 Statue of Bates outside St Mary's Stadium | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edric Thornton Bates | ||
| Date of birth | (1918-05-03)3 May 1918 | ||
| Place of birth | Thetford, England | ||
| Date of death | 28 November 2003(2003-11-28) (aged 85) | ||
| Place of death | Southampton, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1935–1936 | Norwich City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1936–1937 | Norwich City | 0 | (0) |
| 1936–1937 | Folland Aircraft | ||
| 1937–1953 | Southampton | 202 | (63) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1955–1973 | Southampton | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Edric Thornton BatesMBE (3 May 1918 – 28 November 2003)[1] was an English professionalfootballer who played as aforward. He spent the majority of his career atSouthampton F.C. as a player, manager, director and president which earned him the sobriquet "Mr. Southampton".
Bates was the son ofEddie Bates, who played cricket forYorkshire andGlamorgan and football forBolton Wanderers andLeeds United.[2] He was the grandson ofBilly Bates who was one of the finest all-rounders for England in the early years of international cricket.[3]
Bates was born inThetford and joined Saints on his 19th birthday in 1937, transferring fromNorwich City.[4] He soon forced his way into the first team as a centre-forward. His career was interrupted by theSecond World War, during which league football was suspended in England.[5] He initially joined the War Reserve police force, spending his time on guard duty at the Shell-Mex oil depot atHamble or the Pirelli-General cable works atWoolston.[6] In the early part of the war, Bates still managed regular appearances for Saints in the wartime cups and leagues.[5]
On 8 June 1940, Bates married Mary Smith at St. James's Church inShirley, and that evening watched Saints playCharlton Athletic atThe Dell.[7] Shortly afterwards the Bates' home was bombed and they moved toWest Wellow, where Mary found work with theNAAFI.[citation needed] Bates resigned from the War Reserve and went to work at theFolland Aircraft factory at Hamble, who also had a very good works football team,Folland Aircraft, which, as well as Bates, included other professional players such asBill Dodgin (Southampton), Harold Pond (Carlisle United),Bert Tann (Charlton),Dick Foss (Chelsea),Bill Bushby,Cliff Parker andBill Rochford (allPortsmouth).[8][9] Most of these players also guested for Saints in the War leagues.
Bates' finest playing days came between 1947 and 1951 when he formed a great partnership withCharlie Wayman.[10]
After some declining performances on the pitch, Bates made his last first-team appearance on 20 December 1952 at home toWest Ham United.[citation needed] During his career he made 216 appearances, scoring 64 times.
After retiring from playing, he became a coach at Southampton in May 1953; advancing to manager in September 1955, taking over fromGeorge Roughton.[11] Southampton were in the regionalThird Division South when he took over as manager. They were promoted to the nationalSecond Division in 1959 when they finished as champions of the Third Division withDerek Reeves scoring 39 league goals, a club record.[12]
Southampton were promoted to theFirst Division in 1966.[12] Under his management, the team maintained their First Division status, developing young players such asMick Channon andRon Davies, and qualifying for European football in 1969 and 1971.[12]
Bates decided to step down as manager in December 1973 and was replaced byLawrie McMenemy.[11] He was manager for 18 years, a record for the club.[13] Bates acted as McMenemy's assistant for the next few years, which included Southampton's historicFA Cup victory in1976.[12] Bates was the first person to congratulate McMenemy and the players as the final whistle was blown atWembley.[citation needed]
Bates then joined the Saints' board, where he would serve as a director for another 20 years before being appointed the club's president. He received the freedom of the city ofSouthampton in 1998 and was honoured with theMBE in the2001 New Year Honours for services to Southampton Football Club.[14]
Bates was widely regarded as a local hero for his dedication to the club over a period of 66 years, and his death in November 2003 was widely commemorated by the club and supporters' community.[4]
The first game after his death was the home match againstPortsmouth in theLeague Cup and was the first derby between the two local rivals since anFA Cup match atThe Dell in 1996. A minute's silence in Bates' memory barely lasted 30 seconds after jeers and boos from fans in the away end. Those who booed and jeered were widely criticised by the media and by fellow Portsmouth fans.[15]
In 2004, the Ted Bates Trophy was inaugurated with a match againstBayern Munich.[16] It was an annual friendly match held in Bates' honour by Southampton.[17]
A statue of Bates was unveiled outside the main entrance toSt Mary's Stadium on 17 March 2007. The statue cost approximately £112,000, half of which was raised by fans via the Ted Bates Trust, and the other half met by Southampton Football Club.[18]
The statue was widely criticised by supporters just hours after its uncovering, for having "tiny" arms and bearing a closer likeness to former Portsmouth chairmanMilan Mandarić than Bates,[19] so the club pledged to organise a replacement.[20] The replacement statue, by sculptorSean Hedges-Quinn, was unveiled on Saturday 22 March 2008.[21]