Obituary: Sir Alf Ramsey, 1922-1999 - The Life Of A Football Legend

Friday 30 April 1999 23:02 BST
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22 January 1920:

Born: Dagenham, England.

PLAYING CAREER

(defender)

1942: Portsmouth (amateur).

1944: Turns professional and joins Southampton, scoring eight goals in 90 League appearances at the club.

1948: Makes England debut in a 6-0 win over Switzerland at Highbury. Played 28 successive games and captained the team.

1949: Joins Tottenham Hotspur for record pounds 21,000, helps them to Second Division and First Division in consecutive years.

1950: Played in three games at World Cup finals in Brazil, including humiliating 1-0 defeat by United States in Belo Horizonte. Helps Tottenham win League title.

1953: Last game for England, the famous 6-3 defeat by Hungary.

May 1955: Retired as a player after 250 League and FA Cup games for Spurs, scoring 24 goals.

MANAGERIAL CAREER

August 1955-1963: Ipswich Town. Guided them from the Third Division to the League championship in five years.

1956-57: Third Division South title.

1960-61: Second Division title.

1961-62: League champions.

January 1963-1974: England manager.

1966: Wins World Cup with England, beating West Germany 4-2 in final.

1967: Knighted for services to football.

1968: England reach semi-finals of European championship.

1970: England knocked out 3-2 in World Cup quarter-finals by West Germany. England had been 2-0 ahead but, after Ramsey substituted Bobby Charlton, the Germans fought back to win in extra time. Ramsey was heavily criticised for the substitution.

1974: England failed to qualify for World Cup. Ramsey was sacked in May of that year. England had lost only 17 out of 113 games under his charge, winning 69.

January 1976: Becomes a director of Birmingham City.

September 1977-1978: Manager of Birmingham. Gave up the job due to ill health after six months.

June 1998: Admitted to hospital after mild stroke.

28 April 1999

Dies: Ipswich, Suffolk.

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