# 1954–55 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1954–55 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 52nd in the Football League and their 24th in the Second Division. They finished top of the 22-team division on goal average, thus winning the Second Division title for the fourth time and gaining promotion to the First Division for 1955–56. They entered the 1954–55 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Manchester City in the sixth round (quarter-final).
Bob Brocklebank and chief scout Walter Taylor laid the foundations for the club's successes of the 1950s, introducing future England internationals Trevor Smith and Jeff Hall to the side, and bringing in the likes of Peter Murphy, Eddy Brown, Roy Warhurst and Alex Govan. Arthur Turner took over from Brocklebank as manager in November 1954 with the club mid-table in the Second Division, having gained only one point away from home. By the end of the season they had scored 92 goals, inflicted Liverpool's record defeat, by nine goals to one, which was also Birmingham's widest margin of victory in a league match since the 19th century, and, needing five points from the last three games, all away from home, to be sure of promotion, confirmed themselves as champions with a 5–1 win in the last game of the season away at Doncaster Rovers.
Twenty-five players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. Half-back Len Boyd played in 43 of the 46 first-team matches over the season, and Peter Murphy was leading goalscorer with 20 goals, all scored in league competition. All five first-choice forwards – Gordon Astall, Noel Kinsey, Brown, Murphy and Govan – reached double figures.

## Football League Second Division

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 21 August 1954 | 17th | Stoke City | A | L | 1–2 | Warhurst | 27,820 |
| 25 August 1954 | 7th | Bristol Rovers | H | W | 2–1 | Kinsey, Rowley | 25,890 |
| 28 August 1954 | 3rd | Rotherham United | H | W | 3–1 | Govan 2, Warhurst | 27,260 |
| 30 August 1954 | 6th | Bristol Rovers | A | D | 1–1 | Warhurst | 26,218 |
| 4 September 1954 | 11th | Luton Town | A | L | 0–1 | | 16,347 |
| 8 September 1954 | 8th | Ipswich Town | H | W | 4–0 | Kinsey, Warmington, Astall | 21,238 |
| 11 September 1954 | 7th | Hull City | H | D | 0–0 | | 23,846 |
| 15 September 1954 | 6th | Ipswich Town | A | W | 2–1 | Warmington, Murphy | 16,746 |
| 18 September 1954 | 6th | Lincoln City | A | D | 1–1 | Kinsey | 14,581 |
| 25 September 1954 | 10th | Bury | H | L | 1–3 | Lane | 21,242 |
| 2 October 1954 | 11th | Leeds United | A | L | 0–1 | | 21,200 |
| 9 October 1954 | 12th | Fulham | A | L | 1–2 | Astall | 30,293 |
| 16 October 1954 | 12th | Swansea Town | H | W | 2–0 | Murphy 2 | 19,998 |
| 30 October 1954 | 14th | Derby County | H | D | 1–1 | Brown | 20,568 |
| 6 November 1954 | 13th | West Ham United | A | D | 2–2 | Murphy 2 | 25,366 |
| 13 November 1954 | 11th | Blackburn Rovers | H | W | 3–1 | Brown, Astall, Govan | 23,829 |
| 20 November 1954 | 12th | Plymouth Argyle | A | L | 0–1 | | 19,204 |
| 27 November 1954 | 10th | Port Vale | H | W | 7–2 | Brown, Murphy 3, Kinsey 2, Govan | 16,352 |
| 4 December 1954 | 14th | Notts County | A | L | 2–3 | Murphy, Govan | 13,477 |
| 11 December 1954 | 13th | Liverpool | H | W | 9–1 | Brown 3, Lane, Murphy 2, Astall, Govan | 17,067 |
| 18 December 1954 | 11th | Stoke City | H | W | 2–0 | Brown, Govan | 22,427 |
| 25 December 1954 | 12th | Nottingham Forest | H | L | 0–1 | | 33,007 |
| 27 December 1954 | 10th | Nottingham Forest | A | W | 2–0 | Murphy, Burkitt og | 25,875 |
| 1 January 1955 | 8th | Rotherham United | A | W | 2–0 | Kinsey, Govan | 17,166 |
| 5 February 1955 | 10th | Lincoln City | H | D | 3–3 | Murphy 2, Kinsey | 20,313 |
| 12 February 1955 | 9th | Bury | A | W | 1–0 | Brown | 12,547 |
| 2 March 1955 | 7th | Leeds United | H | W | 2–0 | Lane, Govan | 10,774 |
| 5 March 1955 | 6th | Swansea Town | A | W | 3–0 | Lane, Kinsey, Boyd | 22,565 |
| 16 March 1955 | 5th | Doncaster Rovers | H | W | 4–1 | Kinsey, Murphy, Astall, Warhurst | 6,441 |
| 19 March 1955 | 7th | Derby County | A | D | 0–0 | | 19,489 |
| 26 March 1955 | 7th | West Ham United | H | L | 1–2 | Brown | 9,132 |
| 30 March 1955 | 5th | Fulham | H | W | 3–2 | Lane, Astall 2 | 9,686 |
| 2 April 1955 | 6th | Blackburn Rovers | A | D | 3–3 | Lane, Murphy, Kinsey | 27,673 |
| 8 April 1955 | 5th | Middlesbrough | A | W | 5–2 | Lane, Brown 2, Govan 2 | 32,519 |
| 9 April 1955 | 4th | Plymouth Argyle | H | W | 3–1 | Kinsey, Lane, Govan | 25,078 |
| 11 April 1955 | 4th | Middlesbrough | H | W | 3–0 | Kinsey, Murphy, Govan | 23,657 |
| 16 April 1955 | 5th | Port Vale | A | L | 0–2 | | 24,036 |
| 20 April 1955 | 3rd | Luton Town | H | W | 2–1 | Murphy 2 | 34,612 |
| 23 April 1955 | 5th | Notts County | H | D | 1–1 | Brown | 28,018 |
| 25 April 1955 | 3rd | Hull City | A | W | 3–0 | Bradbury, Govan | 12,848 |
| 30 April 1955 | 3rd | Liverpool | A | D | 2–2 | Brown, Astall | 38,060 |
| 4 May 1955 | 1st | Doncaster Rovers | A | W | 5–1 | Brown, Murphy, Astall 2, Govan | 21,305 |

### League table (part)

Final Second Division table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
| 1st | Birmingham City | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 92 | 49 | 1.96 | 54 |
| 2nd | Luton Town | 42 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 88 | 53 | 1.66 | 54 |
| 3rd | Rotherham United | 42 | 25 | 4 | 13 | 94 | 64 | 1.47 | 54 |
| 4th | Leeds United | 42 | 23 | 7 | 12 | 70 | 57 | 1.32 | 53 |
| 5th | Stoke City | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 69 | 46 | 1.50 | 52 |
| 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 1955 | Hull City | A | W | 2–0 | Kinsey, Brown | 25,920 |
| Fourth round | 29 January 1955 | Bolton Wanderers | H | W | 2–1 | Govan, Wheeler og | 56,852 |
| Fifth round | 19 February 1955 | Doncaster Rovers | H | W | 2–1 | Brown 2 | 57,800 |
| Sixth round | 12 March 1955 | Manchester City | H | L | 0–1 | | 57,960 |

## 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 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Johnny Schofield | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | George Allen | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Jack Badham | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Ken Green | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Jeff Hall | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| FB | SCO | Roy Martin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Len Boyd | 39 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 1 |
| HB | ENG | John James | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Johnny Newman | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Trevor Smith | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Roy Warhurst | 34 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 4 |
| HB | ENG | Johnny Watts | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Gordon Astall | 33 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 11 |
| FW | ENG | Bill Bradbury | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| FW | ENG | Eddy Brown | 28 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 17 |
| FW | ENG | Geoff Cox | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | SCO | Alex Govan | 37 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 16 |
| FW | ENG | Dennis Hill | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | WAL | Noel Kinsey | 35 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 39 | 14 |
| FW | ENG | Jackie Lane | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 8 |
| FW | ENG | Peter Murphy | 37 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 41 | 20 |
| FW | ENG | Ken Rowley † | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| FW | SCO | Jackie Stewart † | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Peter Warmington | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |