# 1952–53 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1952–53 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 50th in the Football League and their 22nd in the Second Division. They finished in sixth position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1952–53 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the sixth round (quarter-final) after two replays.
Twenty-seven players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were fifteen different goalscorers. Full-back Ken Green was ever-present through the 49-game season, and Peter Murphy was top scorer with 26 goals, of which 20 came in the league.

## Football League Second Division

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 23 August 1952 | 10th | Rotherham United | A | D | 1–1 | Purdon | 15,208 |
| 27 August 1952 | 7th | Luton Town | A | W | 1–0 | Briggs | 20,231 |
| 30 August 1952 | 13th | Fulham | H | L | 1–4 | Briggs | 29,577 |
| 3 September 1952 | 14th | Luton Town | H | D | 2–2 | Briggs, Murphy | 17,478 |
| 6 September 1952 | 9th | West Ham United | A | W | 2–1 | Higgins, Murphy | 23,903 |
| 10 September 1952 | 4th | Leeds United | A | W | 1–0 | Rowley | 14,133 |
| 13 September 1952 | 3rd | Leicester City | H | W | 3–1 | Briggs, Murphy, Rowley | 29,480 |
| 17 September 1952 | 3rd | Leeds United | H | D | 2–2 | Rowley 2 | 18,301 |
| 20 September 1952 | 5th | Notts County | A | L | 0–2 | | 24,538 |
| 27 September 1952 | 4th | Southampton | H | W | 2–0 | Rowley 2 | 21,818 |
| 4 October 1952 | 7th | Bury | A | L | 0–3 | | 16,096 |
| 11 October 1952 | 7th | Swansea Town | A | D | 1–1 | Purdon | 21,074 |
| 18 October 1952 | 9th | Huddersfield Town | H | L | 0–2 | | 27,484 |
| 25 October 1952 | 7th | Sheffield United | A | D | 2–2 | Murphy, Wardle | 28,345 |
| 1 November 1952 | 8th | Barnsley | H | W | 3–1 | Murphy, Rowley pen, Stewart | 19,927 |
| 8 November 1952 | 8th | Lincoln City | A | D | 1–1 | Trigg | 16,293 |
| 15 November 1952 | 8th | Hull City | H | W | 4–3 | Trigg pen, Murphy, Stewart, Cox | 17,529 |
| 22 November 1952 | 6th | Blackburn Rovers | A | W | 2–1 | Murphy 2 | 18,533 |
| 29 November 1952 | 7th | Nottingham Forest | H | L | 0–5 | | 17,794 |
| 6 December 1952 | 8th | Everton | A | D | 1–1 | Murphy | 23,858 |
| 13 December 1952 | 5th | Brentford | H | W | 3–1 | Trigg, Murphy 2 | 9,963 |
| 20 December 1952 | 4th | Rotherham United | H | W | 4–0 | Trigg pen, Purdon, Murphy, Wardle | 11,978 |
| 25 December 1952 | 3rd | Plymouth Argyle | H | W | 4–0 | Purdon, Murphy 2, Stewart | 31,660 |
| 27 December 1952 | 4th | Plymouth Argyle | A | L | 1–2 | Trigg pen | 25,266 |
| 3 January 1953 | 5th | Fulham | A | L | 1–3 | Purdon | 21,508 |
| 17 January 1953 | 5th | West Ham United | H | W | 2–0 | Trigg, Purdon | 21,733 |
| 24 January 1953 | 5th | Leicester City | A | W | 4–3 | Murphy 3, Trigg | 27,478 |
| 7 February 1953 | 4th | Notts County | H | W | 3–2 | Trigg 2 (2 pens), Murphy | 24,522 |
| 21 February 1953 | 5th | Bury | H | L | 0–2 | | 26,051 |
| 7 March 1953 | 7th | Huddersfield Town | A | D | 1–1 | Ferris | 28,636 |
| 11 March 1953 | 7th | Swansea Town | H | L | 1–4 | Purdon | 7,119 |
| 14 March 1953 | 9th | Sheffield United | H | L | 1–2 | Cox | 22,355 |
| 21 March 1953 | 6th | Barnsley | A | W | 3–1 | Badham, James 2 | 7,465 |
| 28 March 1953 | 8th | Lincoln City | H | D | 2–2 | Trigg pen, Stewart | 13,429 |
| 3 April 1953 | 8th | Doncaster Rovers | A | L | 0–1 | | 18,056 |
| 4 April 1953 | 8th | Hull City | A | L | 0–2 | | 23,483 |
| 6 April 1953 | 7th | Doncaster Rovers | H | W | 2–1 | Lane, Boyd | 12,065 |
| 11 April 1953 | 9th | Blackburn Rovers | H | L | 1–2 | Cox | 18,347 |
| 15 April 1953 | 9th | Southampton | A | D | 1–1 | Warhurst | 18,387 |
| 18 April 1953 | 8th | Nottingham Forest | A | W | 2–0 | Lane, Boyd | 16,353 |
| 25 April 1953 | 6th | Everton | H | W | 4–2 | Boyd 2, Murphy, Stewart | 17,083 |
| 1 May 1953 | 6th | Brentford | A | W | 2–1 | Lane, Murphy | 8,565 |

### League table (part)

Final Second Division table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
| 4th | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 65 | 60 | 1.08 | 49 |
| 5th | Leicester City | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 89 | 74 | 1.20 | 48 |
| 6th | Birmingham City | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 71 | 66 | 1.08 | 48 |
| 7th | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 77 | 67 | 1.15 | 44 |
| 8th | Fulham | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 81 | 71 | 1.14 | 44 |
| 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 | 14 January 1953 | Oldham Athletic | A | W | 3–1 | Murphy 3 | 26,580 |
| Fourth round | 31 January 1953 | Sheffield United | A | D | 1–1 | Purdon | 43,104 |
| Fourth round replay | 4 February 1953 | Sheffield United | H | W | 3–1 | Murphy 2, Wardle | 29,554 |
| Fifth round | 14 February 1953 | Chelsea | A | W | 4–0 | Purdon 2, Trigg, Murphy | 45,872 |
| Sixth round | 28 February 1953 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | D | 1–1 | Wardle | 52,348 |
| Sixth round replay | 4 March 1953 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | D | 2–2 aet | Ferris, Boyd | 59,543 |
| Sixth round 2nd replay | 9 March 1953 | Tottenham Hotspur | Molineux, Wolverhampton | L | 0–1 | | 50,801 |

## 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 | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | ENG | Gil Merrick | 35 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Johnny Schofield | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Ken Green | 42 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 49 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Jeff Hall | 16 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| FB | SCO | Roy Martin | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Arthur Atkins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Jack Badham | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| HB | ENG | Keith Bannister | 14 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Len Boyd | 40 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 47 | 5 |
| HB | NIR | Ray Ferris | 23 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 30 | 2 |
| HB | ENG | Johnny Newman | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Roy Warhurst | 31 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 37 | 1 |
| HB | ENG | Johnny Watts | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Tommy Briggs † | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 |
| FW | ENG | Jimmy Cochrane | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Geoff Cox | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 3 |
| FW | IRL | Jim Higgins | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| FW | ENG | John James | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| FW | ENG | Jackie Lane | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| FW | ENG | John Metcalfe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Peter Murphy | 34 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 38 | 26 |
| FW | ZAF | Ted Purdon | 22 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 28 | 10 |
| FW | ENG | Ken Rowley | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 7 |
| FW | ENG | Bill Smith † | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | SCO | Jackie Stewart | 33 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 5 |
| FW | ENG | Cyril Trigg | 19 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 11 |
| FW | ENG | Billy Wardle | 25 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 31 | 4 |