Holland. Second Division – the usual. Promotion was all the matter and it was the still according to the formula of champions promoted directly and stage winners going to a play-off. The season was divided into 4 parts in order of determining the stage winners – what is confusing retrospectively is that the actual season was never divided and there was one standard final table. ‘Stages’ were merely the standings after, say, 9th round, then 17th, and so on. But do not bother with that. Just a brief glimpse would suffice.
Cambuur was 11th. That’s the typical second division team at the time – nothing special, except players with glasses were still to be found. And that was why promotion was so complicated: most squads were hardly strong enough to compliment first division.
Telstar, more familiar name than Cambuur at the time, was 4th. But they won a stage… and qualified to compete in the promotional play-off. Along with Excelsior (Rotterdam) – 3rd , SC Heerenveen – 6th, and VVV Venlo – 7th.
The play-off gave 2 promotions. Telstar utterly failed, ending last with 3 points. VVV Venlo was also not up to it – 3rd with 5 points.
Heerenveen finished 2nd with 8 points – 4 wins, 2 losses – and up they went.
Excelsior won the play-off group with 8 points – 3 wins, 2 ties, and 1 loss. They were on top having better goal-difference by one goal, yet it did not matter at all – promotion was the only important thing and they got it.
One may feel sorry for Fortuna (Sittard) – they fought for the first place to the end of the season and lost it by a single point. Out of direct promotion, they lost all, for the team was not a stage winner and therefore out of the promotional play-off. Fair, unfair, that were the rules.
Helmond Sport won the championship with 48 points from 17 wins and 14 ties, 53-30 goal-difference. They lost only 3 matches this season.
So, Helmond Sport, Excelsior, and SC Heerenveen were going to play first division football the next season. Good for them.