1927–28 Birmingham F.C. season

Birmingham F.C.
1927–28 season
ChairmanHoward Cant
Secretary-managerBill Harvey
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division11th
FA CupFifth round (eliminated by Manchester United)
Top goalscorerLeague: Joe Bradford (29)
All: Joe Bradford (32)
Highest home attendance47,605 vs Aston Villa, 5 November 1927
Lowest home attendance10,030 vs Arsenal, 19 November 1927
Average home league attendance21,218

The 1927–28 Football League season was Birmingham Football Club's 32nd in the Football League and their 15th in the First Division. They finished in 11th position in the 22-team division. They also competed in the 1927–28 FA Cup, entering at the third round proper and losing to Manchester United in the fifth. Bill Harvey stood down as manager at the end of the season.

Twenty-seven players made at least one appearance in nationally organised competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. Half-back Alec Leslie was ever-present over the 45-match season, and Joe Bradford was leading scorer for the seventh successive year, with 32 goals, of which 29 came in the league.

This season saw the last appearance by Frank Womack. He made his Birmingham debut in 1908, and went on to set club appearance records of 491 league games, a record which as of 2012 still stands, and 515 games in senior competition, since overtaken by Gil Merrick. He never scored a senior goal.

Football League First Division

Date League
position		 Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
27 August 1927 19th Tottenham Hotspur A L 0–1 37,408
29 August 1927 9th Huddersfield Town H W 3–1 Bradford 2, Harris 16,432
3 September 1927 11th Manchester United H D 0–0 25,863
7 September 1927 15th Sunderland A L 2–4 Bond, Bradford 23,007
10 September 1927 18th Everton A L 2–5 Bradford, Briggs 37,386
17 September 1927 21st Cardiff City H L 1–3 Bond 23,723
24 September 1927 22nd Blackburn Rovers A D 4–4 Bradford 4 15,331
1 October 1927 21st Bolton Wanderers H D 1–1 Harris 15,998
8 October 1927 17th Sheffield Wednesday A W 3–2 Briggs 2, Bradford 19,974
15 October 1927 12th Middlesbrough H W 3–2 Bradford, Bloxham, Briggs 17,143
22 October 1927 14th Bury H D 2–2 Harris, Bradford 11,925
29 October 1927 19th Sheffield United A L 1–3 Bond 17,128
5 November 1927 17th Aston Villa H D 1–1 Crosbie 47,605
12 November 1927 18th Burnley A L 1–2 Bradford 14,648
19 November 1927 18th Arsenal H D 1–1 Crosbie 10,030
26 November 1927 18th Portsmouth A D 2–2 Crosbie 2 18,549
3 December 1927 19th Leicester City H L 0–2 24,272
10 December 1927 18th Liverpool A W 3–2 Davies, Briggs 2 24,255
17 December 1927 19th West Ham United H L 1–2 Bradford 18,206
24 December 1927 21st Derby County A L 1–4 Bradford 8,535
26 December 1927 20th Sunderland H D 1–1 Davies 20,120
31 December 1927 20th Tottenham Hotspur H W 3–2 Bradford 2, Briggs 11,603
2 January 1928 20th Newcastle United A D 1–1 Briggs 34,434
7 January 1928 20th Manchester United A D 1–1 Briggs 16,853
21 January 1928 20th Everton H D 2–2 Ellis, Briggs 33,675
4 February 1928 20th Blackburn Rovers H W 2–1 Bradford 2 21,425
11 February 1928 20th Bolton Wanderers A L 2–3 Bradford, Crosbie 11,747
22 February 1928 20th Cardiff City A L 1–2 Briggs 10,758
25 February 1928 20th Middlesbrough A D 1–1 Firth 18,329
3 March 1928 18th Bury A W 3–2 Bradford 2, Briggs 13,164
7 March 1928 17th Sheffield Wednesday H W 1–0 Ellis 12,076
10 March 1928 13th Sheffield United H W 4–1 Briggs 3, Bond 22,860
17 March 1928 15th Aston Villa A D 1–1 Bradford 59,367
24 March 1928 11th Burnley H W 4–0 Bradford 3, Crosbie 23,689
31 March 1928 13th Arsenal A D 2–2 Crosbie, Ellis 13,990
7 April 1928 10th Portsmouth H W 2–0 Bond, Ellis 32,996
9 April 1928 12th Huddersfield Town A L 0–2 28,779
10 April 1928 13th Newcastle United H L 0–2 23,436
14 April 1928 17th Leicester City A L 0–3 17,558
21 April 1928 13th Liverpool H W 2–0 Bradford 2 16,063
28 April 1928 14th West Ham United A D 3–3 Bradford 2, Briggs 17,917
5 May 1928 11th Derby County H W 2–1 Curtis, Carr og 16,430

League table (part)

Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
9th Newcastle United 42 15 13 14 79 81 0.97 43
10th Arsenal 42 13 15 14 82 86 0.95 41
11th Birmingham 42 13 15 14 70 75 0.84 41
12th Blackburn Rovers 42 16 9 17 66 78 0.85 41
13th Sheffield United 42 15 10 17 79 86 0.92 40
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

Main article: 1927–28 FA Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Third round 14 January 1928 Peterborough & Fletton United H W 4–3 Davies, Bradford 3 38,128
Fourth round 28 January 1928 Wrexham A W 3–1 Randle pen, Davies 2 12,228
Fifth round 18 February 1928 Manchester United A L 0–1 52,568

Appearances and goals

This table includes appearances and goals in nationally organised competitive matches – the Football League and FA Cup – only.
For a description of the playing positions, see Formation (association football)#2–3–5 (Pyramid).
Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
Players' appearances and goals by competition
Name Position League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Harry Hibbs Goalkeeper 8 0 2 0 10 0
Dan Tremelling Goalkeeper 34 0 1 0 35 0
Harry Bruce † Full back 3 0 0 0 3 0
Jack Randle Full back 29 0 3 1 32 1
Joe Smith Full back 27 0 2 0 29 0
Ron Stainton Full back 1 0 0 0 1 0
Frank Womack Full back 15 0 1 0 16 0
Percy Barton Half back 16 0 0 0 16 0
Jack Coxford Half back 8 0 0 0 8 0
Jimmy Cringan Half back 25 0 3 0 28 0
Dickie Dale Half back 8 0 0 0 8 0
Alec Leslie Half back 42 0 3 0 45 0
George Liddell Half back 25 0 1 0 26 0
George Morrall Half back 10 0 2 0 12 0
Albert Bloxham † Forward 3 1 0 0 3 1
Benny Bond Forward 24 5 1 0 25 5
Joe Bradford Forward 37 29 3 3 40 32
George Briggs Forward 40 16 2 0 42 16
Johnny Crosbie Forward 28 7 3 0 31 7
Ernie Curtis Forward 11 1 0 0 11 1
Stan Davies Forward 14 2 3 3 17 5
Billy Ellis Forward 20 4 3 0 23 4
Jack Firth Forward 6 1 0 0 6 1
Wally Harris Forward 11 3 0 0 11 3
Arthur Johnson Forward 9 0 0 0 9 0
Tot Pike Forward 3 0 0 0 3 0
Wilf Threlfall Forward 5 0 0 0 5 0

See also

References

General

  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Breedon Books (Derby). ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. DB Publishing (Derby). ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
  • Source for match dates and results: "Birmingham City 1927–1928: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 296–97.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. ^ "Birmingham City 1927–1928: English Division One (old) Table" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 12 May 2012.