Birmingham City Football Club were founded in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance. As Small Heath, they played in the Football Alliance before becoming founder members of the Football League Second Division. The most successful period in their history was in the 1950s and early 1960s. They achieved their highest finishing position of sixth in the First Division in the 1955–56 season and reached the 1956 FA Cup final. The longest period spent outside the top division included two brief spells in the third tier of English football.