The 1951–52 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 49th in the Football League and their 21st in the Second Division. They finished in third position in the 22-team division, missing out on promotion to Cardiff City on goal average. They entered the 1951–52 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Leyton Orient in the fourth.
Twenty-three players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were fourteen different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Gil Merrick played in 43 of the 44 games over the season. Of outfield players, full-back Ken Green played in 41. Tommy Briggs was top scorer with 19 goals, of which 18 came in the league.
Football League Second Division
Note that not all teams completed their playing season on the same day. Birmingham had been in the promotion positions since 22 March and were in second position after their last game of the season, on 26 April, but by the time the last game was played, on 3 May, Cardiff City had beaten Leeds United in their last game of the season to finish level on points with Birmingham with a better goal average.
DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendance18 August 19516thBuryHW2–1Trigg, Higgins23,86122 August 19514thLeeds UnitedHD1–1Ferris17,80125 August 195115thLeicester CityAL0–424,46529 August 195112thLeeds UnitedAD1–1Purdon15,0981 September 195118thNottingham ForestHL0–223,1923 September 195116thSheffield WednesdayAD1–1Higgins32,5068 September 195119thBrentfordAL0–125,02912 September 195119thSheffield WednesdayHD0–013,89415 September 195120thDoncaster RoversHD2–2Badham, Dorman16,22022 September 195115thEvertonAW3–1Tommy Briggs, Purdon, Wardle37,13829 September 195115thSouthamptonHD1–1Briggs25,7866 October 195113thSwansea TownHD1–1Higgins28,06013 October 195113thCoventry CityAD1–1Rowley23,58020 October 195110thWest Ham UnitedHW2–1Stewart, Briggs20,29527 October 195116thSheffield UnitedAL2–4Rowley, Stewart31,1903 November 195113thBarnsleyHW2–1Briggs, Stewart19,18610 November 195110thHull CityAW1–0Briggs27,48217 November 195111thBlackburn RoversHL0–122,33724 November 195110thQueens Park RangersAW2–0Briggs, Smith14,9451 December 19519thNotts CountyHW2–0Smith 226,5548 December 19517thLuton TownAW4–2Purdon, Smith, Stewart, Warhurst15,93715 December 19519thBuryAL0–312,34722 December 19518thLeicester CityHW2–0Briggs, Wardle22,23025 December 19515thRotherham UnitedHW4–0Smith 3, Purdon27,53126 December 19513rdRotherham UnitedAW2–1Briggs, Badham22,37129 December 19512ndNottingham ForestAW1–0Briggs34,3165 January 19523rdBrentfordHL1–2Wardle28,36819 January 19521stDoncaster RoversAW5–0Murphy 3, Briggs, Stewart20,28226 January 19522ndEvertonHL1–2Stewart32,9809 February 19524thSouthamptonAL0–218,68816 February 19525thSwansea TownAL0–424,2301 March 19525thCoventry CityHW3–1Briggs, Stewart, Murphy33,0078 March 19523rdWest Ham UnitedAW1–0Briggs24,01115 March 19524thSheffield UnitedHW3–0Trigg, Murphy 228,09222 March 19521stBarnsleyAW2–1Murphy, Stewart14,37729 March 19521stHull CityHD2–2Smith, Briggs14,6605 April 19522ndBlackburn RoversAW4–1Smith, Briggs 2, Dailey19,15111 April 19522ndCardiff CityHW3–2Briggs, Green, Sherwood og32,94112 April 19521stQueens Park RangersHW1–0Trigg28,28614 April 19522ndCardiff CityAL1–3Briggs25,47019 April 19522ndNotts CountyAL0–524,36026 April 19522ndLuton TownHW3–1Briggs, Purdon, Stewart28,816
League table (part)
+Final Second Division table (part)PosClubPldWDLFAGAPts1stSheffield Wednesday42211110100661.51532ndCardiff City4220111172541.33513rdBirmingham City422191267561.20514thNottingham Forest4218131177621.24495thLeicester City421991478641.2247Key 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 round12 January 1952FulhamAW1–0Tommy Briggs25,806Fourth round2 February 1952Leyton OrientHL0–149,527
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 CupTotalGoalsGoalsGoalsGK41020430GK100010FB39220412FB33120351FB600060FB19020210HB31020330HB37000370HB14100141HB100010HB36120381HB100010FW 400040FW3318213519FW510051FW 210021FW10300103FW15710167FW19500195FW12200122FW19920219FW37920399FW12310133FW35320373
See also Birmingham City F.C. seasons
References General
Source for match dates and results: Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 338–39. Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
Specific