| 1901–02 season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Walter W. Hart | |
| Secretary-manager | Alf Jones | |
| Ground | Coventry Road | |
| Football League First Division | 17th | |
| FA Cup | First round(eliminated byPortsmouth) | |
| Birmingham Senior Cup | First round(eliminated byAston Villa) | |
| Top goalscorer | League:Bob McRoberts (19) All: Bob McRoberts (24) | |
| Highest home attendance | 23,000 vs Aston Villa,12 October 1901 | |
| Lowest home attendance | 8,000 vsStoke,17 February 1902 | |
| Average home league attendance | 15,412 | |
The1901–02 Football League season wasSmall Heath Football Club's tenth inthe Football League and their third in theFirst Division, having beenpromoted as runners-up in theSecond Division in1900–01. They finished in 17th place in the 18-team league, one point away from safety, so wererelegated back to the Second Division. They also took part in the1901–02 FA Cup, entering at the intermediate round (between qualifying rounds and rounds proper) and losing in that round toPortsmouth. In locally organised competition, they lost toAston Villa in the first round of theBirmingham Senior Cup.[1]
Twenty-six players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. GoalkeeperNat Robinson was ever-present over the 35-match season; full-backArchie Goldie and half-backAlex Leake each missed only one match.Bob McRoberts was leading scorer with 24 goals, of which 19 came in the league.
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 September 1901 | 5th | Liverpool | H | D | 0–0 | 12,000 | |
| 7 September 1901 | 3rd | Bolton Wanderers | H | W | 2–0 | Aston,McRoberts | 15,000 |
| 14 September 1901 | 1st | Manchester City | A | W | 4–1 | Aston 2, McRoberts,McMillan | 23,000 |
| 21 September 1901 | 3rd | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | L | 1–2 | Aston | 16,000 |
| 28 September 1901 | 6th | Liverpool | A | L | 1–3 | McMillan | 20,000 |
| 5 October 1901 | 5th | Newcastle United | H | W | 3–1 | Aston, McMillan, McRoberts | 12,000 |
| 12 October 1901 | 7th | Aston Villa | H | L | 0–2 | 23,000 | |
| 19 October 1901 | 5th | Sheffield United | H | W | 5–1 | McMillan 2,Athersmith,Jones, McRoberts | 20,000 |
| 26 October 1901 | 5th | Nottingham Forest | A | D | 1–1 | Jones | 10,000 |
| 2 November 1901 | 3rd | Bury | H | W | 1–0 | Wigmore | 15,000 |
| 9 November 1901 | 6th | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 1–3 | Archerpen | 6,000 |
| 23 November 1901 | 11th | Everton | A | L | 0–1 | 15,000 | |
| 30 November 1901 | 12th | Sunderland | H | L | 2–3 | McMillan,Murray | 18,000 |
| 7 December 1901 | 14th | Grimsby Town | A | L | 0–1 | 8,000 | |
| 21 December 1901 | 14th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | D | 1–1 | Leonard | 12,000 |
| 26 December 1901 | 14th | Aston Villa | A | L | 0–1 | 40,000 | |
| 28 December 1901 | 15th | Notts County | A | L | 1–6 | Leonard | 8,000 |
| 4 January 1902 | 16th | Bolton Wanderers | A | L | 0–4 | 6,583 | |
| 11 January 1902 | 16th | Manchester City | H | W | 1–0 | McRobertspen | 20,000 |
| 18 January 1902 | 17th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 1–2 | McRoberts | 5,000 |
| 1 February 1902 | 17th | Newcastle United | A | L | 0–2 | 13,000 | |
| 15 February 1902 | 17th | Sheffield United | A | W | 4–1 | McRoberts,Field, Leonard,Wharton | 9,000 |
| 17 February 1902 | 16th | Stoke | H | D | 1–1 | Athersmith | 8,000 |
| 22 February 1902 | 15th | Grimsby Town | H | W | 6–0 | Field 2, Leonard, McRoberts, Wigmore, McConnellog | 16,000 |
| 1 March 1902 | 16th | Bury | A | L | 0–2 | 6,000 | |
| 8 March 1902 | 15th | Blackburn Rovers | H | W | 2–0 | Wharton 2 | 15,000 |
| 15 March 1902 | 16th | Stoke | A | L | 0–1 | 4,000 | |
| 22 March 1902 | 16th | Everton | H | L | 0–1 | 15,000 | |
| 29 March 1902 | 17th | Sunderland | A | D | 1–1 | Athersmith | 8,000 |
| 31 March 1902 | 17th | Derby County | A | D | 0–0 | 7,000 | |
| 5 April 1902 | 17th | Nottingham Forest | H | D | 1–1 | Athersmith | 15,000 |
| 12 April 1902 | 17th | Derby County | H | W | 5–1 | Leonard 2, McMillan, McRoberts, Wharton | 10,000 |
| 19 April 1902 | 17th | Sheffield Wednesday | A | W | 2–1 | McRoberts, Wharton | 10,000 |
| 26 April 1902 | 17th | Notts County | H | D | 0–0 | 20,000 |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 46 | 57 | 0.81 | 32 |
| 15th | Grimsby Town | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 44 | 60 | 0.73 | 32 |
| 16th | Stoke | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 45 | 55 | 0.82 | 31 |
| 17th | Small Heath | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 47 | 45 | 1.04 | 30 |
| 18th | Manchester City | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 42 | 58 | 0.72 | 28 |
| 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 | [2] | ||||||||
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate round | 7 February 1902 | Portsmouth | A | L | 1–2 | McRoberts | 15,000 |

| Name | Position | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nat Robinson | Goalkeeper | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Arthur Archer † | Full back | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| Walter Bunch | Full back | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Archie Goldie | Full back | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| Billy Pratt | Full back | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Harold Wassell | Full back | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| George Adey | Half back | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Billy Beer | Half back | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Jim Dougherty | Half back | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ambrose Hartwell | Half back | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Alex Leake | Half back | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| Billy Walton | Half back | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Walter Wigmore | Half back | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| Jack Aston | Forward | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 |
| Charlie Athersmith | Forward | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 4 |
| Billy Bennett † | Forward | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Oakey Field | Forward | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| Jack Higginson | Forward | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Billy Jones | Forward | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Arthur Leonard | Forward | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 |
| John McMillan | Forward | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 7 |
| Bob McRoberts | Forward | 32 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 11 |
| Jimmy Murray | Forward | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Fred Pentland | Forward | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| James Tebbs | Forward | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sid Wharton | Forward | 29 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 5 |
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