1961–62 Birmingham City F.C. season

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Birmingham City F.C.
1961–62 season
ChairmanHarry Morris, Jr
ManagerGil Merrick
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division17th
FA CupThird round
(eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur)
Football League CupFirst round
(eliminated by Swindon Town)
1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs CupFinal
(eliminated by AS Roma)
1961–62 Inter-Cities Fairs CupSecond round
(eliminated by Espanyol)
Top goalscorerLeague: Ken Leek (18)
All: Jimmy Harris, Ken Leek (20)
Highest home attendance46,096 vs Tottenham Hotspur, FA Cup 3rd round, 6 January 1962
Lowest home attendance11,596 vs Swindon Town, League Cup 1st round, 13 September 1961
Average home league attendance25,751

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.[1][2] This was Birmingham's last appearance in major European competition for nearly 50 years.

Twenty-five players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. Forward Mike Hellawell played in all 50 first-team matches over the season (half back Malcolm Beard missed only one), and Ken Leek and Jimmy Harris finished as joint leading goalscorers with 20 goals in all competitions; Leek was top scorer in league competition with 18 goals.

Football League First Division[edit]

Main article: 1961–62 Football League
Date League
position		 Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
19 August 1961 4th Fulham H W 2–1 Harris, Bloomfield 25,387
22 August 1961 8th Nottingham Forest A L 1–2 Harris 19,486
26 August 1961 17th Sheffield Wednesday A L 1–5 Bloomfield 29,931
30 August 1961 19th Nottingham Forest H D 1–1 Harris 21,095
2 September 1961 21st Leicester City H L 1–5 Bloomfield 21,977
6 September 1961 20th West Bromwich Albion A D 0–0 20,541
9 September 1961 21st Ipswich Town A L 1–4 Singer 20,017
16 September 1961 22nd Burnley H L 2–6 Bloomfield, Hellawell 18,764
20 September 1961 22nd West Bromwich Albion H L 1–2 Hellawell 23,931
23 September 1961 22nd Arsenal A D 1–1 Harris pen 31,749
30 September 1961 22nd Bolton Wanderers H W 2–1 Bloomfield, Auld 17,214
7 October 1961 22nd Wolverhampton Wanderers H L 3–6 Harris 2 (1 pen), Bloomfield 29,159
14 October 1961 21st Manchester United A W 2–0 Orritt, Hellawell 30,674
21 October 1961 21st Chelsea H W 3–2 Harris, Bloomfield 2 20,095
28 October 1961 19th Aston Villa A W 3–1 Harris 2, Orritt 49,532
4 November 1961 17th Blackpool H D 1–1 Orritt 21,450
11 November 1961 21st Blackburn Rovers A L 0–2 12,083
18 November 1961 19th West Ham United H W 4–0 Harris pen, Bloomfield, Orritt, Auld 20,682
25 November 1961 20th Sheffield United A L 1–3 Harris 16,838
2 December 1961 15th Cardiff City H W 3–0 Leek 2, Hellawell 20,959
9 December 1961 19th Tottenham Hotspur A L 1–3 Leek 32,509
16 December 1961 16th Fulham A W 1–0 Leek 12,730
23 December 1961 12th Sheffield Wednesday H D 1–1 Leek 19,109
26 December 1961 13th Manchester City H D 1–1 Leek 21,926
13 January 1962 11th Leicester City A W 2–1 Harris, Auld 22,691
20 January 1962 10th Ipswich Town H W 3–1 Leek 2, Baker og 26,968
3 February 1962 11th Burnley A L 1–7 Auld 24,047
10 February 1962 10th Arsenal H W 1–0 Harris 27,797
17 February 1962 11th Bolton Wanderers A L 2–3 Leek, Auld 13,308
24 February 1962 14th Wolverhampton Wanderers A L 1–2 Leek 29,665
3 March 1962 13th Manchester United H D 1–1 Leek 25,817
9 March 1962 13th Chelsea A D 1–1 Leek 23,959
17 March 1962 16th Aston Villa H L 0–2 43,489
24 March 1962 18th Blackpool A L 0–1 11,854
30 March 1962 16th Blackburn Rovers H W 2–1 Leek, Hellawell 17,431
6 April 1962 14th West Ham United A D 2–2 Bloomfield, Leek 22,668
11 April 1962 14th Manchester City A W 4–1 Harris, Bloomfield, Leek, Hellawell 21,941
14 April 1962 14th Sheffield United H W 3–0 Harris 2 (1 pen), Hellawell 19,514
20 April 1962 14th Everton A L 1–4 Leek 47,506
21 April 1962 17th Cardiff City A L 2–3 Leek 2 8,608
24 April 1962 17th Everton H D 0–0 21,910
28 April 1962 17th Tottenham Hotspur H L 2–3 Leek, Beard 29,614

League table (part)[edit]

Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
15th Manchester United 42 15 9 18 72 75 0.96 39
16th Blackburn Rovers 42 14 11 17 50 58 0.86 39
17th Birmingham City 42 14 10 18 65 81 0.80 38
18th Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 13 10 19 73 86 0.85 36
19th Nottingham Forest 42 13 10 19 63 79 0.80 36
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 [3]

FA Cup[edit]

Main article: 1961–62 FA Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Third round 6 January 1962 Tottenham Hotspur H D 3–3 Harris 2, Leek 46,096
Third round replay 10 January 1962 Tottenham Hotspur A L 2–4 Harris, Leek 62,917

League Cup[edit]

Main article: 1961–62 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
First round 13 September 1961 Swindon Town H D 1–1 Neal 11,596
First round replay 25 September 1961 Swindon Town A L 0–2 13,063

1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[edit]

Main articles: 1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and 1961 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final

The final of the 1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup took place in late September and mid-October 1961, when the first round of the 1961–62 competition was already under way. In the semi-final, Birmingham had beaten Inter Milan 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.[4] Birmingham played in the final for the second consecutive season, having lost to Barcelona in 1960. In the first leg, missed chances and poor defending allowed Roma to take a two-goal lead at St Andrew's, but second-half goals from Mike Hellawell and Bryan Orritt, whose late equaliser came after Jimmy Harris's shot rebounded from the crossbar, took Birmingham into the second leg on level terms. In front of a large crowd in the Stadio Olimpico, Roma won 2–0 to take the trophy 4–2 on aggregate.[5]

Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Final 1st leg 27 September 1961 AS Roma H D 2–2 Hellawell, Orritt 21,005
Final 2nd leg 11 October 1961 AS Roma A L 0–2 50,000

1961–62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[edit]

Main article: 1961–62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

As finalists in the previous season's competition, Birmingham were awarded a bye to the second round, in which they were drawn against Espanyol. They lost heavily in the first leg, in Barcelona, where Antonio Camps scored a hat-trick.[6] They won the ill-tempered return leg 1–0 with a goal from Bertie Auld, but four players, including Birmingham's Jimmy Harris and Auld himself, were sent off.[7]

Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Second round 1st leg 15 November 1961 Espanyol A L 2–5 Bloomfield, Harris pen 60,000
Second round 2nd leg 7 December 1961 Espanyol H W 1–0 Auld 16,874

Appearances and goals[edit]

  • Players with name struck through and marked † left the club during the playing season.
Players having played at least one first-team match
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup 1960–61 Fairs Cup 1961–62 Fairs Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK  ENG Johnny Schofield 35 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 43 0
GK  ENG Colin Withers 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
FB  ENG George Allen† 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
FB  ENG Brian Farmer† 7[a] 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 11 0
FB  ENG Winston Foster 16 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 17 0
FB  ENG Stan Lynn 21 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 25 1
FB  ENG Graham Sissons 33 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 40 0
FB  ENG Pat Wright 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
HB  ENG Malcolm Beard 42 1 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 50 1
HB  WAL Terry Hennessey 34 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 41 0
HB  ENG Dick Neal† 6 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 7 1
HB  ENG Trevor Smith 39 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 46 0
HB  ENG Johnny Watts 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
FW  SCO Bertie Auld 38 5 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 43 6
FW  ENG Jimmy Bloomfield 35 11 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 1 40 12
FW  ENG Peter Bullock 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW  ENG Jimmy Harris 39 16 2 3 1 0 2 0 2 1 46 20
FW  ENG Mike Hellawell 42 7 2 0 2 0 2 1 2 0 50 8
FW  WAL Ken Leek 24 18 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 27 20
FW  WAL Bryan Orritt 17 4 2 0 1 0 2 1 2 0 24 5
FW  ENG Billy Rudd† 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
FW  ENG Jimmy Singer 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 4 1
FW  ENG Robin Stubbs 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
FW  ENG Brian Taylor† 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
FW  ENG Denis Thwaites 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ General source mistakenly attributes Foster's appearance against Everton in April 1962 to Farmer, who had left the club three months earlier.[8][9]

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.
  • Source for match dates and results: "Birmingham City 1961–1962: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 358–59, 474–75.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. ^ Zea, Antonio & Haisma, Marcel (2 October 2009). "Fairs' Cup 1960–61". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  2. ^ Zea, Antonio & Haisma, Marcel (2 October 2009). "Fairs' Cup 1961–62". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Birmingham City 1961–1962: English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Arsenal routs Inter Milan". New York Times. Reuters. 25 November 2003. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  5. ^ Matthews (2010), p. 98.
  6. ^ Matthews (2010), p. 46.
  7. ^ "Four Players Sent Off". The Times. London. 8 December 1961. p. 5.
  8. ^ "Player search: Farmer, FBW (Brian)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  9. ^ Edwards, Leslie (24 April 1962). "West kept busy in Everton goal". Liverpool Echo – via BlueCorrespondent.co.uk.
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