Billy Bingham facts for kids

William Laurence Bingham (5 August 1931 – 9 June 2022) was a famous Northern Ireland footballer and manager. He was also awarded the MBE for his services to football.

As a player, Billy Bingham started his career at Glentoran in Northern Ireland. He then moved to England, playing for big clubs like Sunderland, Luton Town, and Everton. He finished his playing days at Port Vale after a serious leg injury. He played for the Northern Ireland 56 times and even played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

After retiring as a player, he became a successful manager. He led Southport to promotion and won many trophies with Linfield. He also managed the national teams of Northern Ireland (twice) and Greece. His most famous achievement was leading Northern Ireland to the FIFA World Cup finals in 1982 and 1986.

Playing Career

Club Teams

Glentoran

Billy Bingham grew up in Belfast and played football from a young age. He was the captain of his school team and played for Northern Ireland schoolboys. He started his professional career with Glentoran, earning £6 a week. He played his first senior game in March 1949. Glentoran finished second in the Irish League in the 1949–50 season. During his time there, he also played two games for the Irish League representative team.

Sunderland

In October 1950, Bingham joined Sunderland for £10,000. While playing football, he also continued his shipbuilding apprenticeship. He quickly became a popular player because of his speed and great ball control. He became the main "outside-right" player in the 1951–52 season.

Sunderland finished fourth in the First Division in 1954–55, just four points behind the champions. They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup twice. In 1957–58, Sunderland was relegated, and Bingham left the club. He had played 227 games and scored 47 goals for Sunderland.

Luton Town

Bingham moved to Luton Town in 1958. In his first season, the "Hatters" reached the 1959 FA Cup Final. Billy Bingham scored the winning goal in the semi-final. In the final, Luton lost 2–1 to Nottingham Forest.

Even though Bingham scored 16 league goals and was the club's top scorer, Luton was relegated in 1959–60. He didn't stay long in the Second Division, as bigger clubs like Everton and Arsenal noticed him.

Everton

In October 1960, Billy Bingham joined Everton for £15,000. The team finished fourth in 1961–62 and then won the league title in 1962–63! However, Everton signed another player in 1963, which meant Bingham's time there was coming to an end. He played 98 games and scored 26 goals for Everton.

Port Vale

Bingham joined Port Vale in August 1963 for £15,000, a club record at the time. He scored seven goals in 38 games in his first season. He decided to stay at Port Vale even when another club offered him a chance to return to the top league.

His playing career ended sadly on 5 September 1964 when he broke his leg during a game. He retired from playing and became a coach at Southport in April 1965.

International Games

Billy Bingham played for the Northern Ireland from a young age. He earned his first cap (international appearance) at 19 against France. He helped his country qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup by scoring a goal against Portugal.

In the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Northern Ireland surprised everyone. They beat Czechoslovakia and drew with West Germany. They beat Czechoslovakia again in a play-off to reach the quarter-finals, where they lost to France. Bingham played 56 times for Northern Ireland, which was a record at the time, and scored 10 goals.

How He Played

Billy Bingham played as an outside-right. He was known for his excellent understanding of the game, good positioning, and strong scoring ability.

Managerial Career

Southport

In June 1965, Bingham became a coach at Southport. By the end of the year, he was made manager. In his first full season (1966–67), he led Southport to promotion from the Football League Fourth Division as runners-up. This was the club's first-ever promotion! He left Southport in October 1967.

Northern Ireland, Plymouth & Linfield

After leaving Southport, Billy Bingham became the manager of the Northern Ireland national team in October 1967. This job wasn't full-time, so he also took charge of Plymouth Argyle in February 1968. He couldn't stop Plymouth from being relegated.

In August 1970, while still managing Northern Ireland, he also became manager of Linfield, a big club in Northern Ireland. His one season at Linfield was very successful. He led them to win the 1970–71 Irish League title and three other trophies: the Ulster Cup, Gold Cup, and Blaxnit Cup. He left both Northern Ireland and Linfield in 1971.

Greece

In September 1971, Bingham took over as manager of the Greece national team. Greece lost to England, which meant England qualified for Euro 1972. Bingham left his job in February 1973 after Greece failed to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

AEK Athens

Right after leaving the Greek national team, Bingham became manager of AEK Athens. He stayed for only three months. He was sacked because the team's results were not good enough to qualify for European competitions.

Everton (as Manager)

Billy Bingham returned to England in May 1973 to manage Everton, the club he played for. He signed important players like Martin Dobson and Bob Latchford. In 1973–74, he led Everton to seventh place in the First Division.

In 1974–75, Everton looked like they might win the league title, but they only won one of their last five games and finished fourth. After a difficult period and a run of eight games without a win, Bingham was sacked in January 1977.

PAOK & Mansfield

Bingham went back to Greece in April 1977 to manage PAOK. He only stayed for six months. Then, in February 1978, he took charge of Mansfield Town in England. He couldn't prevent Mansfield from being relegated. He left Mansfield in the summer of 1979.

Northern Ireland (Second Time)

In March 1980, Billy Bingham was appointed manager of Northern Ireland for a second time. This period is what he is best remembered for. He led Northern Ireland to win the British Home Championship in 1980, which was only their second win in 96 years!

He then led Northern Ireland to the 1982 FIFA World Cup. They qualified by beating strong teams like Sweden and Portugal. In the World Cup itself, Bingham's team, with players like Pat Jennings, Martin O'Neill, and 17-year-old Norman Whiteside, shocked the host nation, Spain, with a 1–0 victory. They finished top of their group and reached the Second Round.

Northern Ireland won the last-ever British Home Championship in 1984. They also nearly qualified for UEFA Euro 1984, beating West Germany twice.

Bingham proved that 1982 was not a one-off by leading Northern Ireland to the 1986 FIFA World Cup. They qualified by finishing second in their group. In the tournament, they faced very tough teams like Brazil and Spain.

He also coached Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia in 1987–88, winning the Kings Cup.

After his best players retired or got injured, Northern Ireland didn't qualify for the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. Bingham stepped down in November 1993. His last game was against the Republic of Ireland, which ended in a draw.

Later in his career, Bingham worked for Blackpool as a director of football. In 2008, he became a talent scout for Burnley in Ireland.

Personal Life

Billy Bingham was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1981 for his contributions to football. He had a son and a daughter from his first marriage.

He was diagnosed with dementia in 2006. Billy Bingham passed away in a care home in Southport on 9 June 2022, at the age of 90.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bingham goal.

List of international goals scored by Billy Bingham

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 November 1954	Glasgow, Scotland	Scotland	2–2	1954–55 British Home Championship
2	8 October 1955	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Scotland	2–1	1955–56 British Home Championship
3	16 January 1957	Lisbon, Portugal	Portugal	1–1	1958 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	5 October 1957	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Scotland	1–1	1957–58 British Home Championship
5	15 October 1958	Madrid, Spain	Spain	2–6	Friendly
6	18 November 1959	London, England	England	1–2	1959–60 British Home Championship
7	6 April 1960	Wrexham, Wales	Wales	2–3	1959–60 British Home Championship
8	7 November 1962	Glasgow, Scotland	Scotland	1–1	1962–63 British Home Championship
9	28 November 1962	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Poland	2–0	UEFA Euro 1964 qualifying
10	12 October 1963	Belfast, Northern Ireland	Scotland	2–1	1963–64 British Home Championship

Managerial

Awards and Honours

As player

Luton Town

• FA Cup runner-up: 1959

Everton

• Football League First Division: 1962–63

As manager

Southport

• Football League Fourth Division second-place promotion: 1966–67

Linfield

• Irish League: 1970–71
• Ulster Cup: 1971
• Gold Cup: 1971
• Blaxnit Cup: 1971

Northern Ireland

• British Home Championship: 1980, 1984

Al-Nassr

• Kings Cup: 1987