View source for 1937 Soviet Top League

{{Short description|3rd season of top-tier football league in Soviet Union}}
{{Infobox football league season
| competition        = [[Soviet Top League|Group A]]
| season             = 1937
| dates              = July 23 – October 30
| winners            = [[FC Dynamo Moscow|Dynamo Moscow]]<br />2nd All-Union league title
| promoted           = 
| relegated          = none {{small|(reorganization)}}
| league topscorer   = [[Vasily Pavlovich Smirnov|Vasili Smirnov]]<br /> [[Leonid Rumyantsev]]<br /> [[Boris Paichadze]]<br />8 goals
| biggest home win   = [[FC Serp i Molot Moscow|Metallurg]] 5–0 [[PFC CSKA Moscow|CDKA]] (August 12)
| biggest away win   = [[FC Spartak Moscow|Spartak]] 0–4 [[FC Serp i Molot Moscow|Metallurg]] (August 28) <br /> [[FC Elektrosila Leningrad|Krasnaya Zarya]] 2–6 [[FC Dynamo Kyiv|Dynamo K.]] (August 28) <br /> [[FC Dynamo Tbilisi|Dynamo Tb.]] 0–4 [[FC Dynamo Moscow|Dynamo M.]] (September 18) <br /> [[PFC CSKA Moscow|CDKA]] 1–5 [[FC Dynamo Moscow|Dynamo M.]] (October 24)
| highest scoring    = [[FC Elektrosila Leningrad|Krasnaya Zarya]] 2–6 [[FC Dynamo Kyiv|Dynamo K.]] (August 28) <br /> [[FC Dynamo Tbilisi|Dynamo Tb.]] 5–3 [[FC Dynamo Kyiv|Dynamo K.]] (October 10)
| matches            = 72
| total goals        = 224
| longest wins       = 
| longest unbeaten   = 
| longest losses     = 
| highest attendance = 
| lowest attendance  = 
| average attendance = 
| prevseason = [[1936 Soviet Top League#Autumn|1936 Fall]]
| nextseason = [[1938 Soviet Top League|1938]]
}}
The '''1937 Soviet Top League''' was the third season of the [[Soviet Top League|top-tier]] all-Union league competitions (Gruppa A). The league competition started a week after conculusion of the [[1937 Soviet Cup]].

Before the start of the season, two sports societies Dynamo and Spartak were awarded the order of Lenin on resolution of the USSR Central Executive Committee of 22 July 1937.<ref name=championship>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050126023020/http://www.sport-express.ru/art.shtml?85196 "ХУДШИЕ ПРИЕМЫ БУРЖУАЗНОГО РЕКОРДСМЕНСТВА"]. www.sport-express.ru (archived).</ref> Beside the sports societies, many awards were given to individual athletes among which were 12 footballers.

The defending champion for this edition was [[FC Spartak Moscow]]. The season started somewhat late on July 23, 1937, with the game in Kyiv where the League newcomer Metallurg surprisingly defeated the local Dynamo 2:0. The conclusion of the season came on October 30, 1937, with the games in [[Tbilisi]] and Moscow's [[Sokolniki District|Sokolniki]].<ref>[http://helmsoccer.narod.ru/Europa/Euro_Liges/USSR_Russia/Champ_from_1936/1937.html 1937 season calendar]</ref> That game on CSKA Stadium became a culminating as the Army team hold the defending champions to a draw that left Spartak without their title. Interesting is the fact that less than a week prior to that Dynamo Moscow was able to defeat CDKA 5:1 setting them three points ahead of Spartak.

==Format==
Before the start of the football season, the All-Union Committee implemented several changes to rules (Laws of the Game).<ref name=changes>[https://www.sport-express.ru/newspaper/2004-01-30/10_1/ 1937 ГОД. ЧАСТЬ ВТОРАЯ. ПЕРВЫЙ КРУГ ПОЧЕТА]. www.sport-express.ru. 30 January 2004</ref>
* [[goal kick]]<ref name=changes/>
* throw-in<ref name=changes/>
* substitutions<ref name=changes/>
* players' discipline<ref name=changes/>

Also, football players of exhibition teams (teams of masters) were given a participant's ticket. The purpose of the innovation was set out in the instructions: "Each footballer participating in the championship receives a "Footballer's Book", which he must present before the game. This will deprive teams of the opportunity to field disqualified players or players on a roster for other teams."<ref name=attackonchampions/> No players were allowed to play at any match without the "Footballer's Book".<ref name=attackonchampions/>

Unlike last seasons, it was decided to have both season halves combined. Originally the All-Union Committee planned to hold the competition from July 13 to September 30, 1937, in four groups: "A" and "B" with 8 participants in each and "V" and "G" with 10.<ref name=championship/> Teams that placed last would switch with the top teams from lower tier.<ref name=championship/> There was introduced an additional match if teams would finish with equal points for top two and bottom two.<ref name=championship/> Teams were allowed to have from 15 to 25 footballers on their roster.<ref name=championship/>

Later there were added two additional tiers: Group "D" with 11 teams and Group "Goroda Vostoka" (Cities of the East) with 7. Also, number of participants in Group G was increased to 12.

===Competition calendar===
The competition calendar, which was composed in spring, had to be rearranged following the Basque team tour of the Soviet Union and the Spartak voyage to Europe. Some rounds were overstretched for several weeks, the last season champions Spartak had to start late, and Dinamo Tbilisi played their whole first half of the season abroad and returned to play its home games only in the second half of the season.<ref name=attackonchampions/>

==Teams==
===Changes from last season===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Promoted from<br />1936 (fall) Gruppa B
! Relegated from<br />1936 (fall) Gruppa A
|-
| {{increase}} Serp i Molot Moscow {{small|([[1936 Group B (Soviet football championship)#1936 Fall|1st]])}}
| {{decrease}} CDKA Moscow {{small|([[1936 Soviet Top League#Autumn|8th]])}}
|}

After playing two games in the Group B it was decided to return [[PFC CSKA Moscow|CDKA Moscow]] back to the Group A. The Group ''A'' was extended once again to nine teams with a new team [[FC Serp i Molot Moscow|FC Metallurg Moscow]] joining the group that won the [[Soviet First League 1936|1936 Group B]] fall championship as Serp i Molot Moscow. At the end of the season no teams were relegated as the group was planned to be extended for the next season.

===Reversal of the CDKA Moscow relegation===
"Resolution of the All-Union Committee for Physical Culture and Sports under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR<ref>[https://www.sport-express.ru/newspaper/2004-04-23/13_1/ ЧАСТЬ СЕДЬМАЯ. Продолжение. ДЕВЯТЫЙ ВАГОН]. www.sport-express.ru. 23 April 2004</ref>

On the revision of the transfer of the CDKA football team of masters from class "A" to class "B"

1. Considering that the CDKA football team is the only football team of masters in the Red Army ({{abbr|RKKA|Red Army of Workers and Peasants}}), and also having examined the results of the investigation into the simultaneous triple workload of the CDKA team players during the autumn season of 1936 (Games: a) for the Soviet championship, b) for the RKKA championship and c) for the Moscow city garrison championship), which led to the withdrawal of a number of the strongest players from the team due to traumatic injuries and to unacceptable physical workload of individual players, and, in addition, taking into account that the CDKA team remains among the strongest teams of the Union from year to year, namely: 1. the 1935 Moscow city champion; 2. In the 1936 spring all-Union [Soviet] championship, it took fourth place among the strongest teams of the Union; 3. In the autumn all-Union championship of the same year, it lagged behind the seven strongest teams of the Union by only half a point;{{efn|possibly a confusion with the chess points calculation system}} 4. In the [[1937 Soviet Cup]], it won a place in the top four of the Soviet Union{{efn|reached semifinals}} (having conceded only one goal in the last three minutes of the game against the finalist, Dynamo (Tbilisi); 5. It has a victory in calendar matches against the 1936 Soviet champion (the Spartak Moscow team); 6. In the same season, it has a 4:1 victory in a friendly match against the Dynamo Moscow team, which won the 1937 Soviet Cup.

The All-Union Committee for Physical Culture and Sports under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR decrees:

1. To transfer the CDKA football team of masters from class "B" to class "A".

2. To rearrange the calendar of the class "A" draw with the inclusion of the CDKA team in it.

3. The games played by the CDKA team for the 1937 Soviet championship in group "B"{{efn|In the same document tiers are interchangeably named either "classes" or "groups".}} with the Spartak (Leningrad) and "Stalinets" (Leningrad), considered friendly.

Acting Chairman of the All-Union Committee for Physical Culture and Sports under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR Elena Knopova.

August 4, 1937"

===Spartak Moscow===
Spartak Moscow was the base team for the Soviet Union national football team at the [[1937 Workers' Summer Olympiad]] and returned to the Soviet Union after the start of the competition.<ref name=attackonchampions>[https://www.sport-express.ru/newspaper/2004-05-07/12_1/ Часть восьмая. НАЕЗД НА ЧЕМПИОНОВ]. www.sport-express.ru. 7 May 2004</ref>

Upon arrival of Spartak, the football team administration was accused of "the imposition of bourgeois morals in the Spartak society."<ref name=attackonchampions/> On September 3, 1937, [[Nikolai Starostin]], who was heading the football section of the All-Union Committee of Sports and Physical Culture and one of the founders of Spartak sports society, was fired.<ref name=attackonchampions/>

===Name change===
* Serp i Molot → Metallurg

==Managers==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Club !! Head coach<ref>[https://www.sport-express.ru/newspaper/2004-01-16/12_1/ ГОД 1937. ЧАСТЬ ПЕРВАЯ. ПРЕДЧУВСТВИЕ "КЛАССОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ"]. www.sport-express.ru. 16 January 2024</ref>
|-
|[[FC Spartak Moscow|Spartak Moscow]] || [[Konstantin Kvashnin]]
|-
|[[FC Dynamo Moscow|Dynamo Moscow]] || [[Viktor Dubinin]]
|-
|[[FC Dinamo Tbilisi|Dynamo Tbilisi]] || [[Aleksey Sokolov (footballer)|Aleksey Sokolov]]
|-
|[[FC Lokomotiv Moscow|Lokomotiv Moscow]] || {{flagicon|France}} [[Jules Limbeck]]
|-
|[[FC Elektrosila Leningrad|Krasnaya Zaria Leningrad]] || [[Mikhail Okun]]
|-
|[[FC Dynamo Kyiv|Dynamo Kyiv]] || [[Moisey Tovarovsky]]
|-
|[[FC Dynamo Saint Petersburg|Dynamo Leningrad]] || [[Mikhail Butusov]]
|-
|[[FC Serp i Molot Moscow|Metallurg Moscow]] || [[Boris Arkadyev]]
|-
|[[PFC CSKA Moscow|CDKA Moscow]] || [[Mikhail Rushchinsky]]
|}

=== Managerial changes ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:85%"
|-
!Team
!Outgoing head coach
!Manner of departure
!Date of vacancy
!Table
!Incoming head coach
!Date of appointment
|-
| [[FC Dinamo Tbilisi|Dynamo Tbilisi]]
| {{flagicon|France}} [[Jules Limbeck]]
| Resigned
| March 1937
|rowspan=5|''Pre-season''
| [[Aleksey Sokolov (footballer)|Aleksey Sokolov]]
|  
|-
| [[FC Lokomotiv Moscow|Lokomotiv Moscow]]
| [[Aleksei Stolyarov]]
| 
| 
| {{flagicon|France}} [[Jules Limbeck]]
| April 1937
|-
| [[FC Serp i Molot Moscow|Metallurg Moscow]]
| [[Konstantin Blinkov]]
| 
| 
| [[Boris Arkadyev]]
| 
|-
| [[FC Dynamo Moscow|Dynamo Moscow]]
| [[Konstantin Kvashnin]]
| 
| 
| [[Viktor Dubinin]]
| 
|-
| [[FC Spartak Moscow|Spartak Moscow]]
| [[Mikhail Kozlov (football manager)|Mikhail Kozlov]]
| Elected a president of the Soviet Football Section
| 
| [[Konstantin Kvashnin]]
| 
|-
| [[FC Lokomotiv Moscow|Lokomotiv Moscow]]
| {{flagicon|France}} [[Jules Limbeck]]
| undisclosed
| August 8, 1937
| 3rd
| 
| 
|}

==Standings==
{{#invoke:sports table|main|style=WDL
|res_col_header=PQ
|sortable_table=y
|winpoints=3|drawpoints=2|losspoints=1
|show_groups=y
|group_header=Republic
|use_goal_ratio=y

<!--Team definitions-->
|team1=DYN|group_DYN={{nowrap|{{flag|Russian SFSR}}}}|name_DYN=[[FC Dynamo Moscow|Dynamo]] [[Moscow]]
|team2=SPA|group_SPA={{flag|Russian SFSR}}|name_SPA=[[FC Spartak Moscow|Spartak]] [[Moscow]]
|team3=DK |group_DK ={{flag|Ukrainian SSR}}|name_DK =[[FC Dynamo Kyiv|Dynamo]] [[Kiev]]
|team4=DTB|group_DTB={{flag|Georgian SSR}}|name_DTB=[[FC Dynamo Tbilisi|Dynamo]] [[Tbilisi]]
|team5=MTM|group_MTM={{flag|Russian SFSR}}|name_MTM=[[FC Serp i Molot Moscow|Metallurg]] [[Moscow]]
|team6=LOK|group_LOK={{flag|Russian SFSR}}|name_LOK=[[FC Lokomotiv Moscow|Lokomotiv]] [[Moscow]]
|team7=DLE|group_DLE={{flag|Russian SFSR}}|name_DLE=[[FC Dynamo Leningrad|Dynamo]] [[Sankt-Peterburg|Leningrad]]
|team8=KRZ|group_KRZ={{flag|Russian SFSR}}|name_KRZ=[[FC Elektrosila Leningrad|Krasnaya Zarya]] [[Sankt-Peterburg|Leningrad]]
|team9=CDKA|group_CDKA={{flag|Russian SFSR}}|name_CDKA=[[PFC CSKA Moscow|CDKA]] [[Moscow]]
|win_DYN=8|draw_DYN=6|loss_DYN=2|gf_DYN=37|ga_DYN=20
|win_SPA=8|draw_SPA=5|loss_SPA=3|gf_SPA=24|ga_SPA=16
|win_DK =7|draw_DK =6|loss_DK =3|gf_DK =33|ga_DK =24
|win_DTB=7|draw_DTB=4|loss_DTB=5|gf_DTB=30|ga_DTB=24
|win_MTM=7|draw_MTM=2|loss_MTM=7|gf_MTM=26|ga_MTM=21
|win_LOK=5|draw_LOK=5|loss_LOK=6|gf_LOK=18|ga_LOK=20
|win_DLE=2|draw_DLE=9|loss_DLE=5|gf_DLE=21|ga_DLE=25
|win_KRZ=4|draw_KRZ=4|loss_KRZ=8|gf_KRZ=17|ga_KRZ=31
|win_CDKA=3|draw_CDKA=1|loss_CDKA=12|gf_CDKA=18|ga_CDKA=43

<!--Status-->
|status_DYN=C

|col_CP=green1|text_CP=Champions of the Soviet Union
|result1=CP
|col_P=green2|text_P=Runners-up prize recipients
|result2=P|result3=P
|col_RA=red3      |text_RA=Relegation cancelled{{efn|Resolution of the All-Union Committee of Physical Culture and Sports under the Soviet Sovnarkom of April 11, 1938}}
|result9=RA
|class_rules=Points awarded were 3 for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss and none for a no appearance. In case of tie on points, there was used [[goal ratio]] for tiebreaker for any places beside the first and the last, for which was decided to conduct additional game.<ref>[http://football.lg.ua/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=253&Itemid=775 1937 ГОД. ТАБЛИЦЫ. КАЛЕНДАРИ. СОСТАВЫ КОМАНД.] Luhansk Our Football (football.lg.ua).</ref>
|update=complete|source=[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/ussrhist.html rsssf.com]
}}

==Results==
{{#invoke:sports results|main
|matches_style=FBR|solid_cell=grey
|team1=CDK|team2=DYK|team3=DLE|team4=DYN|team5=DTB
|team6=KZL|team7=LOK|team8=MTM|team9=SPA

|name_DYN=[[FC Dynamo Moscow|Dynamo Moscow]]
|match_DYN_SPA=0–1
|match_DYN_DYK=2–1
|match_DYN_DTB=3–3
|match_DYN_MTM=2–1
|match_DYN_LOK=1–2
|match_DYN_DLE=2–2
|match_DYN_KZL=1–1
|match_DYN_CDK=3–1

|name_SPA=[[FC Spartak Moscow|Spartak Moscow]]
|match_SPA_DYN=0–0
|match_SPA_DYK=1–2
|match_SPA_DTB=2–0
|match_SPA_MTM=0–4
|match_SPA_LOK=3–1
|match_SPA_DLE=3–3
|match_SPA_KZL=2–0
|match_SPA_CDK=2–0

|name_DYK=[[FC Dynamo Kyiv|Dynamo Kiev]]
|match_DYK_DYN=2–2
|match_DYK_SPA=1–1
|match_DYK_DTB=2–2
|match_DYK_MTM=0–2
|match_DYK_LOK=1–1
|match_DYK_DLE=1–1
|match_DYK_KZL=4–1
|match_DYK_CDK=1–0

|name_DTB=[[FC Dynamo Tbilisi|Dynamo Tbilisi]]
|match_DTB_DYN=0–4
|match_DTB_SPA=1–0
|match_DTB_DYK=5–3
|match_DTB_MTM=4–0
|match_DTB_LOK=0–0
|match_DTB_DLE=1–3
|match_DTB_KZL=3–0
|match_DTB_CDK=1–0

|name_MTM=[[FC Serp i Molot Moscow|Metallurg Moscow]]
|match_MTM_DYN=0–3
|match_MTM_SPA=1–3
|match_MTM_DYK=0–2
|match_MTM_DTB=1–0
|match_MTM_LOK=2–1
|match_MTM_DLE=5–1
|match_MTM_KZL=0–1
|match_MTM_CDK=5–0

|name_LOK=[[FC Lokomotiv Moscow|Lokomotiv Moscow]]
|match_LOK_DYN=2–3
|match_LOK_SPA=1–2
|match_LOK_DYK=2–2
|match_LOK_DTB=3–2
|match_LOK_MTM=0–0
|match_LOK_DLE=1–0
|match_LOK_KZL=0–2
|match_LOK_CDK=1–2

|name_DLE=[[FC Dynamo Leningrad|Dynamo Leningrad]]
|match_DLE_DYN=3–3
|match_DLE_SPA=0–0
|match_DLE_DYK=0–1
|match_DLE_DTB=0–2
|match_DLE_MTM=1–1
|match_DLE_LOK=0–0
|match_DLE_KZL=2–2
|match_DLE_CDK=2–3

|name_KZL=[[FC Elektrosila Leningrad|Krasnaya Zarya Leningrad]]
|match_KZL_DYN=0–3
|match_KZL_SPA=0–2
|match_KZL_DYK=2–6
|match_KZL_DTB=1–1
|match_KZL_MTM=3–1
|match_KZL_LOK=0–1
|match_KZL_DLE=0–0
|match_KZL_CDK=3–0

|name_CDK=[[PFC CSKA Moscow|CDKA Moscow]]
|match_CDK_DYN=1–5
|match_CDK_SPA=2–2
|match_CDK_DYK=2–4
|match_CDK_DTB=2–5
|match_CDK_MTM=0–3
|match_CDK_LOK=0–2
|match_CDK_DLE=0–3
|match_CDK_KZL=5–1

|update=complete|source=[http://football.lg.ua/index.php?option=com_joomleague&view=matrix&p=214&division=69 football.lg.ua] (in Russian)
}}

== All matches results by date ==
* Source: [http://football.lg.ua/index.php?option=com_joomleague&view=teamplan&p=214&division=69 football.lg.ua] (in Russian)
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!width="100" |Date
!width="50" |Round
!width="200" |Home team
!width="75" |Result
!width="200" |Visiting team
!width="200" |Stadium
|-
|23.07.1937||1||Dinamo K.||0:2 (0:1)||Metallurg||Dinamo
|-
|24.07.1937||1||Dinamo L.||3:3 (2:0)||Dinamo M.||imeni Lenina	
|-
|29.07.1937||8||Dinamo K.||1:1 (0:0)||Lokomotiv||Dinamo
|-
|30.07.1937||8||Metallurg||5:1 (3:1)||Dinamo L.||Dinamo
|-
|05.08.1937||2||Lokomotiv||2:3 (1:1)||Dinamo M.||Lokomotiv
|-
|05.08.1937||2||Krasnaya Zaria||3:1 (3:0)||Metallurg||imeni Lenina
|-
|06.08.1937||9||Dinamo L.||0:1 (0:0)||Dinamo K.||imeni Lenina
|-
|11.08.1937||3||Dinamo L.||0:0||Lokomotiv||imeni Lenina
|-
|11.08.1937||3||Dinamo M.||1:1 (0:0)||Krasnaya Zaria||Dinamo
|-
|12.08.1937||3||Dinamo K.||2:2 (1:0)||Dinamo Tb.||Dinamo
|-
|12.08.1937||3||Metallurg||5:0 (0:0)||CDKA||Dinamo
|-
|15.08.1937||2||CDKA||2:4 (0:1)||Dinamo K.||Dinamo
|-
|17.08.1937||4||Spartak||1:2 (0:0)||Dinamo K.||Dinamo
|-
|18.08.1937||4||Dinamo M.||3:3 (1:2)||Dinamo Tb.||Dinamo
|-
|19.08.1937||4||Dinamo L.||2:2 (1:2)||Krasnaya Zaria||imeni Lenina
|-
|19.08.1937||9||Lokomotiv||1:2 (1:0)||Metallurg||Lokomotiv
|-
|20.08.1937||2||Spartak||2:0 (1:0)||Dinamo Tb.||Lokomotiv
|-
|21.08.1937||5||CDKA||5:1 (3:0)||Krasnaya Zaria||Lokomotiv
|-
|23.08.1937||5||Spartak||3:3 (3:2)||Dinamo L.||Lokomotiv
|-
|24.08.1937||5||Dinamo M.||2:1 (0:0)||Dinamo K.||Dinamo
|-
|24.08.1937||6||Krasnaya Zaria||0:1 (0:0)||Lokomotiv||imeni Lenina
|-
|25.08.1937||5||Metallurg||1:0 (1:0)||Dinamo Tb.||Dinamo
|-
|27.08.1937||6||Dinamo M.||3:1 (3:1)||CDKA||Dinamo
|-
|28.08.1937||6||Spartak||0:4 (0:1)||Metallurg||Dinamo
|-
|30.08.1937||6||Dinamo L.||0:2 (0:1)||Dinamo Tb.||imeni Lenina
|-
|30.08.1937||7||Dinamo K.||4:1 (1:1)||Krasnaya Zaria||Dinamo
|-
|30.08.1937||7||Dinamo M.||2:1 (1:1)||Metallurg||Dinamo
|-
|31.08.1937||7||Spartak||3:1 (3:0)||Lokomotiv||Dinamo
|-
|02.09.1937||11||CDKA||0:3 (0:1)||Metallurg||Dinamo
|-
|03.09.1937||8||Krasnaya Zaria||1:1 (1:1)||Dinamo Tb.||imeni Lenina
|-
|03.09.1937||8||Dinamo M.||0:1 (0:1)||Spartak||Dinamo
|-
|04.09.1937||7||CDKA||0:3 (0:1)||Dinamo L.||Dinamo
|-
|05.09.1937||10||Metallurg||0:2 (0:1)||Dinamo K.||Dinamo
|-
|06.09.1937||9||Krasnaya Zaria||0:2 (0:2)||Spartak||imeni Lenina
|-
|07.09.1937||1||Lokomotiv||3:2 (1:1)||Dinamo Tb.||Lokomotiv
|-
|07.09.1937||10||Dinamo M.||2:2 (2:2)||Dinamo L.||Dinamo
|-
|09.09.1937||9||CDKA||2:5 (1:4)||Dinamo Tb.||Dinamo
|-
|10.09.1937||11||Krasnaya Zaria||2:6 (0:3)||Dinamo K.||imeni Lenina
|-
|11.09.1937||11||Spartak||0:0||Dinamo M.||Dinamo
|-
|12.09.1937||4||Lokomotiv||1:2 (1:1)||CDKA||Avanhard (Kramatorsk)
|-
|12.09.1937||12||Dinamo L.||1:1 (0:1)||Metallurg||imeni Lenina
|-
|15.09.1937||12||Lokomotiv||2:2 (2:1)||Dinamo K.||Lokomotiv
|-
|15.09.1937||18||Spartak||2:0 (0:0)||Krasnaya Zaria||Dinamo
|-
|18.09.1937||13||Krasnaya Zaria||0:0||Dinamo L.||imeni Lenina
|-
|18.09.1937||13||Dinamo Tb.||0:4 (0:2)||Dinamo M.||Dinamo imeni Beria
|-
|18.09.1937||18||Lokomotiv||0:0||Metallurg||Lokomotiv
|-
|21.09.1937||1||Spartak||2:0 (2:0)||CDKA||Dinamo
|-
|23.09.1937||16||Lokomotiv||0:2 (0:2)||Krasnaya Zaria||Lokomotiv
|-
|24.09.1937||14||Dinamo K.||2:2 (0:0)||Dinamo M.||Dinamo imeni Yezhova
|-
|24.09.1937||14||Dinamo L.||0:0||Spartak||imeni Lenina
|-
|24.09.1937||14||Dinamo Tb.||4:0 (1:0)||Metallurg||Dinamo imeni Beria
|-
|26.09.1937||16||Dinamo L.||2:3 (0:1)||CDKA||imeni Lenina
|-
|29.09.1937||15||Metallurg||0:1 (0:0)||Krasnaya Zaria||Dinamo
|-
|30.09.1937||15||Dinamo K.||1:1 (0:1)||Dinamo L.||Dinamo imeni Yezhova
|-
|30.09.1937||15||Dinamo M.||1:2 (1:2)||Lokomotiv||Dinamo
|-
|30.09.1937||15||Dinamo Tb.||1:0 (0:0)||Spartak||Dinamo imeni Beria
|-
|01.10.1937||14||Krasnaya Zaria||3:0 (2:0)||CDKA||imeni Lenina
|-
|04.10.1937||17||Dinamo K.||1:0 (0:0)||CDKA||Dinamo imeni Yezhova
|-
|05.10.1937||11||Lokomotiv||1:0 (0:0)||Dinamo L.||Lokomotiv
|-
|06.10.1937||12||Krasnaya Zaria||0:3 (0:0)||Dinamo M.||imeni Lenina
|-
|06.10.1937||16||Metallurg||1:3 (1:1)||Spartak||Dinamo
|-
|08.10.1937||13||CDKA||0:2 (0:1)||Lokomotiv||Lokomotiv
|-
|10.10.1937||16||Dinamo Tb.||5:3 (1:2)||Dinamo K.||Dinamo imeni Beria
|-
|11.10.1937||17||Lokomotiv||1:2 (0:0)||Spartak||Lokomotiv
|-
|12.10.1937||17||Metallurg||0:3 (0:2)||Dinamo M.||Dinamo
|-
|12.10.1937||18||Dinamo Tb.||1:3 (0:2)||Dinamo L.||Dinamo imeni Beria
|-
|18.10.1937||12||Dinamo Tb.||1:0 (0:0)||CDKA||Dinamo imeni Beria
|-
|18.10.1937||13||Dinamo K.||1:1 (1:0)||Spartak||Dinamo imeni Yezhova
|-
|24.10.1937||17||Dinamo Tb.||3:0 (2:0)||Krasnaya Zaria||Dinamo imeni Beria
|-
|24.10.1937||18||CDKA||1:5 (1:1)||Dinamo M.||Dinamo
|-
|30.10.1937||10||CDKA||2:2 (1:0)||Spartak||Dinamo
|-
|30.10.1937||10||Dinamo Tb.||0:0||Lokomotiv||Dinamo imeni Beria
|}

==Top scorers==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Rank
! Player
! Club
! Goals<ref name=topscorer>{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/su37.html |title=Soviet Union 1937 |access-date=2 May 2020 |website=[[RSSSF]] |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1
| align="left" | [[Boris Paichadze]]
| align="left" | Dynamo Tbilisi
| rowspan="3" | 8
|-
| align="left" | [[Leonid Rumyantsev]]
| align="left" | Spartak Moscow
|-
| align="left" | [[Vasily Pavlovich Smirnov]]
| align="left" | Dynamo Moscow
|-
| rowspan="2" | 4
| align="left" | [[Pavel Komarov]]
| align="left" | Dynamo Kyiv
| rowspan="2" | 7
|-
| align="left" | [[Mikhail Semichastny]]
| align="left" | Dynamo Moscow
|-
| rowspan="4" | 6
| align="left" | [[Gayk Andriasov]]
| align="left" | Lokomotiv Moscow
| rowspan="4" | 6
|-
| align="left" | [[Aleksei Ponomaryov]]
| align="left" | Dynamo Moscow
|-
| align="left" | [[Mikhail Yakushin]]
| align="left" | Dynamo Moscow
|-
| align="left" | [[Nikolai Yartsev]]
| align="left" | Krasnaya Zarya Leningrad
|-
| rowspan="6" | 10
| align="left" | [[Pyotr Bykov]]
| align="left" | Dynamo Leningrad
| rowspan="6" | 5
|-
| align="left" | [[Grigory Fedotov]]
| align="left" | Metallurg Moscow
|-
| align="left" | [[Mikhail Kireyev]]
| align="left" | CSKA Moscow
|-
| align="left" | [[Ivan Kuzmenko]]
| align="left" | Dynamo Kyiv
|-
| align="left" | [[Vadim Potapov]]
| align="left" | Metallurg Moscow
|-
| align="left" | {{ill|Ivan Smirnov (footballer)|lt=Ivan Smirnov|ru|Смирнов, Иван Иванович (футболист)}}
| align="left" | Krasnaya Zarya Leningrad
|}

==Medal squads==
''(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)''
{| class="wikitable" style="width:700px;"
|- style="background:#00d;"
|  style="text-align:center; width:700px;"|<span style="color:#fff;"> '''1. FC Dynamo Moscow''' </span>
|- style="background:#e8e8e8;"
|  style="text-align:left; width:700px;"|
'''Goalkeepers:''' [[Yevgeny Fokin]] (15 / -19), [[Aleksandr Kvasnikov]] (1 / -1).<br />
'''Defenders:''' [[Lev Korchebokov]] (13), [[Viktor Teterin]] (9), [[Aleksandr Myshlyayev]] (7).<br />
'''Midfielders:''' [[Yevgeny Yeliseyev]] (16), [[Arkady Chernyshev]] (15 / 1), [[Aleksey Lapshin]] (12), [[Gavriil Kachalin]] (11), [[Pavel Korotkov]] (5), [[Aleksandr Ryomin]] (1).<br />
'''Forwards:''' [[Mikhail Yakushin]] (16 / 6), [[Sergei Ilyin (footballer, born 1906)|Sergei Ilyin]] (16 / 4), [[Vasily Pavlovich Smirnov|Vasily Smirnov]] (14 / 8), [[Aleksey Ponomaryov]] (13 /6), [[Mikhail Semichastny]] (11 / 7), [[Nikolay Belousov]] (3 / 1), [[Ivan Shcherbakov (footballer, born 1918)|Ivan Shcherbakov]] (2 / 2), [[Georgy Dyomin]] (1).

One own goal(s) scored by [[Mikhail Denisov]] ([[FC Dynamo Leningrad]]), [[Iosif Lifshyts]] ([[FC Dynamo Kyiv]])

'''Manager:''' [[Viktor Dubinin]].

'''Transferred out during the season:''' .
|- style="background:#f00;"
|  style="text-align:center; width:700px;"|<span style="color:#fff;"> '''2. FC Spartak Moscow''' </span>
|- style="background:#e8e8e8;"
|  style="text-align:left; width:700px;"|
'''Goalkeepers:''' [[Anatoly Akimov (footballer)|Anatoly Akimov]] (13 / -10), [[Ivan Ryzhov]] (3 / -6).<br />
'''Defenders:''' [[Viktor Sokolov (footballer)|Viktor Sokolov]] (15), [[Stanislav Leuta]] (10), [[Aleksandr Starostin]] (7), [[Sergey Plonsky]] (2).<br />
'''Midfielders:''' [[Andrey Starostin]] (16 / 2), [[Sergey Artemyev]] (13), [[Pyotr Starostin]] (8), [[Nikolai Palyska]] (8), [[Grigory Tuchkov]] (8).<br />
'''Forwards:''' [[Leonid Rumyantsev]] (16 / 8), {{ill|Vladimir Stepanov (footballer)|lt=Vladimir Stepanov|ru|Степанов, Владимир Александрович (футболист)}} (15 / 4), [[Nikolay Zhigalin]] (15 / 3), [[Boris Stepanov]] (12 / 2), [[Georgy Glazkov]] (7 / 2), [[Viktor Semyonov]] (7), [[Aleksandr Kasimov]] (6 / 1), [[Nikolay Gulyayev (footballer)|Nikolay Gulyayev]] (3), [[Nikolay Tarasov]] (2 / 1), [[Sergey Udaleyev]] (1 / 1).

'''Manager:''' [[Konstantin Kvashnin]].

'''Transferred out during the season:''' .
|- style="background:#19217f;"
|  style="text-align:center; width:700px;"|<span style="color:#fff;"> '''3. FC Dynamo Kyiv''' </span>
|- style="background:#e8e8e8;"
|  style="text-align:left; width:700px;"|
'''Goalkeepers:''' [[Anton Idzkovsky]] (13 / -20), [[Mykola Trusevych]] (3 / -4).<br />
'''Defenders:''' [[Mykola Makhynya]] (16 / 3), [[Oleksiy Klymenko]] (15), [[Vasyl Pravovierov]] (10), [[Georgiy Timofeyev]] (1).<br />
'''Midfielders:''' [[Ivan Kuzmenko]] (16 / 5), [[Volodymyr Greber]] (16 / 3), [[Iosif Livshyts]] (14 / 1).<br />
'''Forwards:''' [[Pavlo Komarov]] (16 / 7), [[Petro Layko]] (15 / 4), [[Makar Honcharenko]] (14 / 3), [[Kostiantyn Kalach]] (10), [[Konstantin Shchegotsky]] (9 / 3), [[Viktor Shylovsky]] (9 / 3), [[Mykola Korotkykh]] (9 / 1), [[Fedir Tyutchev]] (2).

'''Manager:''' [[Moisey Tovarovsky]].

'''Transferred out during the season:''' .
|}

{{winners||Group A 1937 winners|[[FC Dynamo Moscow]]|Second}}

==Season's notable situations==
*As the previous the season was filled with violence on the field. According to the Russian sports historian [[Aksel Vartanyan]] on July 23, 1937, Dynamo Moscow visited another Dynamo in Leningrad. In several Leningrad newspapers the game was dubbed as the "Battle of the Neva".<ref name=championship/> During the match the leading footballer of Leningrad team [[Pyotr Dementyev (footballer)|Pyotr Dementyev]] was hospitalized, while his "offender" Teterin was convoyed from Moscow by the Leningrad Oblast NKVD chief to apologize.

* During the Tbilisi match between Dinamo Tbilisi and Dynamo Kyiv, it was discovered that players of Dynamo Kyiv forgot their "Footballer's Books" in [[Kyiv]] and were supposed to be awarded administrative loss. The referee of the game Vladimir Strepikheyev took upon himself and encouragement from [[Boris Paichadze]] to hold the match, nonetheless. In the game report protocol Vladimir Strepikheyev noted that personally knowing all players of Dynamo Kyiv he confirmed that all players in the submitted report are correctly noted.<ref name=attackonchampions/>

* Following the match of Dinamo Tbilisi vs Dynamo Kyiv, in two days Vladimir Strepikheyev served one more game in Tbilisi against Dynamo Leningrad before he returned to Moscow. Upon arrival to Moscow, Strepikheyev who refereed the [[1937 Soviet Cup Final]] was arrested and soon executed at age 34.<ref name=attackonchampions/>

* Interesting situation occurred with two rounds to go before the finish when Dynamo Kyiv was ahead with 33 points and the Moscow teams trailing right behind with Dynamo 30 and Spartak 30. Following the loss to Dinamo Tbilisi, Kyiv still had some possibility to keep their lead if Dynamo Moscow would lose to Metallurg and Dynamo Kyiv overpower Spartak.

* Near the end of the season on October 12, 1937, a big scandal erupted following the match between Muscovite Dynamo and Metallurg which ended in the 3:0 win for Dynamo. The scandal also influenced the situation with refereeing in the competition as the blame for the Dynamo vs Metallurg match was placed on the referee of the match who has accumulated several bad reviews from previous games. During the match the referee canceled two goals that Metallurg scored in the beginning (at the 7th minute) and instead by the end of the first half Dynamo scored twice going for break with a two-goal lead. Following the match many leading Muscovite newspapers were demanding for the match to be replayed. And, while the central committee seemed to be ignoring the situation, on October 16, the local Moscow Committee of Physical Culture and Sport held discussion which was raised by the Red Sport newspaper about the match where some participants insisted on disqualification of the referee and replay of the match. On October 20, in the Soviet central newspaper "Pravda" appeared an article "About sports referees" (О спортивных судьях) where the author of the article was very critical not only about the referee of Dynamo-Metallurg match, but also number of other referees accusing them in corruption. About the same time several Leningrad newspapers also published articles about corruption in the sports referee community. The campaign against referees did not result in replay of the Dynamo-Metallurg match, but the All-Union Committee dissolved the Referee Collegium that supervised all referees, and many referees were disqualified and fired. Later after the fall of the Soviet Union, in 1999 a sports historian Yuriy Lukosyak after studying some materials in the FSB Archives in Saint Petersburg published an article where he mentioned a "depesha" (type of a secret message) for the Leningrad NKVD of March 7, 1938, where several former referees were accused in planning of terrorist actions against the government officials including Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich.

==See also==
* [[1937 Soviet Cup]]
* [[1937 Group B (Soviet football championship)]]
* [[1937 Soviet Second League|1937 Group V (Soviet football championship)]]
* [[1937 Soviet Second League B|1937 Group G (Soviet football championship)]]
* [[1937 Soviet Second League B|1937 groups D and cities of Far East]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/ussrhist.html Soviet Union - List of final tables (RSSSF)]

{{Soviet Top League seasons}}
{{1937 in Soviet football}}
{{1936–37 in European football (UEFA)}}
{{1937–38 in European football (UEFA)}}

[[Category:Soviet Top League seasons]]
[[Category:1937 in Soviet football leagues|1]]
[[Category:1936–37 in European association football leagues|Soviet]]
[[Category:1937–38 in European association football leagues|Soviet]]