Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Founded in September 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, was 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. [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 of 25 July 2020.
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, for the first time in 1963, [8] a success not repeated until 2011. [9] In the 1994–95 season they completed the "lower-division double", of the Division Two (level 3) title and the Football League Trophy, a cup competition open to teams from the third and fourth tiers of English football; [8] this was the first time the golden goal was used to decide the winner of a senior English cup final. [10]
Birmingham City's honours and achievements include the following: [6] [8] [9] [11]
European competition
The Football League
Domestic cup competition
Wartime competition
No. | Name | Years | League [a] | FA Cup | League Cup | Other [b] | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gil Merrick | 1946–1959 | 485 (0) | 56 (0) | 0 (0) | 10 (0) | 551 (0) |
2 | Frank Womack | 1908–1928 | 491 (0) | 24 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 515 (0) |
3 | Joe Bradford | 1920–1935 | 414 (0) | 31 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 445 (0) |
4 | Ken Green | 1947–1958 | 401 (0) | 36 (0) | 0 (0) | 4 (0) | 440 (0) |
5 | Johnny Crosbie | 1920–1932 | 409 (0) | 23 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 432 (0) |
6 | Trevor Smith | 1953–1964 | 365 (0) | 35 (0) | 12 (0) | 18 (0) | 430 (0) |
7 | Malcolm Beard | 1960–1970 | 349 (1) | 24 (1) | 25 (0) | 4 (0) | 402 (2) |
8 | Dan Tremelling | 1919–1931 | 382 (0) | 13 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 395 (0) |
9 | Malcolm Page | 1965–1980 | 328 (8) | 29 (0) | 14 (0) | 12 (0) | 383 (8) |
10 | Harry Hibbs | 1926–1938 | 358 (0) | 30 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 388 (0) |
Joe Bradford is the all-time top goalscorer for Birmingham City. He was their leading goalscorer for twelve consecutive seasons, from 1921–22 to 1932–33, and won 12 caps for England. [19]
No. | Name | Years | League [a] | FA Cup | League Cup | Other [b] | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Joe Bradford | 1920–1935 | 249 (414) | 18 (31) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 267 (445) |
2 | Trevor Francis | 1970–1979 | 119 (280) | 6 (20) | 4 (19) | 4 (10) | 133 (329) |
3 | Peter Murphy | 1952–1960 | 107 (245) | 16 (24) | 0 (0) | 4 (9) | 127 (278) |
4 | Fred Wheldon | 1890–1896 | 99 (155) | 12 (13) | 0 (0) | 5 (7) | 116 (175) |
5 | George Briggs | 1924–1933 | 98 (298) | 9 (26) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 107 (324) |
6 | Billy Jones |
| 99 (236) | 3 (17) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 102 (253) |
7 | Geoff Vowden | 1964–1970 | 79 (221) | 8 (16) | 7 (16) | 0 (0) | 94 (253) |
8 | Eddy Brown | 1954–1958 | 74 (158) | 13 (18) | 0 (0) | 3 (9) | 90 (185) |
9 | Bob Latchford | 1969–1974 | 68 (160) | 6 (12) | 6 (16) | 4 (6) | 84 (193) |
10 | Bob McRoberts | 1898–1905 | 70 (173) | 12 (14) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 82 (187) |
This section refers only to caps won while a Birmingham player.
Trevor Francis, who joined Birmingham as a 15-year-old, became 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 [24] –but VAT and the transfer levy raised the total payable to £1.18m. [25] Within three months he scored the winning goal in the 1979 European Cup Final. [26] Some four years earlier, 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. [27] The initial £25m reportedly received from Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham in 2020 made him the most expensive 17-year-old in world football history. [28]
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.
No. | Fee | Paid to | For | Date | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | £10m plus | Fulham | Jay Stansfield (England) | 31 August 2024 | [29] |
2 | £6.3m | Dinamo Zagreb | Ivan Šunjić (Croatia) | 26 July 2019 | [30] |
3 | £6m plus | Brentford | Jota (Spain) | 31 August 2017 | [31] |
4 | £6m | Valencia | Nikola Žigić (Serbia) | 26 May 2010 | [32] |
5 | £5.5m | Blackburn Rovers | David Dunn (England) | 7 July 2003 | [33] |
No. | Fee | Received from | For | Date | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | £25m | Borussia Dortmund | Jude Bellingham (England) | 23 July 2020 | [a] |
2 | £15m | Southampton | Che Adams (England) | 1 July 2019 | [35] |
3 | £6.7m | Liverpool | Jermaine Pennant (England) | 26 July 2006 | [36] |
4 | £6m | West Ham United | Matthew Upson (England) | 31 January 2007 | [37] |
5 | £5.5m | Wigan Athletic | Emile Heskey (England) | 7 July 2006 | [38] |
All three of the above had formerly played for the club. [43]
Sourced to the Football Club History Database: [4]
Sourced to the Football Club History Database: [4]
Sourced to the Birmingham City FC Archive: [51]
Sourced to the Birmingham City FC Archive [51] except where stated:
This section applies to league matches only, and is sourced to Statto.com [52] except where stated:
This section applies to attendances at St Andrew's, where Birmingham have played their home matches since 1906. Figures from the club's early days are approximate. [54]
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, but Aston Villa, the other major club based in the city of Birmingham, rejected the opportunity to field a combined team. [5] [55] Thus Birmingham City became the first English club side to play in European competition when they played their first match in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup on 15 May 1956. They were also the first English club side to reach a European final, the 1960 Fairs Cup final, in which 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. [E] 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 more than 40 years later. [57]
Victory in the 2011 Football League Cup Final earned Birmingham qualification for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, which they entered at the play-off round. [58] A 3–0 aggregate victory over C.D. Nacional of Portugal [59] qualified Birmingham for the group stage, in which they were drawn alongside the previous season's finalists, S.C. Braga of Portugal, Slovenian champions NK Maribor, and fourth-placed Belgian team Club Brugge. They finished third in group H, one point behind Club Brugge and Braga, so failed to qualify for the knockout rounds. [60]
Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home leg | Away leg | Play- off | Notes | Refs | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Country | Club | ||||||||
1955–58 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | GS | Italy | Internazionale | 2–1 | 0–0 | [F] | [62] | |
GS | Yugoslavia | Zagreb XI | 3–0 | 1–0 | [62] | ||||
SF | Spain | Barcelona | 4–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | [G] | [62] | ||
1958–60 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 1R | Germany | Cologne XI | 2–0 | 2–2 | [H] | [64] | |
2R | Yugoslavia | Zagreb XI | 1–0 | 3–3 | [64] | ||||
SF | Belgium | R. Union Saint-Gilloise | 4–2 | 4–2 | [64] | ||||
F | Spain | Barcelona | 0–0 | 1–4 | [64] | ||||
1960–61 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 1R | Hungary | Újpesti Dózsa | 3–2 | 2–1 | [H] | [65] | |
2R | Denmark | KB | 5–0 | 4–4 | [65] | ||||
SF | Italy | Internazionale | 2–1 | 2–1 | [65] | ||||
F | Italy | A.S. Roma | 2–2 | 0–2 | [65] | ||||
1961–62 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 2R | Spain | RCD Espanyol | 1–0 | 2–5 | [H] | [66] | |
2011–12 | UEFA Europa League | PO | Portugal | C.D. Nacional | 3–0 | 0–0 | [59] | ||
GS | Portugal | S.C. Braga | 1–3 | 0–1 | [60] | ||||
GS | Slovenia | NK Maribor | 1–0 | 2–1 | [60] | ||||
GS | Belgium | Club Brugge | 2–2 | 2–1 | [60] |
Key
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Its first team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, following relegation in 2024.
Alexander Govan was a Scottish professional footballer who played at outside left. Most of his career was spent with Plymouth Argyle and with Birmingham City during their most successful period in the 1950s, and he also had a short spell with Portsmouth. He is credited with being responsible for Birmingham's fans adopting Harry Lauder's song "Keep right on to the end of the road" as their anthem.
Arthur Owen Turner was an English professional association football player and manager. He played as a centre-half for Stoke City, Birmingham City and Southport. Turner was player-manager of Southport, managed Crewe Alexandra and was assistant at Stoke before joining Birmingham City as manager. He won the Second Division championship in 1954–55, led them the following season to the 1956 FA Cup Final and their highest ever top flight finish, and became the first man to manage an English club side in European competition when he took the club to the semi-final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1958. Turner went on to manage the transformation of Southern League club Headington United into Oxford United of the Second Division of the Football League.
Birmingham City Football Club, an English association football club based in Birmingham, was founded as Small Heath Alliance in September 1875, and from 1877 played home games at Muntz Street. It adopted professionalism in 1885, and three years later, as Small Heath F.C., became a limited company with a board of directors, the first football club so to do. The team played in the Football Alliance from the 1889–90 season, and in 1892, along with the other Alliance teams, were invited to join the newly formed Second Division of the Football League. Although they finished as champions, they failed to win promotion via the test match system; the following season promotion to the First Division was secured after a second-place finish and test match victory over Darwen. The club adopted the name Birmingham Football Club in 1905, and the following year moved into a new home, St Andrew's Ground. Matters on the field failed to live up to their surroundings. Birmingham were relegated in 1908, obliged to apply for re-election two years later, and remained in the Second Division until after the First World War.
The 1955–56 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 53rd in the Football League and their 29th in the First Division, having been promoted as Second Division champions in 1954–55. They finished in a club-record sixth position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1955–56 FA Cup in the third round proper and reached the Final for only the second time, despite being drawn to play away from home in each round, the first time this had occurred. They lost 3–1 to Manchester City in a match remembered for City's goalkeeper Bert Trautmann playing the last 25 minutes with a broken neck.
The 1969–70 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 67th in the Football League and their 29th in the Second Division. They finished in 18th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1969–70 FA Cup in the third round proper and the League Cup in the second round; they lost their opening match in each competition, to Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively.
The 1961–62 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 59th in the Football League and their 35th in the First Division. They finished in 17th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1961–62 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost in that round to Tottenham Hotspur after a replay, and entered the League Cup at the first round, again losing their opening match after a replay, this time against Swindon Town. Birmingham lost in the final of the 1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in October 1961, and only a few weeks later, were eliminated from the 1961–62 competition in the second round by Espanyol. This was Birmingham's last appearance in major European competition for nearly 50 years.
The 1960–61 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 58th in the Football League and their 34th in the First Division. They finished in 19th position in the 22-team division for the second consecutive season. They entered the 1960–61 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost to Leicester City in the fifth round after a replay, and entered the inaugural season of the Football League Cup in the second round, losing to Plymouth Argyle in the third, again after a replay. In the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham beat Inter Milan both at home and away in the semi-final to reach their second consecutive final, but the competition schedule meant that the match itself was played in September and October 1962, well into the 1961–62 playing season.
The 1959–60 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 57th in the Football League and their 33rd in the First Division. They finished in 19th position in the 22-team division. They lost their opening third-round 1959–60 FA Cup-tie to Watford. In the 1958–60 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham reached the final, in which they lost 4–1 on aggregate to Barcelona.
The 1956–57 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 54th in the Football League and their 30th in the First Division. They finished in 12th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1956–57 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost in the semi-final to Manchester United. In the inaugural edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham finished top of their group so progressed to the semi-final.
The 1938–39 Football League season was Birmingham Football Club's 43rd in the Football League and their 26th in the First Division. They were in the relegation positions after the second game of the season, rarely rose above them, and finished in 21st place in the 22-team division, one point from safety, so dropped to the Second Division for the 1939–40 season. They entered the 1938–39 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Everton in the fifth round after a replay. The club's record attendance was set in the FA Cup-tie at home to Everton, variously recorded as 67,341 or 66,844.
The 1903–04 Football League season was Small Heath Football Club's 12th in the Football League and their 4th in the First Division, having been promoted from the Second Division as runners-up in 1902–03. After spending much of the season in the relegation places, they won six of the last nine matches to finish in 11th place in the 18-team league. They also took part in the 1903–04 FA Cup, entering at the intermediate round and losing in that round to Manchester United after three replays. In locally organised competition, they lost to Aston Villa in the first round of the Birmingham Senior Cup.
The 1902–03 Football League season was Small Heath Football Club's 11th in the Football League and their 8th in the Second Division. Having been relegated in 1901–02, they reached the top two positions by mid-November and remained there for the rest of the season, finishing as runners-up in the 18-team league, so were promoted back to the First Division at the first attempt. They also took part in the 1902–03 FA Cup, entering at the first round proper and losing in that round to Derby County. In locally organised competition, they lost to Aston Villa in the first round of the Birmingham Senior Cup after two replays.
The 1900–01 Football League season was Small Heath Football Club's ninth in the Football League and their seventh in the Second Division. They finished runners-up in the 18-team league, so were promoted to the First Division for 1901–02. They also took part in the 1900–01 FA Cup, entering at the first round proper and losing in the third round to Aston Villa after a replay. In locally organised competition, they lost to West Bromwich Albion in the first round of the Birmingham Senior Cup and to Aston Villa in the semi-final of the Lord Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup.
Birmingham City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Birmingham. The club's involvement in European competition dates back to the 1950s.
General
Specific
At this time there seemed a general lack of ambition at Villa Park. The club were slow to install floodlights, they turned down the chance of combining with Blues to field a 'Birmingham' team for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup...