Bill Shankly

William 'Bill' Shankly (September 2, 1913 - September 8, 1981) was one of the most successful and respected football managers.

Background

Born in Glenbuck , Ayrshire, Scotland, he was one of five brothers who played professional football. Bob Shankly was also a successful manager, taking Dundee FC to the Scottish championship for the first time in 1962.

Player career

Bill Shankly played for Carlisle United and Preston North End (he also played for Partick Thistle during the Second World War) and won the FA Cup with Preston in 1938. He also won seven Scottish caps.

Honours

1934 Second Division runners-up (with Preston North End) .
1937 FA Cup finalists. (with Preston North End)
1938 FA Cup winners. (with Preston North End)

Managerial career

He was appointed the manager of Carlisle in 1949. Later he moved to Grimsby in 1951, Workington in 1953 and Huddersfield in 1956.

Shankly became the manager of Liverpool in December 1959.

Honours

1962 Second Division champions, European Champions' Cup semi-finalists.
1964 First Division champions.
1965 FA Cup Winners.
1966 First Division champions, European Cup Winners Cup beaten finalists.
1969 First Division runners-up.
1971 FA Cup beaten finalists, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-finalists.
1973 First Division champions, UEFA Cup winners.
1974 FA Cup winners, First division runners-up.

Shankly retired at the end of the 1973-74 season and was awarded the OBE.

Quotes

An interview on a Granada Television chat-show hosted by Shelley Rohde in 1981 produced arguably Shankly's most famous (and most often misquoted) quote - "Someone said 'football is more important than life and death to you' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'."

For more quotes, please see Wikiquote - Quotes by Bill Shankly

External links

• A site dedicated to the life and times of Bill Shankly