1963–64 Birmingham City F.C. season


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.
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

DateLeague
position		OpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
24 August 19635thBolton WanderersHW2–1Lynn pen, Hellawell24,817
28 August 196316thLeicester CityAL0–127,694
31 August 196318thFulhamAL1–2Lynn pen21,260
4 September 196311thLeicester CityHW2–0Leek, Hellawell23,851
7 September 196315thManchester UnitedHD1–1Harley36,874
11 September 196317thWest Bromwich AlbionHL0–134,666
14 September 196317thBurnleyAL1–2Harris20,350
18 September 196318thWest Bromwich AlbionAL1–3Harris29,662
21 September 196316thIpswich TownHW1–0Beard19,095
28 September 196318thSheffield WednesdayAL1–2Thomson18,233
2 October 196319thTottenham HotspurAL1–6Auld37,649
5 October 196320thEvertonHL0–223,593
19 October 196320thSheffield UnitedAL0–318,974
26 October 196320thWolverhampton WanderersHD2–2Harley, Woodfield og24,843
2 November 196320thChelseaAW3–2Harley, P. Bullock, Auld22,974
5 November 196320thArsenalAL1–4Bloomfield23,499
9 November 196320thBlackpoolHW3–2Bloomfield, Auld, Lynn17,536
16 November 196320thBlackburn RoversAL0–314,813
23 November 196320thNottingham ForestHD3–3Auld 2, Smith18,161
30 November 196320thStoke CityAL1–4Auld27,260
7 December 196320thWest Ham UnitedHW2–1Auld, Lynn pen15,483
14 December 196320thBolton WanderersAW2–0Leek, Hellawell9,663
21 December 196319thFulhamHD0–013,915
28 December 196319thArsenalHL1–4Harley23,377
11 January 196418thManchester UnitedAW2–1M. Bullock, Harley44,919
18 January 196418thBurnleyHD0–015,917
1 February 196419thIpswich TownAL2–3Regan, Farmer13,349
8 February 196419thSheffield WednesdayHL1–2Harley15,479
18 February 196420thEvertonAL0–136,252
22 February 196420thLiverpoolAL1–2Leek41,823
29 February 196420thTottenham HotspurHL1–2Thomson28,433
7 March 196420thWolverhampton WanderersAL1–5Harley16,421
13 March 196420thBlackburn RoversHD2–2Leek, Auld15,809
20 March 196420thBlackpoolAL0–310,203
28 March 196420thChelseaHL3–4Thwaites 2, Auld14,485
30 March 196420thAston VillaAW3–0Harris, Hellawell, Lynn pen25,797
31 March 196420thAston VillaHD3–3Bloomfield, Leek, Lynn pen28,069
4 April 196420thNottingham ForestAL0–413,897
11 April 196421stStoke CityHL0–119,914
17 April 196421stWest Ham UnitedAL0–522,106
22 April 196421stLiverpoolHW3–1Leek, Hellawell, Lynn pen22,630
25 April 196420thSheffield UnitedHW3–0Auld, Smith, Lynn pen26,202

League table (part)

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
Third round4 March 1964Port ValeHL1–2Beard21,615

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
Second round25 September 1963Norwich CityAL0–216,781

Appearances and goals