History of Birmingham City F.C. (1875–1965)

Birmingham City Football Club, an English association football club based in Birmingham, was founded as Small Heath Alliance in September 1875, and from 1877 played home games at Muntz Street. It adopted professionalism in 1885, and three years later, as Small Heath F.C., became a limited company with a board of directors, the first football club so to do. The team played in the Football Alliance from the 1889–90 season, and in 1892, along with the other Alliance teams, were invited to join the newly formed Second Division of the Football League. Although they finished as champions, they failed to win promotion via the test match system; the following season promotion to the First Division was secured after a second-place finish and test match victory over Darwen. The club adopted the name Birmingham Football Club in 1905, and the following year moved into a new home, St Andrew's Ground. Matters on the field failed to live up to their surroundings. Birmingham were relegated in 1908, obliged to apply for re-election two years later, and remained in the Second Division until after the First World War.

Under the captaincy of Frank Womack, who went on to set club appearance records, Birmingham won their second Division Two title in 1920–21. The 19-year-old Joe Bradford made his debut in 1920; he was to score a club record 267 goals in 445 games and win 12 caps for England. In 1931, manager Leslie Knighton led the club to their first FA Cup Final; they lost 2–1 to Second Division club West Bromwich Albion. Though Birmingham remained in the top flight for 18 seasons, they struggled in the league, placing too much reliance on England goalkeeper Harry Hibbs to make up for the lack of goals, Bradford excepted, at the other end. They were finally relegated in 1938–39, the last full season before the Football League was suspended for the duration of the Second World War.

The name Birmingham City F.C. was adopted in 1943. Under Harry Storer, appointed manager in 1945, the team won the Football League South wartime league and reached the semi-final of the first post-war FA Cup. Two years later they won their third Second Division title, conceding only 24 goals in the 42-game season. Storer's successor, Bob Brocklebank, though unable to stave off relegation in 1950, brought in players who made a major contribution to the club's successes of the next decade. After taking over halfway through the 1954–55 season, Arthur Turner led the team to another Second Division title followed by what remains their highest league finish, of sixth place in the First Division, in 1955–56. They also reached the FA Cup final, losing 3–1 to Manchester City in the game best remembered for City's goalkeeper Bert Trautmann playing the last 20 minutes with a broken bone in his neck. The following season the club lost in the FA Cup semi-final for the third time since the war, this time beaten 2–0 by Manchester United's "Busby Babes".

Birmingham became the first English club side to take part in European competition when they played their first fixture in the inaugural Inter-Cities Fairs Cup competition in May 1956; they lost to Barcelona after a replay in the semi-final. They were also the first to reach a European final, losing to Barcelona in the 1960 Fairs Cup final, and also lost to Roma in 1961. As a player, Gil Merrick had beaten Womack's appearance record and been England's regular goalkeeper; as manager, his team saved their best form for cup competitions. Opponents in the 1963 League Cup final, local rivals Aston Villa, were pre-match favourites, but Birmingham raised their game and won 3–1 on aggregate to lift their first major trophy. By 1965, Merrick had been asked to resign, and after ten years in the top flight, Birmingham were back in the Second Division.