1959–60 Birmingham City F.C. 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.[1]

Birmingham City F.C.
1959–60 season
ChairmanHarry Morris Jr
ManagerPat Beasley until May 1960
Gil Merrick thereafter
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division19th
FA CupThird round
(eliminated by Watford)
Inter-Cities Fairs CupRunners-up
(eliminated by Barcelona)
Top goalscorerLeague: Johnny Gordon (16)
All: Johnny Gordon (19)
Highest home attendance41,260 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers, 22 August 1959
Lowest home attendance14,152 vs Union Saint-Gilloise, Fairs Cup semi-final, 11 November 1959
Average home league attendance26,880

Twenty-two players made at least one appearance in senior first-team competition, and there were fifteen different goalscorers. Half backs Trevor Smith and Johnny Watts played in 46 of the 47 first-team matches over the season, and Johnny Gordon finished as leading goalscorer with 19 goals in all competitions, of which 16 were scored in the league.

Pat Beasley resigned as manager at the end of May 1960,[2] to be replaced by club appearance record-holder Gil Merrick following his retirement as a player.[3]

Football League First Division
Main article: 1959–60 Football League
DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
22 August 1959 19thWolverhampton WanderersH L0–1 41,248
26 August 1959 10thNewcastle UnitedH W4–3Stubbs, Gordon, Orritt, Hooper pen 26,986
29 August 1959 12thTottenham HotspurA D0–0 45,243
2 September 1959 16thNewcastle UnitedA L0–1 35,395
5 September 1959 16thManchester UnitedH D1–1Watts 38,242
9 September 1959 16thChelseaH D1–1Larkin 28,132
12 September 1959 19thPreston North EndA L2–3Stubbs, Neal 18,934
16 September 1959 21stChelseaA L2–4Hooper pen, Scott og 31,651
19 September 1959 22ndLeicester CityH L3–4Hooper 2 (1 pen), Smith 24,950
26 September 1959 22ndBurnleyA L1–3Orritt 23,848
3 October 1959 21stLeeds UnitedH W2–0Barrett, Taylor 25,301
10 October 1959 21stSheffield WednesdayH D0–0 21,769
17 October 1959 18thNottingham ForestA W2–0Stubbs, Gordon 24,904
24 October 1959 19thFulhamH L2–4Gordon 2 26,691
31 October 1959 21stArsenalA L0–3 34,430
7 November 1959 21stLuton TownH D1–1Barrett 19,007
14 November 1959 21stEvertonA L0–4 19,172
21 November 1959 19thBlackpoolH W2–1Larkin, Hooper 24,783
28 November 1959 19thBlackburn RoversA L1–2Barrett 20,549
5 December 1959 19thManchester CityH W4–2Gordon 2, Barrett, Hooper 18,661
12 December 1959 20thBolton WanderersA L1–4Hooper 16,074
19 December 1959 21stWolverhampton WanderersA L0–2 22,363
26 December 1959 20thWest Ham UnitedH W2–0Astall, Hooper 29,745
28 December 1959 21stWest Ham UnitedA L1–3Astall 26,154
2 January 1960 21stTottenham HotspurH L0–1 27,558
16 January 1960 21stManchester UnitedA L1–2Larkin 47,606
23 January 1960 21stPreston North EndH W2–1Larkin, Neal 24,160
6 February 1960 21stLeicester CityA W3–1Weston, Hume, Hooper 25,896
27 February 1960 21stManchester CityA L0–3 23,479
5 March 1960 20thNottingham ForestH W4–1Gordon 2, Neal, Hooper 24,821
9 March 1960 20thLeeds UnitedA D3–3Neal, Hooper, McConnell og 8,557
12 March 1960 20thFulhamA D2–2Gordon, Hooper 25,208
19 March 1960 21stBolton WanderersH L2–5Weston, Gordon 24,183
26 March 1960 21stLuton TownA D1–1Weston 13,620
2 April 1960 20thEvertonH D2–2Gordon, Astall 24,872
9 April 1960 20thBlackpoolA W1–0Gordon 13,595
16 April 1960 20thArsenalH W3–0Murphy 2, Gordon 27,201
18 April 1960 20thWest Bromwich AlbionH L1–7Gordon 28,685
19 April 1960 20thWest Bromwich AlbionA D1–1Gordon 37,894
23 April 1960 20thSheffield WednesdayA W4–2Murphy 2, Astall, Hooper 25,310
27 April 1960 20thBurnleyH L0–1 37,032
30 April 1960 19thBlackburn RoversH W1–0Gordon 24,476

League table (part)
Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
17th Blackburn Rovers421652160700.8637
18th Chelsea421491976910.8337
19th Birmingham City4213101963800.7936
20th Nottingham Forest421392050740.6835
21st Leeds United4212102063800.7134
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 [4]

FA Cup
Main article: 1959–60 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Third round 9 January 1960WatfordA L1–2Hooper 31,548

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Main articles: 1958–60 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and 1960 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final

The early rounds of the 1958–60 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup were completed during Birmingham's 1958–59 season, leaving the semi-finals and final to be played this season. In the semi-final, Birmingham beat Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise 4–2 in each leg to reach the final, in which they played Barcelona, who had eliminated them at the semi-final stage in the previous edition of the competition.

The first leg of the final was played in "bitter, slanting rain" on a St Andrew's pitch that "almost from one goal to the other down the centre, was a series of little lakes".[5] Birmingham played a "fast, open game" more suited to the conditions, while Barcelona's technical superiority was blunted both by the mud and by the "hard-tackling, grafting, bustling Birmingham defence, in which Smith and Neal in particular stood out like rocks long before the end".[5] In the second half, Barcelona tired; El Mundo Deportivo noted that they had played a league match in Seville only 48 hours earlier and the players were not machines.[6] The home side had three good chances: Ramallets dived at Hooper's feet, Weston ran the ball out of play when under no pressure, and a "sliding tackle from nowhere by Gensana turned away what looked like a certain goal", again for Weston.[5]

The Times' correspondent's fears that Birmingham had missed their opportunity – "here was a setting that favoured Birmingham's particular style, and they did not win"[5] – were realised in the second leg. In a one-sided match in front of a crowd of 75,000, Barcelona were two goals up after six minutes, and doubled their tally before Murphy broke down the left and sent a long pass towards Hooper, whose mobility helped him beat Ramallets to the ball and score with a header.[7]

Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Semi-final 1st leg 7 October 1959Union Saint-GilloiseA W4–2Hooper, Gordon, Barrett, Orritt 20,000
Semi-final 2nd leg 11 November 1959Union Saint-GilloiseH W4–2Gordon 2, Larkin, Hooper 14,152
Final 1st leg 29 March 1960BarcelonaH D0–0 40,524
Final 2nd leg 4 May 1960BarcelonaA L1–4Hooper 75,000

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 Fairs Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK ENG Gil Merrick 20001030
GK ENG Johnny Schofield 4001030440
FB ENG George Allen 3601030400
FB ENG Brian Farmer 4001040450
FB ENG Graham Sissons 80001090
FB ENG Pat Wright 10000010
HB ENG Dick Neal 3931030433
HB ENG Trevor Smith 4111040461
HB ENG Johnny Watts 4111040461
FW ENG Gordon Astall 1941020224
FW ENG Jim Barrett 1041021135
FW ENG Johnny Gordon 391600434319
FW ENG Mike Hellawell 1100010120
FW ENG Harry Hooper 391311434417
FW SCO Billy Hume 82000082
FW ENG Bunny Larkin 1941011215
FW ENG Peter Murphy 74001084
FW WAL Bryan Orritt 1620021183
FW ENG Billy Rudd 40000040
FW ENG Robin Stubbs 1831000193
FW ENG Brian Taylor 810020101
FW ENG Don Weston 1630020183
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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 1959–1960: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 354–55, 474.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. Zea, Antonio & Haisma, Marcel (27 June 2007). "Fairs' Cup 1959–60". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  2. "Sports news in brief". The Guardian. 24 May 1960. p. 11.
  3. Matthews (1995), p. 62.
  4. "Birmingham City 1959–1960: English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 22 October 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  5. "Birmingham And Mud Check Barcelona". The Times. London. 30 March 1960. p. 16.
  6. Pardo, Carlos (30 March 1960). "Tras el empate de Birmingham el Barcelona tiene buéna opción a renovar su título" [The draw with Birmingham gives Barcelona good prospects of retaining their title]. El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). p. 3.
  7. E.L., Jimeno (5 May 1960). "Barcelona, 4 – Birmingham, 1". El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). p. 3.
    "Cronometrando el partido" [Clockwatch]. El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 5 May 1960. p. 3.
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