No. 10 – The Day Bill Shankly Resigned
We continue our 100 Days we’ll remember all our Lives countdown with Bill Shanklys Resignation voted in at number 10. TIA columnist and Forum administrator Simon Pearce recalls the unforgettable day of 1974….
“There are days in history that people don’t forget. The first moon landing, 9/11, Rememberance Sunday.
July 12th, 1974. A day in the history of Liverpool FC, indeed the history of football the world over, that will also not be forgotten in the city of Liverpool. For it is the day that the football messiah that was Bill Shankly stepped down from his post as manager.
Shanks stunned Liverpudlians worldwide. He had threatened resignation before (not that the fans knew about the first time). This time he carried out his threat. He had just been awarded an OBE, and had guided the team to a momentus FA Cup win over Newcastle a couple of months before. This only added to the shock and disbelief.
Shanks announced his resignation at a press conference, flanked by at least eight members of the board of directors, and when a TV news reporter took the news to the streets, no fan wanted to believe.
The players didn’t want to believe. Managers and players from other clubs didn’t want to believe. Shankly’s life had revolved around “football, football, football”
Now, for the first time ever, Bill Shankly had made a decision for himself, his wife Nessie, and his family. And that decision, was retirement”
The engraving on his statue outside the club’s museum captures the essence of Shankly’s triumph.
“He made the people happy,” it says.
He still does….
Bill Shanklys Liverpool Honours
League Championships – (1963-64), (1965-66), (1972-73)
FA Cups – (1964-65), (1973-74)
UEFA Cup 1972-73
Second Division Championships (1961-62).
Charity Shields (1964 – shared), (1965 – shared), (1966)
FA Cup – (1970-71)
European Cup Winners Cup – (1965-66)
Charity Shield – (1971)
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