58 Facts About Billy Bremner

William John Bremner was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Leeds United, Hull City, and the Scotland national team.

Billy Bremner played for Leeds United from 1959 to 1976, serving as captain from 1965 through the most successful period in the club's history, and winning two League Championship medals and one FA Cup-winners medal.

Billy Bremner was the captain of Scotland's 1974 FIFA World Cup squad, playing in all three of their games in the tournament.

Billy Bremner was named as the FWA Footballer of the Year in 1970, and was included in the Football League 100 Legends, published in 1998.

Billy Bremner has since been voted Leeds United's greatest player of all time and, in his honour, the club has erected a statue of him outside the south-east corner of its Elland Road stadium.

Billy Bremner was born in Stirling on 9 December 1942.

Billy Bremner's father was a storeman working for the Ministry of Defence at its 'Back-O-Hill' army barracks, located near Raploch.

Billy Bremner played for the school's football team from the age of nine.

Billy Bremner joined a local club called Gowanhill United when he was thirteen and soon earned a place in its under-21 team.

In November 1957, Billy Bremner was one of two St Modan's boys given a trial for the Stirling Schoolboys County team.

Billy Bremner was mentioned in a notice that appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News issue of 15 November 1957.

Billy Bremner was selected to play for the county and his performances in those matches led to selection for Scotland Schoolboys.

Billy Bremner made his international debut, aged fifteen, against Northern Ireland Schoolboys at Windsor Park on 28 March 1958.

Billy Bremner played in three more matches for Scotland Schoolboys in the spring of 1958.

Billy Bremner was interviewed by the News Chronicle after the match and surprised the reporter by saying that he wanted to join an English club, because "English football is faster".

Billy Bremner added that, if he didn't become a professional footballer, his choice of career would be glazier.

The News Chronicle said the midfield tussle between Venables and the "wee but tough Willie Billy Bremner was one of the highlights".

Billy Bremner was then approached by both Celtic and Rangers.

Billy Bremner favoured Celtic but agreed to talk to Rangers first.

Billy Bremner said later that his father's final words on the matter were: "You're going to England, and that's that".

In early 1959, soon after his 16th birthday, Billy Bremner was invited to join Leeds United by team manager Bill Lambton.

Billy Bremner accepted and joined the Leeds ground staff along with his friend Tommy Henderson, who had played for Scotland Schoolboys.

Billy Bremner signed a professional contract with Leeds on 12 December 1959, soon after his seventeenth birthday.

Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Phil Brown noted that Billy Bremner showed "enthusiasm, guts, intelligence, most accurate use of the ball and unselfishness" despite poor weather conditions.

Regular outside-right Chris Crowe was sold to Blackburn Rovers in March 1960, allowing Billy Bremner to take his place on a permanent basis.

Billy Bremner won his place back later in the season after meeting with Jack Taylor to explain his frustration at being left out.

Billy Bremner was out of form and was dropped from the first team during the end of season run-in, which included a disproportionately high number of matches that had been postponed during the harsh winter conditions of early 1963.

Billy Bremner scored a half-volley in the 100th minute to cancel out Roger Hunt's opener, but Ian St John won the game for Liverpool in the 113th minute.

Revie and Billy Bremner had a strong bond of trust, and the manager had no doubts about Billy Bremner's ability to lead the team.

Billy Bremner was named as FWA Footballer of the Year for the season.

Billy Bremner recovered from an ankle injury just in time to face Liverpool in the semi-finals, and scored the only goal of the two-legged tie with a header at Anfield.

Milan at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final, though Billy Bremner missed the final due to suspension.

Billy Bremner was named on the PFA Team of the Year and finished second in the FWA Footballer of the Year voting to Ian Callaghan.

Revie's departure was tough for Billy Bremner, who had a strong bond with his manager.

Teammate Peter Lorimer insisted that the only criticism he had of Billy Bremner was in applying for the management job against Giles, which had caused to board to look elsewhere for fear of dividing the dressing room by choosing between Billy Bremner and Giles.

Billy Bremner went on to feature in qualifying games for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, but defeats to Poland and Italy left Scotland second in their group, which was not enough to qualify.

Billy Bremner played in friendlies against Brazil and Portugal, and received a black eye from Pele's elbow in a clash during a high ball; despite this being an accident it still demonstrated to Bremner how he had failed to intimidate Pele as he had done to many other great players of the day.

Many teammates said that Billy Bremner held this match as one of the proudest moments of his career.

Billy Bremner captained his country throughout the process, having first taken up the armband in a friendly defeat by Denmark in Copenhagen.

However, Billy Bremner was nearly not selected by manager Willie Ormond after Ormond found him drunk in a bar not long after Jimmy Johnstone had to be rescued by the coastguard having gotten stranded in a rowing boat during a night out following a home international match against Northern Ireland.

Billy Bremner was later accused by Zairian player Ndaye Mulamba of racially abusing him during this match, as well as spitting at Mulamba and Mana Mamuwene.

Billy Bremner maintained his innocence, stating that the incident had been blown out of proportion by the SFA.

Billy Bremner began his Leeds career as a right winger but came into his own after Revie shifted him to a central midfield role.

In that position, Billy Bremner became a "fiery midfield dynamo" whose "tireless energy" made him a natural leader on the field, always spurring his team on to greater efforts.

Billy Bremner was appointed manager of struggling Fourth Division side Doncaster Rovers in November 1978.

Billy Bremner appointed former Leeds coach Les Cocker as his assistant.

However a run of just one win in 15 games followed, for which Billy Bremner blamed his small squad and lack of training facilities.

Billy Bremner quickly reinstated Don Revie's philosophy and his little traditions, for example he reinstated the sessions of carpet bowls on Friday evenings.

Billy Bremner moved on the young players signed by former manager and teammate Eddie Gray, choosing to sign experienced players in their place.

Billy Bremner signed a new three-year contract in the 1987 close season.

In July 1989 Billy Bremner went back as manager to Doncaster, who had fallen back into the Fourth Division during his absence.

Billy Bremner had a ghost-written column in Shoot throughout the 1970s.

At the beginning of December 1997, Billy Bremner was rushed to hospital after suffering from pneumonia, but suffered a suspected heart attack at his Doncaster home in the small village of Clifton and died.

Billy Bremner's funeral, attended by many of Bremner's former team-mates and other football players and coaches, was held four days later in the Yorkshire village of New Edlington.

Billy Bremner was inducted into both the English Football Hall of Fame and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.

Billy Bremner was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame in 2004, with the acknowledgement that: "his priceless precision passing, stamina and skill led him to become a Leeds United legend and one of the game's greatest midfielders" and that he "was not simply tough but a skilful player with an ability to score in crucial games".

Billy Bremner was one of Britain's most fiery, skilful and industrious footballers of the post-war years.

Billy Bremner was portrayed by Stephen Graham in the 2009 biographical drama film The Damned United, directed by Tom Hooper and starring Michael Sheen as Brian Clough.