Billy Hampson
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player and later manager.
Hampson was born in Radcliffe, Lancashire
Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
Radcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester. Radcliffe is contiguous with the town of Whitefield to the...
. He played for Rochdale
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
, Bury
Bury F.C.
Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...
and Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
before moving to Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
for £1,250 in January, 1914. However before Hampson could properly settle at the club, war
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out later that year and Newcastle closed St James' Park
St James' Park
St James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...
. Hampson was determined to continue playing, and joined Leeds City as a 'guest' player during the war. He was a regular, turning out in 91 matches between December 1916 and April 1919 and helping them to win the unofficial title of League Champions in 1918.
When the war ended he returned to Newcastle at the age of 37 but found he had lost his place in the first team to an even older player, Billy McCracken
Billy McCracken
Billy McCracken was a Northern Irish association football player. His position was defender....
. Hampson pledged to fight for a first-team place at the club and was granted it when McCracken left in 1923 to manage Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
. He went on to become the oldest FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
finalist ever when he appeared in the 1924 Final, in which Newcastle beat Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
2–0. Hampson was 41 years and eight months old at the time.
He stayed at Newcastle for the next three years, before leaving for nearby South Shields
South Shields F.C.
South Shields F.C. are a football club based in South Shields, England. They have a long and complicated history, with three distinct incarnations taking the name...
in September 1927. He continued playing until March 1930, when he finally retired at the age of 47. He was back in the game instantly as he took over as manager of lowly Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
later that month. His time at the club was largely unsuccessful as the team finished 15th and conceded 101 goals in his first campaign. However he did unearth two footballing gems in Bill Shankly
Bill Shankly
William "Bill" Shankly, OBE was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Liverpool between 1959 and 1974. One of Britain's most successful and respected football managers, Shankly was also a fine player whose career was interrupted by the Second World War...
and Bob Batey, who went on to have excellent reputations. He left the club in May, 1933.
He had a short stint in charge of Ashington
Ashington A.F.C.
Ashington A.F.C. is an English non-league football club from Ashington, Northumberland, currently playing in the Northern League Division One. The team, nicknamed "The Colliers", play their home matches at Woodhorn Lane....
back in the north-east before taking over from Dick Ray
Dick Ray
Richard "Dick" Ray was a professional footballer and manager. He became a manager for Leeds United, Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City.-Playing career:...
as manager of Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
in March 1935. They finished 18th at the end of his first season in charge. Hampson felt the team need experienced players which prompted him to sign former England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
internationals, goalkeeper Albert McInroy
Albert McInroy
Albert McInroy was an English professional football goalkeeper who played his club football for Sunderland, Newcastle United and Leeds United...
and forward George Brown, in the summer. The signings didn't prove to have a great effect on the club's fortunes, but they consolidated their First Division status in the few years before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. They avoided relegation by just two points in 1936–37
1936-37 in English football
The 1936–37 season was the 62nd season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour...
. Hampson began to develop a lot of young players, leading to Leeds' only Central League win that same season. He was also known for scouting Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
for young players. His squad generally consisted of both youth and experience but by the team football officially restarted after the war, in 1946–47
1946-47 in English football
The 1946–47 season was the 67th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The 1946–47 season was the first to feature a full football programme since the 1938–39 campaign. Eighty-eight teams competed over four divisions. Liverpool went top of the First Division with a 2–1 away win over...
, these players were well past their best. Hampson stood by his pre-war squad which proved to be the downfall.
Leeds had a dreadful season, with only one point taken away from Elland Road
Elland Road
Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...
and just six victories all year. They finished bottom with eighteen points – fifteen points away from safety. Hampson resigned soon after the relegation and was replaced by former Leeds player Willis Edwards
Willis Edwards
Willis Edwards was an English former professional football player and manager.-Biography:Willis Edwards was born in the mining village of Newton, North East Derbyshire, not far from Chesterfield and Alfreton...
in April 1947. Hampton continued working at the club until October of that year as the chief scout, before coaching in schools football.
In total Hampson held the post of Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
manager for 12 years. However, as that period spanned the Second World War, he was only in charge for five seasons of official football.