# 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, as of 2012, 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

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 24 August 1963 | 5th | Bolton Wanderers | H | W | 2–1 | Lynn pen, Hellawell | 24,817 |
| 28 August 1963 | 16th | Leicester City | A | L | 0–1 | | 27,694 |
| 31 August 1963 | 18th | Fulham | A | L | 1–2 | Lynn pen | 21,260 |
| 4 September 1963 | 11th | Leicester City | H | W | 2–0 | Leek, Hellawell | 23,851 |
| 7 September 1963 | 15th | Manchester United | H | D | 1–1 | Harley | 36,874 |
| 11 September 1963 | 17th | West Bromwich Albion | H | L | 0–1 | | 34,666 |
| 14 September 1963 | 17th | Burnley | A | L | 1–2 | Harris | 20,350 |
| 18 September 1963 | 18th | West Bromwich Albion | A | L | 1–3 | Harris | 29,662 |
| 21 September 1963 | 16th | Ipswich Town | H | W | 1–0 | Beard | 19,095 |
| 28 September 1963 | 18th | Sheffield Wednesday | A | L | 1–2 | Thomson | 18,233 |
| 2 October 1963 | 19th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | L | 1–6 | Auld | 37,649 |
| 5 October 1963 | 20th | Everton | H | L | 0–2 | | 23,593 |
| 19 October 1963 | 20th | Sheffield United | A | L | 0–3 | | 18,974 |
| 26 October 1963 | 20th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | D | 2–2 | Harley, Woodfield og | 24,843 |
| 2 November 1963 | 20th | Chelsea | A | W | 3–2 | Harley, P. Bullock, Auld | 22,974 |
| 5 November 1963 | 20th | Arsenal | A | L | 1–4 | Bloomfield | 23,499 |
| 9 November 1963 | 20th | Blackpool | H | W | 3–2 | Bloomfield, Auld, Lynn | 17,536 |
| 16 November 1963 | 20th | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 0–3 | | 14,813 |
| 23 November 1963 | 20th | Nottingham Forest | H | D | 3–3 | Auld 2, Smith | 18,161 |
| 30 November 1963 | 20th | Stoke City | A | L | 1–4 | Auld | 27,260 |
| 7 December 1963 | 20th | West Ham United | H | W | 2–1 | Auld, Lynn pen | 15,483 |
| 14 December 1963 | 20th | Bolton Wanderers | A | W | 2–0 | Leek, Hellawell | 9,663 |
| 21 December 1963 | 19th | Fulham | H | D | 0–0 | | 13,915 |
| 28 December 1963 | 19th | Arsenal | H | L | 1–4 | Harley | 23,377 |
| 11 January 1964 | 18th | Manchester United | A | W | 2–1 | M. Bullock, Harley | 44,919 |
| 18 January 1964 | 18th | Burnley | H | D | 0–0 | | 15,917 |
| 1 February 1964 | 19th | Ipswich Town | A | L | 2–3 | Regan, Farmer | 13,349 |
| 8 February 1964 | 19th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | L | 1–2 | Harley | 15,479 |
| 18 February 1964 | 20th | Everton | A | L | 0–1 | | 36,252 |
| 22 February 1964 | 20th | Liverpool | A | L | 1–2 | Leek | 41,823 |
| 29 February 1964 | 20th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | L | 1–2 | Thomson | 28,433 |
| 7 March 1964 | 20th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 1–5 | Harley | 16,421 |
| 13 March 1964 | 20th | Blackburn Rovers | H | D | 2–2 | Leek, Auld | 15,809 |
| 20 March 1964 | 20th | Blackpool | A | L | 0–3 | | 10,203 |
| 28 March 1964 | 20th | Chelsea | H | L | 3–4 | Thwaites 2, Auld | 14,485 |
| 30 March 1964 | 20th | Aston Villa | A | W | 3–0 | Harris, Hellawell, Lynn pen | 25,797 |
| 31 March 1964 | 20th | Aston Villa | H | D | 3–3 | Bloomfield, Leek, Lynn pen | 28,069 |
| 4 April 1964 | 20th | Nottingham Forest | A | L | 0–4 | | 13,897 |
| 11 April 1964 | 21st | Stoke City | H | L | 0–1 | | 19,914 |
| 17 April 1964 | 21st | West Ham United | A | L | 0–5 | | 22,106 |
| 22 April 1964 | 21st | Liverpool | H | W | 3–1 | Leek, Hellawell, Lynn pen | 22,630 |
| 25 April 1964 | 20th | Sheffield United | H | W | 3–0 | Auld, Smith, Lynn pen | 26,202 |

### League table (part)

Final First Division table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
| 18th | Blackpool | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 52 | 73 | 0.71 | 35 |
| 19th | Aston Villa | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 62 | 71 | 0.87 | 34 |
| 20th | Birmingham City | 42 | 11 | 7 | 24 | 54 | 92 | 0.59 | 29 |
| 21st | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 48 | 80 | 0.60 | 28 |
| 22nd | Ipswich Town | 42 | 9 | 7 | 26 | 56 | 121 | 0.46 | 25 |
| 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 | 4 March 1964 | Port Vale | H | L | 1–2 | Beard | 21,615 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Second round | 25 September 1963 | Norwich City | A | L | 0–2 | | 16,781 |

## 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 | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | ENG | Johnny Schofield | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Colin Withers | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| FB | WAL | Colin Green | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Stan Lynn | 33 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 8 |
| FB | ENG | Ray Martin | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Brian Rushton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Malcolm Beard | 36 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 2 |
| HB | ENG | Mick Farmer | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| HB | ENG | Winston Foster | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| HB | WAL | Terry Hennessey | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Trevor Smith | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 2 |
| FW | ENG | Geoff Anderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | SCO | Bertie Auld | 34 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 10 |
| FW | ENG | Jimmy Bloomfield | 34 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 |
| FW | ENG | Mickey Bullock | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| FW | ENG | Peter Bullock | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| FW | ENG | Greg Farrell † | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | SCO | Alex Harley | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 7 |
| FW | ENG | Jimmy Harris | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| FW | ENG | Mike Hellawell | 39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 5 |
| FW | WAL | Ken Leek | 26 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 6 |
| FW | ENG | John Regan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| FW | SCO | Bobby Thomson | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| FW | ENG | Denis Thwaites | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| FW | ENG | Johnny Vincent | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
* 1 2 General source mistakenly includes Hellawell rather than Farrell in the team for the match against Everton in October.