All Liverpool fans know who the legendary Bill Shankly was. He made the Fields Of Anfield Road what it is today. But for more background information on the great man, see below:
William "Bill" Shankly OBE (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish footballer and manager who is best remembered for his successful spell as manager of Liverpool FC Liverpool. He is regarded as one of football's greatest managers.
Shankly came from a small Scottish mining village called Glenbuck He was one of five brothers who played football professionally. He was an uncomprising, ball winning right half who was capped twelve times for Scotland, including seven wartime internationals. He played for Carlisle United for one season at before spending the rest of his playing career at Preston North End. It was while at Preston that he won his first trophy when he was part of the Preston side who won the FA Cup in 1938.
Like so many players of his generation, his career was interrupted by his Armed Forces duties when he joined the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. After his playing days ended in 1949 he turned his hand to football management, managing Carlisle United, Grimsby Town, Workington Town and Huddersfield Town, before accepting his biggest job to date as team manager of Liverpool in December 1959.
Shankly became manager of Liverpool when they were languishing in the Second Division. However it did not take him long to rebuild the team into a major force in English football. He began to do so by going back to Scotland and recruiting two players who were to become the bedrock of his rebuilt team - Ron Yeats and Ian St. John. The dynasty building had commenced.
He led Liverpool to the Second Division Championship to win 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.
To everyone's surprise, Shankly announced his retirement from football a few weeks after Liverpool won the 1974 FA Cup Final at Wembley where Liverpool demolished Newcastle United 3-0. All told Shankly managed the club for fifteen years, and he was succeeded by his long-time assistant and trusted right hand man, Bob Paisley.
Bill Shankly passed away seven years after his retirement at the age of 68.
