finished behind Toronto in the Canadian Division, as they finished with a 19–22–7 record, registering 43 points. The Maroons defeated the Detroit Falcons in the opening round of the playoffs. The series opened at the Montreal Forum, and the game ended in a 1–1 tie. The second game was played at Maple Leaf Gardens, and Toronto used home ice to their advantage, defeating the Maroons 3–2 in overtime to win the series 4–3, and move to the Stanley Cup finals.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Playoffs
The Leafs would play the New York Rangers in a best of 5 series to determine the winner of the 1932 Stanley Cup Finals. The Rangers finished in first place in the American Division with a 23–17–8 record, earning 54 points. They had defeated the Montreal Canadiens in four games to advance to the finals. The series opened at Madison Square Garden in New York, however, it was the Leafs who struck first, defeating the Rangers 6–4.


1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs season, Playoffs
The second game of the series was moved from New York to the Boston Garden due to the circus having been booked for the Rangers home arena. Toronto took full advantage of this, and easily defeated the Rangers 6–2 to come within a victory of the Stanley Cup. The series moved to Toronto for the third game, and Toronto completed the sweep, defeating New York 6–4, and winning their third Stanley Cup in team history, and first since 1922, when they were still named the Toronto St. Pats. The "Kid Line" of Jackson, Conacher, and Primeau combined for 8 goals in the 3 games.


1931–32 Torquay United F.C. season
The 1931–32 Torquay United F.C. season was Torquay United's fifth season in the Football League and their fifth consecutive season in Third Division South. The season runs from 1 July 1931 to 30 June 1932.


1931–32 Torquay United F.C. season, Overview
Having just enjoyed their most successful season so far in the Football League, Torquay United were keen to build upon last season's achievements. Unfortunately, the season got off to a terrible start with an opening day 7–0 defeat at Crystal Palace. After conceding six goals to Watford in their second home game of the season, Torquay then had to endure a mortifying 10–2 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage. Results did slowly begin to improve after that humiliation but Torquay would never find themselves any higher than 15th in the League table all season. The team were also to make an early exit from the FA Cup, losing 3–1 at home to Southend United in the First Round.


1931–32 Torquay United F.C. season, Overview
Torquay also had to make do without last season's top goalscorer Jimmy Trotter for the second half of the season after he was sold to Watford in December. Billy Clayson did his best to fill Trotter's boots, eventually becoming this season's top scorer. However, Cyril Hemingway, returning for his second spell at the club, could not recreate the form which saw him top Torquay's goalscoring charts for the 1928–29 season. Nevertheless, Paignton born striker George Stabb showed much potential after signing from Dartmouth United, while another local lad, Lew Tapp, was also a promising new addition to the defence.


1931–32 Torquay United F.C. season, Overview
Torquay did at least have one memorable victory with an 8–1 defeat of Bristol Rovers on Easter Monday, but it was ultimately a hugely disappointing season for Frank Womack and the team. Finishing in 19th place and narrowly avoiding the need for re-election, it was clear that Torquay United were in desperate need of improvement.


1931–32 Tranmere Rovers F.C. season
Tranmere Rovers F.C. played the 1931–32 season in the Football League Third Division North. It was their 11th season of league football, and they finished 4th of 21. They reached the Third Round of the FA Cup.


1931–32 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team
The 1931–32 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1931–32 NCAA men's basketball season and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. The Bruins were led by eleventh year head coach Caddy Works. They finished the regular season with a record of 9–10 and were third in the southern division with a record of 4–7.


1931–32 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team, Previous season
The Bruins finished the regular season with a record of 9–6 and were third in the southern division with a record of 4–5.


1931–32 United States collegiate men's ice hockey season
The 1931–32 United States collegiate men's ice hockey season was the 37th season of collegiate ice hockey in the United States.


1931–32 Washington Huskies men's basketball team
The 1931–32 Washington Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Washington for the 1931–32 NCAA college basketball season. Led by twelfth-year head coach Hec Edmundson, the Huskies were members of the Pacific Coast Conference and played their home games on campus at the UW Pavilion in Seattle, Washington.


1931–32 Washington Huskies men's basketball team
The Huskies were 19–4 overall in the regular season and 12–4 in conference play; first in the Northern division for a fifth consecutive year. A game behind rival Washington State with two games to play, UW defeated the Cougars twice in Seattle to end the season on a thirteen-game winning streak, eleven in conference.


1931–32 Washington Huskies men's basketball team
Washington traveled to Oakland for the PCC championship series against California, the winner of the Southern division after a playoff win over USC. The matchup was a repeat of the previous year's series, won by the Huskies in three games in Seattle. This year, the Golden Bears hosted and won both games to take the conference crown.


1931–32 Washington Huskies men's basketball team
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) debuted in 1938, and the NCAA Tournament in 1939.


1931–32 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team
The 1931–32 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State College for the 1931–32 college basketball season. Led by fourth-year head coach Jack Friel, the Cougars were members of the Pacific Coast Conference and played their home games on campus at WSC Gymnasium in Pullman, Washington.


1931–32 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team
The Cougars were 22–5 overall in the regular season and 11–5 in conference play, second in the Northern division. Rival Washington won the last two games to take the division title, the Huskies' fifth straight.


1931–32 Welsh Cup
The 1931–32 FAW Welsh Cup is the 51st season of the annual knockout tournament for competitive football teams in Wales.


1931–32 Welsh Cup, Second round
15 winners from the First round and one new club - Llanerch Celts. Bettisfield get a bye to the Third round.


1931–32 Welsh Cup, Third round
7 winners from the Second round plus Bettisfield. Llanidloes Town get a bye to the Fourth round.


1931–32 Welsh Cup, Fourth round
Four winners from the Third round, Llanidloes Town plus 11 new clubs.


1931–32 Welsh Cup, Fifth round
Eight winners from the Fourth round plus eight new teams.


1931–32 West Ham United F.C. season
The 1931–32 season was West Ham's eighth season in the First Division since their promotion in season 1922–23. The club were managed by Syd King.


1931–32 West Ham United F.C. season, Season summary
As a warm-up to the season West Ham completed a three match unbeaten tour of Switzerland and began the season with their first ever win at Bolton's Burnden Park. This would be one of only 12 wins all season which saw poor form for the team. February saw the return of Syd Puddefoot to the club, after ten years away, but his seven appearances and no goals did nothing to stave off relegation. West Ham gained a single point from their last 10 games, finished 22nd and bottom and were relegated to the Second Division. Vic Watson was the top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions. He was also top scorer in the league with 23. Jimmy Ruffell made the most appearances; 41 in all competitions.


1931–32 West Ham United F.C. season, Season summary
Relegation for West Ham had a dramatic effect on the mental health of manager King. Suffering from delusions, these became chronic during the season and were a factor towards his sacking and death the following season.


1931–32 West Ham United F.C. season, Season summary
West Ham made the fourth round of the FA Cup before being eliminated by Chelsea.


1931–32 West Ham United F.C. season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


1931–32 Western Football League
The 1931–32 season was the 35th in the history of the Western Football League.


1931–32 Western Football League
The Division One champions for the second time in their history were Plymouth Argyle Reserves, although they left the league at the end of the season. The winners of Division Two were Portland United for the second season running. There was again no promotion or relegation between the two divisions this season.


1931–32 Western Football League, Final tables, Division One
Division One was increased from seven to eight clubs, with one new club joining:


1931–32 Western Football League, Final tables, Division Two
Division Two was increased from seventeen to eighteen clubs after Petters Westland left after just one season, and two new clubs joined:


1931–32 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team
The 1931–32 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College during the 1931-32 NCAA basketball season. The team was led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Edgar Diddle and team captain Orlie Lawrence. The Hilltoppers won the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the school’s first conference championship. Thomas Hobbs and James O. Lawrence were named to the All-State team.


1931–32 William & Mary Indians men's basketball team
The 1931–32 William & Mary Indians men's basketball team represented the College of William & Mary in intercollegiate basketball during the 1931–32 season. Under the third year of head coach John Kellison (who concurrently served as the head football and baseball coach), the team finished the season with a 13–6 record. This was the 27th season of the collegiate basketball program at William & Mary, whose nickname is now the Tribe. William & Mary played the season as an independent.


1931–32 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team
The 1931–1932 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented University of Wisconsin–Madison. The head coach was Walter Meanwell, coaching his eighteenth season with the Badgers. The team played their home games at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison, Wisconsin and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.


1931–32 Yorkshire Cup
The 1931–32 Yorkshire Cup was the twenty-fourth occasion on which the Yorkshire Cup competition had been held. Huddersfield won the trophy (for the  eighth time) by beating Hunslet in the final by the score of 4–2.


1931–32 Yorkshire Cup, Background, General information for those unfamiliar
The Rugby Football League's Yorkshire Cup competition was a knock-out competition between (mainly professional) rugby league clubs from  the  county of Yorkshire. The actual area was at times increased to encompass other teams from  outside the  county such as Newcastle, Mansfield, Coventry, and even London (in the form of Acton & Willesden.


1931–32 Yorkshire Cup, Background, General information for those unfamiliar
The Rugby League season always (until the onset of "Summer Rugby" in 1996) ran from around August-time through to around May-time and this competition always took place early in the season, in the Autumn, with the final taking place in (or just before) December (The only exception to this was when disruption of the fixture list was caused during, and immediately after, the two World Wars).


1931–32 Yorkshire Cup, Competition and Results
This season there were no junior/amateur clubs taking part, no new entrants, and no "leavers" and so the total of entries remained the  same at fifteen. This in turn resulted in one bye in the first round.


1931–32 Yorkshire Cup, Competition and Results, Final
The final was played at Headingley, Leeds, now in West Yorkshire. The attendance was 27,800 and receipts were £1,764. The attendance was the second highest attendance recorded to date at the Yorkshire Cup final behind the record of 33,719 from 1922.


1931–32 Yorkshire Cup, Competition and Results, Final, Teams and Scorers
Scoring - Try = three (3) points - Goal = two (2) points - Drop goal = two (2) points


1931–32 Yorkshire Cup, Notes
1 * The  attendance is given as 27,800 by RUGBYLEAGUEproject   but 27,000 by the  Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook of 1991-92 and 1990-91


1931–32 Yorkshire Cup, Notes
2 * Headingley, Leeds, is the home ground of Leeds RLFC with a capacity of 21,000. The record attendance was  40,175 for a league match between Leeds and Bradford Northern on 21 May 1947.


1931–32 Yugoslav Football Championship
The 1931–32 Yugoslav Football Championship (Serbo-Croato-Slovenian: Državno prvenstvo 1931/32 / Државно првенство 1931/32) was the 10th season of Kingdom of Yugoslavia's premier football competition.


1931–32 Yugoslav Football Championship
A surprising revert to the cup system, presumably to test out how a double-match cup will work (as the previous cups have been single game eliminations).


1931–32 in Belgian football
The 1931–32 season was the 32nd season of competitive football in Belgium. The second and third level of Belgian football were just changed prior to the beginning of the season, with now 2 leagues of 14 clubs in Division I and 4 leagues of 14 clubs in Promotion. R Liersche SK won their first Premier Division title.


1931–32 in Belgian football, Overview
At the end of the season, Tubantia FAC and FC Turnhout were relegated to the Division I, while Lyra TSV (Division I A winner) and RRC de Bruxelles (Division I B winner) were promoted to the Premier Division. The Promotion was won by SV Blankenberghe, Oude God Sport, Union Hutoise FC and Stade Waremmien. The four clubs were promoted to the Division I while Sint-Niklaassche SK, SK Roulers, RFC Bressoux and R Charleroi SC were relegated from the Division I to the Promotion.


1931–32 in English football
The 1931–32 season was the 57th season of competitive football in England.


1931–32 in English football
With a full programme of New Year fixtures across all four divisions, The Times highlighted in particular Aston Villa's clash with high-flying Newcastle United. Villa had recently beaten Newcastle 3-0. Sheffield United were noted as a young team showing splendid form, while Blackburn Rovers were improving after a disastrous start. The Highlight of the Second Division was Bury v Plymouth Argyle.


1931–32 in English football, Honours
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition


1931–32 in Mandatory Palestine football
The 1931–32 season was the 5th season of competitive football in the British Mandate for Palestine under the Eretz Israel Football Association.


1931–32 in Mandatory Palestine football, IFA Competitions, 1931–32 Palestine League
The first Palestine League season was opened on  November 1931 and ended on 27 May 1932. Winners were British Police. During the season the first (and second) league derbies of Tel Aviv and Haifa were played. In Tel Aviv the first match has ended with a 1–1 draw, while Hapoel won the second match 5–1. In Haifa, Hapoel won both matches, 5–0 and 7–2.


1931–32 in Mandatory Palestine football, IFA Competitions, 1932 Palestine Cup
The 1932 Palestine Cup was won by British Police, who were awarded the final match, after it was abandoned on the 37th minute due to protest of Hapoel Haifa after the referee awarded the Police a penalty kick.


1931–32 in Scottish football
The 1931–32 season was the 59th season of competitive football in Scotland and the 42nd season of the Scottish Football League.


1931–32 in Scottish football, Scottish Cup
Rangers were winners of the Scottish Cup after a 3–0 replay win over Kilmarnock.


1931–32 in Scottish football, Junior Cup
Glasgow Perthshire were winners of the Junior Cup after a 2–1 win over Kirkintilloch Rob Roy in the final.


1931–32 in Swedish football
The 1931–32 season in Swedish football, starting August 1931 and ending July 1932:


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Anders Rydberg - Herbert Samuelsson, Arne Johansson - Rune Carlsson, Nils Rosén, Ernst Andersson - John "Jompa" Nilsson, Erik Persson, Sune Zetterberg, Sven Rydell, Evert Hansson.


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Anders Rydberg - Axel Alfredsson, Arne Johansson - Helge Liljebjörn, Nils Rosén, Ernst Andersson - John "Jompa" Nilsson, Gunnar Rydberg, Harry Lundahl, Sven Rydell, Evert Hansson.


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Eivar Widlund - Axel Alfredsson, Sven Andersson - Hugo Sjögren, Wilhelm Petersén, Erik Granath - John "Jompa" Nilsson, Erik Persson, Carl-Erik Holmberg, Sven Rydell, Evert Hansson.


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Sture Hult - Otto Andersson, Arne Johansson - Helge Liljebjörn, Nils Rosén, Erik Granath - John "Jompa" Nilsson, Rolf Gardtman, Carl-Erik Holmberg, Sven Rydell, Knut Kroon.


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Eivar Widlund - Herbert Samuelsson, Sven Andersson - Hugo Sjögren, Victor Carlund, Carl Johnsson - Gösta Dunker, Ragnar Gustavsson, John Sundberg, Sven Jonasson, Evert Hansson.


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Sture Hult - Herbert Samuelsson, Arne Johansson - Helge Liljebjörn, Nils Rosén, Carl Johnsson - Gösta Dunker, Ragnar Gustavsson, Harry Lundahl, Sven Rydell, Knut Kroon.


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Sture Hult ( Olle Bengtsson) - Herbert Samuelsson, Arne Johansson - Helge Liljebjörn, Nils Rosén, Ernst Andersson - Gösta Dunker, Rolf Gardtman, Carl-Erik Holmberg, Sven Rydell, Evert Hansson.


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Gösta Krusberg (12' Anders Rydberg) - Otto Andersson, Erik Lager - Erik Källström, Harry Johansson, Gösta Nordström - Gösta Dunker, Gunnar Olsson, John Sundberg, Ragnar Jacobsson, Evert Hansson.


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Anders Rydberg - Otto Andersson, Erik Lager - Erik Källström, Harry Johansson, Gösta Nordström - Gösta Dunker, Evert Blomgren, John Sundberg, Helge Andersson, Evert Hansson.


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Anders Rydberg - Otto Andersson, Erik Lager - Erik Källström, Harry Johansson, Gösta Nordström - Gösta Dunker, Gunnar Rydberg, Torsten Johansson, John Sundberg, Evert Hansson.


1931–32 in Swedish football, National team results
Sweden: Eivar Widlund (46' Sture Hult) - Herbert Samuelsson, Sven Andersson - Hugo Sjögren, Victor Carlund, Ernst Andersson - John "Jompa" Nilsson, Ragnar Gustavsson, John "Lång-John" Nilsson, Holger Johansson-Jernsten, Gösta Svensson.


1932
1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1932nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 932nd  year of the 2nd millennium, the 32nd  year of the 20th century, and the  3rd   year of the 1930s decade.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1932 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 10th Grand Prix of Endurance that took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 18 and 19 June 1932. A significant year for the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) with the biggest changes to the circuit in the race's history. A new section bypassing Pontlieue suburb was built starting with a long right turn after the pits, going over a hill then down to the Esses, a left-right combination, before rejoining the Hunaudières straight at the new right-hand corner of Tertre Rouge. This shortened the track by almost 3 km down to 13.491 km (8.383 mi).


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans
On paper it looked like it would be a race between the seven 2.3-litre supercharged Alfa Romeos and the two similarly powered Bugatti T55 four-seaters (backed by the Bugatti factory). But from the start it was the Alfa Romeos that set the pace, led by the two works cars in a furious duel. But a first-lap accident by a privateer Bentley at the tricky White House corners caused much disruption for drivers who would not slow down. First Minoia went off at the same place, taking Brisson's Stutz with him, then Marinoni smacked the Bentley trying to make up for an hour lost digging himself out from the Arnage sandbank after another excursion.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans
After the first pit stops around 6pm, the works Alfa of Franco Cortese held the lead. But when that car had to pit around 10pm to get its windscreen fixed, it was the similar car of 1931 winners, Earl Howe and Birkin that took its place. Their chance of a repeat win ended with a blown gasket at 3am, whereupon Raymond Sommer took the lead. He was forced to drive most of the race himself as his co-driver, Italian ex-pat Luigi Chinetti, had got a fever after working long hours to prepare their short-wheelbase Alfa Romeo for the race. Having driven one 3-hour shift Chinetti was unable to do any more.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans
As dawn broke, Cortese/Guidotti were closing on him, but their challenge wilted as they had to make repeated stops to secure loose and broken parts of their car. Their delays allowed the remaining Bugatti of Czaykowski / Friderich, now running third seven laps back, to start chasing them down. That chase came to an end though after midday, when the Bugatti came to a halt on the track having got down to four laps in arrears. This took the pressure off the two Alfa Romeos.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans
Meanwhile, behind the race for outright victory was the quest for winning the Biennial Cup. The initial six eligible cars from the 1931 race had quickly been whittled down to just three: the 3-litre Talbot, versus the smaller 1.5-litre Aston Martin and 1.1-litre Caban. For most of the race, the three cars were running very closely to their designated target distances. Just as one would start building a lead over the others it would be stymied by mechanical delays. As the main race ran down to a predictable finish, it was only on the Sunday afternoon that the Aston Martin of "Bert" Bertelli / Pat Driscoll got enough reliability to pull out a sufficient gap to claim the Biennial Cup.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans
In the end Sommer won by two laps. In a remarkable drive he had been at the wheel for over twenty hours, and during the Sunday, the exhaust pipe had broken that left it pumping its noxious fumes into the cockpit. His distance covered also won the Index of Performance, going over 20% beyond the designated target. Cortese and Guidotti were second in the works Alfa Romeo. After many tribulations, the Talbot of Lewis / Rose-Richards had pushed hard enough to finish third, albeit 36 laps behind. Fourth was Odette Siko’s privateer Bugatti entry – still the best overall finish by a female driver at Le Mans.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations and organisation
This was a watershed year for the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) with a number of major changes happening all at once. It saw the end, after nine years, of the partnership with founding-sponsor Rudge-Whitworth, as money problems drastically affected the British wheel-parts company. The Cup was thus renamed the Biennial Cup of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations and organisation
The suburban growth of the city of Le Mans caused the second major change: residents’ complaints had already forced the removal of the Pontlieue hairpin in 1929. So, in 1931 the ACO acquired 75 hectares of land beyond the start-finish straight and set about constructing a completely new section of track to bypass the transit into the city's southern suburbs. Bounded by earth banking and wattle fencing, the new section started with a sweeping right-hand turn after the finish-line, cresting a low hill before dropping into a technical left-right series of corners (the Esses). The track then rejoined the main road to Tours - the Hunaudières Straight – at the new corner of Tertre Rouge (“red hillock”) named after the major rise the new track traversed.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations and organisation
This shortened the circuit by almost 3 km down to 13.491 km (8.383 mi). The new track set the basis for the iconic layout and has remained essentially the same ever since aside from periodic deviations added to improve safety and surfacing. New viewing and camping areas on the ACO land increased the official capacity to around 60000 spectators. which also saw the start of an extensive new public entertainment “village”. There were also two footbridges built over the new section to allow pedestrian access to the infield (originally sponsored by Champion Sparkplugs)


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations and organisation
The reduced track also demanded an overhaul of all the lap-distance scaling needed for the Index of Performance and the restrictions on fluid replenishment. The ACO gave handsome distance reductions to the smaller engines, while the premier 3-litre class had its required distance raised. The minimum refuelling distance of 320 km / 200 miles was recalculated from 20 laps on the old 16.4 km circuit to 24 laps of the new 13.5 km one.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations and organisation
Recognising the current trend to put bigger engines in popular runabout models, the 2-seater eligibility was extended from 1.0 up to include 1.5-litre cars as well. The ACO also removed the longstanding requirement for each car to carry ballast representing passengers was finally rescinded, greatly reducing the cars weight (180 kg for cars over 3-litres for example) and improving handling performance. The equivalence formula for supercharged engine capacity was adjusted slightly from 130% to 133%.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Regulations and organisation
Given the tribulations that many teams had the previous year with tyre wear, to encourage tyre development, the ACO mandated that each car could only use seven new tyres in the race, including the four it started on. The committee also awarded the fuel-supply contract to Société l’Économique, French agent for Esso/Standard Motor Oil. This was with a view to alternating the contract each year between them and Shell. The company had previously had the contract for the 1927 race. This year it offered three fuel choices: its regular fuel, the new Esso premium grade or 100% benzole.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
The global economic recession meant a dearth of big-engined cars was being produced, and the six cars entered over 4-litres were all 1920s vintage and showing their age. The team to beat was undoubtedly Alfa Romeo, currently dominating Grand Prix racing, and the marque was the best represented in the entry list with 7 cars. Bugatti was their main opposition, supporting entries made by its works-team drivers. Both manufacturers fielded straight-8 supercharged cars of about 2.3-litres (equal to 3-litres with the 1.33 equivalency factor). The only other works team present came from Aston Martin with the remaining entries coming from privateer teams and “gentleman-drivers”.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
After the record low number of finishers in the 1931 race there were only six cars eligible for the Biennial Cup (although when the Mercedes-Benz entry did not arrive this became five).


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Alfa Romeo's dominance in the racing year had started with victory in the Mille Miglia for the works team, and then in the Targa Florio for the works-supported Scuderia Ferrari. The 8C-2300 Monza was modified for Le Mans with a 4-seater lungo (long) touring body styled by Carrozzeria Touring. Five were prepared for the works drivers as well as three customer entries. The two works cars had a finer tuning with exclusive engine parts to increase their output and supercharger power. Their drivers were Franco Cortese/Giovanni Battista Guidotti and "Nando" Minoia/Carlo Canavesi. The Alfa test-driver, Attilio Marinoni, was seconded to the customer car of Georgian-exile Prince Dmitri Djordjadze, with Mille Miglia specialist Angelo Guatta as his co-driver.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Earl Francis Howe, winner in the previous year's race, had one of the brand new cars, once again running it with former Bentley-Boy, Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin. The wealthy Parisian bankers, Pierre Louis-Dreyfus and Antoine Schumann, traded their Bugatti this year for the fifth lungo car. A smaller 6C-1750 model was also entered by Miss Odette Siko in the 3-litre class. She raced with Louis Charavel (using the pseudonym "Sabipa"), having his first race after surviving a bad accident at the 1930 French Grand Prix at Pau.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Raymond Sommer, rising star of French motor-racing, had spied a short-wheelbase Mille Miglia corto 8C on display at the Paris Salon. He bought the car and asked Luigi Chinetti, an Italian émigré running the Alfa Romeo agency in Paris, about converting it to a four-door for touring car racing. The car was fitted with two small rear seats, an oversize fueltank, streamlined fairings and an externally-mounted exhaust (to reduce engine temperatures). It was also the only Alfa Romeo running on Englebert tyres, while the others ran on Dunlop. The shorter wheelbase gave better handling as well as being 100 kg lighter. Sommer also engaged Chinetti as his co-driver.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
After a tragic race the year before, Ettore Bugatti was very wary about any bad press to the company if a similar accident were to happen again. No works team officially arrived however two cars were entered under the drivers’ names with strong works’ backing. Bugatti’s new car, the Type 55, was a tourer based on the T54 using the supercharged 2.3L racing engine of the Type 51. But being a two-seater, it was ineligible to run at Le Mans for its engine size. Instead the T55 power-train and running gear was retrofitted onto the older Type 44 four-seater model.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
The engine was slightly detuned down to 130 bhp. They were run by Guy Bouriat with Louis Chiron, and Russian émigré Count Stanisław Czaykowski with French veteran Ernest Friderich (who had won the voiturette race here in 1920 for Bugatti). There were also two other privateer entries. Jean Sébilleau returned with his 1.5-litre Type 37 that he had raced the year before, while Charles Druck had a Type 40 tourer with its supercharged 1.5-litre engine.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
The biggest cars in the race were veterans of the 1920s. Three Mercedes-Benz SSKs were entered though only that of Henri Stoffel (who had finished second the previous year) actually turned up. This year, rather than drive, he entered it for Marseille brothers Marcel and Paul Foucret. Édouard Brisson brought his Stutz back for a fifth time, paired again with Parisian luxury-car dealer Joseph Cattaneo. Jean Trévoux had bought the supercharged “Blower” Bentley run by Dudley Benjafield and Giulio Ramponi in the 1930 race. It got prepared for the race by Tim Birkin's race-tuning business in London, Birkin and Couper Ltd.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Talbot returned with the AV105, through their Fox & Nicholl customer team, after a surprisingly strong run in the Mille Miglia. However, finances limited the entry to only one car - to contest the Biennial Cup. The engine had been improved to now produce 132 bhp, and a new gearbox was installed. It would be driven by team stalwarts Brian Lewis, Baron Essendon and Tim Rose-Richards.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Aston Martin had now gone into production of its Mark 2 International model. Three two-door ‘Le Mans’ variants were prepared for the race. Technical Director and designer "Bert" Bertelli ran the Biennial Cup entry with Pat Driscoll, while Ken Peacock/Jack Besant and Sammy Newsome/Henken Widengren ran the other two cars. The team was managed by Sammy Davis, experienced Le Mans winner for Bentley in 1927.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Wealthy gentleman-racer Henri de la Sayette entered the first Citroën to race at Le Mans. His C4 model was fitted with a standard open-top touring body. But its 1554cc engine put it in the 2-litre category with the supercharged Alfa Romeo against which it was badly under-powered. Curiously, for its engine size it was given a lower target distance (147 laps) than the smaller 1490cc Aston Martins (148 laps). (See the photograph of the scoreboard below for evidence of car #19)


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Yves Giraud-Cabantous and Roger Labric came back this year to contest the Biennial Cup in their small voiturettes. They hoped the easing of their required laps would prove a decisive advantage against the bigger cars. Once again, the two of them shared the driving in the Caban, while Duverne / Boréal ran Labric's other entry, a BNC 527 Sport. Unlike the Caban, the latter car had its reliable Ruby engine replaced with an affiliated Lombard one.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Salmson had been a strong force in voiturette racing in the 1920s with Émile Petit's innovative twin-cam engines. It returned to Le Mans for the first time in four years. The Grand Sport Spéciale was an upgraded derivative with a double overhead cam engine and four-speed gearbox. This year Just-Émile Vernet/Fernand Vallon swapped the Caban-Salmson for a second-hand GSS of 1926 vintage.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Their perennial competition during that time was Amilcar. However, with the financial depression its new owners had pulled the company out of motor-racing. The MCO models were sold to José Scaron who raced them very successfully. The remainder went to its Parisian distributor, Clément-Auguste Martin, who modified them slightly and prepared them for amateur racers. For Le Mans, Martin entered a 1926-vintage CO model with a normally-aspirated 1.1-litre engine putting out 44 bhp.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Despite having a breakout season in 1931 with the C-type Midget, only a single MG arrived at Le Mans. Sir Francis Samuelson returned, this time with the supercharged version. This time his co-driver was Norman Black, who had won the 1931 Tourist Trophy on handicap in his own C-Type.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Entries
Two other small-engine manufacturers made their debut this year. Automobiles Rally had been founded in 1921, initially licence-assembly of Harley-Davidson cyclecars before building their own cars, popular in racing. The new N-series had a 1.3-litre DOHC Salmson engine and four-speed gearbox. The NCP (court puissée meaning ‘short powerful’) was a short-wheelbase racing version. Alta was a new English company set up by Geoffrey Taylor. The 1.1-litre Alta Sports entered had been bought by John Ford, and was fitted with aluminium- and magnesium-cast engine components to reduce weight.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice and pre-race
Drama followed the Talbot team driving from England to the event. The car carrying the crew crashed encountering unmarked roadworks, putting several in hospital with minor injuries. Arthur Fox was also one of several managers unhappy with only evening practices that would not allow teams to tune their cars to hot daytime temperatures.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice and pre-race
The new track layout was officially opened in a ceremony before the start of the Wednesday practice.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice and pre-race
The extensive work on modifying and preparing Sommer's Alfa Romeo in time meant long hours on race week and left Chinetti quite exhausted. During the practice sessions, there seemed little to choose between the times put up by the Alfa Romeos and the Bugattis.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Practice and pre-race
Race day was an extremely hot day. This would cause issues with tar melting, and seeping through the new road-surface. The pre-race ceremonies included Englishmen George Eyston and John Cobb showed off their Land speed record cars. Earl Howe then did a lap in the race-winning car from the previous year. Finally a minute's silence was held to commemorate André Boillot, a top French driver of the post-war period, who had been killed at a hill-climb event just a fortnight earlier.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Race director Charles Faroux struggled to hold back the over-keen drivers running across the road to their cars, requiring several recalls before waving his yellow flag to start the race. Straight away Cortese and Minoia put their works Alfas into the lead. At the end of the first lap the leading cars came by in close formation – the Alfas of Cortese, Minoia and Birkin, then the Mercedes and the Alfas of Marinoni and Dreyfus. Next were the Bugattis split by Sommer in the other Alfa Romeo.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
The rest of the field had been spread out by an accident at the White House curves. Jean Trévoux bought his Bentley through too quickly on the first bend, spun and rolled. Trévoux was thrown clear but suffered a broken wrist and two significant dents in his tin crash helmet, which undoubtedly saved his life.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Also in trouble on the first laps were the Talbot and the three works Aston Martins, which all came into the pits with bad misfires. After delays and repeat visits to the pits, the causes were traced to the heat and the different French fuel fouling up the spark plugs. Changing the plugs did not do much to help until the temperature cooled going into the evening. In fact, the Talbot did not complete two consecutive laps without pitting until 5pm. The small cars suffered, with the Alta, BNC, Rally and Citroën all having problems early on and retiring within the first hour or so.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Meanwhile, team-mates Cortese and Minoia were racing very hard, passing and repassing, cutting each other off, shaking fists at the other – much to the exasperation of team manager Aldo Giovannini who had told all the Alfa drivers not to exceed 5100rpm to preserve their cars. Marinoni likewise put in some very fast laps, overtaking all ahead of him to take the lead by lap five. But then in his haste he went off at the tight Arnage corner and put his car into the sandbank. It cost him over an hour to dig himself out, putting him at the back of the field. This left Cortese and Minoia to resume their battle.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
More drama unfolded just as the first pit-stops were due after the 24th lap and 6pm. Although the Bentley was still being cleared at White House and officials kept trying to wave flags to slow the cars down, many ignored the warnings. Minoia approached at speed, deciding to lap the Brisson's Stutz (running ninth) just before the corner. He lost control getting through the bottleneck, spinning and hit the bank. Brisson, trying to take evasive action from the broadsided Alfa also put his car into the bank. Neither driver was seriously hurt but both cars were out the race.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Then Marinoni, in his haste to make up time, smacked the static Bentley hard when he got off-road when foolishly lapping a slower car in the bends. With four derelict cars now parked at White House, memories were evoked of the epic crash in the 1927 race but fortunately the daylight allowed the road to be cleared eventually. The Alfas were dragged through a gate into a field, while the Bentley was just tipped over into the roadside ditch.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
After several attempts at tug-of-war by 20 spectators and officials, the Stutz was pulled out of the ditch and Brisson crawled it back to the pits to retire. Just before Marinoni's accident, Dreyfus had also gone off. In his keenness to keep up with the professional drivers he had come into Indianapolis too fast, got sideways and hit the bank with the car ending up on its side. Suddenly half the Alfa Romeos were out and the race was not even three hours old.


1932 24 Hours of Le Mans, Race, Start
Once the chaos died down after the first pit-stops Cortese, driving a double-shift, was leading from the Alfas of Birkin/Howe and Sommer/Chinetti. Then came the works Bugattis and the Mercedes. Next to fall was the Foucret's Mercedes, out with a seized piston soon after 7pm. Bouriat's Bugatti was marooned out on the track having run out of fuel after an errant stone punctured the petrol tank. With all the delays and accidents affecting the field, the little MG of Samuelson/Black found itself in twelfth position.