Birmingham City were England's pioneers in European football
Before any other English club ventured abroad, Birmingham City were playing in the first Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1956. They went on to become the first English side to reach a European final, and in 1961 won at the San Siro, a feat no compatriot club matched until 2003.
The club began in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, turned professional a decade later and in 1888 became the first football club run as a limited company with a board of directors. Invited into the new Second Division in 1892, Small Heath won it at the first attempt yet stayed down after losing out in the old test-match system; promotion followed a year on. The name Birmingham arrived in 1905, St Andrew's opened in 1906, and the City suffix was added in 1943.
Between the wars, Joe Bradford set a club record of 267 goals in 445 games, and Frank Womack made 515 appearances, still the most by an outfield player. A first FA Cup final, in 1931, ended in defeat by second-tier West Bromwich Albion. The golden period came in the 1950s: sixth in the top flight in 1955–56, the club's best finish, and another Cup final, lost 3–1 to Manchester City in the match where goalkeeper Bert Trautmann played on with a broken neck. In Europe, Barcelona beat them in the 1960 Fairs Cup final and Roma did so in 1961.
Their first major trophy was the 1963 League Cup, won over two legs against Aston Villa, their fierce neighbours in the Second City derby. Later decades brought famous sales: Bob Latchford went to Everton for a British record £350,000, and Trevor Francis became the first £1 million footballer when he joined Nottingham Forest. Administration in the early 1990s ended when David Sullivan bought the club for £700,000 and made 23-year-old Karren Brady managing director.
Under Steve Bruce, a play-off shoot-out win over Norwich brought Premier League football in 2002. Carson Yeung's takeover followed in 2009, with a ninth-place finish, the highest for 51 years. In 2011 the Blues shocked Arsenal 2–1 to lift a second League Cup, then were relegated in the same season.
Source: Birmingham City F.C.
