1960–61 Birmingham City F.C. season

Birmingham City F.C.
1960–61 season
ChairmanHarry Morris, Jr
ManagerGil Merrick
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division19th
FA CupFifth round
(eliminated by Leicester City)
Football League CupThird round
(eliminated by Plymouth Argyle)
Inter-Cities Fairs CupFinal
Top goalscorerLeague: Mike Hellawell, Jimmy Harris (10)
All: Jimmy Harris (17)
Highest home attendance41,656 vs Leicester City, FA Cup 5th round, 18 February 1961
Lowest home attendance15,015 vs Burnley, 27 April 1961
Average home league attendance25,751

The 1960–61 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 58th in the Football League and their 34th in the First Division. They finished in 19th position in the 22-team division for the second consecutive season. They entered the 1960–61 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost to Leicester City in the fifth round after a replay, and entered the inaugural season of the Football League Cup in the second round, losing to Plymouth Argyle in the third, again after a replay. In the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham beat Inter Milan both at home and away in the semi-final to reach their second consecutive final, but the competition schedule meant that the match itself was played in September and October 1962, well into the 1961–62 playing season.[1]

Manager Gil Merrick, appointed to succeed Pat Beasley at the end of the 1959–60 season, brought in former Spanish international winger Emilio Aldecoa – the first Spaniard to play in the Football League – as coach.[2] Twenty-four players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were twelve different goalscorers. Full back Brian Farmer played in 54 of the 55 first-team matches over the season, and Jimmy Harris finished as leading goalscorer with 17 goals in all competitions; in the league, Harris and Mike Hellawell were joint top scorers, each with 10 goals.

Football League First Division

Main article: 1960–61 Football League
Date League
position		 Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
20 August 1960 8th Bolton Wanderers A D 2–2 Gordon, Hooper 20,543
24 August 1960 7th West Bromwich Albion A W 2–1 Rudd, Hooper 32,102
27 August 1960 9th Sheffield Wednesday H D 1–1 Hooper 27,197
31 August 1960 4th West Bromwich Albion H W 3–1 Gordon, Astall, Williams og 37,811
3 September 1960 8th Fulham A L 1–2 Rudd 19,292
6 September 1960 11th Arsenal A L 0–2 20,065
10 September 1960 14th Preston North End H L 1–3 Gordon 24,435
14 September 1960 10th Arsenal H W 2–0 Stubbs 2 22,905
17 September 1960 11th Burnley A L 1–2 Cummings og 20,749
24 September 1960 10th Nottingham Forest H W 3–1 Gordon, Singer, Astall 26,659
1 October 1960 11th Manchester City A L 1–2 Singer 27,665
8 October 1960 14th West Ham United A L 3–4 Rudd, Hellawell 2 15,954
15 October 1960 11th Chelsea H W 1–0 Hellawell 23,334
22 October 1960 13th Aston Villa A L 2–6 Hellawell, Thomson og 44,722
29 October 1960 14th Wolverhampton Wanderers H L 1–2 Showell og 32,284
5 November 1960 15th Blackburn Rovers A L 0–2 13,463
12 November 1960 14th Manchester United H W 3–1 Gordon, Taylor, Neal 31,564
19 November 1960 14th Tottenham Hotspur A L 0–6 46,010
26 November 1960 16th Leicester City H L 0–2 25,828
3 December 1960 14th Blackpool A W 2–1 Hellawell 2 11,720
10 December 1960 17th Everton H L 2–4 Neal, Stubbs 27,717
17 December 1960 17th Bolton Wanderers H D 2–2 Harris 2 19,051
24 December 1960 18th Newcastle United A D 2–2 Hellawell, Neal 20,354
26 December 1960 17th Newcastle United H W 2–1 Bloomfield, Hellawell 29,437
31 December 1960 17th Sheffield Wednesday A L 0–2 22,993
14 January 1961 14th Fulham H W 1–0 Singer 23,265
21 January 1961 13th Preston North End A W 3–2 Bloomfield, Hellawell, Singer 7,667
11 February 1961 17th Nottingham Forest A L 0–1 23,541
25 February 1961 14th West Ham United H W 4–2 Harris 2 (1 pen), Bloomfield, Neal 16,856
4 March 1961 17th Chelsea A L 2–3 Gordon, Astall 27,727
11 March 1961 17th Aston Villa H D 1–1 Singer 41,656
18 March 1961 18th Wolverhampton Wanderers A L 1–5 Singer 23,835
22 March 1961 14th Manchester City H W 3–2 Harris pen, Bloomfield 2 18,092
25 March 1961 15th Blackburn Rovers H D 1–1 Hellawell 19,301
31 March 1961 13th Cardiff City A W 2–0 Harris pen, Orritt 16,339
1 April 1961 16th Everton A L 0–1 31,872
3 April 1961 13th Cardiff City H W 2–1 Harris, Orritt 20,065
8 April 1961 14th Tottenham Hotspur H L 2–3 Harris 2 (1 pen) 40,961
15 April 1961 16th Manchester United A L 1–4 Foulkes og 28,376
22 April 1961 18th Blackpool H L 0–2 17,834
27 April 1961 18th Burnley H L 0–1 15,015
29 April 1961 19th Leicester City A L 2–3 Harris, Singer 19,920

League table (part)

Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
17th Fulham 42 14 8 20 72 95 0.76 36
18th Bolton Wanderers 42 12 11 19 58 73 0.80 35
19th Birmingham City 42 14 6 22 62 84 0.74 34
20th Blackpool 42 12 9 21 68 73 0.93 33
21st Newcastle United 42 11 10 21 86 109 0.79 32
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

Main article: 1960–61 FA Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Third round 7 January 1961 Nottingham Forest A W 2–0 Singer 2 19,919
Fourth round 28 January 1961 Rotherham United H W 4–0 Singer 2, Neal, Harris 31,931
Fifth round 18 February 1961 Leicester City H D 1–1 Harris pen 53,589
Fifth round replay 22 February 1961 Leicester City A L 1–2 Harris 41,916

League Cup

Main article: 1960–61 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Second round 31 October 1960 Bradford Park Avenue A W 1–0 Hellawell 4,736
Third round 14 November 1960 Plymouth Argyle H D 0–0 15,313
Third round replay 16 November 1960 Plymouth Argyle A L 1–3 Wyatt og 14,132

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Main article: 1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

In the semi-final, Birmingham beat Inter Milan both at home and away; no other English club was to 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 reached the final for the second consecutive season, having lost to Barcelona in 1960. The 1961 final was scheduled for late September and mid-October 1961, well into the 1961–62 playing season, by which time the first round of the 1961–62 competition would already be under way.

Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
First round 1st leg 19 October 1960 Újpesti Dózsa H W 3–2 Gordon 2, Astall 23,381
First round 2nd leg 26 October 1960 Újpesti Dózsa A W 2–1 Rudd, Singer 25,000
Second round 1st leg 23 November 1960 KB Copenhagen A D 4–4 Gordon 2, Singer 2 2,500
Second round 2nd leg 7 December 1960 KB Copenhagen H W 5–0 Stubbs 2, Harris, Bloomfield, Hellawell 22,486
Semi-final 1st leg 19 April 1961 Inter Milan A W 2–1 Harris, Balleri og 20,000
Semi-final 2nd leg 3 May 1961 Inter Milan H W 2–1 Harris 2 29,530

Appearances and goals

Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward
Players' appearances and goals by competition
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Fairs Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK  ENG Johnny Schofield 18 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 22 0
GK  ENG Colin Withers 24 0 4 0 2 0 3 0 33 0
FB  ENG George Allen 38[a] 0 3 0 3 0 6 0 51 0
FB  ENG Brian Farmer 41 0 4 0 3 0 6 0 54 0
HB  ENG Malcolm Beard 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
HB  ENG Winston Foster 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
HB  WAL Terry Hennessey 10 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 12 0
HB  ENG Dick Neal 39 4 4 1 3 0 6 0 52 5
HB  ENG Graham Sissons 14[a] 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 16 0
HB  ENG Trevor Smith 31 0 4 0 2 0 5 0 42 0
HB  ENG Johnny Watts 29 0 4 0 3 0 4 0 40 0
FW  ENG Gordon Astall 17 3 2 0 1 0 1 1 21 4
FW  SCO Bertie Auld 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
FW  ENG Ray Barlow 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 7 0
FW  ENG Jimmy Bloomfield 25 5 4 0 1 0 4 1 34 6
FW  ENG Johnny Gordon † 24 6 0 0 2 0 3 4 29 10
FW  ENG Jimmy Harris 20 10 4 3 0 0 3 4 27 17
FW  ENG Mike Hellawell 28 10 3 0 3 1 6 1 40 12
FW  ENG Harry Hooper † 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 3
FW  WAL Bryan Orritt 12 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 16 2
FW  ENG Billy Rudd 18 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 20 4
FW  ENG Jimmy Singer 18 7 4 4 1 0 3 3 26 14
FW  ENG Robin Stubbs 12 3 0 0 1 0 2 2 15 5
FW  ENG Brian Taylor 17 1 3 0 2 0 2 0 24 1
FW  ENG Don Weston † 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
  1. ^ a b General source mistakenly includes Allen rather than Sissons in the team for the match against Blackburn in March.[5][6]

See also

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 1960–1961: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 356–57, 474.
  • 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 18 November 2010.
  2. ^ Matthews (2010), p. 356.
    "Spanish Armada". The Football Association. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Birmingham City 1960–1961: English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Arsenal routs Inter Milan". New York Times. Reuters. 25 November 2003. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Player search: Sissons, JG (Graham)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Birmingham are in confident mood". Sports Argus. Birmingham. 25 March 1961. p. 8.