The 1963–64 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 61st in the Football League and their 37th in the First Division. They finished in 20th position in the 22-team division, only one point above the relegation places. They lost their opening match in each of the cup competitions, to Port Vale in the third round proper of the 1963–64 FA Cup and to Norwich City in the second round of the League Cup.
Although Birmingham maintained their First Division status, the board of directors asked Gil Merrick to resign as manager. He had been with the club for 25 years as player – he was first-choice goalkeeper for 14 years and, , he held the club's appearance record – and manager, having led Birmingham to the 1961 Fairs Cup Final in his first season and to victory in the 1963 League Cup Final to win the club's first and, until 2011, only major trophy. In June, Nottingham Forest's trainer-coach Joe Mallett was brought in with responsibility for "team affairs, including team selection". He was formally appointed manager early in the 1964–65 season.Matthews (1995), p. 62.
Twenty-five players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were fifteen different goalscorers. Forward Mike Hellawell played in 42 of the 44 first-team matches over the season, and Bertie Auld finished as leading goalscorer with 10 goals, all scored in league competition.
Football League First Division
DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendance24 August 19635thBolton WanderersHW2–1Lynn pen, Hellawell24,81728 August 196316thLeicester CityAL0–127,69431 August 196318thFulhamAL1–2Lynn pen21,2604 September 196311thLeicester CityHW2–0Leek, Hellawell23,8517 September 196315thManchester UnitedHD1–1Harley36,87411 September 196317thWest Bromwich AlbionHL0–134,66614 September 196317thBurnleyAL1–2Harris20,35018 September 196318thWest Bromwich AlbionAL1–3Harris29,66221 September 196316thIpswich TownHW1–0Beard19,09528 September 196318thSheffield WednesdayAL1–2Thomson18,2332 October 196319thTottenham HotspurAL1–6Auld37,6495 October 196320thEvertonHL0–223,59319 October 196320thSheffield UnitedAL0–318,97426 October 196320thWolverhampton WanderersHD2–2Harley, Woodfield og24,8432 November 196320thChelseaAW3–2Harley, P. Bullock, Auld22,9745 November 196320thArsenalAL1–4Bloomfield23,4999 November 196320thBlackpoolHW3–2Bloomfield, Auld, Lynn17,53616 November 196320thBlackburn RoversAL0–314,81323 November 196320thNottingham ForestHD3–3Auld 2, Smith18,16130 November 196320thStoke CityAL1–4Auld27,2607 December 196320thWest Ham UnitedHW2–1Auld, Lynn pen15,48314 December 196320thBolton WanderersAW2–0Leek, Hellawell9,66321 December 196319thFulhamHD0–013,91528 December 196319thArsenalHL1–4Harley23,37711 January 196418thManchester UnitedAW2–1M. Bullock, Harley44,91918 January 196418thBurnleyHD0–015,9171 February 196419thIpswich TownAL2–3Regan, Farmer13,3498 February 196419thSheffield WednesdayHL1–2Harley15,47918 February 196420thEvertonAL0–136,25222 February 196420thLiverpoolAL1–2Leek41,82329 February 196420thTottenham HotspurHL1–2Thomson28,4337 March 196420thWolverhampton WanderersAL1–5Harley16,42113 March 196420thBlackburn RoversHD2–2Leek, Auld15,80920 March 196420thBlackpoolAL0–310,20328 March 196420thChelseaHL3–4Thwaites 2, Auld14,48530 March 196420thAston VillaAW3–0Harris, Hellawell, Lynn pen25,79731 March 196420thAston VillaHD3–3Bloomfield, Leek, Lynn pen28,0694 April 196420thNottingham ForestAL0–413,89711 April 196421stStoke CityHL0–119,91417 April 196421stWest Ham UnitedAL0–522,10622 April 196421stLiverpoolHW3–1Leek, Hellawell, Lynn pen22,63025 April 196420thSheffield UnitedHW3–0Auld, Smith, Lynn pen26,202
League table (part)
+Final First Division table (part)PosClubPldWDLFAGAPts18thBlackpool421392052730.713519thAston Villa4211121962710.873420thBirmingham City421172454920.592921stBolton Wanderers421082448800.602822ndIpswich Town429726561210.4625Key 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 = PointsSource
FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceThird round4 March 1964Port ValeHL1–2Beard21,615
League Cup
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceSecond round25 September 1963Norwich CityAL0–216,781
Appearances and goals
Players marked left the club during the playing season. Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward
+ Players' appearances and goals by competitionNameLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGK40000040GK3801010400FB3301010350FB3381000348FB1400000140FB30001040HB3611110382HB11000011HB1400000140HB3901010410HB3421010362FW10000010FW341010003510FW3431010363FW21000021FW1110000111FW 20001020FW2370010247FW53000053FW3951010415FW2661010286FW31000031FW2121010232FW1020000102FW20000020
See also Birmingham City F.C. seasons
Notes
References General
Source for match dates and results: Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 362–63. Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
Specific