1904–05 Small Heath F.C. season

The 1904–05 Football League season was Small Heath Football Club's 13th in the Football League and their 5th in the First Division. In third position in the 18-team league, only one point behind the leaders, with eight matches remaining, they gained only four points from the sixteen available, and finished seventh. They also took part in the 1904–05 FA Cup, entering at the first round proper and losing to Portsmouth in that round. In locally organised competition, they won the Birmingham Senior Cup for the first time, defeating West Bromwich Albion by seven goals to two. After this season, the club entered a primarily reserve team for this competition, which had previously not been permitted.

Small Heath F.C.
1904–05 season
ChairmanWalter W. Hart
Secretary-managerAlf Jones
GroundCoventry Road
Football League First Division7th
FA CupFirst round (eliminated by Portsmouth)
Birmingham Senior CupWinner
Top goalscorerLeague: Billy Jones (16)
All: Billy Jones (16)
Highest home attendance32,000 vs Aston Villa, 25 February 1905
Lowest home attendance8,000 vs Nottingham Forest, 11 March 1905
Average home league attendance14,647
Team colours

Nineteen players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were nine different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Nat Robinson, full-back Frank Stokes and forward Benny Green were all ever-present over the 35-match season. Billy Jones was leading scorer with 16 goals, all of which came in the league.

At an Extraordinary General Meeting held in March 1905, it was proposed that, Small Heath being the only major football club in the city[2] since Birmingham St George's had folded in 1892, the club should be renamed Birmingham City F.C. The shareholders were not in favour, though they were prepared to go as far as plain Birmingham Football Club instead. Even this was a step too far for some; one reporter referred to "the Small Heath club now masquerading as Birmingham".[3]

Events surrounding the February 1905 match with Aston Villa highlighted the Coventry Road ground's inadequacies. The official attendance was given as 28,000,[4] though with the gates closed before kick-off, thousands scaled walls or forced entrances in order to gain admission, and the actual attendance was estimated at anything up to 35,000.[5][6] The Birmingham Daily Mail reported "a constant stream of vehicles to the ground, while the trams were disgorging their freights at Muntz Street every two or three minutes."[4] Inside, "the swaying of the mass of spectators rendered the placing of additional supports against the barriers a necessary precaution", and children were passed overhead and placed on the pitch for their own safety.[4] The following Monday the same newspaper commented that had space been available, another ten or fifteen thousand spectators might well have attended, as "hundreds of people found the doors closed against them, and probably there were thousands who would not go to the ground in view of the inevitable crush."[7] The club's landlords would neither sell the freehold of the ground nor allow its expansion, so the directors began planning to move to a new home.[6]

Football League First Division
Main article: 1904–05 Football League
DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
3 September 1904 12thManchester CityA L1–2Green pen 24,000
10 September 1904 17thNotts CountyH L1–2Beer pen 15,000
17 September 1904 17thSheffield UnitedA L1–2Beer pen 14,000
24 September 1904 16thNewcastle UnitedH W2–1W.H. Jones 2 13,000
1 October 1904 17thPreston North EndA D2–2Wilcox, McRoberts 10,000
8 October 1904 14thMiddlesbroughH W1–2Field, Beer pen 10,000
15 October 1904 11thWolverhampton WanderersA W1–0Wilcox 8,000
22 October 1904 8thBuryH W5–0Wilcox, Field, Green 2, McRoberts 15,000
29 October 1904 11thAston VillaA L1–2Wilcox 40,000
5 November 1904 8thBlackburn RoversH W2–0Wigmore, Green 15,000
12 November 1904 8thNottingham ForestA W2–0McRoberts, W.H. Jones 8,000
19 November 1904 4thSheffield WednesdayH W2–1W.H. Jones, Green 15,000
26 November 1904 4thSunderlandA W4–1Wilcox, W.H. Jones 2, Green 12,000
3 December 1904 2ndWoolwich ArsenalH W2–1Dougherty, W.H. Jones 12,000
10 December 1904 5thDerby CountyA L0–3 6,000
17 December 1904 7thEvertonH L1–2W.H. Jones 18,000
26 December 1904 5thMiddlesbroughA W1–0McRoberts 10,000
31 December 1904 5thManchester CityH W3–1W.H. Jones 2, Wilcox 15,000
2 January 1905 5thBuryA D1–1Green 9,000
7 January 1905 5thNotts CountyA D0–0 8,000
14 January 1905 5thSheffield UnitedH W2–0W.H. Jones, Wilcox 12,000
21 January 1905 5thNewcastle UnitedA W1–0Tickle 24,000
28 January 1905 3rdPreston North EndH W2–0Wilcox 2 15,000
11 February 1905 2ndWolverhampton WanderersH W4–1Wilcox 3, Green 15,000
25 February 1905 4thAston VillaH L0–3 32,000
4 March 1905 3rdBlackburn RoversA W4–1W.H. Jones 2 (1 pen), Field, Beer 5,000
11 March 1905 4thNottingham ForestH L1–2Field 8,000
18 March 1905 5thSheffield WednesdayA L1–3Green 12,000
25 March 1905 5thSunderlandH D1–1W.H. Jones 12,000
1 April 1905 5thWoolwich ArsenalA D1–1W.H. Jones 18,000
8 April 1905 5thDerby CountyH W2–0Green, W.H. Jones 12,000
15 April 1905 5thEvertonA L1–2Hartwell 20,000
22 April 1905 5thStokeH L0–1 15,000
29 April 1905 7thStokeA L0–1 2,000

League table (part)
Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
5th Sunderland341681060441.3640
6th Sheffield United341921364561.1440
7th Small Heath341751259381.4239
8th Preston North End3413101152471.1436
9th Sheffield Wednesday341451561571.0733
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 [8]

FA Cup
Main article: 1904–05 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
First round 4 February 1905PortsmouthH L0–2 25,000

Appearances and goals
Players having played at least one first-team match
Name Position Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
League FA Cup Total
Nat Robinson Goalkeeper34010350
John Glover Full back24010250
Ambrose Hartwell Full back15100151
Frank Stokes Full back34010350
Billy Beer Half back31400314
Jack Bird Half back001010
Jim Dougherty Half back25110261
Harry Howard Half back13000130
Alfred Sellman Half back100010
Walter Wigmore Half back28110291
Charlie Athersmith Forward500000
Oakey Field Forward30400304
Benny Green Forward3410103510
Charles Harvey Forward100010
Billy Jones Forward3016103116
Thomas Jones Forward201030
Bob McRoberts Forward14400144
Charlie Tickle Forward16110171
Freddie Wilcox Forward2712102812
Jimmy Windridge Forward10000100
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See also
  • Birmingham City F.C. seasons

References

General

  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Breedon Books (Derby). ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. DB Publishing (Derby). ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
  • Source for match dates and results: "Birmingham City 1904–1905: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 254–55. Note that attendance figures are estimated.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. "History Of Aston – early period". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  2. Aston Villa were based in the municipal borough of Aston Manor, which was not added to the county borough of Birmingham until 1911.[1]
  3. Matthews (1995), Complete Record, p. 12.
  4. This Day's Matches. Birmingham Daily Mail. 25 February 1905. p. 4.
  5. Matthews (1995), Complete Record. p. 57.
  6. Inglis, Simon (1996). Football Grounds of Britain (3rd ed.) London: CollinsWillow. p. 44. ISBN 0-00-218426-5.
  7. 'Linesman' (27 February 1905). Football Notes. Birmingham Daily Mail. p. 4.
  8. "Birmingham City 1904–1905: English Division One (old) Table" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
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