Bill Slade

Bill Slade
Personal information
Date of birth1898[1]
Place of birthWalsall, England[1]
Date of death1968[1]
Teams managed
YearsTeam
1931Coventry City (caretaker)
1932–1934Walsall

William "Bill" Slade (1898 – 1968) was an English football manager who took charge at Coventry City and Walsall.

Biography

Slade played amateur football for a number of minor teams, before he was appointed a director at Coventry City in 1922, aged just 24.[1] In 1931 he was made caretaker manager of the Third Division South club, after the sacking of Jimmy McIntyre.[1]

In February 1932, he became manager of Walsall.[1] He forged a strong link between Coventry and Walsall, and took Bill Coward, Chris Ball, Bill Sheppard and Freddie Lee from Highfield Road to Fellows Park.[1] The club's kit was also changed to a blue and white strip for an historic match against an all-conquering First Division Arsenal in the FA Cup in January 1933; the "Saddlers" achieved a famous 2–0 victory, and Slade's entire front line that day had previously played for Coventry.[1][2] It was reported that the Arsenal paid more for their player's boots than Slade did for his entire team.[3] The match is described by the Walsall F.C. website as "one of the most significant days in our history".[4] The club finished fifth in the Third Division North in 1932–33, and fourth in 1933–34, however Slade was sacked after a poor start to 1934–35.[1] He died sometime in 1968.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 "Past Managers". saddlers.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  2. ↑ "The Magic of the FA Cup". saddlers.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Memory Lane - Defeating of the mighty Arsenal 1933 - Banks's Stadium Walk of Fame entrant". walsall.web-fans.com. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  4. ↑ "Did you attend our FA Cup Giantkilling against Arsenal in 1933?". saddlers.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2011.

External links