1947–48 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1947–48 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 45th in the Football League and their 19th in the Second Division. They reached first place in the 22-team division after the match played on 6 December and retained that position for the remainder of the season, winning the Second Division title for the third time and gaining promotion to the First Division for 1948–49, from which they had been relegated at the end of the last completed pre-war season. They entered the 1947–48 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Notts County in that round.

Birmingham City F.C.
1947–48 season
ChairmanHarry Morris Jr
ManagerHarry Storer
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League Second Division1st (promoted)
FA CupThird round
(eliminated by Notts County)
Top goalscorerLeague: Harold Bodle (14)
All: Harold Bodle (14)
Highest home attendance53,327 vs Notts County, FA Cup 3rd round, 10 January 1948
Lowest home attendance29,020 vs Bradford Park Avenue, 22 November 1947
Average home league attendance38,365

Twenty-four players made at least one appearance in nationally organised competition, and there were twelve different goalscorers. Forward Frank Mitchell missed only one of the 43 games over the season, and Harold Bodle was leading scorer with 14 goals, all of which came in the league.

Football League Second Division

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Date League
position
Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
23 August 1947 14th Barnsley H L 2–3 Bodle, Mitchell pen 37,917
25 August 1947 11th Coventry City A W 1–0 Aveyard 30,558
30 August 1947 7th Plymouth Argyle A W 3–0 Dougall, Bodle, Aveyard 24,178
3 September 1947 7th Coventry City H D 1–1 Bodle 36,545
6 September 1947 3rd Luton Town H W 2–1 Bodle, Aveyard 40,032
10 September 1947 5th Newcastle United H D 0–0 35,368
13 September 1947 3rd Brentford A W 2–1 Trigg, Edwards 25,523
17 September 1947 5th Newcastle United A L 0–1 51,704
20 September 1947 4th Leicester City H W 1–0 Dougall 36,495
27 September 1947 3rd Leeds United A W 1–0 Trigg 37,135
4 October 1947 2nd Fulham H W 3–1 Bodle 2, Trigg 39,758
11 October 1947 2nd Chesterfield H D 0–0 37,918
18 October 1947 2nd West Ham United A D 0–0 32,228
25 October 1947 2nd Bury H W 2–0 Bodle, Dougall 34,806
1 November 1947 3rd Southampton A L 0–2 27,243
8 November 1947 2nd Doncaster Rovers H W 3–0 Goodwin 2, Bodle 31,052
15 November 1947 2nd Nottingham Forest A W 2–0 McIntosh, Goodwin 33,364
22 November 1947 2nd Bradford Park Avenue H W 4–3 Ottewell, Goodwin, Mitchell pen 29,020
29 November 1947 2nd Cardiff City A L 0–2 39,646
6 December 1947 1st Sheffield Wednesday H W 1–0 Westlake og 31,217
13 December 1947 1st Tottenham Hotspur A W 2–1 Garrett, Dougall 52,730
20 December 1947 1st Barnsley A W 1–1 Bodle 18,880
25 December 1947 1st Millwall A D 0–0 25,794
27 December 1947 1st Millwall H W 1–0 Goodwin 45,985
3 January 1948 1st Plymouth Argyle H D 1–1 Goodwin 35,480
17 January 1948 1st Luton Town A W 1–0 Bodle 19,697
31 January 1948 1st Brentford H D 0–0 37,542
14 February 1948 1st Leeds United H W 5–1 Laing 2, Stewart 2, Dorman 39,955
21 February 1948 1st Fulham A D 1–1 Bodle 13,164
28 February 1948 1st Chesterfield A W 3–0 Stewart, Dougall, Bodle 15,844
6 March 1948 1st West Ham United H L 0–1 43,709
13 March 1948 1st Bury A D 1–1 Edwards 23,420
20 March 1948 1st Southampton H D 0–0 39,730
27 March 1948 1st Doncaster Rovers A D 0–0 25,370
29 March 1948 1st West Bromwich Albion H W 4–0 Stewart 2, Bodle, Trigg 47,074
30 March 1948 1st West Bromwich Albion A D 1–1 Bodle 51,945
3 April 1948 1st Nottingham Forest H W 2–1 Stewart, Mitchell pen 38,227
10 April 1948 1st Bradford Park Avenue A W 2–1 Mitchell pen, Stewart 16,782
17 April 1948 1st Cardiff City H W 2–0 Trigg, Bodle 52,276
19 April 1948 1st Leicester City A D 0–0 31,937
24 April 1948 1st Sheffield Wednesday A D 0–0 25,789
1 May 1948 1st Tottenham Hotspur H D 0–0 35,569

League table (part)

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Final Second Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
1st Birmingham City 42 22 15 5 55 24 2.29 59
2nd Newcastle United 42 24 8 10 72 41 1.76 56
3rd Southampton 42 21 10 11 71 53 1.34 52
4th Sheffield Wednesday 42 20 11 11 66 53 1.25 51
5th Cardiff City 42 18 11 13 61 58 1.05 47
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
Source [1]

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
Third round 10 January 1948 Notts County H L 0–2 53,327

Appearances and goals

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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 FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   ENG Gil Merrick 36 0 0 0 36 0
GK   ENG Jack Wheeler 6 0 1 0 7 0
FB   ENG Ken Green 35 0 1 0 36 0
FB   ENG Dennis Jennings 29 0 1 0 30 0
FB   ENG Wally Quinton 8 0 0 0 8 0
FB   ENG Jack Southam 1 0 0 0 1 0
HB   ENG Jack Badham 2 0 1 0 3 0
HB   ENG Don Dorman 8 1 0 0 8 1
HB   ENG Ted Duckhouse 36 0 1 0 37 0
HB   ENG Fred Harris 40 0 1 0 41 0
HB   ENG Martin McDonnell 13 0 0 0 13 0
HB   ENG Frank Mitchell 41 4 1 0 42 4
FW   ENG Walter Aveyard 7 3 0 0 7 3
FW   ENG Johnny Berry 3 0 0 0 3 0
FW   ENG Harold Bodle 39 14 0 0 39 14
FW   SCO Neil Dougall 34 5 1 0 35 5
FW   WAL George Edwards 37 2 1 0 38 2
FW   SCO Archie Garrett 8 1 0 0 8 1
FW   ENG Jackie Goodwin 16 6 1 0 17 6
FW   ENG John Hughes 3 0 0 0 3 0
FW   SCO Bobby Laing 4 2 0 0 4 2
FW   SCO Alex McIntosh 9 1 0 0 9 1
FW   ENG Sid Ottewell 5 2 0 0 5 2
FW   SCO Jackie Stewart 17 7 0 0 17 7
FW   ENG Cyril Trigg 25 6 1 0 26 6

See also

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References

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General

  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: DB Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
  • Source for match dates and results: "Birmingham City 1947–1948: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 330–31.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. ^ "Birmingham City 1947–1948: English Division Two (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2012.