1951–52 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1951–52 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 49th in the Football League and their 21st in the Second Division. They finished in third position in the 22-team division, missing out on promotion to Cardiff City on goal average. They entered the 1951–52 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Leyton Orient in the fourth.

Birmingham City F.C.
1951–52 season
ChairmanHarry Morris Jr
ManagerBob Brocklebank
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League Second Division3rd
FA CupFourth round
(eliminated by Leyton Orient)
Top goalscorerLeague: Tommy Briggs (18)
All: Tommy Briggs (19)
Highest home attendance49,527 vs Leyton Orient, FA Cup 4th round, 2 February 1952
Lowest home attendance13,894 vs Sheffield Wednesday, 12 September 1951
Average home league attendance24,481

Twenty-three players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were fourteen different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Gil Merrick played in 43 of the 44 games over the season. Of outfield players, full-back Ken Green played in 41. Tommy Briggs was top scorer with 19 goals, of which 18 came in the league.

Football League Second Division
Main article: 1951–52 Football League

Note that not all teams completed their playing season on the same day. Birmingham had been in the promotion positions since 22 March and were in second position after their last game of the season, on 26 April, but by the time the last game was played, on 3 May, Cardiff City had beaten Leeds United in their last game of the season to finish level on points with Birmingham with a better goal average.

DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
18 August 1951 6thBuryH W2–1Trigg, Higgins 23,861
22 August 1951 4thLeeds UnitedH D1–1Ferris 17,801
25 August 1951 15thLeicester CityA L0–4 24,465
29 August 1951 12thLeeds UnitedA D1–1Purdon 15,098
1 September 1951 18thNottingham ForestH L0–2 23,192
3 September 1951 16thSheffield WednesdayA D1–1Higgins 32,506
8 September 1951 19thBrentfordA L0–1 25,029
12 September 1951 19thSheffield WednesdayH D0–0 13,894
15 September 1951 20thDoncaster RoversH D2–2Badham, Dorman 16,220
22 September 1951 15thEvertonA W3–1Tommy Briggs, Purdon, Wardle 37,138
29 September 1951 15thSouthamptonH D1–1Briggs 25,786
6 October 1951 13thSwansea TownH D1–1Higgins 28,060
13 October 1951 13thCoventry CityA D1–1Rowley 23,580
20 October 1951 10thWest Ham UnitedH W2–1Stewart, Briggs 20,295
27 October 1951 16thSheffield UnitedA L2–4Rowley, Stewart 31,190
3 November 1951 13thBarnsleyH W2–1Briggs, Stewart 19,186
10 November 1951 10thHull CityA W1–0Briggs 27,482
17 November 1951 11thBlackburn RoversH L0–1 22,337
24 November 1951 10thQueens Park RangersA W2–0Briggs, Smith 14,945
1 December 1951 9thNotts CountyH W2–0Smith 2 26,554
8 December 1951 7thLuton TownA W4–2Purdon, Smith, Stewart, Warhurst 15,937
15 December 1951 9thBuryA L0–3 12,347
22 December 1951 8thLeicester CityH W2–0Briggs, Wardle 22,230
25 December 1951 5thRotherham UnitedH W4–0Smith 3, Purdon 27,531
26 December 1951 3rdRotherham UnitedA W2–1Briggs, Badham 22,371
29 December 1951 2ndNottingham ForestA W1–0Briggs 34,316
5 January 1952 3rdBrentfordH L1–2Wardle 28,368
19 January 1952 1stDoncaster RoversA W5–0Murphy 3, Briggs, Stewart 20,282
26 January 1952 2ndEvertonH L1–2Stewart 32,980
9 February 1952 4thSouthamptonA L0–2 18,688
16 February 1952 5thSwansea TownA L0–4 24,230
1 March 1952 5thCoventry CityH W3–1Briggs, Stewart, Murphy 33,007
8 March 1952 3rdWest Ham UnitedA W1–0Briggs 24,011
15 March 1952 4thSheffield UnitedH W3–0Trigg, Murphy 2 28,092
22 March 1952 1stBarnsleyA W2–1Murphy, Stewart 14,377
29 March 1952 1stHull CityH D2–2Smith, Briggs 14,660
5 April 1952 2ndBlackburn RoversA W4–1Smith, Briggs 2, Dailey 19,151
11 April 1952 2ndCardiff CityH W3–2Briggs, Green, Sherwood og 32,941
12 April 1952 1stQueens Park RangersH W1–0Trigg 28,286
14 April 1952 2ndCardiff CityA L1–3Briggs 25,470
19 April 1952 2ndNotts CountyA L0–5 24,360
26 April 1952 2ndLuton TownH W3–1Briggs, Purdon, Stewart 28,816

League table (part)
Final Second Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
1st Sheffield Wednesday42211110100661.5153
2nd Cardiff City4220111172541.3351
3rd Birmingham City422191267561.2051
4th Nottingham Forest4218131177621.2449
5th Leicester City421991478641.2247
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 [1]

FA Cup
Main article: 1951–52 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance[nb 1]
Third round 12 January 1952FulhamA W1–0Tommy Briggs 25,806
Fourth round 2 February 1952Leyton OrientH L0–1 49,527
  1. Matthews (2010) gives the attendances for the two FA Cup matches the other way round. However, contemporary newspapers confirm attendances of approximately 26,000 for the Fulham match[2] and "nearly 50,000" for Leyton Orient.[3]

Appearances and goals
  • 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 Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK ENG Gil Merrick 41020430
GK ENG Bill Robertson 100010
FB ENG Jack Badham 39220412
FB ENG Ken Green 33120351
FB ENG Jeff Hall 600060
FB SCO Roy Martin 19020210
HB ENG Arthur Atkins 31020330
HB ENG Len Boyd 37000370
HB NIR Ray Ferris 14100141
HB ENG Johnny Newman 100010
HB ENG Roy Warhurst 36120381
HB ENG Johnny Watts 100010
FW ENG Johnny Berry 400040
FW ENG Tommy Briggs 3318213519
FW SCO Jimmy Dailey 510051
FW ENG Don Dorman 210021
FW IRL Jim Higgins 10300103
FW ENG Peter Murphy 15710167
FW ZAF Ted Purdon 19500195
FW ENG Ken Rowley 12200122
FW ENG Bill Smith 19920219
FW SCO Jackie Stewart 37920399
FW ENG Cyril Trigg 12310133
FW ENG Billy Wardle 35320373
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See also
  • Birmingham City F.C. seasons

References

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 1951–1952: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 338–39.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. "Birmingham City 1951–1952: English Division Two (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  2. "F.A. Cup and League Results and Tables". The Observer. London. 13 January 1952. p. 8.
  3. "Heroic Leyton Orient". The Times. London. 4 February 1952. p. 7.
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