[ vs Everton, {{nowrap|FA Cup 5th round,}} 11 February 1939]
| lowest attendance = {{nowrap|8,970 vs Huddersfield Town,}} 29 March 1939
| average attendance = 25,228
| pattern_la1 =
| pattern_b1 = _whitecollarplain
| pattern_ra1 =
| pattern_sh1 =
| pattern_so1 = _whitestripe
| leftarm1 = 000099
| body1 = 000099
| rightarm1 = 000099
| shorts1 = FFFFFF
| socks1 = 000099
| prevseason = 1937–38
| nextseason = 1945–46
}}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 were relegated 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.{{#tag:ref|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.|name=recordcrowd|group=lower-alpha}}
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
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|1938–39 FA Cup}}Appearances and goals
- Players with name struck through and marked {{dagger|alt=Left club during playing season}} left the club during the playing season.
Abandoned 1939–40 Football League 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]
See also
- Birmingham City F.C. seasons
Notes
1. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.bcfc.com/page/Records/0,,10412,00.html |title=Birmingham City Records |publisher=Birmingham City F.C |accessdate=13 May 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722090845/http://www.bcfc.com/page/Records/0%2C%2C10412%2C00.html |archivedate=22 July 2012 |df=dmy }}
2. ^{{cite book |editor1-last=Rollin |editor1-first=Glenda |editor2-last=Rollin |editor2-first=Jack |title=Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2010–2011 |publisher=Headline |year=2010 |page=70 |isbn=978-0-7553-6107-6 |last-author-amp=y}}
3. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.bcfc.com/page/HistoryDetail/0,,10412,00.html |title=Club History |publisher=Birmingham City F.C |accessdate=13 May 2012}}
4. ^{{cite book |last=Matthews |first=Tony |title=The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875–2000 |chapter=Attendances |publisher=Britespot |location=Cradley Heath |year=2000 |pages=20–21 |isbn=978-0-9539288-0-4}}
5. ^Matthews (2010), Complete Record, p. 318.
6. ^{{cite news |title=Fifth round official figures |newspaper=The Times |location=London |date=13 February 1939 |page=5}}
7. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1939-40.html |title=Season 1939–40 (Abandoned) |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) |first=Paul |last=Felton |accessdate=13 May 2012}}
8. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/1938-1939/table |title=Birmingham City 1938–1939: English Division One (old) Table |publisher=Statto Organisation |accessdate=8 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064830/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/1938-1939/table |archive-date=4 March 2016 |dead-url=yes |df=dmy-all }}
9. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2659005 |title=Casualty details |publisher=Commonwealth War Graves Commission |accessdate=13 May 2012}}
References
General- {{cite book |last=Matthews |first=Tony |title=Birmingham City: A Complete Record |year=1995 |publisher=Breedon Books |location=Derby |isbn=978-1-85983-010-9}}
- {{cite book |last=Matthews |first=Tony |title=Birmingham City: The Complete Record |year=2010 |publisher=DB Publishing |location=Derby |isbn=978-1-85983-853-2}}
- Source for match dates and results: {{cite web |url=http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/1938-1939/results |title=Birmingham City 1938–1939: Results |publisher=Statto Organisation |accessdate=8 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063027/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/1938-1939/results |archive-date=4 March 2016 |dead-url=yes |df=dmy-all }}
- 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{{reflist}}External links
- Video of Birmingham players in training in 1939
{{Birmingham City F.C.}}{{Birmingham City F.C. seasons}}{{1938–39 in English football}}{{DEFAULTSORT:1938-39 Birmingham F.C. season}} 2 : Birmingham City F.C. seasons|English football clubs 1938–39 season