# 1958–59 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1958–59 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 56th in the Football League and their 32nd in the First Division. After spending the first half of the season towards the bottom of the division, they finished in 9th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1958–59 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Nottingham Forest in the fifth round after two replays. In the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham progressed through two rounds to reach the semi-final, which was not played until the 1959–60 season.
Towards the end of the season, Birmingham and England full-back Jeff Hall contracted polio and died, only 14 days after the last match in which he played. The death of a young, fit, international footballer helped to kick-start widespread public acceptance in Britain of the need for vaccination. Though the disease was generally feared and the Salk vaccine was available, takeup had been slow. In the weeks following Hall's death, and after his widow spoke on television about her loss, demand for immunisation rocketed. Emergency vaccination clinics had to be set up and supplies of vaccine flown in from the United States to cope with the demand.
In January 1958, Pat Beasley joined the club. Beasley had believed he was coming as assistant to manager Arthur Turner, but chairman Harry Morris announced to the press that he was to be appointed joint manager. Turner, who found about this arrangement not from the club but from the press, threatened to resign. He was persuaded to stay "for the time being", but finally left in September 1958, and Beasley took over as manager. Twenty-four players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. Half backs Dick Neal and Johnny Watts played in 49 and 48 of the 52 first-team matches over the season, and Bunny Larkin finished as leading goalscorer with 23 goals in all competitions, of which 18 were scored in the league.

## Football League First Division

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 23 August 1958 | 10th | Aston Villa | A | D | 1–1 | Murphy | 55,198 |
| 27 August 1958 | 11th | West Bromwich Albion | A | D | 2–2 | Brown, Houghton | 46,468 |
| 30 August 1958 | 14th | Luton Town | H | L | 0–1 | | 31,943 |
| 3 September 1958 | 21st | West Bromwich Albion | H | L | 0–6 | | 35,983 |
| 6 September 1958 | 21st | Bolton Wanderers | A | L | 0–2 | | 24,707 |
| 10 September 1958 | 21st | Leeds United | H | D | 0–0 | | 25,228 |
| 13 September 1958 | 19th | Burnley | H | W | 2–1 | Brown, Murphy | 23,926 |
| 17 September 1958 | 16th | Leeds United | A | W | 4–1 | Brown 4 | 24,068 |
| 20 September 1958 | 18th | Preston North End | A | L | 0–3 | | 24,257 |
| 27 September 1958 | 14th | Leicester City | H | W | 4–2 | Gordon, Murphy, Hooper, Astall | 33,323 |
| 4 October 1958 | 18th | Everton | A | L | 1–3 | Murphy | 39,408 |
| 11 October 1958 | 17th | West Ham United | A | W | 2–1 | Hooper, Neal | 29,139 |
| 18 October 1958 | 17th | Nottingham Forest | H | L | 0–3 | | 31,610 |
| 25 October 1958 | 19th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 1–3 | Astall | 36,156 |
| 1 November 1958 | 20th | Portsmouth | H | W | 2–2 | Brown, Taylor | 23,723 |
| 8 November 1958 | 19th | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 2–3 | Brown, Larkin | 28,806 |
| 15 November 1958 | 19th | Newcastle United | H | W | 1–0 | Larkin | 28,752 |
| 22 November 1958 | 17th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | W | 4–0 | Larkin 2, Hooper, Taylor | 28,708 |
| 29 November 1958 | 19th | Manchester United | H | L | 0–4 | | 28,658 |
| 6 December 1958 | 20th | Chelsea | A | L | 0–1 | | 27,773 |
| 13 December 1958 | 18th | Blackpool | H | W | 4–2 | Jackson, Gordon, Larkin, Astall | 17,241 |
| 20 December 1958 | 15th | Aston Villa | H | W | 4–1 | Jackson 2, Astall, Neal | 31,857 |
| 26 December 1958 | 15th | Manchester City | H | W | 6–1 | Jackson 2, Gordon, Larkin, Taylor | 34,290 |
| 27 December 1958 | 16th | Manchester City | A | L | 1–4 | Jackson | 29,276 |
| 3 January 1959 | 13th | Luton Town | A | W | 1–0 | Neal | 15,538 |
| 31 January 1959 | 12th | Burnley | A | W | 1–0 | Gordon | 22,101 |
| 7 February 1959 | 11th | Preston North End | H | W | 5–1 | Orritt, Gordon, Larkin, Taylor | 21,233 |
| 21 February 1959 | 10th | Everton | H | W | 2–1 | Larkin, Hooper | 22,660 |
| 28 February 1959 | 8th | West Ham United | H | W | 3–0 | Larkin, Neal | 19,910 |
| 7 March 1959 | 8th | Nottingham Forest | A | W | 7–1 | Stubbs 2, Gordon, Astall 2, Hooper, Watts | 18,977 |
| 14 March 1959 | 8th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | L | 0–3 | | 37,725 |
| 18 March 1959 | 6th | Leicester City | A | W | 4–2 | Stubbs 3, Gordon | 15,413 |
| 21 March 1959 | 6th | Portsmouth | A | D | 1–1 | Larkin | 18,170 |
| 8 April 1959 | 10th | Bolton Wanderers | H | L | 1–3 | Stubbs | 24,608 |
| 11 April 1959 | 10th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | W | 5–1 | Stubbs, Gordon, Larkin, Hooper pen, Baker og | 20,557 |
| 14 April 1959 | 9th | Arsenal | H | W | 4–1 | Stubbs, Larkin 2, Astall | 25,792 |
| 18 April 1959 | 10th | Manchester United | A | L | 0–1 | | 43,006 |
| 20 April 1959 | 10th | Blackpool | A | L | 0–2 | | 12,260 |
| 22 April 1959 | 10th | Blackburn Rovers | H | W | 3–0 | Larkin 2, Taylor | 22,958 |
| 25 April 1959 | 9th | Chelsea | H | W | 4–1 | Gordon 2, Hooper, Taylor | 19,580 |
| 29 April 1959 | 9th | Newcastle United | A | D | 1–1 | Hooper | 19,776 |
| 4 May 1959 | 9th | Arsenal | A | L | 1–2 | Stubbs | 25,953 |

### League table (part)

Final First Division table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
| 7th | Burnley | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 81 | 70 | 1.16 | 48 |
| 8th | Blackpool | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 66 | 49 | 1.35 | 47 |
| 9th | Birmingham City | 42 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 84 | 68 | 1.24 | 46 |
| 10th | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 76 | 70 | 1.09 | 44 |
| 11th | Newcastle United | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 80 | 80 | 1.00 | 41 |
| Key | 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 = Points | 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 = Points | 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 = Points | 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 = Points | 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 = Points | 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 = Points | 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 = Points | 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 = Points | 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 = Points |
| Source | | | | | | | | | |

## FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 25 January 1959 | Middlesbrough | A | W | 1–0 | Harris og | 36,587 |
| Fourth round | 28 January 1959 | Fulham | H | D | 1–1 | Jackson | 42,677 |
| Fourth round replay | 4 February 1959 | Fulham | A | W | 3–2 | Hooper 2, Larkin | 27,521 |
| Fifth round | 14 February 1959 | Nottingham Forest | H | D | 1–1 | Astall | 55,300 |
| Fifth round replay | 18 February 1959 | Nottingham Forest | A | D | 1–1 | Gordon | 39,431 |
| Fifth round 2nd replay | 23 February 1959 | Nottingham Forest | Filbert Street, Leicester | L | 0–5 | | 34,458 |

## Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round 1st leg | 14 October 1958 | Cologne XI | A | D | 2–2 | Neal, Hooper | 12,000 |
| First round 2nd leg | 11 November 1958 | Cologne | H | W | 2–0 | Larkin, Taylor | 20,266 |
| Second round 1st leg | 6 May 1959 | Zagreb XI | H | W | 1–0 | Larkin | 21,411 |
| Second round 2nd leg | 24 May 1959 | Zagreb XI | A | D | 3–3 | Larkin 2, Hooper | 50,000 |

## 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 competition :
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Fairs Cup | Fairs Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | ENG | Gil Merrick | 34 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Johnny Schofield | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | George Allen | 27 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Brian Farmer | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Ken Green | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Jeff Hall | 29 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| HB | SCO | Billy Hume | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Dick Neal | 39 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 49 | 5 |
| HB | ENG | Graham Sissons | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Trevor Smith | 27 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Johnny Watts | 38 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 48 | 1 |
| FW | ENG | Gordon Astall | 26 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 9 |
| FW | ENG | Eddy Brown † | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 8 |
| FW | ENG | Johnny Gordon | 33 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 11 |
| FW | ENG | Mike Hellawell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Harry Hooper | 34 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 42 | 12 |
| FW | ENG | Bud Houghton † | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| FW | SCO | Alex Jackson † | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 |
| FW | ENG | David Jones | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Bunny Larkin | 31 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 40 | 23 |
| FW | ENG | Peter Murphy | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| FW | WAL | Bryan Orritt | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| FW | ENG | Robin Stubbs | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 9 |
| FW | ENG | Brian Taylor | 26 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 6 |