Chairman Keith Coombs Ground St Andrew's | Manager Ron Saunders Football League Second Division 2nd (promoted) | |
FA Cup Third round
(eliminated by Norwich City) League Cup Third round
(eliminated by West Bromwich Albion) | ||
The 1984–85 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 82nd in the Football League and their 33rd in the Second Division, to which they were relegated in 1983–84. They finished in second position in the 22-team division, so were promoted back to the First Division after only one season. They entered the 1984–85 FA Cup in the third round proper, and lost to Norwich City in that round after three replays. They were eliminated from the League Cup by West Bromwich Albion in the third round after a replay.
Wayne Clarke was the club's top scorer, with 19 goals in all competitions, of which 17 were scored in the league.
The last home game of the season, a 1–0 win against Leeds United in front of a season-high crowd of nearly 25,000 that confirmed promotion back to the top flight, was marred by rioting in which 500 people were injured and a 15-year-old boy died when a wall collapsed. The match took place on the same day as the Bradford City stadium fire, and both formed part of the remit of Mr Justice Popplewell's inquiry into safety at sports grounds. According to his report, the events at St Andrew's "more resembled the battle of Agincourt than a football match".