Alan Ball Jr.

Alan James Ball (12 May 1945 – 25 April 2007) was an English professional football player and manager. He won the 1966 World Cup with England and scored more than 180 league goals in a career spanning 22 years. After retiring as a player, he had a 15-year career as a manager which included spells in the top flight of English football with Portsmouth, Southampton and Manchester City. One of the best midfielders of his generation, he was inducted in the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003. He is also one of the few footballers with over 1,000 competitive appearances (he may be the first English to have crossed the threshold of 1,000th appearance, he did so during the 1982–83 season, and Ian Callaghan achieved the milestone of playing his 1,000th official career appearance during the 1981–82 football season, so it is unclear who was the first of the two to achieve the feat). Following a brief non–league spell at Ashton United, Ball started his professional career at Blackpool at the age of 17 in 1962, becoming the club's star player and ensuring Blackpool's First Division status. He signed for Everton in 1966, winning the First Division in 1970 and the Charity Shield the same year. After five and a half years and over 250 appearances for the club, he signed with Double winners Arsenal in December 1971 for a record fee of £220,000 before being sold to Second Division side Southampton in December 1976. Whilst with Southampton, he captained the side to promotion in 1978 and the 1979 League Cup final. He spent time on loan managing Philadelphia Fury in the NASL and was transferred to the Vancouver Whitecaps for two seasons, before returning to Blackpool as player–manager and then Southampton for two years as a First Division...