1962–63 Birmingham City F.C. season


The 1962–63 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 60th in the Football League and their 36th in the First Division. They finished in 20th position in the 22-team division, two points clear of the relegation places. They entered the 1962–63 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost in that round to Bury after a replay. They entered the League Cup at the second round and reached the final, in which they defeated local rivals Aston Villa 3–1 on aggregate score to win the first major trophy in their history.
Because of the severe winter weather – the so-called "Big Freeze of 1963" – Birmingham played no matches for ten weeks, between 22 December and 2 March. Their third-round FA Cup-tie was played in the first week of March, two months later than the usual date of the first weekend in January.
Twenty-three players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. Half back Terry Hennessey played in 52 of the 53 first-team matches over the season, and Leek finished as leading goalscorer with 29 goals, of which 20 were scored in league competition.

Football League First Division

DateLeague
position		OpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
18 August 196222ndTottenham HotspurAL0–351,140
21 August 196222ndArsenalAL0–234,004
25 August 196220thLeyton OrientHD2–2Bullock, Hellawell23,411
29 August 196219thArsenalHD2–2Leek, Lynn pen27,038
1 September 196220thManchester UnitedAL0–240,618
8 September 196221stBurnleyHW5–1Hellawell 2, Leek, Bloomfield, Bullock24,463
12 September 196221stWest Bromwich AlbionAL0–125,560
15 September 196222ndSheffield WednesdayAL0–522,255
19 September 196222ndWest Bromwich AlbionHD0–028,660
22 September 196218thFulhamHW4–1Harris, Leek, Auld, Lynn pen20,439
29 September 196220thLeicester CityAL0–322,210
6 October 196222ndWest Ham UnitedAL0–521,150
13 October 196222ndManchester CityHD2–2Regan, Stubbs21,114
24 October 196219thWolverhampton WanderersAW2–0Leek 226,226
27 October 196217thAston VillaHW3–2Leek 2, Lynn pen42,228
3 November 196213thSheffield UnitedAW2–0Stubbs, Hellawell19,186
10 November 196214thNottingham ForestHD2–2Harris, Leek22,024
17 November 196212thIpswich TownAW5–1Harris 2, Leek 2, Auld16,775
24 November 196215thLiverpoolHL0–227,050
1 December 196214thBlackpoolAD1–1Leek12,955
8 December 196215thBlackburn RoversHD3–3Bloomfield, Leek 216,108
15 December 196216thTottenham HotspurHL0–236,623
22 December 196215thLeyton OrientAD2–2Bloomfield 211,646
2 March 196318thManchester CityAL1–2Harris28,798
9 March 196320thWolverhampton WanderersHL3–4Auld, Lynn 2 18,219
16 March 196320thAston VillaAL0–440,400
23 March 196321stSheffield UnitedHL0–118,056
30 March 196320thSheffield WednesdayHD1–1Auld pen12,275
3 April 196319thBolton WanderersHD2–2Leek 213,200
6 April 196320thIpswich TownHL0–116,756
13 April 196321stNottingham ForestAW2–0Leek 215,556
15 April 196321stEvertonAD2–2Bloomfield, Leek50,122
16 April 196321stEvertonHL0–129,719
20 April 196321stBlackpoolHL3–6Bloomfield, Leek, Auld15,396
24 April 196321stBolton WanderersAD0–012,949
27 April 196321stBlackburn RoversAL1–6Auld9,482
1 May 196320thWest Ham UnitedHW3–2Harris, Auld, Hennessey14,410
4 May 196320thFulhamAD3–3Harris, Hellawell, Auld20,179
8 May 196320thLiverpoolAL1–5Leek23,684
10 May 196320thManchester UnitedHW2–1Bloomfield 221,855
14 May 196320thBurnleyAL1–3Bloomfield14,350
18 May 196320thLeicester CityHW3–2Harris, Auld, Lynn pen23,971

League table (part)

FA Cup

Because of the severe winter weather – the so-called "Big Freeze of 1963" – Birmingham played no matches for ten weeks, between 22 December and 2 March. Their opening third-round FA Cup-tie against Bury was postponed 14 times and abandoned once before finally being played two months after the originally scheduled date.
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
Third round5 March 1963BuryHD3–3Leek, Harris, Lynn pen37,913
Third round replay7 March 1963BuryAL0–216,525

League Cup

The first leg of the final, against Birmingham's near neighbours Aston Villa, was played on 23 May at St Andrew's. Birmingham took the lead when Jimmy Harris fed Bertie Auld who crossed for Ken Leek's powerful shot, but Aston Villa equalised via Bobby Thomson. Seven minutes into the second half, the same combination of players made it 2–1, and after 66 minutes Jimmy Bloomfield "ended an excellent run by scoring from a narrow angle, earning even the applause of Villa players" to give Birmingham a 3–1 lead. The second leg, four days later at Villa Park, was goalless. Former England centre half Trevor Smith marked Thomson out of the game, Birmingham's defensive tactics included repeatedly kicking the ball out for throw-ins, and Aston Villa were unable to break their opponents down.
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
Second round26 September 1962Doncaster RoversHW5–0Leek 2, Bloomfield, Harris, Auld11,384
Third round15 October 1962BarrowAD1–1Wolstenholme6,289
Third round replay29 October 1962BarrowHW5–1Harris, Stubbs, Leek, Arrowsmith og11,765
Fourth round14 November 1962Notts CountyHW3–2Lynn pen, Harris, Auld13,187
Fifth round11 December 1962Manchester CityHW6–0Lynn 2, Leek, Auld, Leivers og, Sear og18,012
Semi-final 1st leg27 March 1963BuryHW3–2Bullock, Leek, Auld11,293
Semi-final 2nd leg8 April 1963BuryAD1–1Leek9,177
Final 1st leg23 May 1963Aston VillaHW3–1Leek 2, Bloomfield31,902
Final 2nd leg27 May 1963Aston VillaAD0–037,949

Appearances and goals