Billy Bremner

Soccer Player

• Born: December 9, 1942
• Birthplace: Stirling, Scotland
• Died: December 7, 1997
• Place of death: Doncaster, England

Sport: Soccer

Early Life

William John “Billy” Bremner was born on December 9, 1942, in Stirling, Scotland, a city about halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Billy was an only child, and his father worked in a shop selling newspapers. Life was not easy for Billy; he grew up in a tough district of Stirling. At an early point, he showed the determination never to give up.

The Road to Excellence

Billy had great soccer ability even in elementary school. He played for St. Mary’s Primary School on the under-eleven-year-old team when he was only nine years old. At St. Modan’s Secondary School, known locally as a soccer powerhouse, the thirteen-year-old Billy began playing for an under-twenty-one-year-old team, Gowan Hill. He was always small, and at that age he was playing against grown men nearly twice his size. In his last year in school, Billy was selected to play four times for the Scottish Boys’ team. This gave him the chance to be seen by scouts from several clubs. He tried out with Chelsea and Arsenal, both leading clubs of the day, before signing with Leeds United in December, 1959.

Like all young apprentices, Billy had glamourless tasks to perform before he got the chance to play for the first team. Apprentices are prospects that teams expect to become excellent players, but while in the learning stages, they are assigned such chores as picking up litter after matches and cleaning first-team players’ shoes. In January, 1960, Billy made his first appearance for Leeds and showed his enormous determination to win. Sometimes this spirit went too far, however, and Billy was often ejected, fined, or suspended for losing his temper on the field. Billy’s hair color, like his temperament, was fiery, and his complexion was pale; this gained him the nickname “Chalky.” Off the field, though, Billy was a caring person who collected money for needy friends and staff at Leeds. In 1963, Billy married his childhood sweetheart, Vicky, and the couple later had three children, Billy, Donna, and Amanda.

The Emerging Champion

In 1964, Billy helped his team to win the English Second Division Championship and gain promotion to the First Division. Between 1965 and 1974, Leeds was consistently at or near the top of English and European soccer. During this era, Billy was the captain of Leeds United, and the team’s success was due in large part to Billy’s determined and demanding leadership.

Leeds lost so many finals between 1965 and 1967 that some people said that the team was unable to win. Though Leeds was otherwise highly successful, the team’s losses in several championship games led to much criticism from fans. All that changed between the years 1968 and 1974, when, under Billy’s captaincy, Leeds won the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup, the League Cup, the First Division Championship, and the Football Association (FA) Cup. In 1970, Leeds came close to winning the unique treble of League, FA, and European cups, but the team was runner-up in all three. Billy’s contribution to Leeds’s success was recognized when he was chosen as the footballer of the year in England.

In addition to his place with Leeds, Billy was selected to play for the full international Scottish team, and three years later, in 1968, he was appointed its captain. In 1974, Billy captained Scotland to the World Cup group finals, against all predictions. Pelé, the great Brazilian player, called Billy one of the best players in the world. In 1975, Billy was banned permanently from the Scottish team after he was reportedly involved in a fight following Scotland’s game in Denmark. The ban was removed in 1977, but it was too late for Billy. While at Leeds, he appeared fifty-four times for his country, a team record. At the time of the ban, he was one appearance short of the Scottish record.

Billy and the Leeds manager Don Revie had a good relationship on and off the field. The relationship was one of the most perfect manager-captain partnerships ever. A testimonial match, in which the gate receipts are given to the player, held for Billy in 1974, raised œ37,000 (nearly $75,000), a club record. Eventually, however, even Billy began to slow down, and in September, 1976, he was transferred to Hull City, a smaller club.

Continuing the Story

Billy played for Hull City for two years. Then he went to the Doncaster Rovers of the fourth division. He played a handful of games for them and was managing the team by the end of 1978. Two years later, he nearly had to play professionally again when his team was hit by the flu. Typical of Billy’s tenacious attitude, he thought of coming out of retirement for his team to have enough players. He led Doncaster to promotion to the Third Division twice before he was asked to manage his old club, Leeds United, in October, 1985. In 1987, he steered Leeds into the semifinals of the FA Cup competition, and the team narrowly missed earning a coveted promotion from the Second Division into the First Division. Despite this success, Billy was dismissed as Leeds manager in September, 1988, and he returned to manage the Doncaster Rovers in 1989.

In 1997, Billy died of a heart attack. He was posthumously honored with numerous awards including induction into both the English Football Hall of Fame and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. He was voted the greatest player in Leeds United history and, in fact, a statue of Billy was erected outside the Leeds United home field.

Summary

The 5-foot 5-inch, 150-pound midfielder was a human dynamo. Billy Bremner’s gritty performances, tough tackling, and flippant in-game comments made him unpopular with opposing teams and led to many ejections, fines, and suspensions. Nevertheless, he also led by his example of enthusiasm, drive, and determination.

Bibliography

Bale, Bernard. Bremner! The Legend of Billy Bremner. London: Chameleon, 1999.

Bremner, Billy. Billy Bremner’s Book of Soccer. London: Pelham, 1974.

Galvin, Robert, and Mark Bushell. Football’s Greatest Heroes: The National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame. London: Robson, 2005.

Hunt, Chris. The Complete Book of Soccer. Buffalo, N.Y.: Firefly Books, 2006.