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List of Birmingham City F.C. seasons

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Small Heath F.C., champions of the inaugural Football League Second Division 1892–93.

This is a list of seasons played by Birmingham City Football Club in English and European football from their first appearance in the FA Cup to the end of the latest completed season. It details the club's achievements in senior league and cup competitions and the top scorers for each season.

The club was founded in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance. For the first thirteen years of their existence, there was no league football, so matches were arranged on an ad hoc basis, supplemented by cup competitions organised at local and national level. Small Heath first entered the FA Cup in 1881–82, and won their first trophy, the Walsall Cup, the following season.[1] During the 1880s, they played between 20 and 30 matches each season.[2]

In 1888, the club became a limited company under the name of Small Heath F.C. Ltd,[3] and joined the Combination, a league set up to provide organised football for those clubs not invited to join the Football League which was to start the same year. However, the Combination was not well organised and folded in April 1889 with many fixtures still outstanding.[4] Small Heath were founder members of the Football Alliance in 1889–90, and three years later were elected to the newly-formed Second Division of the Football League. They topped the table in their first season, failing to win promotion via the test match system then in operation, but reached the top flight for the first time in 1894.[5] They were renamed Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.[6]

The club's official history rates 1955–56 as their best season to date.[7] The newly-promoted club achieved their highest ever finishing position of sixth in the First Division, reached the FA Cup final, and became the first English club side to participate in European competition when they played their opening game in the group stages of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.[8][9] Their only major trophy is the League Cup which they won in 1963; they reached the FA Cup final twice and the final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice. During the 1990s, they won the Leyland DAF Cup and the Auto Windscreens Shield, competitions open to clubs in the third and fourth tiers of English football. As at the end of the 2006–07 season, the club have played a total of 4892 competitive games, and spent 54 seasons in the top division of English football, 46 seasons in the second, and four seasons in the third.

Seasons

Season League record FA Cup League
Cup[10] 		Other competitions Top goalscorer[11]
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Name Gls
1881–82 There was no League football until 1888. R2 Billy Slater[12] 2
1882–83 R1 Billy Slater 2
1883–84 R1 Arthur James 2
1884–85 R1 n/a
1885–86 SF Eddy Stanley 7
1886–87 R1 Jack Price 1
1887–88 R2 Walter Dixon
Austin Smith 		2
1888–89 Comb[4] 11 6 3 2 24 17 15 6th R1 Will Devey[13] 5
1889–90 Alliance[14] 22 6 5 11 44 67 17 10th R2 Will Devey 27
1890–91 Alliance 22 7 2 13 58 66 16 10th disq[15] Will Devey 20
1891–92 Alliance 22 12 5 5 53 36 29 3rd R2 Fred Wheldon 29
1892–93 Div 2[16] 22 17 2 3 90 35 36 1st[17] R1 Fred Wheldon[18] 26
1893–94 Div 2 28 21 0 7 103 44 42 2nd[19] R1 Frank Mobley[20] 25
1894–95 Div 1 30 9 7 14 50 74 25 12th R1 Frank Mobley 13
1895–96 Div 1 30 8 4 18 39 79 20 15th[21] R1 Frank Mobley 11
1896–97 Div 2 30 16 5 9 69 47 37 4th R1 Jimmy Inglis 16
1897–98 Div 2 30 16 4 10 58 50 36 6th[22] QR3 Walter Abbott 19
1898–99 Div 2 34 17 7 10 85 50 41 8th R2 Walter Abbott[23] 42
1899–1900 Div 2 34 20 6 8 78 38 46 3rd QR5 Bob McRoberts 24
1900–01 Div 2 34 19 10 5 57 24 48 2nd QF Bob McRoberts 13
1901–02 Div 1 34 11 8 15 47 45 30 17th RInt Bob McRoberts 11
1902–03 Div 2 34 24 3 7 74 36 51 2nd R1 Arthur Leonard 16
1903–04 Div 1 34 11 8 15 39 52 30 11th RInt Freddie Wilcox
Billy Jones 		8
1904–05 Div 1 34 17 5 12 54 38 39 7th R1 Billy Jones 16
1905–06 Div 1 38 17 7 14 65 59 41 7th QF Billy Jones 24
1906–07 Div 1 38 15 8 15 52 52 38 9th R1 Billy Jones 15
1907–08 Div 1 38 9 12 17 40 60 30 20th R1 Edmund Eyre 9
1908–09 Div 2 38 14 9 15 58 61 37 11th R1 Billy Beer
Frederick Chapple 		8
1909–10 Div 2 38 8 7 23 42 78 23 20th[24] R1 Walter Freeman 10
1910–11 Div 2 38 12 8 18 42 64 32 16th R1 Jack Hall 14
1911–12 Div 2 38 14 6 18 55 59 34 12th R1 Jack Hall 21
1912–13 Div 2 38 18 10 10 59 44 46 3rd R1 Billy Jones 16
1913–14 Div 2 38 12 10 16 48 60 34 14th R3 Andy Smith 10
1914–15 Div 2 38 17 9 12 62 39 43 6th R3 Andy Smith 24
The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the First World War.[25]
1919–20 Div 2 42 24 8 10 85 34 56 3rd R3 Bert Millard 15
1920–21 Div 2 42 24 10 8 79 38 58 1st R1 Harry Hampton 16
1921–22 Div 1 42 15 7 20 48 60 37 18th n/a[26] Joe Bradford
Johnny Crosbie 		10
1922–23 Div 1 42 13 11 18 41 57 37 17th R1 Joe Bradford 19
1923–24 Div 1 42 13 13 16 41 49 39 14th R1 Joe Bradford 24
1924–25 Div 1 42 17 12 13 49 53 46 8th R3 Joe Bradford
George Briggs
Ernie Islip 		11
1925–26 Div 1 42 16 8 18 66 81 40 14th R4 Joe Bradford 27
1926–27 Div 1 42 17 4 21 64 73 38 17th R4 Joe Bradford 23
1927–28 Div 1 42 13 15 14 70 75 41 11th R5 Joe Bradford 32
1928–29 Div 1 42 15 10 17 68 77 40 15th R4 Joe Bradford 24
1929–30 Div 1 42 16 9 17 67 62 41 11th R4 Joe Bradford 23
1930–31 Div 1 42 13 10 19 55 70 36 19th Runners up[27] Joe Bradford 22
1931–32 Div 1 42 18 8 16 78 67 44 9th R4 Joe Bradford 28
1932–33 Div 1 42 14 11 17 57 57 39 13th QF Joe Bradford
Ernie Curtis 		14
1933–34 Div 1 42 12 12 18 54 56 36 20th R5 Fred Roberts 8
1934–35 Div 1 42 13 10 19 63 81 36 19th QF Wilson Jones 17
1935–36 Div 1 42 15 11 16 61 63 41 12th R3 Wilson Jones 20
1936–37 Div 1 42 13 15 14 64 60 41 11th R3 Seymour Morris 16
1937–38 Div 1 42 10 18 14 58 62 38 18th R3 Don Dearson
Wilson Jones 		9
1938–39 Div 1 42 12 8 22 62 84 32 21st R5 Fred Harris 17
1939–40 Div 2 3 2 1 0 5 1 5 2nd[28] n/a
The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the Second World War.[29]
1945–46 FL South[30] 42 28 5 9 96 45 61 1st SF[31] Wilson Jones[32]
Jock Mulraney[13] 		25
7
1946–47 Div 2 42 25 5 12 74 33 55 3rd QF Cyril Trigg 19
1947–48 Div 2 42 22 15 5 55 24 59 1st R3 Harold Bodle 14
1948–49 Div 1 42 11 15 16 36 38 37 17th R3 Jackie Stewart 11
1949–50 Div 1 42 7 14 21 31 67 28 22nd R3 Jimmy Dailey 9
1950–51 Div 2 42 20 9 13 64 53 49 4th SF Cyril Trigg 19
1951–52 Div 2 42 21 9 12 67 56 51 3rd R4 Tommy Briggs 19
1952–53 Div 2 42 19 10 13 71 66 48 6th QF Peter Murphy 26
1953–54 Div 2 42 18 11 13 78 58 47 7th R4 Ted Purdon 15
1954–55 Div 2 42 22 10 10 92 47 54 1st QF Peter Murphy 20
1955–56 Div 1 42 18 9 15 75 57 45 6th[33] Runners up[34] [8][9] Eddy Brown 29
1956–57 Div 1 42 15 9 18 69 69 39 =12th[35] SF Alex Govan 30
1957–58 Div 1 42 14 11 17 76 89 39 13th R3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup SF Peter Murphy 23
1958–59 Div 1 42 20 6 16 84 68 46 9th R5 Bunny Larkin 23
1959–60 Div 1 42 13 10 19 63 80 36 19th R3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Runners up[9][36] Johnny Gordon 19
1960–61 Div 1 42 14 6 22 62 84 34 19th R5 R3[10] Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Runners up[9][37] Jimmy Harris 17
1961–62 Div 1 42 14 10 18 65 81 38 17th R3 R1 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R2 Jimmy Harris
Ken Leek 		20
1962–63 Div 1 42 10 13 19 63 90 33 20th R3 Winners[38] Ken Leek 29
1963–64 Div 1 42 11 7 24 54 92 29 20th R3 R2 Bertie Auld 10
1964–65 Div 1 42 8 11 23 64 96 27 22nd R3 R2 Stan Lynn
Geoff Vowden 		10
1965–66 Div 2 42 16 9 17 70 75 41 10th R4 R2 Geoff Vowden 23
1966–67 Div 2 42 16 8 18 70 66 40 10th QF SF Geoff Vowden 21
1967–68 Div 2 42 19 14 9 83 51 52 4th SF R3 Barry Bridges 28
1968–69 Div 2 42 18 8 16 73 59 44 7th R5 R2 Fred Pickering
Phil Summerill 		17
1969–70 Div 2 42 11 11 20 51 78 33 18th R3 R2 Phil Summerill 13
1970–71 Div 2 42 17 12 13 58 48 46 9th R3 R4 Phil Summerill 21
1971–72 Div 2 42 19 18 5 60 31 56 2nd 3rd[39] R2 Anglo-Italian Cup group stage Bob Latchford[20] 30
1972–73 Div 1 42 15 12 15 53 54 42 10th R3 R4 Bob Latchford 20
1973–74 Div 1 42 12 13 17 52 64 37 19th R4 QF Texaco Cup QF[40] Bob Hatton 20
1974–75 Div 1 42 14 9 19 53 61 37 17th SF R2 Texaco Cup SF Bob Hatton 18
1975–76 Div 1 42 13 7 22 57 75 33 19th R3 R3 Trevor Francis 18
1976–77 Div 1 42 13 12 17 63 61 38 13th R4 R2 Trevor Francis 21
1977–78 Div 1 42 16 9 17 55 60 41 11th R4 R2 Anglo-Scottish Cup group stage Trevor Francis 29
1978–79 Div 1 42 6 10 26 37 64 22 21st R3 R2 Anglo-Scottish Cup group stage Alan Buckley 8
1979–80 Div 2 42 21 11 10 58 38 53 3rd[41] R5 R3 Keith Bertschin 15
1980–81 Div 1 42 13 12 17 50 61 38 13th R4 QF Frank Worthington 18
1981–82 Div 1[42] 42 10 14 18 53 61 44 16th R3 R2 Tony Evans 16
1982–83 Div 1 42 12 14 16 40 55 50 17th R4 R4 Mick Ferguson 8
1983–84 Div 1 42 12 12 18 39 50 48 20th QF R4 Mick Harford 15
1984–85 Div 2 42 25 7 10 59 33 82 2nd R3 R3 Wayne Clarke 19
1985–86 Div 1 42 8 5 29 30 73 29 21st R3 R3 Andy Kennedy 9
1986–87 Div 2 42 11 17 14 47 59 50 19th R4 R3 Full Members Cup R2 Wayne Clarke 19
1987–88 Div 2 44 11 15 18 41 66 48 19th R5 R1 Full Members Cup R1 Steve Whitton 16
1988–89 Div 2 46 8 11 27 31 76 35 23rd[43] R3 R2 Full Members Cup R1 Steve Whitton 6
1989–90 Div 3 46 18 12 16 60 59 66 7th R3 R2 Associate Members Cup group stage Dennis Bailey 20
1990–91 Div 3 46 16 17 13 45 49 65 12th R2 R1 Associate Members Cup Winners[44] John Gayle
Simon Sturridge 		10
1991–92 Div 3 46 23 12 11 69 52 81 2nd R1 R3 Associate Members Cup group stage Nigel Gleghorn 22
1992–93 Div 1[45] 46 13 12 21 50 72 51 19th R1 R1 Anglo-Italian Cup international group stage Paul Peschisolido
Andy Saville 		7
1993–94 Div 1 46 13 12 21 52 69 51 22nd R3 R2 Anglo-Italian Cup English group stage Paul Peschisolido
Andy Saville 		10
1994–95 Div 2 46 25 14 7 84 37 89 1st R3 R2 Football League Trophy Winners[46] Steve Claridge 24
1995–96 Div 1 46 15 13 18 61 64 58 15th R3 SF Anglo-Italian Cup English SF Jonathan Hunt 15
1996–97 Div 1 46 17 15 14 52 48 66 10th R5 R2 Paul Devlin 19
1997–98 Div 1 46 19 17 10 60 35 74 7th[47] R5 R3 Paul Furlong 19
1998–99 Div 1 46 23 12 11 66 37 81 4th[48] R3 R3 Dele Adebola 17
1999–2000 Div 1 46 22 11 13 65 44 77 5th[49] R4 R4 Paul Furlong 11
2000–01 Div 1 46 23 9 14 59 48 78 5th[50] R3 Runners up[51] Geoff Horsfield 12
2001–02 Div 1 46 21 13 12 70 49 76 5th[52] R3 R3 Tommy Mooney 15
2002–03 Prem 38 13 9 16 41 49 48 13th R3 R3 Stern John 9
2003–04 Prem 38 12 14 12 43 48 50 10th R5 R2 Mikael Forssell 19
2004–05 Prem 38 11 12 15 40 46 45 12th R4 R3 Emile Heskey 11
2005–06 Prem 38 8 10 20 28 50 34 18th QF QF Mikael Forssell
Jiří Jarošík 		8
2006–07 Champ[53] 46 26 8 12 67 42 86 2nd R4 R4 Gary McSheffrey 16


Key

Promoted Relegated Winners Runners up

Top scorer shown in bold when he was also top scorer for the division.
Division shown in bold when it changes due to promotion, relegation or reorganisation.
League results shown in italics for abandoned or wartime competitions.

Notes

  1. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 8.
  2. ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, p. 8.
  3. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 9.
  4. ^ a b An attempt was made to set up a league called The Combination involving clubs not invited to join the Football League. Lack of proper organisation meant it was wound up in April 1889 with many fixtures still outstanding. Small Heath played 11 of their full 16 fixtures.
    Shury, Alan (2005) [2002]. The Definitive Newton Heath F.C. 'Definitive' Club Histories (2nd ed. ed.). Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). ISBN 1899468161. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Small Heath at the Football Club History Database
  6. ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, p. 194.
  7. ^ "Club History". Birmingham City F.C. (registration required). Retrieved 2007-10-04.
  8. ^ a b Birmingham City became the first English club side to take part in European competition when they played their first group game in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1955-58 on May 15, 1956, a goalless draw away at Inter Milan. The competition lasted over three English seasons with the final not played until 1958. (The London XI, a representative side made up of players from several London clubs, were the first English team when they played their first group game in 1955.)
  9. ^ a b c d Ross, James M. (2006-07-13). "European Cups Archive". RSSSF. Retrieved 2007-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ a b The League Cup competition started in the 1960–61 season.
  11. ^ Includes goals scored in the Football Alliance, The Football League (including test matches and play-offs), FA Cup, Football League Cup, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Associate Members' Cup/Football League Trophy in its various manifestations (Leyland DAF Cup, Auto Windscreens Shield, ...), and several now-defunct competitions such as the Anglo-Italian Cup, Texaco Cup, Anglo-Scottish Cup and Full Members' Cup.
    Excludes Birmingham Senior Cup: in its early days this was a prestigious first-team competition, but over the years its status has declined and it is now contested by the club's reserve team.
  12. ^ The first of Slater's two goals in the FA Cup first round tie against Derby Town, a 4–1 win played at the Muntz Street ground on October 17, 1881, was the club's first ever goal in national competitive football.
  13. ^ a b FA Cup goals only.
  14. ^ Founder member of the Football Alliance, which started a year after the Football League.
  15. ^ Disqualified for fielding an improperly registered player, after eliminating Hednesford Town and Wednesbury Old Athletic in the qualifying rounds.
  16. ^ The Football League expanded its membership at the end of this season by forming a Second Division. 11 of the 12 Football Alliance teams accepted invitations to join the Football League.
  17. ^ Promotion and relegation decided by test matches, in which 3rd bottom in First Division played 3rd in Second Division, 2nd bottom in First Division played 2nd in Second Division, and bottom club in First Division played top club from Second Division, in one-off games at neutral venues, winners to play in the following season's First Division. Small Heath drew 1–1 with Newton Heath but lost the replay 5–2, so were not promoted despite winning the division.
  18. ^ 24 goals in Second Division.
  19. ^ Promoted via test match, beating Darwen 3–1.
  20. ^ a b 23 goals in Second Division.
  21. ^ Promotion and relegation decided by test match system in which bottom two clubs in First Division and top two clubs in Second Division played a mini-league of home and away matches against the two clubs in the other division, top two in mini-league to play in following season's First Division. Small Heath finished 3rd in the mini-league so were relegated.
  22. ^ The final test match left the two clubs involved needing to draw for them both to win promotion, which unsurprisingly is what happened. The Football League decided to expand each division by two places, and the existing clubs voted for two clubs to take the two new places in the First Division. Candidates were the losers from the two test match series plus teams placed third to sixth in the Second Division. Small Heath came fourth in the vote, so remained in the Second Division. From then on the League adopted promotion and relegation directly dependent on league position (two up, two down).
  23. ^ 34 goals in Second Division. Abbott's 34 league goals and 42 total goals in a season are club records.
  24. ^ There was no automatic relegation from the Football League until 1987. The bottom two clubs in the League applied for re-election, together with candidates from outside the League. Each current League club had a vote. Small Heath were re-elected.
  25. ^ The club played 106 competitive games in regional football, the Midland Section Principal and Subsidiary Competitions, over three seasons from 1916 to 1919. Guest players were permitted, and results and records from this period are not included in official statistics.
  26. ^ Club did not enter FA Cup because secretary Frank Richards forgot to submit the entry form.
  27. ^ Birmingham's first appearance in the Cup Final, a 2–1 defeat to Second Division West Bromwich Albion.
  28. ^ League football was abandoned after three games because of the Second World War.
  29. ^ The club played 215 competitive games in regional league and cup football between 1939 and 1946. Guest players were permitted, and results and records from this period are not included in official statistics.
  30. ^ The FA Cup was contested in 1945–46 but the Football League proper did not resume until the following season. However 1945–46 did see the only full season played in the wartime Football League North and South regionalised competition; this included First and Second Division clubs divided geographically, playing each other home and away. Birmingham won the Southern section on goal average from Aston Villa. Records in this competition are not counted in official statistics.
  31. ^ Drew with Derby County at Hillsborough in front of 65,000 spectators. The replay at Maine Road, which attracted a crowd of over 80,000, went goalless into extra time, when defender Ted Duckhouse broke his leg trying to stop Derby's first goal. No substitutes were allowed, and Birmingham went on to lose 4–0.
  32. ^ Including goals scored in Football League South.
  33. ^ Club's highest League finish.
  34. ^ Reached the final without being drawn at home in any round, the first club so to do. Lost 3–1 to Manchester City, the game remembered for City's goalkeeper Bert Trautmann playing on having broken a bone in his neck after 70 minutes.
  35. ^ Equal with Chelsea on goal average; number of goals scored was not taken into account.
  36. ^ Birmingham became the first English club side to reach the final of a European competition, losing on aggregate to Barcelona (0–0 at home, 1–4 away). (The London XI, consisting of players from several London clubs, were the first English team when they reached the final of the ICFC 1955–58.)
  37. ^ Lost on aggregate to A.S. Roma (2–2 at home, 0–2 away).
  38. ^ Beat Aston Villa 3–1 on aggregate (3–1 at home, 0–0 away) to win club's first (and as yet only) major trophy.
  39. ^ Between 1969–70 and 1973–74 the losing semi-finalists took part in a third-place play-off. Birmingham beat Stoke City on penalties after a goalless draw.
  40. ^ The home leg of this match against Newcastle United finished 1–1. Despite use of floodlights being banned due to the fuel crisis, the League refused to allow an earlier kickoff time for the away leg. The match was abandoned at 1–1 after 10 minutes of extra time in almost total darkness. When the match was replayed, Birmingham lost 3–1.
    "Season 1973/74". Toonarama (a Newcastle United fansite). Retrieved 2007-05-22.
  41. ^ Number of teams promoted to and relegated from the First Division changed from two to three in season 1973–74.
  42. ^ This season saw the introduction of three points for a win intead of two.
  43. ^ Relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time.
  44. ^ Beat Tranmere Rovers 3–2 in the final of the Leyland DAF Cup at Wembley.
  45. ^ When the FA Premiership was formed, Div 2 was renamed Division One.
  46. ^ Beat Carlisle United 1–0 in the final of the Auto Windscreens Shield at Wembley in front of a crowd of 76,663. The goal was scored by Paul Tait in extra time. This was the first time a senior tournament in England was decided on a golden goal.
  47. ^ Missed out on a play-off place to Sheffield United by virtue of goals scored, which from 1992–93 to 1998–99 took precedence over goal difference in the Football League.
  48. ^ Lost in the play-off semi-final to Watford on penalties.
  49. ^ Lost in the play-off semi-final to Barnsley on aggregate.
  50. ^ Lost in the play-off semi-final to Preston North End on penalties. This was the first season that an aggregate draw was not decided on the away goals rule; Birmingham would have gone through on away goals.
  51. ^ Lost to Liverpool on penalties after the game had finished 1–1. This was the first English football final to be held at the Millennium Stadium while the new Wembley Stadium was being built.
  52. ^ Promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs, beating Millwall 2–1 on aggregate in the semi-final and Norwich City on penalties in the final after the game had finished 1–1.
  53. ^ Division One was renamed The Championship in 2004–05.

References

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