The 1892–93 English football season was Small Heath F.C.'s 12th season of competitive association football. After finishing in third position in the Football Alliance in 1891–92, Small Heath, based in Birmingham, was one of 12 clubs elected to the newly formed Second Division for the 1892–93 Football League season.

During the season, the team scored 90 goals at an average of four goals per game, beat Walsall Town Swifts 12–0 to set a club record League victory which, , still stands, remained undefeated on their own ground throughout the season, and won the last nine matches of the League season to take the Second Division title at their first attempt. Promotion to the First Division was not automatic, even for the champions, but depended on the results of test matches between the top three Second Division and bottom three First Division teams. Small Heath lost to Newton Heath, the 16th-placed First Division team, after a replay, so were not promoted, although the teams placed second and third were.

Small Heath entered the 1892–93 FA Cup at the first round proper, and lost in that round to First Division club Burnley. In local competitions, they were eliminated by Aston Villa in the semi-final of the Birmingham Senior Cup and the final of the Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup. Small Heath also played several friendly matches during the season, including benefit matches for players Harry Morris, Caesar Jenkyns and Fred Speller.

Small Heath used 19 different players in nationally organised competitive matches during the season and had ten different goalscorers. Three players, Fred Wheldon, Tommy Hands and Billy Ollis, appeared in every League match. The top scorer was inside-forward Wheldon with 25 League goals, a total which made him the Second Division's leading scorer, and the other four first-choice forwards all reached double figures. Chris Charsley became the first Small Heath player to represent the England national football team, and Fred Jones was capped for Wales.

Background Small Heath Football Club's 1891–92 season had been relatively successful after several years of declining interest. On the field, they finished third in the Football Alliance. Off it, the Annual General Meeting of the club, held at Jenkins Street Board School in July 1892, heard that "skilful management, good matches, and capital 'gates had combined to produce a statement of financial affairs "distinctly creditable to managers and players", and the directors were to be congratulated. The club's application for election to the Football League First Division when it was expanded to 16 clubs was unsuccessful, but it was one of 12 clubs, mostly from the previous season's Football Alliance, elected to compete in the inaugural season of that league's Second Division. Alfred Jones had been acting as club secretary on a voluntary basis since 1885, when payment of players was first permitted. Prior to entering the Football League, the board of directors appointed him as the club's first paid official, as secretary-manager. Caesar Jenkyns captained the team.Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 8–9.

All the regular first-team members during the previous season – goalkeepers Chris Charsley and George Hollis, backs Tom Bayley and Fred Speller, half-backs Ted Devey, Caesar Jenkyns and Billy Ollis, and forwards Jack Hallam, Tommy Hands, Harry Morris, Billy Walton and Fred Wheldon – remained with the club. Others from the Football Alliance side included the versatile Bernard Pumfrey and George Short, and the long-serving Charlie Simms, who was by 1892 employed as the first-team trainer, but retained his playing registration for emergencies. Among the newcomers were back Fred Jones from Newton Heath, forward Harry Edwards, signed from Singer's of Coventry,Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 124, 141. and centre-forward Frank Mobley, who joined soon after the start of the season, also from Singer's. They played in the same kit as in the previous season: royal blue shirts and stockings with white knickerbockers.

Review

September Small Heath opened their first season in the Football League at home to Burslem Port Vale. The match was due to kick off at 3:30 pm, but the visitors arrived half an hour late. Small Heath won the toss and, with the dual benefit of a strong wind behind them and their opponents having only ten men because their centre-forward Billy Beats had missed his train, had most of the play in the first half. After a near-miss by Tommy Hands, their first goal came as "the right wing took the ball in front of goal, and after a little scrimmaging it was sent between the posts"; the goal was credited to Fred Wheldon. Port Vale rallied, and the game, "more vigorous than scientific", was even until Small Heath scored twice just before half-time. In the second half, with the advantage of the wind, Port Vale pulled a goal back, but the final score was 5–1.Matthews, Complete Record, p. 10.

Small Heath made the short trip to Walsall Town Swifts for their first away match of the season. In a "hard-fought" game, Wheldon opened the scoring after 25 minutes with a "swift oblique shot" after all five forwards broke in a line. Walsall equalised with a scrappy goal from a corner, and attempted to impose themselves on the game, but the visitors' combination play held them at bay. Small Heath regained the lead when Walsall defender Alf Pinches headed into his own goal under pressure in a crowded goalmouth. In the second half, team captain Caesar Jenkyns increased the visitors' lead following a corner, and as the players of both sides tired, the play became disjointed, both goalkeepers had several saves to make, and a Walsall goal was disallowed for offside.

A benefit match for Harry Morris, who had been a regular first-team player since 1885 and captained the club in the 1891–92 season, produced an "exciting contest" against a Birmingham and District eleven which Small Heath won 4–3. The visit to Sheffield United proved less productive. The home side opened the scoring early on, and "only good half-back and back play by the visitors prevented the United greatly increasing the lead". In the second half, with "a brilliant sun shining in the faces of their opponents", the play was more even, and Jack Hallam came close to equalising, but Sheffield United made the score 2–0 three minutes from time, when Harry Hammond ran through the Small Heath defence and scored with a "magnificent shot".

A comfortable victory against Lincoln City, with two goals from Wheldon and one each from Jenkyns and debutant Frank Mobley, all scored before half-time, left Small Heath in fourth place in the division with three wins from their September programme. According to the Birmingham Daily Gazette, Mobley, "a determined player, though on the small side, [who] passes well to his wings", made a "very favourable impression for a first appearance". Select date required via dropdown menus.

October

October began with a 3–2 defeat at Grimsby Town. The home side, who "showed a clear superiority" in the first half, led 3–1 at half-time, and though Wheldon pulled one back from a free kick against the run of play, Small Heath did well to prevent Grimsby adding to their lead. Two days later they played a close game away to Burton Swifts in "dismal" weather; Small Heath led at half-time, Burton equalised 20 minutes into the second half, but Small Heath regained the lead and held on for a 3–2 win.

Their next game was an open affair at home to Crewe Alexandra, in which the accuracy of Crewe's shooting let them down. Despite playing against the wind, Small Heath led 2–0 by half-time, a lead extended to 6–0 by the close in a one-sided second half. Each goal was scored by a different player: Billy Walton, Hallam, Ted Devey, Wheldon, Hands and Mobley, of whom the Birmingham Daily Post suggested he had "the making of an excellent centre forward". Against division leaders Ardwick at Manchester, the home club took a two-goal lead by the interval, aided by some poor shooting by the visitors. Wheldon scored in the second half, and then a heavy rain- and hailstorm began, blowing into the faces of the Ardwick players. Wheldon scored again and Small Heath pressed hard, but their shooting failed to improve, and they were fortunate not to lose the game when a shot from William Lambie hit the crossbar.

Charsley put up a good performance playing on the winning side for the Midlands against a Lancashire and the North XI in a trial match for the Football League representative team. Although getting a hand to the first shot on target, from Sunderland Jimmy Hannah, he could only turn it onto the underside of the bar and into the net. Early in the second half, he made a smart double save to thwart the same club's John Campbell, first from a "fast shot low down" and then from the rebound. Later on, Charsley held on to the ball in a scrimmage and needed the assistance of Sheffield Wednesday full-back Tom Brandon to keep from carrying the ball over the line.

In Small Heath's last game in October, at home to Darwen, a 3–2 victory was marred by a serious injury to full-back Fred Speller. Soon after kickoff. Speller was in the act of kicking the ball when the onrushing William Campbell collided with him, knocking him to the ground. A police constable administered first aid before the player, whose leg was broken, was carried from the field on a plank and taken to hospital. On a heavy pitch in poor condition, it was nearly impossible to dribble the ball, and Small Heath's decision to play on with only one back meant Darwen's attackers were frequently caught offside. In the second half, Small Heath's forwards took control, and repeated attacks resulted in goals from Hallam and from Hands after Hallam had struck the bar. Darwen's committee decided not to proceed with a protest lodged "on account of the bankings at the corners of the field", despite "the Small Heath ground hardly reflect[ing] credit on a club which holds such an important position in the football world". The win meant Small Heath overtook Darwen to reach second place in the division.

November

Because of other teams' FA Cup engagements, Small Heath played only twice in the League during November. A comfortable victory by four goals to one at Bootle on 5 November took them to the top of the table, one point clear of Ardwick who lost at Grimsby. Their next game was less straightforward. At home to Burton Swifts, the visitors' superior finishing gave them a 2–0 lead at half-time; the second half was quite the opposite. Mobley scored from a Hallam cross after ten minutes, "shot after shot was sent in to the Burton goal", and eventually, with ten minutes left, Walton headed home the equaliser. The crowd's vocal support and the home side's "desperate efforts to win" were rewarded by Caesar Jenkyns with a late header.

Billy Walton scored the only goal of a friendly match against First Division team Derby County, in which Small Heath gave a first opportunity to brothers Arnold and Fred Jones. In the first half, Derby's attacks were foiled by the defensive tactics of the Small Heath half-backs, on fine form, and Wheldon twice hit the post. Derby, who had the better of the second half, appeared to score from a free kick, but the goal was disallowed because the ball had not been touched on its way to the net. That apart, Small Heath's defence held out, and Hollis, in goal for the unavailable Charsley, "defended brilliantly". The next weekend, they enjoyed a comfortable 4–1 win against Gainsborough Trinity. Despite playing only friendlies in the second half of the month, Small Heath retained their lead in the division, level on points with Darwen having played one game fewer.

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