List of Birmingham City F.C. statistics and records

Birmingham City Football Club are a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Founded in 1875 as "Small Heath Alliance", the club turned professional in 1885Matthews (1995), p. 8.] and three years later, under the name of "Small Heath F.C. Ltd", were the first football club to become a limited company with a board of directors. [cite web
url=http://www.le.ac.uk/footballresearch/resources/factsheets/fs10.html |title=Fact Sheet 10: The 'New' Football Economics |author=Williams, John |coauthor=Neatrour, Sam |publisher=Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research: University of Leicester |year=2002 |month=May |accessdate=2007-07-06] They were later known as "Birmingham" before adopting their current name in 1943. [Matthews (2000), "Club name", p. 55.] Elected to the newly-formed Second Division of the Football League in 1892, they have never dropped below the third tier of English football. [http://www.fchd.info/SMALLHEA.HTM Small Heath] , [http://www.fchd.info/BIRMINGC.HTM Birmingham] and cite web
url=http://www.fchd.info/BIRMINGC.HTM |title=Birmingham City |work=Football Club History Database |publisher=Richard Rundle |accessdate=2008-02-05] They were also pioneers of European football competition, taking part in the inaugural season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.cite book
author=Radnedge, Keir |title=The Complete Encyclopedia of Football |chapter=Inter-Cities Fairs/UEFA Cup |pages=p. 200 |publisher=Carlton Books |year=1998 |isbn=978-1-85833-979-5] The list encompasses the major honours won by Birmingham City, records set by the club, their managers and their players, and details of their performance in European competition. The player records section itemises the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions. It also records notable achievements by Birmingham players on the international stage, and the highest transfer fees paid and received by the club. Attendance records at St Andrew's, the club's home ground since 1906, are also included.

All figures are correct as at 3 September 2008.

Honours

Birmingham's first ever silverware was the Walsall Cup which they won in 1883. Their first honour in national competitive football was the inaugural championship of the Football League Second Division in 1892–93. The majority of their success came in the period from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. Promoted to the First Division in 1955, in the following season they achieved their highest league finish of sixth place and their second FA Cup final appearance.cite web
archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050308115356/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/honours.htm |archivedate=2005-03-08 |url=http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/honours.htm |title=Honours |work=The Birmingham City FC Archive |publisher=Tony Jordan] cite web
archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20030623114246/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/teamrecords.htm |archivedate=2003-06-23 |url=http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/teamrecords.htm |title=Team Records |work=The Birmingham City FC Archive |publisher=Tony Jordan] They went on to reach two successive finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and won their only major trophy, the League Cup, in 1963.Their last senior honours were the Division Two (level 3) championship and the Football League Trophy, a cup competition open to clubs in the third and fourth tiers of English football, in 1994–95;cite book
author=Oliver, Peter |title=Birmingham City The Official Annual 2008 |publisher=Grange Communications |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-905426-79-9] this was the first time the golden goal was used to decide the winner of a senior English cup final. [cite news
url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19950424/ai_n13978688 |title=Fry's delight as Carlisle succumb to sudden death |work=The Independent |author=Haylett, Trevor |date=1995-04-24 |accessdate=2008-02-12]

Birmingham City's honours and achievements include the following:

European competition

* Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
** Finalists (2): 1960, 1961

The Football League

* Second Division / The Championship (level 2)
** Champions (4): 1892–93, 1920–21, 1947–48, 1954–55
** Runners up (6): 1893–94, 1900–01, 1902–03, 1971–72, 1984–85, 2006–07
** Promotion (2): 1979–80,ref label|automatic|A| 2001–02ref label|playoff|B|
* Third Division / Division Two (level 3)
** Champions (1): 1994–95
** Runners up (1): 1991–92

Domestic cup competition

* FA Cup
** Finalists (2): 1931, 1956
* League Cup
** Winners (1): 1963
** Finalists (1): 2001
* Associate Members Cup / Football League Trophyref label|fltrophy|C|
** Winners (2): 1990–91, 1994–95

Wartime competition

* Football League South
** Champions (1): 1945–46

Player records

:see also|List of Birmingham City F.C. players

Appearances

* Youngest first-team player: Trevor Francis, 16 years 139 days (against Cardiff City, Second Division, 5 September 1970).Matthews (2000). "Age", p. 10.]
* Oldest first-team player: Dennis Jennings, 39 years 290 days (against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Second Division, 6 May 1950).

Most appearances

:"Competitive, professional matches only, appearances as substitute in brackets."cite web
archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050311225137/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/apps.htm |archivedate=2005-03-11 |url=http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/apps.htm |title=Appearance Records |work=The Birmingham City FC Archive |publisher=Tony Jordan] [Matthews (1995), pp. 201–16, 243–44.] Matthews (2000), "Appearances", pp. 12–14.]

Record transfer fees received

;Key
* GS = group stage
* 1R = first round
* 2R = second round
* SF = semifinal
* F = final

European attendance records

* Highest home attendance: 40,524, against Barcelona, Fairs Cup 1958–60 final first leg, 29 March 1960.Matthews (1995), "Blues in Europe", pp. 241–42.]
* Lowest home attendance: 14,152, against R. Union Saint-Gilloise, Fairs Cup 1958–60 semifinal second leg, 3 October 1979.
* Highest away attendance: 75,000, against Barcelona, Fairs Cup 1958–60 final second leg, 4 May 1960.
* Lowest away attendance: 2,500, against KB, Fairs Cup 1960–61 second round first leg, 23 November 1960.

Notes

A. Promoted automatically to the Football League First Division by finishing in third place in the Football League Second Division.

B. Promoted via the playoff system to the Premier League after finishing in fifth place in the Championship.

C. This competition, open to teams in the third and fourth tiers of English football, was renamed the Football League Trophy in 1992. It is more often referred to by its sponsored name, which in 1991 was the Leyland DAF Trophy and in 1995 was the Auto Windscreens Shield.

D. Taylor's total includes four caps won while on loan from Fulham. [cite web |url=http://www.irishfa.com/squad-profiles/128/senior/maik-taylor-goalkeeper/ |title=Maik Taylor |work=Squad profiles |publisher=Irish FA |accessdate=2008-09-03]

E. Managing director Karren Brady stated that Birmingham's 2006 relegation meant that the last £1.5m of the maximum £6.25m fee would not be payable, implying that the actual fee paid was £4.75m. [cite news |url=http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2006/04/06/blues-prepared-for-the-worst-brady-97319-16912513/ |title=Blues prepared for the worst |work=Birmingham Mail |date=2006-04-06 |accessdate=2008-02-11]

F. Prior to 1910, the club was managed by committee or by a secretary-manager who combined club administration with responsibility for the team's affairs on the pitch. McRoberts was the first manager whose role did not include secretarial duties.

G. The London XI, including players from several London clubs, were the first English "team" to play in European competition when they played their first match in the inaugural Fairs Cup in 1955, and the first English "team" to reach a final, in the same campaign. [cite web |url=http://www.rsssf.com/ec/ecomp.html |title=European Cups Archive |accessdate=2007-07-27 |author=Ross, James M. |date=2006-07-13 |publisher=RSSSF]

H. Invitations to enter the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a football tournament set up to promote industrial trade fairs, were extended to the city hosting the trade fair rather than to clubs. Some cities entered a select team including players from more than one club; others, including Birmingham, chose a club side to represent them. [Radnedge, p. 200.]

I. The away goals rule did not apply when aggregate scores were level, so a playoff was staged at St. Jakob-Park, Basel, which Barcelona won 2–1 to reach the final.

J. note label|icfcqualif|J|anote label|icfcqualif|J|bnote label|icfcqualif|J|c Until the mid-1960s, entry to this competition remained by invitation, independent of domestic league position. Birmingham City's continued invitations resulted from their success in the previous edition of the competition. In 1961–62, there was an expanded entry of 28 teams, and Birmingham received a bye to the second round as losing finalist from the previous edition. [Radnedge, pp. 200–04.]

References

;General
*cite book |author=Matthews, Tony |title=Birmingham City: A Complete Record |publisher=Breedon Books |location=Derby |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-85983-010-9
*cite book |author=Matthews, Tony |title=The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875-2000 |publisher=Britespot |location=Cradley Heath |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-9539288-0-4
*cite web |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20030326141451/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/ |archivedate=2003-03-26 |url=http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/ |title=The Birmingham City FC Archive |publisher=Tony Jordan

;Specific

External links

* [http://www.bcfc.com Birmingham City F.C. official site]