1939–40 Birmingham F.C. season

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Birmingham F.C.
1939–40 season
ChairmanHarry Morris Jr
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League Second Division2nd (abandoned)
Midland Regional League4th
Football League War CupQuarter final (eliminated by West Ham United)
Top goalscorerLeague: Wilson Jones (10)
All: Harold Bodle (12)

During the 1939–40 season, Birmingham Football Club played three Second Division matches before the Football League season was abandoned because of the Second World War. The team had been relegated in 1938–39 after 18 consecutive seasons in the top tier. Regionally based competitions were organised so that football could continue while unnecessary travel was minimised. Birmingham played in the Midland Regional League, finishing fourth of eight teams, and in the Football League War Cup, in which they lost to eventual winners West Ham United in the quarter-final.

Background[edit]

After 18 consecutive seasons in the First Division, Birmingham were relegated at the end of the 1938–39 Football League campaign. Manager George Liddell resigned, and returned to his former career as a schoolteacher. First-team coach Jack Bestall also left the club. No successors were appointed. Trainer Billy Gibson's duties were extended to include coaching,[1] and Jack Foster, formerly chief scout at Portsmouth, was appointed to the corresponding role at Birmingham.[2] The directors stated that they were "prepared to accept Mr Foster's advice in all matters relating to players", but confirmed that they would act promptly if it became necessary to appoint a manager.[3]

During the previous season, 1500 new tip-up seats had been installed and the terracing in front of the grandstand completely renovated.[4] Over the close season, the pitch was replanted and reseeded.[3]

Player departures included goalkeeper Frank Clack and half-backs Wally Halsall, Bob Meacock and Dai Richards.[1]

Football League Second Division[edit]

Birmingham began the 1939–40 Football League season in the Second Division, but the onset of the Second World War caused the League to be abandoned after three rounds of Second Division matches had been played. They fielded the same eleven for all three matches: Harry Hibbs, Cyril Trigg, Billy Hughes, James Bye, Arthur Turner, Ray Shaw, Jackie Brown, Don Dearson, Ted Duckhouse, Fred Harris and Tom Farrage. Farrage was killed in action in September 1944, serving as a private in the 10th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment during Operation Market Garden.[5] With two wins and a draw, they stood second in the table, behind Luton Town on goal average.

Match results[6]
Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
26 August 1939 Tottenham Hotspur A D 1–1 Brown 28,366
30 August 1939 Leicester City H W 2–0 Farrage, Sharman og 13,848
2 September 1939 Burnley H W 2–0 Dearson, Duckhouse 15,900

League table (part)[edit]

Final Second Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
1st Luton Town 3 2 1 0 7 1 7.00 5
2nd Birmingham 3 2 1 0 5 1 5.00 5
3rd Leicester City 3 2 0 1 5 2 2.50 4
4th Coventry City 3 1 2 0 8 6 1.33 4
5th Plymouth Argyle 3 2 0 1 4 3 1.33 4
Key Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played;
W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost;
F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points
Source [7]

Midland Regional League[edit]

When war was declared in September 1939, the government banned public gatherings until safety implications could be assessed.[8] Most football grounds reopened soon afterwards, even those in built-up or strategically significant areas, but Birmingham's Chief Constable ordered the continued closure of St Andrew's because of its proximity to likely air-raid targets such as the BSA munitions factories.[9] Consequently, Birmingham were forced to play all their away fixtures first, and when this became impossible, to play home fixtures on a neutral ground – the Windmill Ground at Leamington hosted two "home" matches.[6] The matter was first raised in Parliament in November 1939, but the Home Secretary was unwilling to intervene in what he perceived as a local issue outside his jurisdiction.[10] By March 1940, when St Andrew's had for some time been the only football ground in England still closed, the Chief Constable bowed to public pressure, and a crowd of 13,241 witnessed Birmingham's first home game in more than six months, against Walsall in the Midland Regional League.[9]

Match results
Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers
21 October 1939 Wolverhampton Wanderers A W 3–2 Broome, Edwards, Dearson
28 October 1939 Walsall A W 2–1 Dennis Jennings, Dearson
4 November 1939 Luton Town A W 2–1 Duckhouse, Dearson
11 November 1939 Coventry City A L 1–3 Brown
18 November 1939 West Bromwich Albion A D 2–2 Brown 2
25 November 1939 Leicester City A W 3–1 Jones, Bye, Edwards
2 December 1939 Northampton Town A D 1–1 Jones
9 December 1939 Wolverhampton Wanderers A L 2–6 Broome 2
16 December 1939 Walsall A W 2–1 Edwards, Broome
27 December 1939 West Bromwich Albion A L 0–3
30 December 1939 Coventry City H[a] L 2–4 Broome, Bodle
13 January 1940 Leicester City H[a] D 3–3 Guest 2, Duckhouse
20 January 1940 Northampton Town A L 0–3
10 February 1940 Luton Town A L 2–4 Harris, Roberts o.g.
24 February 1940 West Bromwich Albion A L 1–6 Edwards
2 March 1940 Leicester City A L 1–2 Jones
9 March 1940 Northampton Town A W 3–1 Turner pen., Brown, Bodle
16 March 1940 Wolverhampton Wanderers A L 1–3 Bodle
23 March 1940 Walsall H W 2–1 Jones 2
25 March 1940 West Bromwich Albion A L 1–4 Duckhouse
26 March 1940 Luton Town H W 5–4 Bodle 2, Jones 2, A.E. Godden
30 March 1940 Luton Town H W 4–1 Jones, Trigg 2, Bodle
6 April 1940 Coventry City H W 2–1 Trigg 2
10 April 1940 Wolverhampton Wanderers H L 0–1
1 May 1940 Northampton Town H W 3–1 Gardner, Bodle, Trigg
20 May 1940 Leicester City H D 0–0
5 June 1940 Coventry City H D 0–0
8 June 1940 Walsall H W 8–1 Bodle 2, Duckworth 2, Jones 2, Brown, Godfrey o.g.
  1. ^ a b Match played at Windmill Ground, Leamington

League table[edit]

Final Midland Regional League table
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
1st Wolverhampton Wanderers 28 19 3 6 76 44 1.73 41
2nd West Bromwich Albion 28 18 4 6 87 51 1.71 40
3rd Coventry City 28 13 3 12 68 57 1.19 29
4th Birmingham 28 12 5 11 56 60 0.93 29
5th Luton Town 28 10 4 14 76 88 0.86 24
6th Northampton Town 28 7 8 13 48 59 0.81 22
7th Leicester City 28 7 6 15 51 71 0.72 20
8th Walsall 28 7 5 16 51 83 0.61 19
Key Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played;
W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost;
F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points
Source [11]

Football League War Cup[edit]

Match results[6][12]
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers
First round first leg 20 April 1940 Newport County A D 2–2 Godden 2
First round second leg 27 April 1940 Newport County H W 5–2 Trigg 2, Bodle 2, Godden
Second round first leg 4 May 1940 Reading H W 2–0 Trigg, Jones
Second round second leg 11 May 1940 Reading A W 2–0 Godden, Bodle
Third round 18 May 1940 Arsenal A[a] W 2–1 Godden, Turner
Quarter final 25 May 1940 West Ham United A L 2–4 Trigg 2
  1. ^ Played at White Hart Lane

Appearances and goals[edit]

For a description of the playing formation, see formation (association football)#2–3–5 (Pyramid).

Players marked with an asterisk * were guests, not registered Birmingham players.[13]

Players having played at least one first-team match
Pos. Nat. Name Football League Midland Regional League Football League War Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK  ENG Harry Hibbs 3 0 9 0 0 0 12 0
GK  ENG Gil Merrick 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
GK  ENG Jack Wheeler 0 0 18 0 6 0 24 0
FB  ENG Sam Bellamy 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 0
FB  SCO George Cummings * — 4 0 0 0 4 0
FB  WAL Billy Hughes 3 0 17 0 6 0 26 0
FB  ENG Dennis Jennings 0 0 8 1 0 0 8 1
FB  ENG Wally Quinton 0 0 18 0 6 0 24 0
FB  ENG Cyril Trigg 3 0 16 5 6 6 25 0
HB  ENG Jimmy Allen * — 1 0 0 0 1 0
HB  ENG James Bye 3 0 19 1 4 0 26 1
HB  ENG Fred Deakin 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0
HB  ENG Ray Devey 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0
HB  ENG Reg Foulkes 0 0 7 0 0 0 7 0
HB  ENG Bob Iverson * — 7 0 0 0 7 0
HB  SCO Alex Massie * — 4 0 0 0 4 0
HB  ENG F.W. Moss 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
HB  ENG Ray Shaw 3 0 10 0 0 0 13 0
HB  ENG Arthur Turner 3 0 17 1 6 1 26 2
FW  ENG J. Bate * — 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW  ENG Harold Bodle 0 0 17 9 6 3 23 12
FW  ENG Frank Broome * — 7 5 0 0 7 5
FW  ENG E. Brown 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW  IRE Jackie Brown 3 1 15 5 5 0 23 6
FW  ENG Charlie Craven 0 0 9 0 0 0 9 0
FW  WAL Don Dearson 3 1 19 3 5 0 27 4
FW  ENG Ted Duckhouse 3 1 6 5 0 0 9 6
FW  ENG George Edwards * — 10 4 0 0 10 4
FW  ENG Tom Farrage 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 1
FW  ENG Fred Gardner 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 1
FW  ENG A.E. Godden 0 0 5 1 6 4 11 5
FW  ENG Billy Guest * — 6 2 0 0 6 2
FW  ENG Fred Harris 3 0 19 1 6 0 28 1
FW  WAL Wilson Jones 0 0 17 10 3 1 17 11
FW  ENG Dudley Kernick * — 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW  ENG Jackie Martin * — 2 0 0 0 2 0
FW  WAL Seymour Morris 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW  ENG Frank Moss * — 2 0 0 0 2 0
FW  ENG D.W. Rowley 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

References[edit]

General

  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: DB Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
  • Rollin, Jack (2005). Soccer at War 1939–45. London: Headline. ISBN 978-0-7553-1431-7.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Dave & Matt Moor. Retrieved 20 February 2019.

Specific

  1. ^ a b "Changes at St Andrew's". Birmingham Daily Post. 23 August 1939. p. 10.
  2. ^ "Jack Foster's new job". The Evening News. Portsmouth. 7 July 1939. p. 12.
  3. ^ a b "New regime at St Andrew's". Evening Despatch. Birmingham. 10 August 1939. p. 12.
  4. ^ "New regime at St Andrew's". Birmingham Gazette. 15 June 1939. p. 12.
  5. ^ "Casualty details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Matthews (1995), Complete Record, p. 236.
  7. ^ Jackson, Stuart. "Season 1939–40 (Abandoned)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Closing of places of entertainment. Preventing large assemblies". The Times. London. 4 September 1939. p. 10.
  9. ^ a b Matthews (1995). Complete Record. pp. 21–22.
    Rippon, Anton (2005). Gas Masks for Goal Posts. Football in Britain during the Second World War. Stroud: Sutton. pp. 16–17. ISBN 0-7509-4030-1.
  10. ^ "Written Answers (Commons): Civil Defence: Football Matches (Spectators)". Hansard. 353. cc726–7W. 15 November 1939. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
    "Commons Sitting: Civil Defence: Football Prohibition (Birmingham)". Hansard. 357. cc1515–6. 22 February 1940. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  11. ^ Rollin, Soccer at War, p. 238.
  12. ^ Rollin, Soccer at War, pp. 248–249.
  13. ^ Rollin, Soccer at War, p. 276.
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