# 1946–47 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1946–47 Football League season – the first Football League season after the end of the Second World War – was Birmingham City Football Club's 44th in the Football League and their 18th in the Second Division, to which they were relegated at the end of the last completed season before the war. They finished in third position in the 22-team division, three points adrift of the promotion places. They entered the 1946–47 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Liverpool in the sixth (quarter-final).
Twenty-five players made at least one appearance in nationally organised competition, and there were fourteen different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Gil Merrick missed only one of the 45 matches over the season, and Cyril Trigg was leading scorer with 19 goals, of which 17 came in the league.

## Football League Second Division

Note that not all teams completed their playing season on the same day. Birmingham were in second place after their last game of the season, on 26 May, but by the time the last game was played, on 14 June, Burnley had drawn one and won one of their two outstanding fixtures to overtake them by three points.
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 31 August 1946 | 5th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | W | 2–1 | Jones, Mulraney | 51,256 |
| 4 September 1946 | 1st | Leicester City | H | W | 4–0 | Jones 2, Mulraney, Dougall | 29,329 |
| 7 September 1946 | 4th | Burnley | H | L | 0–2 | | 42,309 |
| 12 September 1946 | 8th | Leicester City | A | L | 1–2 | Mulraney | 20,952 |
| 14 September 1946 | 12th | Barnsley | A | L | 1–3 | Mulraney | 28,219 |
| 18 September 1946 | 15th | West Bromwich Albion | A | L | 0–3 | | 30,186 |
| 21 September 1946 | 15th | Newport County | H | D | 1–1 | Bodle | 28,832 |
| 25 September 1946 | 12th | West Bromwich Albion | H | W | 1–0 | Dearson | 50,535 |
| 28 September 1946 | 14th | Southampton | A | L | 0–1 | | 24,921 |
| 5 October 1946 | 10th | Nottingham Forest | H | W | 4–0 | Bodle, Trigg, Edwards 2 | 35,093 |
| 12 October 1946 | 9th | Coventry City | A | D | 0–0 | | 29,379 |
| 19 October 1946 | 9th | Chesterfield | A | W | 1–0 | Jones | 18,748 |
| 26 October 1946 | 9th | Millwall | H | W | 4–0 | Bodle, Trigg 2, Dougall | 23,243 |
| 2 November 1946 | 9th | Bradford Park Avenue | A | L | 0–2 | | 21,638 |
| 9 November 1946 | 8th | Manchester City | H | W | 3–1 | Dougall, Mulraney, Trigg | 37,747 |
| 16 November 1946 | 6th | West Ham United | A | W | 4–0 | Bodle, Edwards 2, Trigg | 24,719 |
| 23 November 1946 | 6th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | W | 3–1 | Trigg 2, Dougall | 32,425 |
| 30 November 1946 | 2nd | Fulham | A | W | 1–0 | Trigg | 20,790 |
| 7 December 1946 | 2nd | Bury | H | W | 3–0 | Duckhouse, Dougall, Edwards | 30,340 |
| 14 December 1946 | 2nd | Luton Town | A | W | 3–1 | Trigg 3 | 21,760 |
| 21 December 1946 | 2nd | Plymouth Argyle | H | W | 6–1 | Bodle 3, Mulraney 2, Edwards | 26,734 |
| 25 December 1946 | 1st | Swansea Town | H | W | 3–1 | Dougall, Bodle, Feeney og | 31,309 |
| 26 December 1946 | 1st | Swansea Town | A | L | 0–1 | | 20,003 |
| 28 December 1946 | 1st | Tottenham Hotspur | H | W | 1–0 | Mulraney | 44,171 |
| 4 January 1947 | 3rd | Burnley | A | L | 0–1 | | 36,281 |
| 18 January 1947 | 4th | Barnsley | H | L | 1–2 | Duckhouse | 41,409 |
| 1 February 1947 | 4th | Southampton | H | W | 3–1 | Trigg 2, Mulraney | 32,878 |
| 15 February 1947 | 3rd | Coventry City | H | W | 2–0 | Trigg 2 | 43,551 |
| 22 February 1947 | 3rd | Chesterfield | H | D | 0–0 | | 26,139 |
| 15 March 1947 | 3rd | Manchester City | A | L | 0–1 | | 55,655 |
| 22 March 1947 | 3rd | West Ham United | H | W | 3–0 | McIntosh, Mitchell pen, Trigg | 29,937 |
| 29 March 1947 | 3rd | Sheffield Wednesday | A | L | 0–1 | | 27,431 |
| 4 April 1947 | 3rd | Newcastle United | A | D | 2–2 | McIntosh, Bodle | 57,259 |
| 5 April 1947 | 3rd | Fulham | H | W | 2–1 | Hall, Goodwin | 28,194 |
| 7 April 1947 | 3rd | Newcastle United | H | W | 2–0 | Bodle, Trigg | 42,409 |
| 12 April 1947 | 3rd | Bury | A | L | 0–2 | | 18,882 |
| 19 April 1947 | 3rd | Luton Town | H | W | 1–0 | Goodwin | 27,316 |
| 26 April 1947 | 3rd | Plymouth Argyle | A | W | 2–0 | Edwards, Bodle | 23,338 |
| 3 May 1947 | 3rd | Bradford Park Avenue | H | W | 4–0 | Dougall, Bodle 2, Mitchell pen | 23,083 |
| 10 May 1947 | 3rd | Nottingham Forest | A | D | 1–1 | Harris | 16,049 |
| 17 May 1947 | 2nd | Millwall | A | W | 2–0 | McIntosh, Dougall | 24,084 |
| 26 May 1947 | 2nd | Newport County | A | W | 3–0 | Bodle 2, Dougall | 12,028 |

### League table (part)

Final Second Division table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
| 1st | Manchester City | 42 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 78 | 35 | 2.23 | 62 |
| 2nd | Burnley | 42 | 22 | 14 | 6 | 65 | 29 | 2.24 | 58 |
| 3rd | Birmingham City | 42 | 25 | 5 | 12 | 74 | 33 | 2.24 | 55 |
| 4th | Chesterfield | 42 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 58 | 44 | 1.32 | 50 |
| 5th | Newcastle United | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 95 | 63 | 1.53 | 48 |
| 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 | 11 January 1947 | Fulham | A | W | 2–1 | Jones, Dorman | 22,398 |
| Fourth round | 25 January 1947 | Portsmouth | H | W | 1–0 | Harris | 50,155 |
| Fifth round | 8 February 1947 | Manchester City | H | W | 5–0 | Bodle, Trigg 2, Mitchell pen, Mulraney | 56,056 |
| Sixth round | 1 March 1947 | Liverpool | A | L | 1–4 | Mitchell pen | 51,911 |

## 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 | 41 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Jack Wheeler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FB | WAL | Don Dearson † | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| FB | WAL | Billy Hughes | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| FB | ENG | Dennis Jennings | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Ray Devey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Ted Duckhouse | 25 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| HB | ENG | Fred Harris | 29 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 2 |
| HB | ENG | Frank Mitchell | 41 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 4 |
| HB | ENG | Syd Owen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Ray Shaw | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| HB | ENG | Arthur Turner | 27 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Harold Bodle | 36 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 39 | 16 |
| FW | ENG | Don Dorman | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| FW | SCO | Neil Dougall | 35 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 9 |
| FW | WAL | George Edwards | 39 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 7 |
| FW | ENG | Ken Faulkner | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Jackie Goodwin | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
| FW | ENG | Fred Hall | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| FW | WAL | Wilson Jones | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 |
| FW | SCO | Alex McIntosh | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| FW | ENG | Dave Massart | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | SCO | Jock Mulraney | 27 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 10 |
| FW | ENG | Doug Pimbley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Cyril Trigg | 29 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 33 | 19 |