The 1963 Football League Cup final, the third to be staged since the competition's inception, was contested between local rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa over two legs. Aston Villa had won the inaugural competition in 1960–61, and had beaten Birmingham 4–0 in their most recent League meeting, while Birmingham were seeking to win their first major trophy. Birmingham won 3–1 on aggregate, with all the goals coming in the first leg.
Match summary The first leg took place on 23 May 1963 at Birmingham's home ground, St Andrew's. Birmingham took the lead when Harris fed Auld who crossed for Ken Leek's powerful shot, but Aston Villa equalised via Bobby Thomson. Seven minutes into the second half, the same combination of players made it 2–1, and after 66 minutes Jimmy Bloomfield met a Harris cross to score off the post to give Birmingham a 3–1 lead. The second leg four days later at Villa Park was goalless. With former England centre half Trevor Smith marking Thomson out of the game and Birmingham's defensive tactics including regularly kicking the ball out for throw-ins, Aston Villa were unable to break their opponents down.
Players and officials
First leg
1 Johnny Schofield2 Stan Lynn3 Colin Green4 Terry Hennessey5 Trevor Smith (c)6 Malcolm Beard7 Mike Hellawell8 Jimmy Bloomfield9 Jimmy Harris10 Ken Leek11 Bertie AuldManager: Gil Merrick 1 Nigel Sims2 Cammie Fraser3 Charlie Aitken4 Vic Crowe (c)5 John Sleeuwenhoek6 Gordon Lee7 Alan Baker8 George Graham9 Bobby Thomson10 Ron Wylie11 Harry BurrowsManager: Joe Mercer
Second leg
1 Nigel Sims2 Cammie Fraser3 Charlie Aitken4 Vic Crowe (c)5 Lew Chatterley6 Gordon Lee7 Alan Baker8 George Graham9 Bobby Thomson10 Ron Wylie11 Harry BurrowsManager: Joe Mercer 1 Johnny Schofield2 Stan Lynn3 Colin Green4 Terry Hennessey5 Trevor Smith (c)6 Malcolm Beard7 Mike Hellawell8 Jimmy Bloomfield9 Jimmy Harris10 Ken Leek11 Bertie AuldManager: Gil Merrick
Road to the final
Birmingham City Round 2Birmingham City6–0Doncaster RoversRound 3Barrow1–1Birmingham CityRound 3 replayBirmingham City5–1BarrowRound 4Birmingham City3–2Notts CountyRound 5Birmingham City6–0Manchester CitySemi-final (1st leg)Birmingham City3–2BurySemi-final (2nd leg)Bury1–1Birmingham City (Birmingham City win 4–3 on aggregate)
Aston Villa Round 2Aston Villa6–1Peterborough UnitedRound 3Aston Villa3–1Stoke CityRound 4Aston Villa6–2Preston North EndRound 5Aston Villa4–1Norwich CitySemi-final (1st leg)Sunderland1–3Aston VillaSemi-final (2nd leg)Aston Villa0–0Sunderland (Aston Villa win 3–1 on aggregate)
References
External links League Cup 1963 at rsssf.com