Bill Shankly

Bill Shankly

William "Bill" Shankly OBE (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish footballer and manager who is best remembered for his management of Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of football's most successful and respected managers.

Shankly came from a small Scottish mining community as one of five brothers who played football professionally and was a ball winning right half who was capped twelve times for Scotland, including seven wartime internationals. He spent one season at Carlisle United before spending the rest of his career at Preston North End, where he won the FA Cup in 1938. His career was interrupted by his service in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He became a manager after he retired from playing in 1949, managing Carlisle United, Grimsby Town, Workington and Huddersfield Town, before accepting the job as team manager of Liverpool in December 1959.

Shankly took charge of Liverpool when they were in the Second Division and rebuilt the team into a major force in English football. He led Liverpool to the Second Division Championship to gain promotion to the top-flight First Division in 1962, before going on to win three First Division Championships, two FA Cups, four Charity Shields and one UEFA Cup. Shankly announced his surprise retirement from football a few weeks after Liverpool won the 1974 FA Cup Final, having managed the club for fifteen years, and was succeeded by his long-time assistant Bob Paisley. He died seven years later at the age of 68.