Willie Bell Obituary, Willie Bell Has Passed Away – Death Cause
Willie Bell Obituary, Death – Willie Bell, a former left fullback for Leicester City, passed away on March 21, 2023, at the age of 85, following a bout with a brief illness. The news was received by the club with a great deal of regret. Matt Gillies, who was the manager of Leicester City at the time, made the transaction with Don Revie’s Leeds United in September 1967. The transfer fee was for £45,000. It was anticipated that he would take over for Richie Norman, who had served as Leicester City’s starting left fullback for the eight seasons prior to his arrival.
Willie started his professional career in the Scottish Second Division in 1957 with Queens Park as a half-back. While playing for Queens Park, he received two amateur caps for Scotland. In July 1960, Willie moved on to Leeds United. Willie played a total of 260 games throughout the course of his seven years at Elland Road, during which time he was awarded a medal for winning the Second Division Championship in 1964 and participated in the losing finals of the FA Cup in 1965 and the Fairs Cup in 1967. Also, in 1966 he was awarded two full international caps for Scotland, one each against Brazil and Portugal.
After signing with Leicester, he continued to play in all of the league’s remaining 33 matches during the 1967–1968 campaign, during which his new club placed 13th in the Premier League standings. In addition, he participated in the City’s FA Cup run during that season, playing in all six of the team’s matches until falling to Everton in the quarterfinals. Willie then played in the first 18 games of the following season, which was the 1968–1969 campaign. However, by the end of the season, when City reached the FA Cup Final against Manchester City, Willie had lost his starting position to David Nish. This occurred three weeks before the Club was relegated after 12 seasons in the top division.
In December of 1968, he filled in as first team coach at Filbert Street for a short period of time during the transition period following the resignation of manager Matt Gillies and prior to the arrival of Frank O’Farrell, who would take over for Gillies. Willie joined Brighton and Hove Albion as a player and in a coaching capacity at the conclusion of the previous season. After working as a coach at St. Andrews for five years, he took over as manager of Birmingham City in the former First Division in October 1975 and remained in that role until September 1977.
After that, from December 1977 until October 1978, he was the manager of Third Division Lincoln City. After that, he moved to the United States to teach football at a Christian university in Virginia. Moreover, he worked with juvenile offenders in the United Kingdom. During this difficult time, everyone at Leicester City Football Club is thinking about Willie’s family and friends. We are extremely sorry for your loss.
