Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Founded in September 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, the club turned professional in 1885Matthews (1995), p. 8. and three years later, under the name of Small Heath F.C. Ltd, was the first football club to become a limited company with a board of directors. They were later known as Birmingham before adopting their current name in 1943.Matthews (2000), "Club name", p. 55. Elected to the newly formed Second Division of the Football League in 1892, they have never dropped below the third tier of English football., , and They were also pioneers of European football competition, taking part in the inaugural season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

The list encompasses the major honours won by Birmingham City, records set by the club, their managers and their players, and details of their performance in European competition. The player records section itemises the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions. It also records notable achievements by Birmingham players on the international stage, and the highest transfer fees paid and received by the club. Attendance records at St Andrew's, the club's home ground since 1906, are also included.

All figures are correct as of the end of the 2024–25 playing season.

Honours Birmingham's first ever silverware was the Walsall Cup which they won in 1883. Their first honour in national competitive football was the inaugural championship of the Football League Second Division in 1892–93. The majority of their success came in the period from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. Promoted to the First Division in 1955, in the following season they achieved their highest league finish of sixth place and their second FA Cup final appearance. They went on to reach two successive finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and won their only major trophy, the League Cup, for the first time in 1963, a success not repeated until 2011. In the 1994–95 season they completed the "lower-division double", of the Division Two (level 3) title and the Football League Trophy, a cup competition open to teams from the third and fourth tiers of English football; this was the first time the golden goal was used to decide the winner of a senior English cup final.

Birmingham City's honours and achievements include the following:

European competition Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Finalists (2): 1960, 1961

The Football League Second Division / The Championship (level 2) Champions (4): 1892–93, 1920–21, 1947–48, 1954–55 Runners up (7): 1893–94, 1900–01, 1902–03, 1971–72, 1984–85, 2006–07, 2008–09 Promotion (2): 1979–80, 2001–02 Third Division / Division Two / League One (level 3) Champions (2): 1994–95, 2024–25 Runners up (1): 1991–92

Domestic cup competition FA Cup Finalists (2): 1930–31, 1955–56 League Cup Winners (2): 1962–63, 2010–11 Finalists (1): 2000–01 EFL Trophy and predecessors Winners (2): 1990–91, 1994–95 Finalists (1): 2024–25

Wartime competition

Football League South Champions (1): 1945–46

Player records

Appearances Youngest first-team player: Jude Bellingham, 16 years 38 days (against Portsmouth, EFL Cup, 6 August 2019). Oldest first-team player: Dennis Jennings, 39 years 290 days (against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Second Division, 6 May 1950).Matthews (2000), "Age", p. 10.

Most appearances Competitive, professional matches only, appearances as substitute in brackets.Matthews (1995), pp. 201–16, 243–44.Matthews (2000), "Appearances", pp. 12–14. + Appearances made, broken down by competition and whether starter or substituteNo.NameYearsLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal11946–1959485 (0)56 (0)0 (0)10 (0)551 (0)21908–1928491 (0)24 (0)0 (0)0 (0)515 (0)31920–1935414 (0)31 (0)0 (0)0 (0)445 (0)41947–1958401 (0)36 (0)0 (0)4 (0)440 (0)51920–1932409 (0)23 (0)0 (0)0 (0)432 (0)61953–1964365 (0)35 (0)12 (0)18 (0)430 (0)71960–1970349 (1)24 (1)25 (0)4 (0)402 (2)81919–1931382 (0)13 (0)0 (0)0 (0)395 (0)91965–1980328 (8)29 (0)14 (0)12 (0)383 (8)101926–1938358 (0)30 (0)0 (0)0 (0)388 (0)

Goalscorers Most goals in a season: 42, by Walter Abbott in 1898–99. Most league goals in a season: 34, by Walter Abbott in the Second Division, 1898–99. Most league goals in a top-flight season: 29, by Joe Bradford in 1927–28. Most goals in a competitive match: 6, by Will Devey against Nottingham Forest, Football Alliance, 8 March 1890.

Top goalscorers Joe Bradford is the all-time top goalscorer for Birmingham City. He was their leading goalscorer for twelve consecutive seasons, from 1921–22 to 1932–33, and won 12 caps for England. Competitive, professional matches only. Matches played (including as substitute) appear in brackets.Matthews (2000), "Goalscoring", pp. 96–97. + Goals scored and appearances made, broken down by competitionNo.NameYearsLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal11920–1935249 (414)18 (31)0 (0)0 (0)267 (445)21970–1979119 (280)6 (20)4 (19)4 (10)133 (329)31952–1960107 (245)16 (24)0 (0)4 (9)127 (278)41890–189699 (155)12 (13)0 (0)5 (7)116 (175)51924–193398 (298)9 (26)0 (0)0 (0)107 (324)699 (236)3 (17)0 (0)0 (0)102 (253)71964–197079 (221)8 (16)7 (16)0 (0)94 (253)81954–195874 (158)13 (18)0 (0)3 (9)90 (185)91969–197468 (160)6 (12)6 (16)4 (6)84 (193)101898–190570 (173)12 (14)0 (0)0 (0)82 (187)

International caps

This section refers only to caps won while a Birmingham player. First capped player: Caesar Jenkyns, for Wales against Ireland on 27 February 1892.Matthews (2000), "International Blues", pp. 119–22. First capped player for England: Chris Charsley, against Ireland on 25 February 1893. Most capped player: Maik Taylor with 58 caps for Northern Ireland while a Birmingham player. Most capped player for England: Harry Hibbs with 25 caps while a Birmingham player. First player to play in the World Cup Finals: Gil Merrick for England against Belgium in Basel on 17 June 1954. Ken Green was also in England's 17-man travelling squad for the 1954 FIFA World Cup Finals but did not play.

Transfers Trevor Francis, who joined Birmingham as a 15-year-old, became the first British footballer to be transferred for a fee of at least £1 million when Brian Clough signed him for league champions Nottingham Forest in February 1979. The basic fee was below £1mClough claimed in his autobiography to have set the fee at £999,999 because he did not want the idea of being the first £1m player going to Francis's headbut VAT and the transfer levy raised the total payable to £1.18m. Within three months he scored the winning goal in the 1979 European Cup Final.Matthews (2000), "Francis, Trevor", p. 86. Some four years earlier, Birmingham had also been involved in a British record transfer when they sold Bob Latchford to Everton, in part exchange for Howard Kendall and Archie Styles, the deal valuing Latchford at £350,000.Matthews (2000), "Latchford, Bob", p. 132. The initial £25m reportedly received from Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham in 2020 made him the most expensive 17-year-old in world football history.

For consistency, fees in the record transfer tables below are all sourced from BBC Sport's contemporary reports of each transfer. Where the report mentions an initial fee potentially rising to a higher figure depending on contractual clauses being satisfied in the future, only the initial fee is listed in the tables.

Record transfer fees paid

+ Transfer fees paid, club involved, player name and nationality, and date of transferNo.FeePaid toForDateRefs1£10m plusFulhamJay Stansfield (England)31 August 20242£6.3mDinamo ZagrebIvan Šunjić (Croatia)26 July 20193£6m plusBrentfordJota (Spain)31 August 20174£6mValenciaNikola Žigić (Serbia)26 May 20105£5.5mBlackburn RoversDavid Dunn (England)7 July 2003

Record transfer fees received

+ Transfer fees received, club involved, player name and nationality, and date of transferNo.FeeReceived fromForDateRefs1£25mBorussia DortmundJude Bellingham (England)23 July 20202£15mSouthamptonChe Adams (England)1 July 20193£6.7mLiverpoolJermaine Pennant (England)26 July 20064£6mWest Ham UnitedMatthew Upson (England)31 January 20075£5.5mWigan AthleticEmile Heskey (England)7 July 2006

Managerial records

First full-time manager: Prior to 1911, the club was managed by committee or by a secretary-manager who combined club administration with responsibility for the team's affairs on the pitch. Bob McRoberts, the first manager whose role did not include secretarial duties, took charge of the team for four complete seasons, which included 163 matches, from June 1911 to May 1915. Longest-serving manager by time: George Liddell managed the club for six years and two months, which included 267 matches, from July 1933 to September 1939. Longest-serving manager by matches: Trevor Francis managed the club for 290 matches over a period of five years and five months, from May 1996 to October 2001.

All three of the above had formerly played for the club.Matthews (2000), "Managers", p. 148.

Club records

Goals Sourced to the Football Club History Database: Most league goals scored in a season: 103 in 28 matches, Second Division, 1893–94 Fewest league goals scored in a season: 28 in 38 matches, Premier League, 2005–06 30 in 42 matches, First Division, 1985–86 Most league goals conceded in a season: 96 in 42 matches, First Division, 1964–65 Fewest league goals conceded in a season: 24 in 42 matches, Second Division, 1947–48

Points Sourced to the Football Club History Database: Most points in a season: Two points for a win: 59 in 42 matches, Second Division, 1947–48 Three points for a win: 111 in 46 matches, League One (level 3), 2024–25 Fewest points in a season: Two points for a win: 20 in 30 matches, First Division, 1895–96 22 in 42 matches, First Division, 1978–79 Three points for a win: 29 in 42 matches, First Division, 1985–86

Matches Firsts First match: Small Heath Alliance 1–1 Holte Wanderers, a friendly at Arthur Street, November 1875 First FA Cup match: Small Heath Alliance 4–1 Derby Town, first round, at Muntz Street, 17 October 1881Matthews (1995), p. 231. First Football Alliance match: Small Heath 3–2 Birmingham St George's, 7 September 1889Matthews (1995), p. 140. First Football League match: Small Heath 5–1 Burslem Port Vale, 3 September 1892Matthews (1995), p. 141. First First Division match: Aston Villa 2–1 Small Heath, 1 September 1894Matthews (1995), p. 142. First match at St Andrew's: Birmingham 0–0 Middlesbrough, First Division, 26 December 1906Matthews (1995), p. 13. First European match: Internazionale 0–0 Birmingham City, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, group stage, 15 May 1956Matthews (1995), p. 241. First League Cup match: Bradford Park Avenue 0–1 Birmingham City, second round, 31 October 1960Matthews (1995), p. 196.

Record wins Sourced to the Birmingham City FC Archive: Record league win: Small Heath 12–0 Nottingham Forest, Football Alliance, 8 March 1889 Small Heath 12–0 Doncaster Rovers, Second Division, 11 April 1903 Small Heath 12–0 Walsall Town Swifts, Second Division, 17 December 1892 Record FA Cup win: Small Heath 10–0 Druids, fourth qualifying round, 9 November 1893 Record League Cup win: Birmingham City 6–0 Manchester City, fifth round, 11 December 1962 Birmingham City 6–0 Macclesfield Town, second round, 22 September 1998 Record European win: Birmingham City 5–0 KB, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup quarter final, 7 December 1960

Record defeats Sourced to the Birmingham City FC Archive except where stated: Record league defeat: Sheffield Wednesday 9–1 Small Heath, Football Alliance, 21 December 1889 Newton Heath 9–1 Small Heath, Football Alliance, 7 April 1890 Blackburn Rovers 9–1 Small Heath, First Division, 5 February 1895 Derby County 8–0 Birmingham, First Division, 30 November 1895 Newcastle United 8–0 Birmingham, First Division, 23 November 1905