1961–62 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1961–62 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 59th in the Football League and their 35th in the First Division. They finished in 17th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1961–62 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost in that round to Tottenham Hotspur after a replay, and entered the League Cup at the first round, again losing their opening match after a replay, this time against Swindon Town. Birmingham lost in the final of the 1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in October 1961, and only a few weeks later, were eliminated from the 1961–62 competition in the second round by Espanyol. This was Birmingham's last appearance in major European competition for nearly 50 years.

Twenty-five players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. Forward Mike Hellawell played in all 50 first-team matches over the season (half back Malcolm Beard missed only one), and Ken Leek and Jimmy Harris finished as joint leading goalscorers with 20 goals in all competitions; Leek was top scorer in league competition with 18 goals.

Football League First Division

DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendance19 August 19614thFulhamHW2–1Harris, Bloomfield25,38722 August 19618thNottingham ForestAL1–2Harris19,48626 August 196117thSheffield WednesdayAL1–5Bloomfield29,93130 August 196119thNottingham ForestHD1–1Harris21,0952 September 196121stLeicester CityHL1–5Bloomfield21,9776 September 196120thWest Bromwich AlbionAD0–020,5419 September 196121stIpswich TownAL1–4Singer20,01716 September 196122ndBurnleyHL2–6Bloomfield, Hellawell18,76420 September 196122ndWest Bromwich AlbionHL1–2Hellawell23,93123 September 196122ndArsenalAD1–1Harris pen31,74930 September 196122ndBolton WanderersHW2–1Bloomfield, Auld17,2147 October 196122ndWolverhampton WanderersHL3–6Harris 2 (1 pen), Bloomfield29,15914 October 196121stManchester UnitedAW2–0Orritt, Hellawell30,67421 October 196121stChelseaHW3–2Harris, Bloomfield 220,09528 October 196119thAston VillaAW3–1Harris 2, Orritt49,5324 November 196117thBlackpoolHD1–1Orritt21,45011 November 196121stBlackburn RoversAL0–212,08318 November 196119thWest Ham UnitedHW4–0Harris pen, Bloomfield, Orritt, Auld20,68225 November 196120thSheffield UnitedAL1–3Harris16,8382 December 196115thCardiff CityHW3–0Leek 2, Hellawell20,9599 December 196119thTottenham HotspurAL1–3Leek32,50916 December 196116thFulhamAW1–0Leek12,73023 December 196112thSheffield WednesdayHD1–1Leek19,10926 December 196113thManchester CityHD1–1Leek21,92613 January 196211thLeicester CityAW2–1Harris, Auld22,69120 January 196210thIpswich TownHW3–1Leek 2, Baker og26,9683 February 196211thBurnleyAL1–7Auld24,04710 February 196210thArsenalHW1–0Harris27,79717 February 196211thBolton WanderersAL2–3Leek, Auld13,30824 February 196214thWolverhampton WanderersAL1–2Leek29,6653 March 196213thManchester UnitedHD1–1Leek25,8179 March 196213thChelseaAD1–1Leek23,95917 March 196216thAston VillaHL0–243,48924 March 196218thBlackpoolAL0–111,85430 March 196216thBlackburn RoversHW2–1Leek, Hellawell17,4316 April 196214thWest Ham UnitedAD2–2Bloomfield, Leek22,66811 April 196214thManchester CityAW4–1Harris, Bloomfield, Leek, Hellawell21,94114 April 196214thSheffield UnitedHW3–0Harris 2 (1 pen), Hellawell19,51420 April 196214thEvertonAL1–4Leek47,50621 April 196217thCardiff CityAL2–3Leek 28,60824 April 196217thEvertonHD0–021,91028 April 196217thTottenham HotspurHL2–3Leek, Beard29,614

League table (part)

+Final First Division table (part)PosClubPldWDLFAGAPts15thManchester United421591872750.963916thBlackburn Rovers4214111750580.863917thBirmingham City4214101865810.803818thWolverhampton Wanderers4213101973860.853619thNottingham Forest4213101963790.8036Key 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 round6 January 1962Tottenham HotspurHD3–3Harris 2, Leek46,096Third round replay10 January 1962Tottenham HotspurAL2–4Harris, Leek62,917

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceFirst round13 September 1961Swindon TownHD1–1Neal11,596First round replay25 September 1961Swindon TownAL0–213,063

1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The final of the 1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup took place in late September and mid-October 1961, when the first round of the 1961–62 competition was already under way. In the semi-final, Birmingham had beaten Inter Milan home and away; no other English club beat them in a competitive match in the San Siro until Arsenal did so in the Champions League more than 40 years later. Birmingham played in the final for the second consecutive season, having lost to Barcelona in 1960. In the first leg, missed chances and poor defending allowed Roma to take a two-goal lead at St Andrew's, but second-half goals from Mike Hellawell and Bryan Orritt, whose late equaliser came after Jimmy Harris's shot rebounded from the crossbar, took Birmingham into the second leg on level terms. In front of a large crowd in the Stadio Olimpico, Roma won 2–0 to take the trophy 4–2 on aggregate.Matthews (2010), p. 98.

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceFinal 1st leg27 September 1961AS RomaHD2–2Hellawell, Orritt21,005Final 2nd leg11 October 1961AS RomaAL0–250,000

1961–62 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

As finalists in the previous season's competition, Birmingham were awarded a bye to the second round, in which they were drawn against Espanyol. They lost heavily in the first leg, in Barcelona, where Antonio Camps scored a hat-trick.Matthews (2010), p. 46. They won the ill-tempered return leg 1–0 with a goal from Bertie Auld, but four players, including Birmingham's Jimmy Harris and Auld himself, were sent off.

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceSecond round 1st leg15 November 1961EspanyolAL2–5Bloomfield, Harris pen60,000Second round 2nd leg7 December 1961EspanyolHW1–0Auld16,874

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 Cup1960–61 1961–62 TotalGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGK35020202020430GK700000000070FB 500010000060FB 7000202000110FB16000001000170FB21120000020251FB33020102020400FB200000000020HB42120202020501HB34020102020410HB 600011000071HB39020201020460HB500000000050FW38520001021436FW3511002020114012FW100000000010FW3916231020214620FW42720202120508FW2418220000102720FW17420102120245FW 200000000020FW210010100041FW700010000080FW 300010000040FW000010000010

1961–62 Birmingham City F.C. season

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