The 1956–57 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 54th in the Football League and their 30th in the First Division. They finished in 12th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1956–57 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost in the semi-final to Manchester United. In the inaugural edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham finished top of their group so progressed to the semi-final.

Twenty-four players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Gil Merrick played in 49 of the 51 first-team matches over the season, and Alex Govan finished as leading goalscorer with 30 goals in all competitions, of which 24 were scored in the league.

Football League First Division

DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendance18 August 195612thManchester UnitedAD2–2Govan, Jones og32,95822 August 19566thPortsmouthHW3–1Astall, Govan 233,30725 August 19563rdArsenalHW4–2Brown, Murphy 2, Govan37,19729 August 19562ndPortsmouthAW4–3Govan 3, Astall25,6861 September 19566thBurnleyAL0–225,5315 September 19562ndNewcastle UnitedHW6–1Kinsey, Murphy 2, Govan 332,5068 September 19562ndPreston North EndHW3–0Govan 344,45815 September 19563rdChelseaAL0–140,53022 September 19564thCardiff CityHW2–1Kinsey, Govan39,93129 September 19566thWolverhampton WanderersAL0–344,1916 October 19566thBolton WanderersHD0–029,61413 October 19566thLeeds UnitedAD1–1Larkin34,46020 October 19566thLuton TownHW3–0Brown 2, Orritt31,78327 October 19567thAston VillaAL1–3Astall54,9273 November 19566thBlackpoolHD2–2Astall, Govan35,59710 November 19569thManchester CityAL1–3Kinsey21,00517 November 19566thCharlton AthleticHW4–2Brown, Kinsey, Astall, Murphy27,56424 November 19565thSunderlandAW1–0Orritt33,8071 December 19564thTottenham HotspurHD0–038,0358 December 19567thEvertonAL0–229,57915 December 19565thManchester UnitedHW3–1Brown 2, Orritt36,14622 December 19568thArsenalAL0–428,64425 December 19566thSheffield WednesdayHW4–0Brown, Murphy, Astall, Govan24,38029 December 19565thBurnleyHW2–0Brown, Govan31,7331 January 19576thNewcastle UnitedAL2–3Brown, Govan29,38312 January 19579thPreston North EndAL0–119,43019 January 19579thChelseaHL0–130,1572 February 19578thCardiff CityAW2–1Brown, Astall16,8549 February 19578thWolverhampton WanderersHD2–2Astall, Govan45,91520 February 19579thBolton WanderersAL1–3Astall11,2849 March 195710thEvertonHL1–3Brown23,88116 March 195712thBlackpoolAL1–3Brown17,61030 March 195713thCharlton AthleticAL0–117,8393 April 195713thLuton TownAD0–012,8816 April 195713thSunderlandHL1–2Brown24,54810 April 195713thAston VillaHL1–2Murphy29,85313 April 195714thTottenham HotspurAL1–5Astall33,51220 April 195715thLeeds UnitedHW6–2Brown 2, Govan 3, Astall30,64222 April 195714thWest Bromwich AlbionAD0–018,75523 April 195713thWest Bromwich AlbionHW2–0Kinsey, Govan30,33227 April 195712thManchester CityHD3–3Brown, Govan, Phoenix og23,74729 April 195712thSheffield WednesdayAL0–313,845

League table (part)

+Final First Division table (part)PosClubPldWDLFAGAPts10thAston Villa4214151355451.184311thWest Bromwich Albion4214141459610.974212thBirmingham City421591869691.003913thChelsea4213131673731.003914thSheffield Wednesday421662082880.9338Key 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

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceThird round5 January 1957Carlisle UnitedAD3–3Murphy 2, Astall27,445Third round replay9 January 1957Carlisle UnitedHW4–0Brown 2, Kinsey, Astall56,458Fourth round26 January 1957Southend UnitedAW6–1Murphy, Govan 3, Cox, Lawler og28,964Fifth round16 February 1957MillwallAW4–1Kinsey 2, Govan, Brown41,986Sixth round2 March 1957Nottingham ForestHD0–057,827Sixth round replay6 March 1957Nottingham ForestAW1–0Murphy36,486Semi-final23 March 1957Manchester UnitedHillsborough, SheffieldL0–265,107

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The last two group matches of the inaugural season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup were completed during this season, as a result of which Birmingham qualified for the semi-finals, in which they were to play Barcelona the following season.

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceGroup B3 December 1956Zagreb XIHW3–0Orritt, Brown, Murphy40,144Group B17 April 1957Inter MilanHW2–1Govan 234,461

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made or goals scored as a substitute. Players marked left the club during the playing season. Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

+ Players' appearances and goals by competitionNameLeagueFA CupFairs CupTotalGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGK4007020490GK20000020FB802010110FB10000010FB30001040FB4005020470FB3607010440HB71000081HB 1101000121HB20000020HB80100090HB10000010HB3707010450HB3307020420HB2705020340FW401162104713FW381673214720FW40110 (1)05 (1)1FW40000040FW352474224430FW10000010FW285731 (1)036 (1)8FW35764214312FW20000020FW1831011204FW10000010

See also Birmingham City F.C. seasons

References General

Source for match dates and results: Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 348–49, 473. Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific