December 2003 / January 2004
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see Obituaries Index
Ted (Edric) Bates (Southampton manager)
I was very
sad to hear of the death of one of the managers of the
teams represented in the 1970-71 World of Soccer Stars
Album, that this site celebrates. Ted was manager of
Southampton from1955 right through to 1973 and in the
70-71 season took the team up to 7th matching their
finish in1968-69, which at the time was the highest the
club had ever finished in the League.
Not only
was Ted the manager, but he had one role or another at
the club for no less than 66 years ! As a player he moved
to Southampton from Norwich City in 1937, and played 202
League games scoring 64 goals till the 1952-52 season,
totals that were so much reduced by the Second World War.
After his
playing career he became coach, then manager, and then
moved up onto the board as chief executive, director and
finally President of the club, a post he remained in
until he died. Ted could rightfully be called Mr
Southampton, and was awarded an MBE and Freedom of the
City for his loyalty to the club.
Two
silences have been held for Ted at the club, after the
initial one was disturbed, it was decided that Ted
deserved the right to another go, which goes some way to
explain what he means to Southampton fans to this day.
This
additional information can be found at BBC SPORT Southampton Saints
mourn Bates loss
Bates
signed for Southampton as an inside-forward from
Norwich in 1937.
When his
playing career ended, he took over from George
Roughton as Saints manager in September 1955.
His 18-year
reign as manager at The Dell was a by-word for
longevity.
During his
time in charge, he took Saints into the First
Division for the first time in 1965, and also
presided over their first sorties into Europe.
Bates was a
shrewd manager who kept the small south coast club in
the top flight with some inspired signings.
He always
claimed his best signing was Welsh centre-forward Ron
Davies, coveted by Sir Matt Busby as "the best
striker in Europe" after he scored four goals at
Old Trafford.
Bates
handed over the managerial reins to Lawrie McMenemy
in November 1973.
Saints used
Bates' experience in the role of chief executive to
shepherd McMenemy through some difficult early years
in charge.
Later he
became a director, and was honoured with his
appointment as club president.
Saints
chairman Rupert Lowe acknowledged Bates as the
architect who laid the foundations which converted
Southampton from a small, provincial club, into one
of the Premiership's best-established outfits.
Lowe said:
"He has possibly made the single greatest
contribution to this club to put it where it is today
and his record will surely never be equalled
anywhere.
"It
was a privilege to have known him and worked
alongside him.
"His
knowledge of the game was unrivalled and he was still
a good judge of a player right up to the most recent
games he attended.
"In
many ways he epitomised what this club is all about
with his decency and dignity, his loyalty, his
ability and his experience.
"It is
a very sad day for everyone involved with Southampton
Football Club as well as for his family."
Bates, who
died after a short illness, leaves a wife Mary and
daughters Jo and Jackie.
Steve Death (West
Ham United)
This
weekend I was in the process of updating the career
figures on the West Ham United page, when I came across
the curiosity of Steve Death being listed in the 1970-71
album for both West Ham United and Reading, though the
book declared that he was on loan to Reading from West
Ham from the previous season.
At this
time Steve, who was a schoolboy international for
Scotland, had played just one game for West Ham in the
League, and few would have predicted that he was to
become the mainstay of the Reading side throughout the
Seventies and into the Eighties.
I grew up
in Maidenhead and Reading was the nearest League team,
consequently Steve was one of the first professional
goalies (my position) I ever got to watch in real life.
He was a bit of a hero to me, as he went on to set the
Reading most League appearance record (now held by Martin
Hicks) and famously went 1,103 minutes without letting in
a League goal - a record to this day.
So it was
especially sad for me to hear of Steve's death at such a
young age back in October, and may I send via the Web my
condolences to his family. Thanks to David Szabo for
emailing me the information, and be sure to visit Ex-Hammers where you will find the
following obituary:
Steve
Death, the former West Ham United youth goalkeeper,
has died at the age of 54 after a long battle against
cancer.
Steve, who
joined the Hammers as an apprentice in 1967, was
restricted to just one first team appearance, as
cover for Bobby Ferguson in a 1-1 draw at Manchester
City on April 30, 1969.
His path to
the first team was blocked by Ferguson and his
understudy, Peter Grotier.
A former
England Schools international he shared the duties
with Peter Shilton Death joined Reading on loan in
November 1969 and moved to the Berkshire club a year
later for their then record transfer fee of £20,000.
Steve, who
was born at Elmswell, Suffolk, had a remarkable
record-breaking career with Reading, making 537
appearances between 1967 and 1982.
And that
was despite being a little more than 5ft 7in tall
making him the smallest keeper in the Football League
at the time.
The Reading
Evening Post report that Club historian David Downs
described Steve as the club's "greatest ever
goalkeeper". He added: "He was brave,
consistent and agile."
Steve was
in two promotion-winning sides, the second as an
ever-present in the Royals'1978-79 Fourth Division
team. He set a Football League record of going 1,074
minutes without conceding a goal.
He won
Reading's Player of the Year award four times and
also won two PFA Divisional awards, in 1974 and 1979.
Death made
up for his lack of inches with tremendous agility and
bravery and in the eyes of many supporters will be
known as Reading's greatest ever keeper.
He enjoyed
a well-deserved testimonial season in 1979-80, over
7,000 watching his benefit match against a Young
England X1 managed by his former boss at West Ham,
Ron Greenwood.
Steve left
the game in 1982 and in recent years he shunned
publicity. But, privately, he did many acts of
kindess.
Steve
returned to his native Suffolk after quitting the
game but subsequently came back to Reading. He was a
greenkeeper at Mapledurham Golf Club until early this
year.
He had
fought against cancer for several years and had been
in and of hospital. Two weeks ago he was admitted to
the Duchess of Kent Hospice, where he died last
Sunday (October 26).
Steve is
survived by his partner, Sharron, son Justin and
daughters Amber and Alex.
Reading are
expected to hold a minute's silence before their
Carling Cup tie against Huddersfield Town at Madejski
Stadium tonight
RUSSELL KEMPSON at Times Online writes the following ...
Death, aged
54, died last month after a long illness. Yet the
quirky legend of the Little Big Man, the 5ft 7in
goalkeeper who shared the England Schools duties with
Peter Shilton in 1965, will live on. Shy, introverted
and a lover of nature, with a discreet empathy for
charitable causes, he grew tall between the sticks.
After his debut for Reading against Brighton &
Hove Albion in 1969, he was described in the local
press as “an insignificantly built bundle of
daredevil agility ”.
Ten years
later he set a Football League record that stands
today — 11 matches and 1,103 minutes without
conceding a goal. From the moment that Bobby Hoy
scored for Rochdale in the sixth minute on March 24,
1979, to when the ball bobbled over the line via the
shin of Stewart Henderson, the Reading right back and
player-coach, in the 29th minute against Brentford on
August 18, Death remained defiant.
That an own
goal should end the sequence — only Dino Zoff,
for Italy, and Chris Woods, for Rangers, have
bettered it — did not bother Death. He led a
quiet, uncomplicated life, in which irony had no
place. He did his job, he went home. Yet he stood his
ground if aggrieved and held firm principles. When
his testimonial match was staged against an England
XI, he insisted that Sharon, his partner, paid for
her ticket.
Death, a
20,000 pounds buy from West Ham United, made 537
appearances for Reading over 12 years. He was
supporters’ player of the season four times and
was twice selected for the fourth division All-Star
XI by his fellow professionals. In 1979, the year of
his record-breaking exploits, Reading won the
fourth-division title.
After
retiring in 1982, Death briefly revisited his native
West Suffolk before returning to Reading. He worked
as a greenkeeper at Mapledurham Golf Club until he
succumbed to cancer and more than 100 mourners
attended his funeral, a simple service that included
some of his favourite music. Nat King Cole’s
Unforgettable seemed entirely appropriate.
Death’s
goalless run: Fourth division, 1979: Mar 24:
Rochdale (a) L 0-1; Mar 28: Grimsby Town (h) W 4-0;
Mar 31: Port Vale (h) D 0-0; Apr 7: Crewe Alexandra
(a) W 2-0; Apr 13: Portsmouth (h) W 2-0; Apr 14:
Bournemouth (a) D 0-0; Apr 16: Aldershot (h) W 4-0;
Apr 21: Hartlepool United (a) D 0-0; Apr 25:
Darlington (h) W 1-0; Apr 28: Halifax Town (h) W 1-0;
May 2: Wimbledon (h) W 1-0; May 5: Port Vale (a) W
3-0. Third division: Aug 18
Brentford (h) D 2-2
Also see Hob Nob Anyone - Steve Death - A
Reading FC Legend
Further
December 2003 / January 2004 news can be found at ...
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