Having persuaded former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Stan Cullis out of retirement as successor to Joe Mallett, who remained with the club as Cullis's assistant,[1] they finished in tenth position in the 22-team division.

They entered the 1965–66 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost to Leicester City in the fourth, and were beaten in their opening second-round match in the League Cup by Mansfield Town.

Twenty-two players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were thirteen different goalscorers.

Forward Alec Jackson played in all but two of the team's 45 matches, and Geoff Vowden finished as leading scorer with 23 goals, of which 21 came in league competition.

In the third game of the season, away to Preston North End on 26 August, Brian Sharples replaced the injured Ron Wylie to become Birmingham's first Football League substitute.