1938–39 Birmingham F.C. season

Birmingham F.C.
1938–39 season
ChairmanHarry Morris Jr
ManagerGeorge Liddell
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division21st (relegated)
FA CupFifth round (eliminated by Everton)
Top goalscorerLeague: Fred Harris (14)
All: Fred Harris (17)
Highest home attendance67,341[a] vs Everton, FA Cup 5th round, 11 February 1939
Lowest home attendance8,970 vs Huddersfield Town, 29 March 1939
Average home league attendance25,228

The 1938–39 Football League season was Birmingham Football Club's 43rd in the Football League and their 26th in the First Division. They were in the relegation positions after the second game of the season, rarely rose above them, and finished in 21st place in the 22-team division, one point from safety, so dropped to the Second Division for the 1939–40 season. They entered the 1938–39 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Everton in the fifth round after a replay. The club's record attendance was set in the FA Cup-tie at home to Everton, variously recorded as 67,341 or 66,844.[a]

Thirty-two players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were fifteen different goalscorers. Half-back Don Dearson played in 42 of the 46 matches over the season, and Fred Harris was the leading scorer with 17 goals, of which 14 were scored in the league. Harry Morris, son of the Harry Morris who played for the club in the 1880s and was a member of the board of directors for nearly 30 years, took over as chairman from Howard Cant.

When the Second World War began, the 1939–40 Football League season was abandoned after three Second Division matches had been played.[7] The first post-war Football League season was in 1946–47, though the FA Cup resumed a season earlier.

Football League First Division

Date League
position		 Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
27 August 1938 14th Sunderland H L 1–2 Jennings pen 32,117
31 August 1938 20th Leeds United A L 0–2 13,578
3 September 1938 22nd Manchester United A L 1–4 Harris 22,228
7 September 1938 20th Leicester City H W 2–1 Kelly, Jones 14,092
10 September 1938 21st Stoke City H L 1–2 Harris 26,519
12 September 1938 21st Leicester City A L 1–2 Farrage 10,778
17 September 1938 21st Chelsea A D 2–2 Brown pen, Jones 39,505
24 September 1938 22nd Preston North End H L 1–3 Farrage 26,221
1 October 1938 22nd Charlton Athletic A D 4–4 Harris 2, Duckhouse, White 20,039
8 October 1938 22nd Bolton Wanderers H L 0–2 21,855
15 October 1938 20th Derby County H W 3–0 White 2, Brown 27,858
22 October 1938 22nd Grimsby Town A L 0–1 11,022
29 October 1938 21st Aston Villa H W 3–0 Harris 2, Brown 55,301
5 November 1938 22nd Wolverhampton Wanderers A L 1–2 Phillips 30,713
12 November 1938 21st Everton H W 1–0 Phillips 27,548
19 November 1938 21st Huddersfield Town A L 1–3 Morris 14,637
26 November 1938 20th Portsmouth H W 2–0 Jennings pen, Dearson 20,317
3 December 1938 21st Arsenal A L 1–3 Jennings pen 33,710
10 December 1938 19th Brentford H W 5–1 White 4, Phillips 23,333
17 December 1938 21st Blackpool A L 1–2 White 11,855
24 December 1938 22nd Sunderland A L 0–1 14,555
26 December 1938 21st Middlesbrough H W 2–1 Morris, Trigg 17,953
27 December 1938 21st Middlesbrough A D 2–2 Harris, Phillips 33,534
31 December 1938 22nd Manchester United H D 3–3 Jennings, Phillips, Dearson 20,787
14 January 1939 22nd Stoke City A L 3–6 Jennings pen, Harris, Duckhouse 14,417
28 January 1939 22nd Preston North End A L 0–5 18,477
4 February 1939 22nd Charlton Athletic H L 3–4 Harris 3 29,727
18 February 1939 22nd Derby County A W 1–0 Brown 15,411
22 February 1939 22nd Bolton Wanderers A L 0–3 11,696
25 February 1939 22nd Grimsby Town H D 1–1 Craven 23,231
4 March 1939 22nd Aston Villa A L 1–5 Dearson 40,874
11 March 1939 22nd Wolverhampton Wanderers H W 3–2 Harris, Morris, Jones 48,970
18 March 1939 22nd Everton A L 2–4 Harris, Jones 29,867
29 March 1939 22nd Huddersfield Town H D 1–1 Jones 8,970
1 April 1939 22nd Portsmouth A L 0–2 21,918
7 April 1939 22nd Liverpool A L 0–4 31,741
8 April 1939 22nd Arsenal H L 1–2 Kendrick 33,250
10 April 1939 22nd Liverpool H D 0–0 15,067
15 April 1939 22nd Brentford A W 1–0 Jones 15,298
22 April 1939 21st Blackpool H W 2–1 Craven, Harris 21,812
26 April 1939 21st Chelsea H D 1–1 Brown 28,637
29 April 1939 21st Leeds United H W 4–0 Brown, Scaife og, Morris 2 12,522

League table (part)

Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
18th Brentford 42 14 8 20 53 74 0.72 36
19th Huddersfield Town 42 12 11 19 58 64 0.91 35
20th Chelsea 42 12 9 21 64 80 0.80 33
21st Birmingham 42 12 8 22 62 84 0.74 32
22nd Leicester City 42 9 11 22 48 82 0.58 29
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: 1938–39 FA Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Third round 7 January 1939 Halifax Town H W 2–0 Jennings, Phillips 23,522
Fourth round 21 January 1939 Chelmsford City H W 6–0 Harris, Brown, Jennings, Madden 2 44,494
Fifth round 11 February 1939 Everton H D 2–2 Madden 2 67,341
Fifth round replay 15 February 1939 Everton A L 1–2 Harris 64,796

Appearances and goals

This table includes appearances and goals in nationally organised competitive matches – the Football League and FA Cup – only.
For a description of the playing positions, see Formation (association football)#2–3–5 (Pyramid).
Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
Players' appearances and goals by competition
Name Position League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Frank Clack Goalkeeper 24 0 4 0 28 0
Harry Hibbs Goalkeeper 13 0 0 0 13 0
Jack Wheeler Goalkeeper 5 0 0 0 5 0
Billy Hughes Full back 35 0 4 0 39 0
Willie Steel † Full back 11 0 0 0 11 0
Ernie Sykes Full back 7 0 2 0 9 0
Cyril Trigg Full back 30 1 2 0 32 1
Norman Brunskill † Half back 7 0 0 0 7 0
Dick Butler † Half back 2 0 0 0 2 0
James Bye Half back 1 0 1 0 2 0
Don Dearson Half back 39 3 3 0 42 3
Wally Halsall Half back 21 0 2 0 23 0
Bob Meacock Half back 13 0 2 0 15 0
Dai Richards Half back 19 0 3 0 22 0
Jack Shaw Half back 11 0 0 0 11 0
Ray Shaw Half back 5 0 1 0 6 0
Arthur Turner Half back 12 0 0 0 12 0
Harold Bodle Forward 1 0 0 0 1 0
Jackie Brown Forward 34 6 4 1 38 7
Charlie Craven Forward 17 2 4 0 21 2
Ted Duckhouse Forward 4 2 0 0 4 2
Tom Farrage Forward 7 2 0 0 7 2
Fred Harris Forward 37 14 4 3 41 17
Dennis Jennings Forward 29 5 4 2 33 7
Wilson Jones Forward 21 6 0 0 21 6
Jack Kelly Forward 4 1 0 0 4 1
Kenny Kendrick Forward 2 1 0 0 2 1
Owen Madden Forward 5 0 3 4 8 4
Geoffrey Moreland † Forward 4 0 0 0 4 0
Seymour Morris Forward 14 5 0 0 14 5
Charlie Phillips Forward 15 5 1 1 16 6
Frank White † Forward 13 8 0 0 13 8

Abandoned 1939–40 Football League season

Main article: 1939–40 Birmingham F.C. season

Birmingham began the 1939–40 Football League season in the Second Division, but the onset of the Second World War caused the League to be abandoned after three Second Division matches had been played. They fielded the same eleven for all three matches: Harry Hibbs, Cyril Trigg, Billy Hughes, James Bye, Arthur Turner, Ray Shaw, Jackie Brown, Don Dearson, Ted Duckhouse, Fred Harris and Tom Farrage. Farrage was killed in action in September 1944, serving as a private in the 10th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment during Operation Market Garden.[9]

Match results
Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
26 August 1939 Tottenham Hotspur A D 1–1 Brown 28,366
30 August 1939 Leicester City H W 2–0 Farrage, Sharman og 13,848
2 September 1939 Burnley H W 2–0 Dearson, Duckhouse 15,900

Notes

  1. ^ a b The records page of Birmingham City F.C.'s website[1] and the 2010 Sky Sports Football Yearbook[2] list the attendance at 66,844. Others, including the history page of Birmingham City F.C.'s website,[3] Matthews' Encyclopedia[4] and Complete Record,[5] and The Times newspaper from the Monday following the match,[6] say 67,341.

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 1938–1939: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 318–19.
  • Source for 1939–40 season: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 320–21.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. ^ "Birmingham City Records". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  2. ^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2010). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2010–2011. Headline. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7553-6107-6.
  3. ^ "Club History". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 28 April 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  4. ^ Matthews, Tony (2000). "Attendances". The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875–2000. Cradley Heath: Britespot. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-9539288-0-4.
  5. ^ Matthews (2010), Complete Record, p. 318.
  6. ^ "Fifth round official figures". The Times. London. 13 February 1939. p. 5.
  7. ^ Felton, Paul. "Season 1939–40 (Abandoned)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Birmingham City 1938–1939: English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  9. ^ "Casualty details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 13 May 2012.