1902–03 Small Heath F.C. season

The 1902–03 Football League season was Small Heath Football Club's 11th in the Football League and their 8th in the Second Division. Having been relegated in 1901–02, they reached the top two positions by mid-November and remained there for the rest of the season, finishing as runners-up in the 18-team league, so were promoted back to the First Division at the first attempt. They also took part in the 1902–03 FA Cup, entering at the first round proper (round of 32) and losing in that round to Derby County. In locally organised competition, they lost to Aston Villa in the first round of the Birmingham Senior Cup after two replays.[1]

Small Heath F.C.
1902–03 season
ChairmanWalter W. Hart
Secretary-managerAlf Jones
GroundCoventry Road
Football League Second Division2nd (promoted)
FA CupFirst round (eliminated by Derby County)
Birmingham Senior CupFirst round (eliminated by Aston Villa)
Top goalscorerLeague: Arthur Leonard (16)
All: Arthur Leonard (16)
Highest home attendance13,000 vs Chesterfield Town, 26 December 1902
Lowest home attendance4,000 vs Manchester United, 20 April 1903

Twenty-two players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. Archie Goldie was ever-present over the 35-match season, his full-back partner Harold Wassell missed only one match, and six other players made at least 30 appearances. Arthur Leonard was leading scorer with 16 goals, all of which came in the league. The 12–0 defeat of Doncaster Rovers in April equalled the club record highest win.[2]

Football League Second Division edit

Date League
position
Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
6 September 1902 3rd Leicester Fosse H W 3–1 Field 2, McRoberts 6,000
13 September 1902 2nd Manchester City H W 4–0 Jones, McMillan, Leonard 2 12,000
20 September 1902 6th Burnley A L 1–2 McMillan 3,000
27 September 1902 4th Preston North End H W 3–1 Leonard, McMillan, Wigmore 10,000
4 October 1902 3rd Burslem Port Vale A D 2–2 McMillan, Athersmith 4,000
11 October 1902 3rd Barnsley H W 2–1 Athersmith, Leonard 7,000
18 October 1902 5th Gainsborough Trinity A L 0–1 3,000
25 October 1902 4th Burton United H W 2–0 Field, Athersmith 5,000
1 November 1902 5th Bristol City A D 1–1 McRoberts 12,000
8 November 1902 4th Glossop H W 3–2 McRoberts 2, Beer 5,000
15 November 1902 3rd Manchester United A W 1–0 Beer 24,000
22 November 1902 2nd Stockport County H W 2–0 Beer, McRoberts 5,000
29 November 1902 1st Blackpool A W 1–0 Leonard 3,000
6 December 1902 1st Woolwich Arsenal H W 2–0 Leonard, Wigmore 10,000
13 December 1902 2nd Doncaster Rovers A L 0–2 3,000
20 December 1902 2nd Lincoln City H W 3–1 Harrison 2, Leonard 7,000
26 December 1902 2nd Chesterfield Town H W 2–1 Athersmith, Beer 13,000
27 December 1902 2nd Chesterfield Town A D 1–1 McRoberts 6,000
3 January 1903 2nd Leicester Fosse H W 4–3 Leonard 2, Field, McRoberts 6,000
17 January 1903 2nd Burnley H W 3–0 Leonard, Field, Athersmith 7,000
24 January 1903 2nd Preston North End A L 1–2 Beer 7,000
31 January 1903 2nd Burslem Port Vale H W 5–1 McRoberts, Jones, Beer, Windridge 2 6,000
14 February 1903 2nd Gainsborough Trinity H W 1–0 McRoberts 7,000
21 February 1903 2nd Burton United A W 1–0 McRoberts 3,000
23 February 1903 2nd Manchester City A L 0–4 20,000
28 February 1903 2nd Bristol City H W 2–0 Windridge 2 12,000
7 March 1903 2nd Glossop A W 1–0 Windridge 2,000
21 March 1903 2nd Stockport County A W 2–1 McRoberts, Harrison 4,000
28 March 1903 2nd Blackpool H W 5–1 Wilcox 2, McRoberts, Beer pen, Wolstenholme og 7,000
4 April 1903 2nd Woolwich Arsenal A L 1–6 McRoberts 15,000
10 April 1903 2nd Lincoln City A W 1–0 Leonard 6,000
11 April 1903 2nd Doncaster Rovers H W 12–0 Leonard 4, Wilcox 4, Athersmith, Field, McRoberts, Dougherty 8,000
13 April 1903 2nd Barnsley A L 0–3 5,000
20 April 1903 2nd Manchester United H W 2–1 Leonard, Wilcox 4,000

League table (part) edit

Final Second Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
1st Manchester City 34 25 4 5 95 29 3.28 54
2nd Small Heath 34 24 3 7 74 36 2.06 51
3rd Woolwich Arsenal 34 20 8 6 66 30 2.20 48
4th Bristol City 34 17 8 9 59 38 1.55 42
5th Manchester United 34 15 8 11 53 38 1.40 38
Key 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 = Points
Source [3]

FA Cup edit

Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
First round 7 February 1903 Derby County A L 1–2 Windridge 15,000

Appearances and goals edit

Players having played at least one first-team match
Name Position Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
League FA Cup Total
Nat Robinson Goalkeeper 29 0 1 0 30 0
Jack Dorrington Goalkeeper 5 0 0 0 5 0
Archie Goldie Full back 34 0 1 0 35 0
Harold Wassell Full back 33 0 1 0 34 0
Billy Beer Half back 33 7 0 0 33 7
Jim Dougherty Half back 31 1 1 0 32 1
Ambrose Hartwell Half back 6 0 0 0 6 0
Harry Howard Half back 4 0 0 0 4 0
Walter Wigmore Half back 26 2 1 0 27 2
Charlie Athersmith Forward 30 6 1 0 31 6
Oakey Field Forward 17 6 1 0 18 6
Arthur Harrison Forward 4 3 0 0 4 3
John Hirons Forward 3 0 0 0 3 0
Billy Jones Forward 14 2 1 0 15 2
Arthur Leonard Forward 32 16 1 0 33 16
John McMillan Forward 12 4 0 0 12 4
Bob McRoberts Forward 31 14 1 0 32 14
Thomas Thompson Forward 1 0 0 0 1 0
Charlie Tickle Forward 2 0 0 0 2 0
Sid Wharton Forward 14 0 0 0 14 0
Freddie Wilcox Forward 6 7 0 0 6 7
Jimmy Windridge Forward 7 5 1 1 8 6

References edit

General

  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Breedon Books (Derby). ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. DB Publishing (Derby). ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
  • Source for match dates and results: "Birmingham City 1902–1903: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 250–51. Note that attendance figures are estimated.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. ^ "Birmingham Senior Cup". The Birmingham City FC Archive. Tony Jordan. Archived from the original on 14 May 2005.
  2. ^ "Birmingham City: Records" Archived 9 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Birmingham City 1902–1903: English Division Two (old) Table" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 23 May 2012.