The 1891–92 season was the 11th season of competitive association football played by Small Heath Football Club, an English football club based in the Small Heath district of Birmingham, and their third season in the Football Alliance. At the end of the season, in which Small Heath finished in third position, most of the teams were absorbed into the newly formed Second Division of the Football League, and the Alliance folded for lack of membership.
Small Heath entered the 1891–92 FA Cup at the first qualifying round stage. They progressed to the second round proper (last 16), but forfeited home advantage to Sheffield Wednesday for a payment of £200 and lost 2–0. In local competitions, they were eliminated by West Bromwich Albion in the second round of the Birmingham Senior Cup and by Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final of the Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup. Small Heath also played several friendly matches during the season.
Small Heath used 23 different players in nationally organised competitive matches during the season and had eleven different goalscorers. Five players, full-back Fred Speller, half-backs Ted Devey and Billy Ollis, and forwards Jack Hallam and Fred Wheldon, were ever-present over the 29-match season. The top scorer was inside-forward Wheldon with 29 goals in all competitions, of which 21 were scored in the Alliance. Caesar Jenkyns became the first player to be capped for his country while a Small Heath player when he took the field for Wales against Ireland on 27 February 1892.
Background
At the Annual General Meeting of the Football Alliance, the bottom four teams, of which Small Heath was one, were all re-elected.Saturday's Football Matches. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 11 May 1891. The club were £234 in debt at the end of the season. The Birmingham Daily Post suggested that
Players leaving included Will Devey, top scorer in the previous two seasons, who joined Football League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. New players included the former Warwick County players George Hollis (goalkeeper), Billy Ollis (centre half) and Frederick Wilkes (centre forward). In a friendly match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of the previous season, Hollis appeared to lack confidence, Ollis "would have been more useful if he had looked after the ball a little more instead of his opponents", and Wilkes' passing was wild but did "some smart work" and contributed to a goal with "exceedingly plucky play".Notes on Sport. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 20 April 1891. Arthur Carter, a forward who had also joined Small Heath from Warwick County, was obliged to retire on medical advice after a serious leg injury.Northern Notes. Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper (London). p. 1. 16 August 1891. The Post kept up its encouragement:
The team played in the same kit as in the previous season: royal blue shirts and stockings with white knickerbockers.Birmingham City. Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 18 July 2012. Caesar Jenkyns was captain.Football. The Wrexham Advertiser. p. 3. 20 February 1892.
Review
September–October George Hollis's goalkeeping came in for praise as Small Heath began their season in a howling gale, despite Aston Villa beating their visitors 5–1 in a friendly match. The committee experimented with their team selection for the first Alliance match of the season, at home to Burton Swifts, Fred Speller moving up from full back to partner Jack Hallam on the right side of the forward line. Small Heath took an early lead through a combination of Frederick Wilkes and Hallam, but Burton, showing more skill than the home forwards, equalised in the first half. After the interval, Hallam scored after Wilkes' shot was parried, then Wilkes himself made the final score 3–1.The Alliance. Small Heath v. Burton. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 7 September 1891. Despite playing into the sun, Birmingham St George's took a first-half lead, increased early in the second half. Small Heath's shooting was poor throughout, but Walter Brown eventually scored with a header from Tommy Hands' cross, and on the stroke of time, Hands himself secured a "lucky draw".Notes on Sport and The Alliance. Small Heath v. St. George's. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 5. 14 September 1891. A "sturdy, bustling game" got the better of West Bromwich Albion in a friendly by four goals to nil, Hallam contributing three and Billy Walton the fourth. Billy Ollis had to leave the field with a damaged eye after colliding with fellow half back Caesar Jenkyns.
Four goals to one adrift by half time in the reverse fixture at Burton Swifts, Small Heath "never looked likely to get on even terms" as they lost 6–3.The Association Game in England. Burton Swifts v. Small Heath Alliance. Glasgow Herald. p. 10. 21 September 1891. A friendly visit to Wolverhampton Wanderers on a slippery surface was ended with 15 minutes still to go, because of rain and poor visibility, with Wanderers 2–0 ahead. Although a Small Heath team weakened by injury beat Lincoln City 4–0, the Birmingham Daily Post suggested that "if the forwards would learn to understand each other's movements and play a collective game, instead of trying to shine individually, the result would be a great deal more beneficial" to the club.Notes on Sport. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 5. 28 September 1891. They finished September in second place in the Alliance, behind Nottingham Forest, who had won all four of their matches.The Football Alliance. Results to Date. Yorkshire Herald. p. 8. 3 October 1891.
October began with a comfortable victory, by six goals to two, at Leicester Fosse in the first qualifying round of the 1891–92 FA Cup.Saturday's Football. The Association Cup. Small Heath v. Leicester Fosse. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 5 October 1891. There followed two Alliance games in three days. On the Thursday, Nottingham Forest scored two second-half goals to take an end-to-end game.Football. Notts. Forest v. Small Heath .Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 9 October 1891. On the Saturday, Small Heath started the match at home to Sheffield Wednesday on a Coventry Road pitch with pools of standing water and with only nine men. Once the latecomers arrived, the home team made a better fight of it, and Arthur Millard opened the scoring early in the second half. Wednesday soon equalised, and Small Heath, down to ten men because of a leg injury to Tommy Hands, held on for a draw.Saturday's Football. The Alliance. Small Heath v. Sheffield Wednesday. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 12 October 1891. By the next Saturday, the playing surface had improved to greasy. Visitors Walsall Town Swifts scored first after about 20 minutes, which provoked Small Heath into action, and the remainder of the game was one-sided, finishing as a 4–1 home win. The Post heaped particular praise on the half-back line, Ollis, Jenkyns and Ted Devey, who "worked wonders, for they not only checkmated their opponents, but fed their own forwards very judiciously, and were always ready to assist in the defence when the necessity arose."Notes on Sport. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 19 October 1891.
Small Heath visited Burton Wanderers in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup. After a fruitless wait for the allotted referee, the match began with a substitute official. Heath scored from their first attack, after which Wanderers adopted physical tactics, Small Heath joined in, and the quality of the game deteriorated. After Wanderers equalised, Tommy Hands received a kick on the temple – the player habitually stooped low to head the ball – and the ten men of Small Heath settled for a draw.Notes on Sport. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 26 October 1891. The draw cost Small Heath £20, to be paid to Lincoln City, their scheduled opponents for the following Saturday, in compensation for their match being postponed to accommodate the Cup replay. Wanderers put up a better show in the replay, and Small Heath's half backs were "unaccountably insecure", but strong defensive play by goalkeeper Chris Charsley and full backs Tom Bayley and Fred Speller allowed Heath to cling on to a 2–1 win.Notes on Sport. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 2 November 1891.
November–December
Small Heath included a trialist, centre-forward Young of local team Unity Gas, in their team for a friendly at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers; the match finished as a three-all draw. They disposed of Burton Swifts in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup by four goals to two. The forwards' combination play and their confidence made the difference between the two sides, despite Harry Morris, playing at centre-forward, missing several chances,Notes on Sport. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 8. 16 November 1891. aided by the half-back pair of Jenkyns and Devey, "whose power and activity at heading is almost proverbial".Association Cup Ties. Small Heath v. Burton Swifts. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 16 November 1891. Swifts protested to the Football Association about the unfitness of the Coventry Road ground, but their protest was dismissed.The English Challenge Cup. The Yorkshire Herald. p. 8. 19 November 1891. Small Heath allowed Chris Charsley to join Football League club West Bromwich Albion.Notes on Sport. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 5. 23 November 1891.
His successor, George Hollis, enjoyed a fortunate visit to Bootle in the Alliance. The Liverpool Mercury reported the referee was not in a position to spot that Hollis had caught Jamieson's low shot "apparently ... a foot over the line", and Caesar Jenkyns' first-half goal decided the contest.The Alliance. Bootle v. Small Heath. Liverpool Mercury. p. 7. 23 November 1891. A "storm of wind and rain" reduced the attendance for the visit to local rivals Birmingham St George's to around 500, but those few present accompanied the play with "a running fire of vigorously-expressed comments", and on each occasion that Jenkyns ended up on the ground, "his downfall appeared to give unspeakable pleasure to the home supporters, who rejoiced greatly as he gradually became plastered in mud from head to foot." After two goals were disallowed for offside, St George's won an understandably poor game with a single legitimate goal, scored late on.Notes on Sport. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 5. 30 November 1891.
Charsley returned to represent Small Heath in the final qualifying round of the FA Cup against Brierley Hill Alliance. Wheldon gave Heath a very early lead, but sloppy play by the half-backs allowed the visitors an equaliser within two minutes. After which Small Heath took control of the game, without playing particularly well, and qualified for the rounds proper of the competition by a score of 6–2.English Cup Ties. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 7. 7 December 1891. They retained their unbeaten home record against Crewe Alexandra in the Alliance. On a pitch "in such a sodden state that it was impossible for the players to pass correctly or shoot with any degree with accuracy", Heath won 3–1 with goals from a Jenkyns free kick and two by Hallam.Notes on Sport. Birmingham Daily Post. p. 5. 14 December 1891. Off the field, Lincoln City successfully applied to the Football Alliance for Small Heath to pay forthwith the £20 owed them for agreeing to rearrange their match.Football. The Alliance. Liverpool Mercury. p. 7. 19 December 1891.