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List of Birmingham City F.C. records and statistics

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This article details all-time records. For a season-by-season statistical breakdown see Birmingham City F.C. seasons.
Small Heath F.C., champions of the inaugural Football League Second Division 1892–93

Birmingham City Football Club are a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Founded in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, the club turned professional in 1885[1] and three years later, under the name of Small Heath F.C. Ltd, were the first football club to become a limited company with a board of directors.[2] They were later known as Birmingham before adopting their current name in 1943.[3] Elected to the newly-formed Second Division of the Football League in 1892, they have never dropped below the third tier of English football. The team currently plays in the Premier League.[4] They were also pioneers of European football competition, taking part in the inaugural season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.[5]

The list encompasses the major honours won by Birmingham City, records set by the club, their managers and their players, and details of their performance in European competition. The player records section itemises the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions. It also records notable achievements by Birmingham players on the international stage, and the highest transfer fees paid and received by the club. Attendance records at St Andrew's, the club's home ground since 1906, are also included.

All figures are correct as at 31 January 2008.

Honours

Birmingham's first ever silverware was the Walsall Cup which they won in 1883. Their first honour in national competitive football was the inaugural championship of the Football League Second Division in 1892–93. The majority of their success came in the period from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. Promoted to the First Division in 1955, in the following season they achieved their highest league finish of sixth place and their second FA Cup final appearance.[6][7] They went on to reach two successive finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and won their only major trophy, the League Cup, in 1963. Their last senior honours were the Division Two (level 3) championship and the Football League Trophy, a cup competition open to clubs in the third and fourth tiers of English football, in 1994–95;[8] this was the first time the golden goal was used to decide the winner of a senior English cup final.[9]

Birmingham City's honours and achievements include the following:[6][8]

European competition

The Football League

Domestic cup competition

Wartime competition

Player records

See also: List of Birmingham City F.C. players

Appearances

Most appearances

Competitive, professional matches only, appearances as substitute in brackets.[14][15][16]
# Name Years League[17] FA Cup League Cup Other[18] Total
1 England Gil Merrick 1946–1959 485 (0) 56 (0) 0 (0) 10 (0) 551   (0)
2 England Frank Womack 1908–1928 491 (0) 24 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 515   (0)
3 England Joe Bradford 1920–1935 414 (0) 31 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 445   (0)
4 England Ken Green 1947–1958 401 (0) 36 (0) 0 (0) 4 (0) 440   (0)
5 Scotland Johnny Crosbie 1920–1932 409 (0) 23 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 432   (0)
6 England Trevor Smith 1953–1964 365 (0) 35 (0) 12 (0) 18 (0) 430   (0)
7 England Malcolm Beard 1960–1970 349 (1) 24 (1) 25 (0) 4 (0) 402   (2)
8 England Dan Tremelling 1919–1931 382 (0) 13 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 395   (0)
9 Wales Malcolm Page 1965–1980 328 (8) 29 (0) 14 (0) 12 (0) 383   (8)
10 England Harry Hibbs 1926–1938 358 (0) 30 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 388   (0)

Goalscorers

Top goalscorers

Joe Bradford is the all-time top goalscorer for Birmingham City. He spent his entire professional career at the club, was their leading goalscorer for twelve consecutive seasons, from 1921–22 to 1932–33, and won 12 caps for England.[21]

Competitive, professional matches only. Matches played (including as substitute) appear in brackets.[16][21][22]
# Name Years League[17] FA Cup League Cup Other[18] Total
1 England Joe Bradford 1920–1935 249 (414) 18 (31) 0 (0) 0 (0) 267 (445)
2 England Trevor Francis 1970–1979 119 (280) 6 (20) 4 (19) 4 (10) 133 (329)
3 England Peter Murphy 1952–1960 107 (245) 16 (24) 0 (0) 4 (9) 127 (278)
4 England Fred Wheldon 1890–1896 99 (155) 12 (13) 0 (0) 5 (7) 116 (175)
5 England George Briggs 1924–33 98 (298) 9 (26) 0 (0) 0 (0) 107 (324)
6 England Billy Jones 1901–1909
1912–1913		 99 (236) 3 (17) 0 (0) 0 (0) 102 (253)
7 England Geoff Vowden 1964–1970 79 (221) 8 (16) 7 (16) 0 (0) 94 (253)
8 England Eddy Brown 1954–1958 74 (158) 13 (18) 0 (0) 3 (9) 90 (185)
9 England Bob Latchford 1969–1974 68 (160) 6 (12) 6 (16) 4 (6) 84 (193)
10 Scotland Bob McRoberts 1898–1905 70 (173) 12 (14) 0 (0) 0 (0) 82 (187)

International caps

Maik Taylor, the club's most capped player

This section refers only to caps won while a Birmingham City player.

Transfers

Trevor Francis, who joined Birmingham as a 15-year-old, was the first British footballer to be transferred for a fee of at least £1 million when Brian Clough signed him for league champions Nottingham Forest in February 1979. The basic fee was below £1m – Clough claimed in his autobiography to have set the fee at £999,999 because he did not want the idea of being the first £1m player going to Francis's head[26] – but VAT and the transfer levy raised the total payable to £1.18m.[27] Within three months he scored the winning goal in the 1979 European Cup Final.[28] Some four years previously, Birmingham had also been involved in a British record transfer when they sold Bob Latchford to Everton, in part exchange for Howard Kendall and Archie Styles, the deal valuing Latchford at £350,000.[29]

For consistency, fees in the record transfer tables below are all sourced from BBC Sport's contemporary reports of each transfer. Where the report mentions an initial fee potentially rising to a higher figure depending on contractual clauses being satisfied in the future, only the initial fee is listed in the tables.

Record transfer fees paid

# Fee Paid to For Date Notes
1 £5.5m Blackburn Rovers England David Dunn Error in Template:Date table sorting: days must be an integer between 1 and 31 [30]
2 £4.75m Everton Scotland James McFadden Error in Template:Date table sorting: days must be an integer between 1 and 31 [31]
3 £4.25m Crystal Palace Republic of Ireland Clinton Morrison Error in Template:Date table sorting: days must be an integer between 1 and 31 [32]
4 £4m Coventry City England Gary McSheffrey Error in Template:Date table sorting: days must be an integer between 1 and 31 [33]
5 £3.5m Liverpool England Emile Heskey Error in Template:Date table sorting: days must be an integer between 1 and 31 [34][35]

Record transfer fees received

# Fee Received from For Date Notes
1 £6.7m Liverpool England Jermaine Pennant Error in Template:Date table sorting: days must be an integer between 1 and 31 [36]
2 £6m West Ham United England Matthew Upson Error in Template:Date table sorting: days must be an integer between 1 and 31 [37]
3 £5.5m Wigan Athletic England Emile Heskey Error in Template:Date table sorting: days must be an integer between 1 and 31 [38]
4 £3m Leicester City England Gary Rowett Error in Template:Date table sorting: days must be an integer between 1 and 31 [39]
4 £3m Blackburn Rovers Wales Robbie Savage Error in Template:Date table sorting: days must be an integer between 1 and 31 [40]

Managerial records

See also: List of Birmingham City F.C. managers
  • First full-time manager: Bob McRoberts managed the club for five complete seasons, which included 203 matches, from July 1910 to May 1915.[41][42]
  • Longest serving manager by time: George Liddell managed the club for six years and two months, which included 267 matches, from July 1933 to September 1939.[42][43]
  • Longest serving manager by matches: Trevor Francis managed the club for 290 matches over a period of five years and five months, from May 1996 to October 2001.[43]

All three of the above had formerly played for the club.[44]

Club records

Goals

28 in 38 matches, Premier League, 2005–06.[4]
30 in 46 matches, First Division, 1985–86.[4]
  • Most league goals conceded in a season: 96 in 42 matches, First Division, 1964–65.[4]
  • Fewest league goals conceded in a season: 24 in 42 matches, Second Division, 1947–48.[4]

Points

  • Most points in a season:
Two points for a win: 59 in 42 matches, Second Division, 1947–48.[4]
Three points for a win: 89 in 46 matches, Second Division (level 3), 1994–95.[4]
  • Fewest points in a season:
Two points for a win:
20 in 30 matches, First Division, 1895–96.[4]
22 in 42 matches, First Division, 1978–79.[4]
Three points for a win: 29 in 42 matches, First Division, 1985–86.[4]

Matches

Firsts

Record wins

  • Record league win:[52]
Small Heath 12–0 Doncaster Rovers, Second Division, 11 April 1903.
Small Heath 12–0 Walsall Town Swifts, Second Division, 17 December 1892.
Birmingham City 6–0 Manchester City, fifth round, 11 December 1962.
Birmingham City 6–0 v Macclesfield Town, second round, 22 September 1998.
  • Record European win: Birmingham City 5–0 KB, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup quarter final, 7 December 1960.[52]

Record defeats

  • Record league defeat:[52]
Sheffield Wednesday 9–1 Small Heath, Football Alliance, 21 December 1889.
Newton Heath 9–1 v Small Heath, Football Alliance, 7 April 1890.
Blackburn Rovers 9–1 v Small Heath, First Division, 5 February 1895.
Sheffield Wednesday 9–1 v Birmingham, First Division, 13 December 1930.

Record consecutive results

This section applies to league matches only.[7][54]

8, from 26 December 1922 to 17 February 1923, First Division.
8, from 2 December 1978 to 24 February 1979, First Division.
8, from 28 September 1985 to 23 November 1985, First Division.

Attendances

Average and peak league attendances at St Andrew's

This section applies to attendances at St Andrew's, where Birmingham have played their home matches since 1906. Attendance figures from the club's early days are approximate.[55]

1,000, against Blackpool, Second Division, 27 November 1909.
1,000, against Burnley, Second Division, 28 February 1910.
  • Highest seasonal average league attendance: 38,821, First Division, 1948–49.
  • Lowest seasonal average league attendance: 6,289, Second Division, 1988–89.

Birmingham City in Europe

Invitations to enter the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a football tournament set up to promote industrial trade fairs, were extended to the city hosting the trade fair rather than to clubs. Some cities entered a select team including players from more than one club; others, including Birmingham, chose a club side to represent them.[5] Thus Birmingham City became the first English club side to play in European competition when they played their first match in the 1955–58 Fairs Cup on 15 May 1956. They were also the first English club side to reach a European final, the 1958–60 Fairs Cup, where they met Barcelona. The home leg, a goalless draw, was played on 29 March 1960 and the away leg, which Barcelona won 4–1, some six weeks later.[56] In the semifinal of the 1961 Fairs Cup Birmingham beat Internazionale home and away; no other English club beat them in a competitive match in the San Siro until Arsenal did so in the Champions League over 40 years later.[57]

Record by season

Birmingham City's scores are given first in all scorelines.
Season Competition Round Country Club Home
leg 		Away
leg 		Playoff Notes
1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup GS Italy Internazionale 2–1 0–0 [58]
GS Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Zagreb XI 3–0 1–0
SF Spain Barcelona 4–3 0–1 1–2 [59]
1958–60 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1R Germany Cologne XI 2–0 2–2 [60]
2R Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Zagreb XI 1–0 3–3
SF Belgium R. Union Saint-Gilloise 4–2 4–2
F Spain Barcelona 0–0 1–4
1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1R Hungary Újpesti Dózsa 3–2 2–1 [60]
2R Denmark KB 5–0 4–4
SF Italy Internazionale 2–1 2–1
F Italy A.S. Roma 2–2 0–2
1961–62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 2R Spain RCD Espanyol 1–0 2–5 [60]
Key
  • GS = group stage
  • 1R = first round
  • 2R = second round
  • SF = semifinal
  • F = final

European attendance records

References

General
  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2000). The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875-2000. Cradley Heath: Britespot. ISBN 978-0-9539288-0-4.
  • "The Birmingham City FC Archive" (via archive.org). Tony Jordan.
Specific
  1. ^ a b Matthews (1995), p. 8.
  2. ^ Williams, John (2002). "Fact Sheet 10: The 'New' Football Economics". Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research: University of Leicester. Retrieved 2007-07-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Matthews (2000), "Club name", p. 55.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Small Heath, Birmingham and "Birmingham City". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  5. ^ a b Radnedge, Keir (1998). "Inter-Cities Fairs/UEFA Cup". The Complete Encyclopedia of Football. Carlton Books. pp. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-85833-979-5. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  6. ^ a b "Honours". The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  7. ^ a b "Team Records". The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  8. ^ a b Oliver, Peter (2007). Birmingham City The Official Annual 2008. Grange Communications. ISBN 978-1-905426-79-9.
  9. ^ Haylett, Trevor (1995-04-24). "Fry's delight as Carlisle succumb to sudden death". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  10. ^ Promoted automatically to Football League First Division by finishing in third place.
  11. ^ Promoted via the playoff system to the Premier League after finishing in fifth place.
  12. ^ This competition, open to teams in the third and fourth tiers of English football, was renamed the Football League Trophy in 1992. It is more often referred to by its sponsored name, which in 1991 was the Leyland DAF Trophy and in 1995 was the Auto Windscreens Shield.
  13. ^ a b Matthews (2000). "Age", p. 10.
  14. ^ "Appearance Records". The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  15. ^ Matthews (1995), pp. 201–16, 243–44.
  16. ^ a b Matthews (2000), "Appearances", pp. 12–14.
  17. ^ a b Includes the Football Alliance, the Football League and the Premier League.
  18. ^ a b The "Other" column includes goals and appearances (including those as a substitute) in test matches and promotion playoffs, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the Football League Trophy, and the now-defunct Anglo-Italian Cup, Anglo-Scottish Cup, Full Members' Cup and Texaco Cup.
  19. ^ a b c "Individual Records". The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  20. ^ "Top League Goalscorers". The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  21. ^ a b "Top Goalscorers". The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  22. ^ Matthews (2000), "Goalscoring", pp. 96–97.
  23. ^ a b c Matthews (2000), "International Blues", pp. 119–22.
  24. ^ Includes caps won when on loan from Fulham.
    Courtney, Barrie (2005-03-02). "(Northern) Ireland - International Results 2000-2005 - Details". RSSSF.
    "Maik Taylor". Squad profiles. Irish FA. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  25. ^ "England in World Cup 1954 Squad Records". England Football Online. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  26. ^ Clough, Brian (1995). Clough: The Autobiography. Corgi. ISBN 978-0552140034.
  27. ^ Harris, Nick (2004-02-04). "Landmark £1m fee for Francis was no big deal for Clough". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  28. ^ Matthews (2000), "Francis, Trevor", p. 86.
  29. ^ Matthews (2000), "Latchford, Bob", p. 132.
  30. ^ "Dunn signs for Blues". BBC Sport. 2003-07-07. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  31. ^ "Birmingham complete McFadden move". BBC Sport. 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  32. ^ "Birmingham net Morrison". BBC Sport. 2002-07-30. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  33. ^ "Birmingham capture £4m McSheffrey". BBC Sport. 2006-08-16. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  34. ^ "Birmingham sign Heskey". BBC Sport. 2004-01-18. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  35. ^ "Blues prepared for the worst". Birmingham Mail. 2006-04-06. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
    Managing director Karren Brady stated that Birmingham's relegation in 2006 meant that the last £1.5m of the maximum £6.25m fee would not be payable, implying that the actual fee paid was £4.75m.
  36. ^ "Pennant completes Liverpool move". BBC Sport. 2006-07-26. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  37. ^ "West Ham capture Upson from Blues". BBC Sport. 2007-01-31. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  38. ^ "Wigan seal £5.5m move for Heskey". BBC Sport. 2006-07-07. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  39. ^ "Foxes sign £1.75m Davidson". BBC Sport. 2000-07-07. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  40. ^ "Savage seals switch to Blackburn". BBC Sport. 2005-01-19. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  41. ^ Prior to 1910, the club was managed by committee or by a secretary-manager who combined club administration with responsibility for the team's affairs on the pitch. McRoberts was the first manager whose role did not include secretarial duties.
  42. ^ a b "Managers". The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  43. ^ a b "Manager History for Birmingham City". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  44. ^ Matthews (2000), "Managers", p. 148.
  45. ^ Matthews (1995), p. 231.
  46. ^ Matthews (1995), p. 140.
  47. ^ Matthews (1995), p. 141.
  48. ^ Matthews (1995), p. 142.
  49. ^ Matthews (1995), p. 13.
  50. ^ Matthews (1995), p. 241.
  51. ^ Matthews (1995), p. 196.
  52. ^ a b c d e f g "Record Results". The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  53. ^ Shaw, Phil (2006-03-22). "Birmingham City 0 Liverpool 7: Liverpool's magnificent seven gives knock-out blow to Bruce". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  54. ^ "Birmingham results/fixtures". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  55. ^ Matthews (2000), "Attendances", pp. 20–21.
  56. ^ Ross, James M. (2006-07-13). "European Cups Archive". RSSSF. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
    The London XI, including players from several London clubs, were the first English team to play in European competition when they played their first match in the inaugural Fairs Cup in 1955, and the first English team to reach a final, in the same campaign.
  57. ^ Moore, Chris (2003-11-27). "Harris beats Henry". The Sun. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  58. ^ Invitations to enter the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a football tournament set up to promote industrial trade fairs, were extended to the city hosting the trade fair rather than to clubs. Some cities entered a select team including players from more than one club; others, including Birmingham, chose a club side to represent them. See Radnedge, p. 200.
  59. ^ The away goals rule did not apply when aggregate scores were level, so a playoff was staged at St. Jakob-Park, Basel, which Barcelona won 2–1 to reach the final.
  60. ^ a b c Until the mid-1960s, entry to this competition remained by invitation, independent of domestic league position. Birmingham City's continued invitations resulted from their success in the previous edition of the competition. In 1961–62, there was an expanded entry of 28 teams, and Birmingham received a bye to the second round as losing finalist from the previous edition. See Radnedge, pp. 200–04.
  61. ^ a b c d Matthews (1995), "Blues in Europe", pp. 241–42.

External links

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