1959–60 Birmingham City F.C. season


The 1959–60 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 57th in the Football League and their 33rd in the First Division. They finished in 19th position in the 22-team division. They lost their opening third-round 1959–60 FA Cup-tie to Watford. In the 1958–60 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham reached the final, in which they lost 4–1 on aggregate to Barcelona.
Twenty-two players made at least one appearance in senior first-team competition, and there were fifteen different goalscorers. Half backs Trevor Smith and Johnny Watts played in 46 of the 47 first-team matches over the season, and Johnny Gordon finished as leading goalscorer with 19 goals in all competitions, of which 16 were scored in the league.
Pat Beasley resigned as manager at the end of May 1960, to be replaced by club appearance record-holder Gil Merrick following his retirement as a player.

Football League First Division

DateLeague
position		OpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
22 August 195919thWolverhampton WanderersHL0–141,248
26 August 195910thNewcastle UnitedHW4–3Stubbs, Gordon, Orritt, Hooper pen26,986
29 August 195912thTottenham HotspurAD0–045,243
2 September 195916thNewcastle UnitedAL0–135,395
5 September 195916thManchester UnitedHD1–1Watts38,242
9 September 195916thChelseaHD1–1Larkin28,132
12 September 195919thPreston North EndAL2–3Stubbs, Neal18,934
16 September 195921stChelseaAL2–4Hooper pen, Scott og31,651
19 September 195922ndLeicester CityHL3–4Hooper 2, Smith24,950
26 September 195922ndBurnleyAL1–3Orritt23,848
3 October 195921stLeeds UnitedHW2–0Barrett, Taylor25,301
10 October 195921stSheffield WednesdayHD0–021,769
17 October 195918thNottingham ForestAW2–0Stubbs, Gordon24,904
24 October 195919thFulhamHL2–4Gordon 226,691
31 October 195921stArsenalAL0–334,430
7 November 195921stLuton TownHD1–1Barrett19,007
14 November 195921stEvertonAL0–419,172
21 November 195919thBlackpoolHW2–1Larkin, Hooper24,783
28 November 195919thBlackburn RoversAL1–2Barrett20,549
5 December 195919thManchester CityHW4–2Gordon 2, Barrett, Hooper18,661
12 December 195920thBolton WanderersAL1–4Hooper16,074
19 December 195921stWolverhampton WanderersAL0–222,363
26 December 195920thWest Ham UnitedHW2–0Astall, Hooper29,745
28 December 195921stWest Ham UnitedAL1–3Astall26,154
2 January 196021stTottenham HotspurHL0–127,558
16 January 196021stManchester UnitedAL1–2Larkin47,606
23 January 196021stPreston North EndHW2–1Larkin, Neal24,160
6 February 196021stLeicester CityAW3–1Weston, Hume, Hooper25,896
27 February 196021stManchester CityAL0–323,479
5 March 196020thNottingham ForestHW4–1Gordon 2, Neal, Hooper24,821
9 March 196020thLeeds UnitedAD3–3Neal, Hooper, McConnell og8,557
12 March 196020thFulhamAD2–2Gordon, Hooper25,208
19 March 196021stBolton WanderersHL2–5Weston, Gordon24,183
26 March 196021stLuton TownAD1–1Weston13,620
2 April 196020thEvertonHD2–2Gordon, Astall24,872
9 April 196020thBlackpoolAW1–0Gordon13,595
16 April 196020thArsenalHW3–0Murphy 2, Gordon27,201
18 April 196020thWest Bromwich AlbionHL1–7Gordon28,685
19 April 196020thWest Bromwich AlbionAD1–1Gordon37,894
23 April 196020thSheffield WednesdayAW4–2Murphy 2, Astall, Hooper25,310
27 April 196020thBurnleyHL0–137,032
30 April 196019thBlackburn RoversHW1–0Gordon24,476

League table (part)

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
Third round9 January 1960WatfordAL1–2Hooper31,548

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The early rounds of the 1958–60 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup were completed during Birmingham's 1958–59 season, leaving the semi-finals and final to be played this season. In the semi-final, Birmingham beat Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise 4–2 in each leg to reach the final, in which they played Barcelona, who had eliminated them at the semi-final stage in the previous edition of the competition.
The first leg of the final was played in "bitter, slanting rain" on a St Andrew's pitch that "almost from one goal to the other down the centre, was a series of little lakes". Birmingham played a "fast, open game" more suited to the conditions, while Barcelona's technical superiority was blunted both by the mud and by the "hard-tackling, grafting, bustling Birmingham defence, in which Smith and Neal in particular stood out like rocks long before the end". In the second half, Barcelona tired; El Mundo Deportivo noted that they had played a league match in Seville only 48 hours earlier and the players were not machines. The home side had three good chances: Ramallets dived at Hooper's feet, Weston ran the ball out of play when under no pressure, and a "sliding tackle from nowhere by Gensana turned away what looked like a certain goal", again for Weston.
The Times' correspondent's fears that Birmingham had missed their opportunity – "here was a setting that favoured Birmingham's particular style, and they did not win" – were realised in the second leg. In a one-sided match in front of a crowd of 75,000, Barcelona were two goals up after six minutes, and doubled their tally before Murphy broke down the left and sent a long pass towards Hooper, whose mobility helped him beat Ramallets to the ball and score with a header.
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
Semi-final 1st leg7 October 1959Union Saint-GilloiseAW4–2Hooper, Gordon, Barrett, Orritt20,000
Semi-final 2nd leg11 November 1959Union Saint-GilloiseHW4–2Gordon 2, Larkin, Hooper14,152
Final 1st leg29 March 1960BarcelonaHD0–040,524
Final 2nd leg4 May 1960BarcelonaAL1–4Hooper75,000

Appearances and goals