# 1908–09 Birmingham F.C. season

The 1908–09 Football League season was Birmingham Football Club's 17th in the Football League and their 9th in the Second Division, to which they were relegated at the end of the 1907–08 season. They began the season well, not dropping out of the top two until December, but gradually fell away until finishing in 11th position in the 20-team division. They also took part in the 1909–10 FA Cup, entering at the first round proper and losing in that round to Portsmouth.
Alex Watson succeeded Alf Jones as secretary-manager at the start of the season. Jones began acting as unpaid secretary for Small Heath Alliance in 1885, the year the club turned professional, became their first paid secretary with responsibility for team matters in 1892, when the club first joined the Football League, and had held the post of secretary-manager ever since.
Twenty-nine players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were fifteen different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Jack Dorrington played in 35 of the 39 matches over the season; full-back Billy Beer played one fewer. Beer and Frederick Chapple were joint leading scorers with 8 goals; all of Beer's goals were scored in the league. In September, a 19-year-old called Frank Womack made his Football League debut. He went on to play 515 times for Birmingham in senior competition, 491 in the league, but never scored a goal.
In October, Walter Corbett, who had made his debut for the England senior team earlier in the year, was a member of the gold medal-winning Great Britain Olympic football team at the London Olympics.

## Football League Second Division

Note that not all clubs finished their playing season on the same date. Birmingham were in 10th place in the division after their final game, on 24 April, but by the time the fixtures were all complete, on 30 April, they had been overtaken by Gainsborough Trinity and finished 11th.
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 2 September 1908 | 1st | Bolton Wanderers | H | W | 2–0 | Eyre 2 | 8,000 |
| 5 September 1908 | 2nd | Gainsborough Trinity | A | W | 3–1 | Eyre 2, W.H. Jones | 5,000 |
| 7 September 1908 | 1st | Bradford Park Avenue | H | W | 3–1 | Smith, Fairman, W.H. Jones | 10,000 |
| 12 September 1908 | 1st | Grimsby Town | H | W | 3–1 | Jones, Green pen, Smith | 15,000 |
| 19 September 1908 | 1st | Fulham | A | D | 1–1 | Green | 38,000 |
| 26 September 1908 | 1st | Burnley | H | W | 2–0 | Fairman, W.H. Jones | 20,000 |
| 6 October 1908 | 1st | Bradford Park Avenue | A | W | 2–1 | Beer, Baddeley og | 8,000 |
| 10 October 1908 | 1st | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | D | 1–1 | Smith | 20,000 |
| 17 October 1908 | 1st | Oldham Athletic | A | L | 0–2 | | 14,000 |
| 24 October 1908 | 1st | Clapton Orient | H | W | 1–0 | Williams | 10,000 |
| 31 October 1908 | 1st | Leeds City | A | L | 0–2 | | 15,000 |
| 7 November 1908 | 2nd | Barnsley | H | W | 2–1 | Green, W.H. Jones | 10,000 |
| 14 November 1908 | 2nd | Tottenham Hotspur | A | L | 0–4 | | 20,000 |
| 21 November 1908 | 2nd | Hull City | H | L | 1–2 | Beer | 5,000 |
| 28 November 1908 | 2nd | Derby County | A | W | 2–1 | Moore, Mounteney | 10,000 |
| 5 December 1908 | 3rd | Blackpool | H | D | 2–2 | Chapple, Smith | 7,000 |
| 12 December 1908 | 5th | Chesterfield Town | A | L | 2–4 | Mounteney, Anderson | 5,000 |
| 19 December 1908 | 6th | Glossop | H | L | 1–2 | Smith | 5,000 |
| 25 December 1908 | 4th | Stockport County | H | W | 4–2 | Chapple 4 | 10,000 |
| 26 December 1908 | 5th | West Bromwich Albion | A | D | 1–1 | King | 38,049 |
| 28 December 1908 | 5th | West Bromwich Albion | H | D | 0–0 | | 30,035 |
| 1 January 1909 | 5th | Bolton Wanderers | A | L | 1–2 | Beer | 23,000 |
| 2 January 1909 | 5th | Gainsborough Trinity | H | D | 2–2 | King, Beer | 10,000 |
| 9 January 1909 | 5th | Grimsby Town | A | W | 3–0 | Williams, Chapple | 5,000 |
| 23 January 1909 | 5th | Fulham | H | L | 1–3 | Beer | 9,000 |
| 30 January 1909 | 5th | Burnley | A | D | 1–1 | Beer | 7,000 |
| 13 February 1909 | 6th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 0–2 | | 10,000 |
| 20 February 1909 | 5th | Oldham Athletic | H | W | 2–0 | Beer 2 | 12,000 |
| 27 February 1909 | 6th | Clapton Orient | A | L | 2–3 | King, Bumphrey | 7,000 |
| 13 March 1909 | 8th | Barnsley | A | L | 1–3 | King | 4,000 |
| 20 March 1909 | 7th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | D | 3–3 | King, Mounteney, Daykin | 8,000 |
| 27 March 1909 | 7th | Hull City | A | L | 1–4 | Bumphrey | 8,000 |
| 3 April 1909 | 8th | Derby County | H | D | 1–1 | King | 4,000 |
| 9 April 1909 | 8th | Stockport County | A | L | 2–3 | Chapple, Lowe | 7,000 |
| 10 April 1909 | 10th | Blackpool | A | L | 0–2 | | 3,000 |
| 12 April 1909 | 9th | Leeds City | H | W | 1–0 | Bumphrey | 3,000 |
| 17 April 1909 | 8th | Chesterfield Town | H | W | 3–0 | Mounteney 3 | 1,500 |
| 24 April 1909 | 10th | Glossop | A | L | 1–2 | Mounteney | 500 |

### League table (part)

Final Second Division table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
| 9th | Gainsborough Trinity | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 49 | 70 | 0.70 | 38 |
| 10th | Fulham | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 58 | 48 | 1.21 | 37 |
| 11th | Birmingham | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 58 | 61 | 0.95 | 37 |
| 12th | Leeds City | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 43 | 53 | 0.81 | 35 |
| 13th | Grimsby Town | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 41 | 54 | 0.76 | 35 |
| 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 |
| First round | 16 January 1909 | Portsmouth | H | L | 2–5 | Chapple pen, King | 18,813 |

## Appearances and goals

    This table includes appearances and goals in nationally organised competitive matches – the Football League and FA Cup – only.
    For a description of the playing positions, see Formation (association football)#2–3–5 (Pyramid).
    Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
Players' appearances and goals by competition :
| Name | Position | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Name | Position | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Arthur Box | Goalkeeper | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Jack Dorrington | Goalkeeper | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Walter Corbett | Full back | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| John Kearns † | Full back | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| Frank Stokes | Full back | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Frank Womack | Full back | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Billy Beer | Half back | 33 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 8 |
| Thomas Daykin | Half back | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| Bob Fairman | Half back | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| Albert Gardner | Half back | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tom Handley | Half back | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Walter Wigmore | Half back | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| George Anderson | Forward | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| James Bumphrey | Forward | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| Frederick Chapple | Forward | 19 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 8 |
| Edmund Eyre † | Forward | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
| Benny Green | Forward | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| Wilf Haines | Forward | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Billy Jones | Forward | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5 |
| Charles Jones | Forward | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Frederick Kerns | Forward | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Harry King | Forward | 19 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 7 |
| Bernard Lowe | Forward | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| George Moore | Forward | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Arthur Mounteney | Forward | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 7 |
| Billy Smith | Forward | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 5 |
| George Travers | Forward | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Wilcox | Forward | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| James Williams † | Forward | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |