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1945–46 Birmingham City F.C. season

FieldValue
clubBirmingham City F.C.
season1945–46
managerHarry Storer
chairmanHarry Morris Jr
stdtitleGround
stadiumSt Andrew's
leagueFootball League South
league result1st
cup1FA Cup
cup1 resultSemi-final
(eliminated by Derby County)
league topscorerCharlie Wilson Jones (20)
season topscorerCharlie Wilson Jones (25)
highest attendanceFA Cup: 49,858 vs Bradford Park Avenue, 9 March 1946
lowest attendanceFA Cup: 25,054 vs Watford, 29 March 1946
pattern_la1_whiteborder
pattern_b1_whitecollarplain
pattern_ra1_whiteborder
pattern_so1_whitetop
leftarm1000099
body1000099
rightarm1000099
shorts1FFFFFF
socks1000099
prevseason1938–39
nextseason1946–47

(eliminated by Derby County) The 1945–46 season was Birmingham City Football Club's first season played under that name in nationally-organised football. The club had been called Birmingham F.C. since 1905, and the City suffix was added in 1943. Although the Football League did not resume until the 1946–47 season, the FA Cup restarted in 1945. Birmingham reached the semi-final, in which they lost to Derby County after extra time in a replay, played at Maine Road, Manchester, in front of 80,407 spectators. In league competition, Birmingham were champions of the first and only edition of the Football League South, taking the title on goal average from local rivals Aston Villa.

Twenty-four players made at least one Football League South appearance, though only twelve appeared regularly, the remaining twelve making just 36 appearances between them. Full-back Dennis Jennings missed only one of the 42 matches over the season. Charlie Wilson Jones was the leading scorer with 20 goals in league competition. In the FA Cup, the same eleven players were selected for all the ties, apart from Sid King replacing Gil Merrick in goal for two of the ten matches.

Football League South

The Football League North and South were set up as a precursor to the resumption of the Football League proper the following season. They included those teams playing in the First and Second Divisions in the 1939–40 Football League season abandoned when war broke out, divided on a regional basis. Because registration rules had not been strictly observed during the war, and with many players still away on military service, teams were permitted to field guest players.

On the last day of the season, Aston Villa had already completed their fixtures. Both Birmingham and Charlton Athletic were two points behind them with a game to play and a superior goal average. In the event, Birmingham won 3–0 away at Luton Town to finish level on points with Aston Villa with a better goal average. Charlton were 1–0 ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers when they heard that Birmingham had scored twice, so they needed another goal to overhaul them on goal average. They went on an all-out attack, but Wanderers' Dicky Dorsett broke away to score, thus confirming Charlton in third place. According to the Birmingham ''Evening Despatch'''s "Argus Junior",

DateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–AScorers25 August 19451 September 19453 September 19458 September 194515 September 194517 September 194522 September 194529 September 19456 October 194513 October 194520 October 194527 October 19453 November 194510 November 194517 November 194524 November 19451 December 19458 December 194515 December 194522 December 194525 December 194526 December 194529 December 194512 January 194619 January 19462 February 194616 February 194623 February 194613 March 194616 March 194630 March 19461 April 19466 April 194610 April 194613 April 194615 April 194619 April 194620 April 194622 April 194627 April 194629 April 19464 May 1946
West Ham UnitedHL0–1
West Ham UnitedAL2–3Massart, Edwards
Luton TownHW3–2Dougall, Bodle
West Bromwich AlbionHW4–0Edwards, Mulraney, Duckhouse, Jones
West Bromwich AlbionAD0–0
Coventry CityAW3–2Bodle, Duckhouse, Mulraney
Swansea TownAW4–2Mulraney, Dougall, Massart 2
Swansea TownHW5–0Bodle 2, Duckhouse, Jones, Mulraney
Tottenham HotspurHW8–0Duckhouse, Massart 2, Dougall, Bodle, Edwards, Mulraney 2
Tottenham HotspurAW1–0Mulraney
BrentfordAL1–2White
BrentfordHW1–0Massart
ChelseaHW5–2Bodle 2, Jones, Turner pen, Edwards
ChelseaAW3–2Jones 2, Turner pen
MillwallAL1–5Jones
MillwallHW4–0Bodle, Jones, Edwards 2
SouthamptonAD1–1Duckhouse
SouthamptonHW4–0Bodle 2, Duckhouse, Edwards
Derby CountyAW2–0Edwards, Jones
Derby CountyHW1–0Bodle
Leicester CityHW6–2Jones 2, Dougall, Bodle, Edwards, Mulraney
Leicester CityAW1–0Mulraney
Coventry CityHW2–0Edwards, Dougall
Aston VillaAD2–2Dearson, Dougall
Aston VillaHW3–1Jones 2, Mulraney
ArsenalAW3–0Jones, Edwards 2
Charlton AthleticHW1–0Jones
FulhamHW2–0Laing, White
ArsenalHL0–1
Plymouth ArgyleHL0–1
PortsmouthAW4–3Mulraney, Jones, Dougall, Bodle
Plymouth ArgyleAW3–2Jones 3
Nottingham ForestAL0–1
PortsmouthHW1–0Jones
Nottingham ForestHW3–1Bodle, Jones, Harris
FulhamAL2–3Dougall 2
Newport CountyHW3–2Mulraney, Massart 2
Wolverhampton WanderersAD3–3Bodle, Edwards, Harris
Newport CountyAW1–0Massart
Wolverhampton WanderersHL0–1
Charlton AthleticAD0–0
Luton TownAW3–0Bodle, Mitchell pen, Mulraney

League table (part)

Main article: Football League North and South

FA Cup

From the first round proper to the sixth round of the 1945–46 FA Cup, the first edition of the competition to be completed since war broke out, matches were played over two legs. Birmingham defeated Portsmouth, Watford, Sunderland and Bradford Park Avenue to reach the semi-final, in which they drew with Derby County at Hillsborough, Sheffield, in front of 65,000 spectators. In a match that "did not produce a great deal of high-class play [but] was very keenly contested", Raich Carter opened the scoring from Derby's first attack, Jock Mulraney "hit the angle of bar and post with a glorious shot from twenty yards", and the same player equalised early in the second half "after one of the best movements of the game".

The replay, at Maine Road, Manchester, attracted huge interest. The second half of the match was scheduled for live radio broadcast, and the gates were closed on safety grounds about an hour before kickoff, with thousands locked out. "Several thousands" of the official attendance of 80,407 "were allowed to sit on the ground almost up to the touch line". The match went goalless to the last half-minute of normal time, when Harold Bodle was unmarked 20 yd from goal. Derby goalkeeper Vic Woodley stayed on his line, and "Bodle took the ball to within eight yards of goal but hit the ball so near to Woodley that he was able to beat the ball away." Six minutes into extra time, No substitutes were allowed, and Birmingham went on to lose 4–0.

RoundOpponentsDateVenueResultScore
F–AScorersAttendanceThird roundFourth roundFifth roundSixth roundSemi-finalSemi-final replay
Portsmouth5 January 1946HW1–0Flewin og33,845
9 January 1946AD0–023,716
aggregateW1–0
Watford26 January 1946HW5–0Mulraney 3, Jones, Bodle25,054
30 January 1946AD1–1Jones6,126
aggregateW6–1
Sunderland9 February 1946AL0–144,820
13 February 1946HW3–1Jones 2, Mulraney39,880
aggregateW3–2
Bradford Park Avenue2 March 1946AD2–2Dougall, Jones19,732
9 March 1946HW6–0Dougall 2, Bodle 2, Mulraney 249,858
aggregateW8–2
Derby County23 March 1946Hillsborough, SheffieldD1–1Mulraney65,013
Derby County27 March 1946Maine Road, ManchesterL0–4
aet80,407

Appearances and goals

  • Players marked * were guests, not registered Birmingham City players.
Pos.Nat.NameLeagueFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTed Ditchburn *Sid KingGil MerrickTed DuckhouseBilly HughesN. JenksDennis JenningsRay ShawSid StantonDon DearsonFred HarrisFrank MitchellSyd OwenArthur TurnerHarold BodleNeil DougallGeorge EdwardsCharlie Wilson JonesBobby LaingI. McPherson *Dave MassartJock MulraneyCyril TriggFrank White *
GKENG100010
GKENG202040
GKENG39080470
FBENG266100366
FBWAL400040
FB—200020
FBENG410100510
FBENG200020
FBENG100010
HBENG34100341
HBENG392100492
HBENG261100361
HBENG500050
HBENG402100502
FWENG40161035019
FWSCO38101034813
FWWAL38131004813
FWWAL27201053725
FWSCO210021
FW—100010
FWENG11900119
FWSCO38131074820
FWENG100010
FWENG420042

References

General

  • Source for match dates, results, lineups, appearances, and goalscorers: Matthews (1995), Complete Record, p. 240.
  • Source for attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 482–83.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

References

  1. Coles, Frank. (4 May 1946). "Soccer's thrilling curtain". The Daily Telegraph.
  2. Bolton, J.T.. (5 May 1946). "End-of-Season Soccer". The Observer.
  3. Argus Junior. (11 May 1946). "Leaves from my Note-book". Evening Despatch.
  4. (25 March 1946). "Association Football. Charlton in the Final". The Times.
  5. Bale, Chris. (24 March 1946). "Charlton Cup Triumph". The Sunday Times.
  6. (25 March 1946). "Derby may have missed a chance". The Manchester Guardian.
  7. (27 March 1946). "Broadcasting. The Light Programme". The Times.
  8. (28 March 1946). "Cup-tie crowd". The Manchester Guardian.
  9. (28 March 1946). "Association Football. Derby County in the Cup Final". The Times.
  10. Gil Merrick, quoted in Rollin, ''Soccer at War'', p. 109.
  11. (28 March 1946). "Derby County win in extra time". The Manchester Guardian.
  12. Rollin, ''Soccer at War'', p. 276.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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