1963–64 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1963–64 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 61st in the Football League and their 37th in the First Division. They finished in 20th position in the 22-team division, only one point above the relegation places. They lost their opening match in each of the cup competitions, to Port Vale in the third round proper of the 1963–64 FA Cup and to Norwich City in the second round of the League Cup.

Birmingham City F.C.
1963–64 season
ChairmanHarry Morris, Jr
ManagerGil Merrick
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division20th
FA CupThird round
(eliminated by Port Vale)
Football League CupSecond round
(eliminated by Norwich City)
Top goalscorerLeague: Bertie Auld (10)
All: Bertie Auld (10)
Highest home attendance36,847 vs Manchester United, 7 September 1963
Lowest home attendance13,915 vs Fulham, 21 December 1963
Average home league attendance21,996

Although Birmingham maintained their First Division status, the board of directors asked Gil Merrick to resign as manager.[1] He had been with the club for 25 years as player – he was first-choice goalkeeper for 14 years and, as of 2012, he held the club's appearance record – and manager, having led Birmingham to the 1961 Fairs Cup Final in his first season and to victory in the 1963 League Cup Final to win the club's first and, until 2011, only major trophy.[2] In June, Nottingham Forest's trainer-coach Joe Mallett was brought in with responsibility for "team affairs, including team selection". He was formally appointed manager early in the 1964–65 season.[3]

Twenty-five players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were fifteen different goalscorers. Forward Mike Hellawell played in 42 of the 44 first-team matches over the season, and Bertie Auld finished as leading goalscorer with 10 goals, all scored in league competition.

Football League First Division
Main article: 1963–64 Football League
DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
24 August 1963 5thBolton WanderersH W2–1Lynn pen, Hellawell 24,817
28 August 1963 16thLeicester CityA L0–1 27,694
31 August 1963 18thFulhamA L1–2Lynn pen 21,260
4 September 1963 11thLeicester CityH W2–0Leek, Hellawell 23,851
7 September 1963 15thManchester UnitedH D1–1Harley 36,874
11 September 1963 17thWest Bromwich AlbionH L0–1 34,666
14 September 1963 17thBurnleyA L1–2Harris 20,350
18 September 1963 18thWest Bromwich AlbionA L1–3Harris 29,662
21 September 1963 16thIpswich TownH W1–0Beard 19,095
28 September 1963 18thSheffield WednesdayA L1–2Thomson 18,233
2 October 1963 19thTottenham HotspurA L1–6Auld 37,649
5 October 1963 20thEvertonH L0–2 23,593
19 October 1963 20thSheffield UnitedA L0–3 18,974
26 October 1963 20thWolverhampton WanderersH D2–2Harley, Woodfield og 24,843
2 November 1963 20thChelseaA W3–2Harley, P. Bullock, Auld 22,974
5 November 1963 20thArsenalA L1–4Bloomfield 23,499
9 November 1963 20thBlackpoolH W3–2Bloomfield, Auld, Lynn 17,536
16 November 1963 20thBlackburn RoversA L0–3 14,813
23 November 1963 20thNottingham ForestH D3–3Auld 2, Smith 18,161
30 November 1963 20thStoke CityA L1–4Auld 27,260
7 December 1963 20thWest Ham UnitedH W2–1Auld, Lynn pen 15,483
14 December 1963 20thBolton WanderersA W2–0Leek, Hellawell 9,663
21 December 1963 19thFulhamH D0–0 13,915
28 December 1963 19thArsenalH L1–4Harley 23,377
11 January 1964 18thManchester UnitedA W2–1M. Bullock, Harley 44,919
18 January 1964 18thBurnleyH D0–0 15,917
1 February 1964 19thIpswich TownA L2–3Regan, Farmer 13,349
8 February 1964 19thSheffield WednesdayH L1–2Harley 15,479
18 February 1964 20thEvertonA L0–1 36,252
22 February 1964 20thLiverpoolA L1–2Leek 41,823
29 February 1964 20thTottenham HotspurH L1–2Thomson 28,433
7 March 1964 20thWolverhampton WanderersA L1–5Harley 16,421
13 March 1964 20thBlackburn RoversH D2–2Leek, Auld 15,809
20 March 1964 20thBlackpoolA L0–3 10,203
28 March 1964 20thChelseaH L3–4Thwaites 2, Auld 14,485
30 March 1964 20thAston VillaA W3–0Harris, Hellawell, Lynn pen 25,797
31 March 1964 20thAston VillaH D3–3Bloomfield, Leek, Lynn pen 28,069
4 April 1964 20thNottingham ForestA L0–4 13,897
11 April 1964 21stStoke CityH L0–1 19,914
17 April 1964 21stWest Ham UnitedA L0–5 22,106
22 April 1964 21stLiverpoolH W3–1Leek, Hellawell, Lynn pen 22,630
25 April 1964 20thSheffield UnitedH W3–0Auld, Smith, Lynn pen 26,202

League table (part)
Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
18th Blackpool421392052730.7135
19th Aston Villa4211121962710.8734
20th Birmingham City421172454920.5929
21st Bolton Wanderers421082448800.6028
22nd Ipswich Town429726561210.4625
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: 1963–64 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Third round 4 March 1964Port ValeH L1–2Beard 21,615

League Cup
Main article: 1963–64 Football League Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Second round 25 September 1963Norwich CityA L0–2 16,781

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 League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK ENG Johnny Schofield 40000040
GK ENG Colin Withers 3801010400
FB WAL Colin Green 3301010350
FB ENG Stan Lynn 3381000348
FB ENG Ray Martin 1400000140
FB ENG Brian Rushton 30001040
HB ENG Malcolm Beard 3611110382
HB ENG Mick Farmer 11000011
HB ENG Winston Foster 1400000140
HB WAL Terry Hennessey 3901010410
HB ENG Trevor Smith 3421010362
FW ENG Geoff Anderson 10000010
FW SCO Bertie Auld 341010003510
FW ENG Jimmy Bloomfield 3431010363
FW ENG Mickey Bullock 21000021
FW ENG Peter Bullock 1110000111
FW ENG Greg Farrell 2[lower-alpha 1]0001020
FW SCO Alex Harley 2370010247
FW ENG Jimmy Harris 53000053
FW ENG Mike Hellawell 39[lower-alpha 1]51010415
FW WAL Ken Leek 2661010286
FW ENG John Regan 31000031
FW SCO Bobby Thomson 2121010232
FW ENG Denis Thwaites 1020000102
FW ENG Johnny Vincent 20000020
gollark: Some offense, but I don't care much about a giant list of features on a gun.
gollark: Well, good, I guess?
gollark: Well, those sound like advanced and fancy features.
gollark: Sounds overpowered, pls nerf.
gollark: Oh. The popular gun things.

See also
  • Birmingham City F.C. seasons

Notes
  1. General source mistakenly includes Hellawell rather than Farrell in the team for the match against Everton in October.[5][6]

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 1963–1964: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 362–63.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. "Birmingham City ask Merrick to resign". The Guardian. 29 April 1964. p. 16. Yesterday Mr W. Adams, the secretary of Birmingham City, issued the following statement: 'Mr Gil Merrick met the board this morning who notified him that changes and complete reorganisation of the club were to take place, and asked him to resign. To this Mr Merrick agreed.'
  2. Lewis, Peter. "Gil Merrick". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 22 June 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
    "Birmingham City FC Club Honours". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  3. "Sports news in brief: Association Football". The Guardian. 22 June 1964. p. 10. J. Mallett, Nottingham Forest's trainer-coach, has been appointed to a similar position at Birmingham City. He will be in charge of team affairs, including team selection.
    Matthews (1995), p. 62.
  4. "Birmingham City 1963–1964: English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  5. "Player search: Farrell, GJP (Greg)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  6. "Hellawell out". Birmingham Post. 5 October 1963. p. 25. Birmingham City, at home to Everton, also make one change, Farrell coming in at outside-right in place of Hellawell, who has influenza.
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