Birmingham City FC Personalised Gifts
Our Birmingham Gifts are unofficial products, and are in no way affiliated with Birmingham FC, unless specifically stated in the product information.
Birmingham City Memorabilia and Gift Ideas
GoneDigging has a fabulous range of personalised Birmingham City merchandise, including unique memorabilia and great gift ideas. Below you will find a selection of our most popular Birmingham City gifts, in addition to a few interesting facts about the Blues.
Brief History of Birmingham FC
Birmingham City FC was founded in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance. Like many other football clubs that originated in the nineteenth century, the side was originally a team of church cricketers who were looking for a way to stay fit through the winter months. Small Heath Alliance turned professional in 1885 and became the first ever winners of the Second Division in 1893. The Blues finished as runners-up of Division Two three times in the next decade and finally won the title for a second time in 1921. Following promotion, Birmingham FC remained in the top flight for eighteen years. In 1956 the Blues took part in the Inter-Cities Fair Cup, becoming the first English football club to play in European competition. Four years later, they became the first English team to reach a European final, but lost 4-1 on aggregate to FC Barcelona. In 1963, Birmingham City beat local rivals Aston Villa 3-1 on aggregate in the League Cup final to win their first major trophy. However, the Blues’ form subsequently began to stutter and league relegation enforced the sale of key players. Birmingham City reached the Premiership for the first time in 2002.
Did you know …
Birmingham City FC is known as “The Blues" due to the colour of their strip. The original members of the Small Heath Alliance decided that their kit should be dark blue and they subsequently played in any blue tops that they could find. As the kit became more sophisticated, Birmingham City established a strip of a blue shirt, white or blue shorts and white or blue socks.
Home games have been played at St. Andrew’s stadium since its opening in 1906. The original capacity was over 70,000, but this decreased to 30,000 when it converted to an all-seated ground following the Taylor Report. In 2004, plans were put in place for a new Birmingham “sports village", which would have included a 55,000 capacity stadium for the club, general sport and leisure facilities and a Super Casino. The project was going to be funded by the Birmingham City council, Birmingham City FC and the casino empire, Las Vegas Sands. However, plans fell through when the government refused to grant the city of Birmingham a license for a super casino.
Birmingham Memorabilia
We offer an exciting range of Personalised Birmingham City Gifts, which include various items of Birmingham FC Memorabilia. These presents can be kept for years to come and they are a terrific idea for any fan of the club.
Our Personalised Birmingham City Football Book incorporates a variety of match reports from the past one hundred years. Written by journalists who were there at the time, this reproduced newspaper coverage forms a fascinating record of some of the biggest games in the club’s history.
The Football Book opens with Birmingham City’s thrilling 7-0 win against Preston North End in 1905 and it goes on to feature a selection of games from domestic and European competitions. Highlights include the 1937 FA Cup final, the promotion-clinching victory against Doncaster United in 1955, and the historic 1963 League Cup win. We also incorporate reports on the consecutive 2-1 wins against Internazionale in the 1961 Fairs Cup semi-final; no other English team would beat the Italian side for forty years. Recent coverage includes the 1-5 thrashing of Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round and promotion to the Premiership, both taking place in 2007. The Football Book also features articles on the appointment of managers, such as Sir Alf Ramsey and Alex McLeish, and the record sale of Trevor Francis for £1 million in 1979.
Twelve of the best match reports are featured in our Personalised Birmingham City Diary and Personalised Birmingham City Calendar. Games include the Blues’ 2-4 win against Sheffield Wednesday in 1960, which saved the club from relegation, and the fantastic 3-0 league victory against local rivals Aston Villa in 1982. They also feature coverage of the 2-0 win against Cardiff City in 1985 and the 1-0 victory against Shrewsbury in 1992. Both games guaranteed Birmingham City promotion to the top division. These gifts can start from the month of your choice and they are a fantastic way to keep track of future events, whilst reminiscing upon former glory days.
More Gift Ideas
Our Personalised Birmingham City Commentaries make unusual and entertaining presents for fans of the Blues. A professional radio commentator will record an original commentary, based upon your choice of match highlights. Your recipient could become the hero of St. Andrew’s by saving a crucial penalty, providing a great assist or scoring a stunning last-minute goal. In doing so, they could also be nominated as Man of the Match.
Another fun gift idea is a Spoof Newspaper Headline. Recipients can become the New England Manager or a Babe-Magnet Football Star. Alternatively, they could become the Star of the Match as Birmingham thrashes local rival, Aston Villa.