1930–31 Birmingham F.C. season

December 2014 May 2026 Birmingham F.C. 1930–31 Leslie Knighton Howard Cant Ground St Andrew's Football League First Division 19th FA Cup Runner-up (eliminated by West Bromwich Albion) George Briggs (15) Joe Bradford (22) 55,298 vs Chelsea, FA Cup 6th round, 28 February 1931 6,535 vs Portsmouth, 28 January 1931 18,175 _whitecollarplain 000099 000099 000099 FFFFFF 000000 1929–30 1931–32 The 1930–31 Football League season was Birmingham Football Club's 35th in the Football League and their 18th in the First Division. They finished in 19th position in the 22-team division, five points clear of the relegation places. They also competed in the 1930–31 FA Cup, entering at the third round proper and reaching the final for the first time in the club's history. They lost 2–1 to Second Division club West Bromwich Albion. Twenty-seven players made at least one appearance in nationally organised competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. Forward Ernie Curtis played in 47 of the 49 matches over the season, and, for the 10th successive year, Joe Bradford was leading scorer, with 22 goals in all competitions, of which 14 came in the league. George Briggs scored more league goals, with 15. The 9–1 defeat away to Sheffield Wednesday on 13 December equalled the club record for widest margin of defeat."Birmingham City: Records" https://web.archive.org/web/20161209023422/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/records 9 December 2016 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 15 May 2012. Football League First Division DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendance30 August 19304thSheffield UnitedHW3–1Morrall, Briggs, Bradford20,6411 September 19307thLeicester CityAL1–2Briggs14,3916 September 19308thDerby CountyAD0–015,68110 September 193010thNewcastle UnitedHD1–1Bradford13,89313 September 19306thManchester CityHW3–2Briggs 2, Bradford11,14817 September 19306thNewcastle UnitedAD2–2Briggs, Morrall19,90220 September 19308thPortsmouthAD2–2Hicks, Briggs16,00227 September 193011thArsenalHL2–4Briggs, Roberts og31,6934 October 193014thBlackburn RoversAL1–2Horsman14,72811 October 193015thBlackpoolHD1–1Curtis23,45318 October 193013thAston VillaAD1–1Briggs55,48225 October 193012thChelseaHW6–2Bradford 2, Curtis, Briggs 2, Crosbie17,2771 November 193012thManchester UnitedAL0–211,4798 November 193015thWest Ham UnitedAL0–220,17115 November 193013thMiddlesbroughAD1–1Curtis11,88322 November 193012thGrimsby TownHW4–1Fillingham, Firth 313,63729 November 193015thBolton WanderersAL0–215,3616 December 193013thHuddersfield TownHW2–0Bradford, Curtis16,03613 December 193015thSheffield WednesdayAL1–9Briggs21,22620 December 193015thLiverpoolHW2–0Briggs 216,16525 December 193015thLeeds UnitedHL0–124,99126 December 193016thLeeds UnitedAL1–3Curtis12,38127 December 193018thSheffield UnitedAL1–2Cringan24,2083 January 193119thDerby CountyHL1–2Curtis14,55517 January 193119thManchester CityAL2–4Briggs, Gregg19,91828 January 193119thPortsmouthHW2–1Briggs, Bradford6,53531 January 193117thArsenalAD1–1Bradford30,9137 February 193117thBlackburn RoversHW4–1Bradford 423,64218 February 193117thBlackpoolAW1–0Crosbie10,13621 February 193118thAston VillaHL0–449,6197 March 193118thManchester UnitedHD0–017,67816 March 193117thWest Ham UnitedAW2–1Firth, Bradford8,52121 March 193117thMiddlesbroughHL1–2Jarvis og20,31125 March 193118thChelseaAL0–112,96828 March 193118thGrimsby TownAL1–4Fillingham10,9943 April 193120thSunderlandAL0–118,1804 April 193120thBolton WanderersHL0–218,0836 April 193119thSunderlandHW1–0Gregg11,20711 April 193119thHuddersfield TownAL0–110,92015 April 193119thLiverpoolAD0–06,04518 April 193119thSheffield WednesdayHW2–0Gregg, Curtis16,4112 May 193119thLeicester CityHW2–1Curtis, Bradford14,704 League table (part) +Final First Division table (part)PosClubPldWDLFAGAPts17thNewcastle United421562178870.903618thWest Ham United421482079940.843619thBirmingham4213101955700.793620thBlackpool42111021711250.573221stLeeds United421272368810.8431Key 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 = PointsSource"Birmingham City 1930–1931: English Division One (old) Table" https://web.archive.org/web/20150920011459/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/1930-1931/table 20 September 2015 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 12 May 2012. FA Cup 1930–31 FA Cup 1931 FA Cup Final Birmingham "won finely" at Anfield to defeat Liverpool 2–0,"Other F.A. Cup Matches". The Times (London): p.5. 12 January 1931. then eliminated Port Vale and, with Ernie Curtis "in magnificent form", Watford,"F.A. Cup. Draw For Sixth Round". The Times (London): p.6. 17 February 1931. to reach the sixth round in which they played Chelsea. Playing in a blizzard at St Andrew's, Chelsea took the lead and had a second goal disallowed before the change of ends brought a change of fortunes. George Briggs crossed for Joe Bradford's header, then Briggs and Bradford combined for Curtis to put Birmingham ahead. With ten minutes left, a misplaced clearance by Bob Gregg allowed Jackie Crawford to equalise."Drawn Match At Birmingham". The Times (London): p.6. 2 March 1931. The replay at Stamford Bridge, before a ground-record crowd of 74,365 with thousands more locked out, remained goalless until Chelsea half-backs John Townrow and Sid Bishop were injured. With no substitutes permitted, Birmingham took advantage, winning the tie 3–0 with goals from Jack Firth and two from Bradford."Chelsea Beaten. A Day Of Misfortunes". The Times (London): p.7. 5 March 1931. Curtis opened the scoring half an hour into the semi-final against First Division Sunderland. Sunderland's players thought they should have had a penalty, they failed to take numerous chances, and Harry Hibbs made some fine saves, but three minutes from time, Curtis had a shot blocked, Bradford "rushed in to help his colleague and between them they scored the second goal"."Birmingham's Fine Defence. Sunderland Miss Their Chances". The Times (London): p.6. 16 March 1931. After six minutes of the final, Bob Gregg's header from Jimmy Cringan's free kick was ruled offside; newspaper reports suggest the decision was incorrect. After 24 minutes, Ned Barkas deflected W. G. Richardson's shot away from Hibbs and Richardson steered it home. Chances were missed by both sides before Joe Bradford equalised with a 25 yd on shot. But straight from the restart, Albion ran the ball down the field, George Liddell sliced his clearance to Richardson's feet, and the forward scored from close range."The Cup. Victory Of West Bromwich, A Triumph Of Youth." The Times (London): p.5. 27 April 1931.The Daily Mail match report, reproduced in Thraves, Andrew, ed. (1994). The History of the Wembley FA Cup Final. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London): pp.24–25. 978-0-297-83407-6."Albion's Cup". Birmingham Mail: p.12. 25 April 1931.Matthews (1995), Complete Record. p.19. RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceThird round10 January 1931LiverpoolAW2–0Curtis, Bradford40,500Fourth round24 January 1931Port ValeHW2–0Bradford 244,119Fifth round14 February 1931WatfordHW3–0Bradford, Curtis 249,757Sixth round28 February 1931ChelseaHD2–2Bradford, Curtis55,298Sixth round replay4 March 1931ChelseaAW3–0Firth, Bradford 274,365Semi-final14 March 1931SunderlandElland Road, LeedsW2–0Curtis 243,570Final25 April 1931West Bromwich AlbionWembley StadiumL1–2Bradford90,368 Appearances and goals This table includes appearances and goals in nationally organised competitive matchesthe Football League and FA Cuponly. For a description of the playing positions, see Formation (association football)#2–3–5 (Pyramid). + Players' appearances and goals by competitionNamePositionLeagueFA CupTotalApps AppearancesGoalsApps AppearancesGoalsApps AppearancesGoals Harry Hibbs footballerGoalkeeper36070430 Ken TewkesburyGoalkeeper100010 Dan TremellingGoalkeeper500050 Ned BarkasFull back33070400 Harold BootonFull back10000100 George Liddell footballerFull back29070360 Jack RandleFull back13000130 Charlie CalladineHalf back100010 Jimmy CringanHalf back34170411 Tom FillinghamHalf back21200212 Jack Firth footballerHalf back25421275 Alec LeslieHalf back24070310 George MorrallHalf back31270382 Lewis StokerHalf back700070 Billy BlythForward200020 Benny BondForward300030 Joe BradfordForward2214782922 George Briggs footballerForward3215603815 Johnny CrosbieForward31270382 Ernie CurtisForward408764714 Bob Gregg footballer, born 1904Forward15340193 George HaywoodForward400040 George Hicks footballerForward710071 Bill Horsman footballerForward25120271 Harry Lane footballer, born 1909Forward200020 Jack MorfittForward100010 Tommy Robinson footballerForward100010 Jack ThorogoodForward700070 See also Birmingham City F.C. seasons References General Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Breedon Books (Derby). 978-1-85983-010-9. Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. DB Publishing (Derby). 978-1-85983-853-2. Source for match dates and results: "Birmingham City 1930–1931: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 12 May 2012. Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record: pp. 302–03. Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018. Specific Category:Birmingham City F.C. seasons Birmingham