The Rovers opened the 1938/39 campaign hoping that they could go one better than the previous season when they had finished runners-up to Tranmere Rovers in the old Third Division (North). At this time, only the Champions were promoted, and the Rovers missed out, but twelve months later, their luck was out again, and this time, it was old rivals Barnsley who beat them to the title, albeit by a margin of eleven points.

After an indifferent start to the new season, the Rovers fans were disappointed to see old favourite, Stan "Dizzy" Burton transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers. His departure, however, marked an upsurge in the Rovers fortunes, and four consecutive victories, aided by six goals from Mick Killourhy soon had them moving up the table.

That improvement in form continued through the month of November, where four first team fixtures each produced four goals. The team were also undefeated in December, and with Barnsley also doing well, the home clash with the "Tykes" was anticipated with some relish, despite the fact that the game was some weeks away. The game at Gateshead in mid-January provided the Rovers with their first league defeat in thirteen games, but they were soon back on the winning trail, and four successive wins over the next three weeks set them up nicely for the Barnsley game. A remarkable attendance of over 34,000 witnessed a game wherein the Rovers put together one of their poorest performances of the season, losing by three goals to one at Belle Vue.

This win put Barnsley well clear in the title race, and any thoughts the Rovers may have entertained of catching them must have surely disappeared when only one of the next four games yielded full points. Nevertheless, the Rovers battled on, and their often-enterprising play provided a series of excellent results during the final third of the season. New Brighton were well beaten on their own ground, as were high-flying Chester, before lowly Accrington Stanley had seven goals put past them at Belle Vue at Easter.

The last home game of the season was lost to Bradford City, but the last three fixtures, all away from home, were won, with eleven goals scored. Remarkably, no fewer than six players got into double figures as regards goals scored, with Jackie Kirkaldie, a signing towards the end of the season, hitting eight in just eleven league appearances.

The Rovers FA Cup exploits were brought to a rather abrupt end at Goodison Park, where Everton beat them by eight goals to nil in a Fourth Round tie - the Rovers having defeated New Brighton, Gainsborough Trinity and Southport in the earlier rounds.

Leading scorers: Killourhy 14, Perry 14, Dell 12.

There follows a look at the short part of the 1939/40 season, which was interrupted by the Second World War, and was completed in 1946/47.

Europe in the late 1930's was a continent divided. The scourge of Nazism within Germany was tearing part whatever harmony still existed between nations and as the 1939/40 League season drew closer there were serious doubts as to whether it should even begin. The majority of these concerns came from the players and the supporters, whilst the ruling bodies of the game in these islands showed a remarkable ambivalent attitude as they chose to virtually ignore the situation, save to defer a proposed game in Paris scheduled for May 1940.

Doncaster Rovers opened the new season with a home game with Rochdale. Playing in numbered shirts for the first time, they eased to a 2-0 success over the men from Spotland thanks to a brace of goals from Charlie Leyfield. The attendance on the day was a little less disappointing figure, as was the total of around 600,000 for the entire League programme. People were obviously voting with their feet.

The traditional mid-week fixtures went ahead as programmed. The Rovers, for their part, lost by a goal to nil at Sealand Road, Chester. Their next fixture was another away game, this time at Rake Lane, the home of New Brighton, and they viewed it with understandable confidence, having not lost there for the last six seasons.

That Saturday saw the German invasion of Poland, yet the Home Office issued a bulletin encouraging the League clubs to fulfil their fixtures. Once again, the footballing public shoes to make their point and attendances were down to less than 400,000.

Back at Rake Lane, the Rovers were being town apart by a rampant New Brighton outfit which thoroughly deserved their 4-2 success. Two goals from Perry gave the scoreline a slightly more favourable look for the Rovers, who were well beaten by a side that featured two ex-Doncaster players in Les Turner and Ronnie Dodd.

Within hours of the final whistle, the people of Britain were officially at war with Germany, and League football was suspended. Not only that, but a ban on the assembly of crowds was immediately introduced, although the clubs were instructed to retain their players' contracts. As the War progressed, football often played a major role in keeping up morale, although the Football League did not resume until the 1946/47 season. Players often appeared for a multitude of clubs, "guesting" for teams according to their Service commitments.

Sadly, hostilities would go on to claim the lives and careers of many fine footballers who went on to serve their countries. The Rovers lost two players in such tragic circumstances, with Glyn Jones and long serving Wilf Shaw both paying the ultimate sacrifice towards the end of the War.