# 1957–58 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1957–58 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 55th in the Football League and their 31st in the First Division. They finished in 13th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1957–58 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost in that round to York City. In the inaugural edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham lost in the semi-final in a play-off, having drawn on aggregate score with Barcelona.
In February 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 early in the 1958–59 season.
Twenty-four players made at least one appearance in nationally or internationally organised first-team competition, and there were twelve different goalscorers. Half back Dick Neal played in 44 of the 46 first-team matches over the season, and Peter Murphy finished as leading goalscorer with 23 goals in all competitions, of which 20 were scored in the league.

## Football League First Division

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 24 August 1957 | 6th | Aston Villa | H | W | 3–1 | Brown, Kinsey, Murphy | 50,780 |
| 28 August 1957 | 5th | Nottingham Forest | A | D | 1–1 | Brown | 29,705 |
| 31 August 1957 | 11th | Chelsea | A | L | 1–5 | Brown | 43,806 |
| 4 September 1957 | 15th | Nottingham Forest | H | L | 0–2 | | 26,852 |
| 7 September 1957 | 18th | Newcastle United | H | L | 1–4 | Hellawell | 29,784 |
| 11 September 1957 | 19th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | D | 0–0 | | 26,485 |
| 14 September 1957 | 21st | Burnley | A | L | 1–3 | Neal | 20,522 |
| 18 September 1957 | 22nd | Tottenham Hotspur | A | L | 1–7 | Brown | 35,292 |
| 21 September 1957 | 20th | Preston North End | H | W | 3–1 | Neale, Murphy, Govan pen | 24,894 |
| 28 September 1957 | 21st | Sheffield Wednesday | A | L | 3–5 | Orritt 2, Murphy | 20,129 |
| 1 October 1957 | 21st | West Bromwich Albion | A | D | 0–0 | | 39,738 |
| 5 October 1957 | 15th | Manchester City | H | W | 4–0 | Murphy 3, Brown | 28,059 |
| 12 October 1957 | 17th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | L | 1–5 | Astall | 43,005 |
| 19 October 1957 | 15th | Arsenal | A | W | 3–1 | Orritt, Neal 2 | 39,031 |
| 26 October 1957 | 14th | Bolton Wanderers | H | W | 5–1 | Brown 2, Orritt, Murphy, Watts | 26,225 |
| 2 November 1957 | 15th | Luton Town | A | L | 0–3 | | 17,316 |
| 9 November 1957 | 16th | Sunderland | H | L | 2–3 | Murphy, Govan | 25,315 |
| 16 November 1957 | 15th | Everton | A | W | 2–0 | Murphy 2 | 34,875 |
| 23 November 1957 | 15th | Blackpool | H | D | 0–0 | | 32,178 |
| 30 November 1957 | 15th | Leeds United | A | D | 1–1 | Orritt | 21,358 |
| 7 December 1957 | 15th | Manchester United | H | D | 3–3 | Kinsey, Murphy, Astall | 35,191 |
| 14 December 1957 | 15th | Leicester City | A | D | 2–2 | Kinsey, Astall | 28,680 |
| 21 December 1957 | 15th | Aston Villa | A | W | 2–0 | Brown, Kinsey | 41,118 |
| 26 December 1957 | 15th | West Bromwich Albion | H | L | 3–5 | Brown, Hooper pen, Neal | 48,396 |
| 28 December 1957 | 15th | Chelsea | H | D | 3–3 | Brown, Murphy 2 | 37,436 |
| 11 January 1958 | 15th | Newcastle United | A | W | 2–1 | Brown, Kinsey | 34,825 |
| 18 January 1958 | 15th | Burnley | H | L | 2–3 | Murphy, Hooper | 22,281 |
| 1 February 1958 | 15th | Preston North End | A | L | 0–8 | | 21,511 |
| 22 February 1958 | 17th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 1–5 | Murphy | 36,941 |
| 1 March 1958 | 15th | Arsenal | H | W | 4–1 | Brown 2, Murphy, Hooper | 26,834 |
| 5 March 1958 | 15th | Manchester City | A | D | 1–1 | Murphy | 30,655 |
| 8 March 1958 | 16th | Bolton Wanderers | A | L | 0–1 | | 18,309 |
| 12 March 1958 | 15th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | W | 1–0 | Orritt | 15,937 |
| 15 March 1958 | 15th | Luton Town | H | D | 1–1 | Orritt | 25,225 |
| 22 March 1958 | 15th | Blackpool | A | L | 2–4 | Astall, Hooper pen | 11,549 |
| 29 March 1958 | 15th | Everton | H | W | 2–1 | Hooper 2 | 21,628 |
| 4 April 1958 | 15th | Portsmouth | A | L | 2–3 | Murphy, Hooper | 33,075 |
| 5 April 1958 | 14th | Sunderland | A | W | 6–1 | Murphy, Astall, Brown, Hooper, Orritt 2 | 34,194 |
| 7 April 1958 | 12th | Portsmouth | H | W | 4–1 | Brown, Orritt, Murphy, Hooper | 23,380 |
| 12 April 1958 | 13th | Leeds United | H | D | 1–1 | Orritt | 23,112 |
| 19 April 1958 | 12th | Manchester United | A | W | 2–0 | Hooper, Green | 39,215 |
| 26 April 1958 | 13th | Leicester City | H | L | 0–1 | | 27,607 |

### League table (part)

Final First Division table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
| 11th | Chelsea | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 82 | 79 | 1.05 | 42 |
| 12th | Arsenal | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 73 | 85 | 0.86 | 39 |
| 13th | Birmingham City | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 76 | 89 | 0.85 | 39 |
| 14th | Aston Villa | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 73 | 86 | 0.85 | 39 |
| 15th | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 65 | 87 | 0.75 | 38 |
| 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 | 8 January 1958 | York City | A | L | 0–3 | | 19,750 |

## Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The group stage of the inaugural edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was completed during the 1956–57 playing season. The score at half time in the first leg of the semi-final, at St Andrew's, was 3–3, and Peter Murphy scored the winner after an hour. In the away leg, in the recently opened Camp Nou, El Mundo Deportivo expected a comfortable victory for the hosts, but the result was rather less clear-cut. The only goal of the game was scored after 82 minutes by Kubala, who saw Gil Merrick off his line and neatly lobbed him. With no away goals rule, the game went into 30 minutes of extra time, which remained goalless, so a replay was to be played on a neutral ground. Controversy arose when Birmingham were prevented from substituting the injured Bunny Larkin, contrary to what they believed had been agreed before the match; Barcelona manager Domènec Balmanya claimed the agreement allowed for two substitutes, but outfield players could only be replaced in the first half. Asked what he thought of Barcelona, Birmingham trainer Dave Fairhurst said he thought they played better in the first leg, where they concentrated on playing; here, they spent too much time complaining. Balmanya's opinion of Birmingham had not changed since the first leg: he saw them as a physical team with crude technique, too concerned with the opponent to think much about the ball.
El Mundo Deportivo was more complimentary about Birmingham's style of play in the replay. While they had come to Barcelona to avoid losing, and nearly succeeded, they went to St. Jakob-Park, in Basel, Switzerland, to win, and to be worthy of the victory. It also suggested that the playing surface – rough, and covered with long wet grass – was better suited to an open, long-ball game than to precise passing and close marking. Barcelona scored first through Evaristo, Murphy equalised early in the second half, then with seven minutes left, Suárez picked up the ball in midfield and passed to Kubala who drew Merrick out of his goal and gave him no chance with his shot.
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Semi-final 1st leg | 23 October 1957 | Barcelona | H | W | 4–3 | Murphy 2, Brown, Orritt | 30,791 |
| Semi-final 2nd leg | 13 November 1957 | Barcelona | A | L | 0–1 aet | | 60,000 |
| Semi-final playoff | 26 November 1957 | Barcelona | St. Jakob-Park, Basel | L | 1–2 | Murphy | 20,000 |

## 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 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Johnny Schofield | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | George Allen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Brian Farmer | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Ken Green | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| FB | ENG | Jeff Hall | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Bunny Larkin | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Joe Mullett | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Dick Neal | 40 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 4 |
| HB | ENG | Johnny Newman † | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Graham Sissons | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Trevor Smith | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Johnny Watts | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
| FW | ENG | Gordon Astall | 37 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 5 |
| FW | ENG | Eddy Brown | 37 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 16 |
| FW | SCO | Alex Govan † | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 2 |
| FW | ENG | Mike Hellawell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| FW | ENG | Harry Hooper | 22 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 10 |
| FW | ENG | David Jones | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Bud Houghton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | WAL | Noel Kinsey † | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 5 |
| FW | ENG | Peter Murphy | 36 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 40 | 23 |
| FW | ENG | Keith Neale † | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| FW | WAL | Bryan Orritt | 25 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 12 |