A former Everton player and manager has died.
Billy Bingham was not just known for his time at Everton but quickly became a hero and legend for Southport FC. The club confirmed on their website that he died on Thursday, June 9 at a care home in Southport. During his established playing career, Bingham spent two years playing for the Toffees and took charge of Southport in his first managerial job at just 33 years old in 1965.
Bingham was the oldest surviving ex-player for Everton, with both Everton and Southport paying tribute to the former footballer. In a tribute from Southport, a spokesperson said that "there is perhaps no person who has commanded greater acclaim and admiration than Billy Bingham" in the club's 131-year history. Following his short stint of just two-and-a-half years at the Sandgrounders, Billy impressed massively by taking the club to the last 16 of the FA Cup in his debut season before they were knocked out to his former side Everton.
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In a long and moving tribute to the club's former manager, a club spokesperson said: "Bingham, who passed away on Thursday night in a care home in the town aged 90, was a revered figure in British football for his exploits as a player and in the dugout, and that respect was as evident at Haig Avenue as anywhere else.
"Bingham’s tenure at Southport may only have lasted two-and-a-half years but it is testament to the scale of his success that he left an indelible mark on the club. From guiding Southport to the last 16 of the FA Cup in his debut season, to securing the club’s first Football League promotion and overseeing one of the biggest-ever fixtures against Everton, it was a magical journey and Bingham was the architect."
During his historic time on North Merseyside, Billy took charge of his native Northern Ireland where he spent 13 years managing the national team alongside club sides and manage to take the country to successive World Cup finals in 1982 and 1986, with Northern Ireland failing to qualify since the 1986 Mexico World Cup. Dave Jones, who broke into the Everton team during Billy's reign in 1975, told the Everton website: "Billy was a people’s person and I have only good things to say about him.
"He signed me as a professional footballer… then gave me my First-Team debut away at Leicester City. He did so much for me at the start of my career. He put me in his team and kept me there."
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