Small Heath Alliance, formed in 1875, changed their name to Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham FC in 1905, and finally to Birmingham City FC in 1945.

They are one of the two Birmingham teams and beat their Brummie rivals, Aston Villa, in the two-legged League Cup Final, 3-1, in 1963. To date this is Blues' only piece of notable silverware.

Birmingham City turned professional in 1885 and were co-founders of the Second Division of the Football League in 1892. In 1906 Blues moved to their current ground, St Andrews. However, the ground was built on a gypsy site and it is rumoured, rather worryingly for Bluenoses, that the evicted gypsies placed a curse on the ground. Certainly, over the years there have been many attempts to remove the curse, including 'weeing' on the corner flags.

Perhaps surprisingly, Blues were the first English club to compete it Europe, when they took part in the 1955 Inter Cities Fairs Cup.

Blues have enjoyed the services of many famous managers including Stan Cullis, Sir Alf Ramsey, Ron Saunders and Trevor Francis, the latter, arguably, being Birmingham's most famous (and favourite) player. Trevor Francis was a hero at Blues and his skills were acknowledged by Brian Clough who bought him for £1 million in 1979, smashing the transfer record between two English clubs.