1950–51 Birmingham City F.C. season


The 1950–51 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 48th in the Football League and their 20th in the Second Division, having been relegated from the First Division in 1949–50. They finished in 4th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1950–51 FA Cup at the third round proper and reached the semi-final, in which they lost to Blackpool after a replay.
Twenty-two players made at least one appearance in nationally organised competitive football during the season, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Gil Merrick, full-back Arthur Atkins and winger Johnny Berry were ever-present in the 48-game season, and Cyril Trigg was the leading goalscorer with 19 goals, of which 17 came in league matches.
As part of the Festival of Britain, friendly matches were arranged at the end of this season between British clubs and teams from other parts of the British Isles and from continental Europe. Birmingham played in four such matches, against teams from Scotland, Ireland and Yugoslavia.

Football League Second Division

Note that not all teams completed their playing season on the same day. Birmingham were in third position after their last game of the season, on 28 April, but by the time the last game was played, on 5 May, they had been overtaken by Cardiff City and finished fourth, three points behind the promotion places.
DateLeague
position		OpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
19 August 19501stSwansea TownAW1–0Boyd25,012
23 August 19501stLeicester CityHW2–0Trigg, Smith28,343
26 August 19504thGrimsby TownHD1–1Powell33,017
28 August 19501stLeicester CityAW3–1Trigg, Smith, Stewart31,291
2 September 19501stNotts CountyAW1–0Smith34,648
6 September 19501stCoventry CityHD1–1Higgins24,719
9 September 19501stPreston North EndHW1–0Smith32,633
11 September 19502ndCoventry CityHL1–3Berry30,448
16 September 19505thBuryAL1–4Dorman16,809
23 September 19505thQueens Park RangersHD1–1Heath og26,583
30 September 19504thChesterfieldAD1–1Trigg12,330
7 October 19504thSouthamptonAW2–0Smith, Green25,499
14 October 19503rdBarnsleyHW2–0Smith, Boyd26,617
21 October 19504thBrentfordAL1–2Trigg19,273
28 October 19503rdBlackburn RoversHW3–2Trigg, Smith, Stewart24,552
4 November 19504thHull CityAL2–3Trigg 232,038
11 November 19505thDoncaster RoversHL0–226,779
18 November 19505thSheffield UnitedAL2–3Smith, Stewart23,879
25 November 19505thLuton TownHW3–0Higgins 2, Smith18,606
2 December 19507thLeeds UnitedAL0–323,355
9 December 19506thWest Ham UnitedHW3–1Higgins, Stewart, Smith18,180
16 December 19504thSwansea TownHW5–0Trigg 3, Stewart, Berry15,649
23 December 19504thGrimsby TownAD1–1Smith13,141
25 December 19506thManchester CityAL1–3Trigg40,173
26 December 19504thManchester CityHW1–0Trigg32,092
30 December 19505thNotts CountyHL1–4Stewart33,770
13 January 19517thPreston North EndAL0–130,662
20 January 19517thBuryHD3–3Trigg 2, Stewart25,653
3 February 19519thQueens Park RangersAL0–212,295
17 February 19517thChesterfieldHW2–1Trigg, Higgins33,768
28 February 19517thSouthamptonHW2–1Trigg, Stewart12,593
3 March 19515thBarnsleyAW2–0Dailey, Stewart15,450
17 March 19515thBlackburn RoversAW3–2Dailey 2, Higgins28,116
23 March 19515thCardiff CityHD0–015,054
24 March 19514thHull CityHW2–1Dailey, Boyd27,512
26 March 19515thCardiff CityAL1–2Rowley36,992
31 March 19515thDoncaster RoversAW1–0Trigg16,091
7 April 19513rdSheffield UnitedHW3–0Higgins, Rowley, Warhurst21,974
14 April 19514thLuton TownAD1–1Warhurst16,324
21 April 19514thLeeds UnitedHL0–123,809
25 April 19514thBrentfordHD1–1Smith13,643
28 April 19513rdWest Ham UnitedAW2–1Rowley, Ferris12,396

League table (part)

FA Cup

Birmingham beat Manchester City, Bristol City, and First Division teams Derby County and Manchester United, without needing a replay and while conceding only one goal, to reach the semi-final, in which they faced another First Division team, Blackpool. The Times suggested that the fixture, "as always when Matthews plays, will present the problem of how to smother the greatest player in the history of English football", warning that "to smother Matthews—should they even succeed—is not to smother Blackpool." Supporters queued all night for tickets; the 20,000 allocation sold out within two hours. In addition to several special trains, the supporters' club chartered 60 coaches to travel to Maine Road, Manchester, where touts were offering tickets for sale at four times face value.
Blackpool were the class team, but "Birmingham, with their fiery, quick tackling, their spirit and the snapping up of stray chances, have swept class aside before now." Though failing to sweep Blackpool aside, they did stop them scoring, combatting the attacking threat by switching the pacy Jack Badham to the left to man-mark Matthews and using the other defenders, among whom Arthur Atkins stood out, to cut out his crosses. With two minutes left, Jackie Stewart's "terrific left-foot shot struck a post, then passed out, with thousands of horrified Blackpool supporters on the verge of doing likewise."
In the replay, at Goodison Park in front of a 70,000 crowd, "the greatest mystery of all was why the Blackpool inside forwards did not run up a total of five or six goals in the opening hour—to put it conservatively", with Matthews in "his finest form". They scored twice, but within a minute of the second, Bill Smith pulled one back after Johnny Berry's corner rebounded from a post. In the remainder of the match, Birmingham rallied, with shots from all parts; "Blackpool weathered the storm they had brought upon themselves, but how gallantly had Birmingham died."
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
Third round6 January 1951Manchester CityHW2–0Stewart, Higgins30,057
Fourth round27 January 1951Derby CountyAW3–1Stewart, Trigg, Smith37,384
Fifth round10 February 1951Bristol CityHW2–0Stewart, Trigg47,831
Sixth round24 February 1951Manchester UnitedHW1–0Higgins50,764
Semi-final10 March 1951BlackpoolMaine Road, ManchesterD0–071,890
Semi-final replay14 March 1951BlackpoolGoodison Park, LiverpoolL1–2Smith70,114

Festival of Britain

As part of the Festival of Britain, friendly matches were arranged at the end of this season between British clubs and against teams from continental Europe. Birmingham played in four such matches, against teams from Scotland, Ireland and Yugoslavia.
DateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
7 May 1951AirdrieoniansHL3–5Berry 2, Kelly og7,985
12 May 1951Dinamo HL0–212,058
18 May 1951Home Farm AW2–1Stewart, Berry3,000
20 May 1951Cork AthleticAW5–2Trigg 2, Higgins, Stewart, Dailey2,750

Appearances and goals