In the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham progressed through two rounds to reach the semi-final, which was not played until the 1959–60 season.

Towards the end of the season, Birmingham and England full-back Jeff Hall contracted polio and died, only 14 days after the last match in which he played.

The death of a young, fit, international footballer helped to kick-start widespread public acceptance in Britain of the need for vaccination.

In the weeks following Hall's death, and after his widow spoke on television about her loss, demand for immunisation rocketed.

Half backs Dick Neal and Johnny Watts played in 49 and 48 of the 52 first-team matches over the season, and Bunny Larkin finished as leading goalscorer with 23 goals in all competitions, of which 18 were scored in the league.