Jimmy Hill was a man of
many talents and Coventry City and the City of Coventry benefited
enormously from his time as manager and later chairman of the
football club. In the 1960s I was one of the hordes of Coventry and
Warwickshire boys who followed our very own Pied Piper down a golden
path to success.
The five and a half
years of his time as manager, from December 1961 to May 1967, remains
the most exciting and momentous era in the history of the club.
Nothing before or since, with the brief exception of the few weeks
around Wembley 1987, can compare to those marvellous days which came
to be known as the 'Sky Blue Era'. In a unique partnership with the
go-ahead chairman Derrick Robins, he transformed Coventry City from
an ailing Third Division side in a run-down stadium into the most
progressive club in England that would grace the top flight for 34
years.
Born in Balham, South
London on 22 July 1928 Jimmy was first spotted by Reading manager Ted
Drake whilst playing for his regiment whilst doing National Service
in 1948. He never made the Reading first team and in 1949 after being
released he joined Brentford where he soon got a first team chance as
a centre-forward. Converted to a wing-half he spent three years at
Griffin Park making 87 appearances before making the short journey to
Fulham.
He spent nine happy
years at Craven Cottage, mainly at inside-forward, before a knee
injury ended his career and was a wholehearted and enthusiastic
member of the team that almost reached Wembley in 1958 and won
promotion to Division One in 1959. During his time there he became
the chairman of the Professional Footballers Association and was
instrumental in the abolition of the maximum wage for players in
1961, upsetting many stick-in-the mud club chairmen along the way.
The first major beneficiary of his union success was his Fulham
team-mate and England captain Johnny Haynes, who became England's
first £100-a-week player.
It was a chance meeting
with Derrick Robins at the 1961 Lord's Taveners' Ball in London which
opened up the Coventry managerial opportunity for Jimmy. The two hit
it off and Jimmy was offered the City manager's job but only if he
had complete control – the first City manager to have such power. A
2-1 home FA Cup defeat by non-league Kings Lynn was the catalyst for
change, although he had been offered the post a week earlier.
His first match in
charge was a 1-0 home win over Northampton and although the team won
four of his first five games in charge, by the end of the season City
were in the bottom half of the Third Division with gates under 6,000.
Coventry's younger fans would however remember his first Christmas in
charge - he introduced a massively popular pop and crisps fuelled
autograph session with the players. Jimmy knew how to nurture the
next generation of fans and that simple act is still remembered by a
generation of Sky Blue supporters.
Hill started making
changes from the moment he walked into the club. He revolutionised
the players' training, he removed the ban on players talking to the
media and he sacked the complete back-room staff including loyal
servants such as Alf Wood and Ted Roberts. Foreign clubs were
invited to Highfield Road for floodlight friendlies, a fund-raising
pool was launched and ground improvements planned.
The club was never out
of the limelight and his innovations were admired nationwide. He
introduced the Sky Blue train, Radio Sky Blue, pre-match
entertainment, the Ryton training ground and the Sky Blue song as
well as developing the ground into a modern, well-equipped stadium.
Not everyone welcomed his innovations however and his critics said he
was a gimmick merchant and riding on a horse in full hunting regalia
around Highfield Road before a testimonial match played into the
critic's hands.
Two of his many great
attributes however were his ability to deal in the transfer market
and the strength of his convictions and he was never afraid to make
what were, at the time, unpopular decisions and see them through. The
sale of 29-goal top scorer Terry Bly in 1963 was a case in point. The
fans were in uproar when he was sold but within weeks it proved to be
an inspired decision as Bly’s career tailed off and his
replacement, George Hudson, became the most idolized player in the
club’s history. Three years later there was further hullabaloo when
Hudson was sold – hundreds of fans shunned City's big Cup match at
Everton in protest and travelled to Northampton to see 'The Hud' make
his debut. A year later when promotion was secured to Division One,
Hill’s judgement was vindicated.
In the close season of
1962 Jimmy was given £30,000 to strengthen the team. He largely kept
faith with the defence he had inherited, built around the
man-mountain captain George Curtis, and used the money to buy a brand
new forward line including a club record £12,000 on centre-forward
Bly. He introduced a continental-style all-Sky Blue kit which soon
got the local press calling the team the 'Sky Blues' and Jimmy, along
with director John Camkin wrote the words to a club song to the tune
of the Eton Boating Song. On the pitch the club reached the quarter
finals of the FA Cup after an unforgettable victory over Sunderland
at Highfield Road when an estimated 50,000 fans watched as City
pulled of a giant-killing act with two late goals. The Cup run put
the club back into the national limelight and although they missed
out on promotion from Division Three they had almost doubled the
average league crowd to 17,000 with massive away followings that were
the envy of the top clubs in the land.
More changes came in
1963 with the sloping pitch levelled and work commencing on the 'Sky
Blue Stand' to replace the rickety 1910 stand. A dazzling start to
the 1963-64 season saw the team race away at the top – they were
nine points clear on January 3rd – only to suffer a slump in the
New Year. It was a great test of Jimmy's ability to motivate his
players and he faced criticism from some fans. The nine-point lead
was whittled away and their two closest rivals overtook them. Hill
made two key strategic short-term signings and the collapse was
arrested. A win on the final day over Colchester in front of almost
37,000 clinched the Third Division title.
The 1964-65 season
started with five straight victories and the fans dreamed of
successive promotions but it turned out to be a season of
consolidation in Division Two. Jimmy didn't rest on his laurels
however and splashed out a world record £35,000 fee for goalkeeper
Bill Glazier and a similar sum for Chelsea full-back Allan Harris.
The team however was still dominated by players who had cost little
or nothing including Curtis, Ronnie Rees, Ernie Machin, Dietmar
Bruck, Mick Kearns and Brian Hill.
The team made a serious
challenge for promotion in 1965-66 but missed out by one point. The
fans believed Hill's decision to sell their idol George Hudson in
March had cost the club promotion and although Hudson's career went
on a downward trajectory, many never forgave him for the act. 'JH'
was confident that local boy Bobby Gould would score the goals but
the fans needed a new hero & the club transfer record was smashed
to bring Scottish midfielder Ian Gibson to Coventry.
Neither 'Gibbo' nor the
team set the world on fire in the early months of 1966-67 and it
seemed that Hill had made a major error in the transfer market. After
a League Cup exit to lowly Brighton and with 'Gibbo' looking set to
leave, JH was under pressure. Jimmy and his star player buried the
hatchet and suddenly the team's form clicked. A run of 25 unbeaten
games saw the Sky Blues win the Second Division title with the
highlight being a victory over their closest rivals Wolves at
Highfield Road in front of a record crowd of over 51,000. At the end
of the match Jimmy conducted the thousands of fans on the pitch to a
moving rendition of the Sky Blue Song. The crowds were flocking to
Highfield Road to see the Sky Blue miracle and the club had the
highest attendances of any Midland club with an average of over
28,000.
Jimmy oversaw more
ground improvements that summer including the construction of the
West Stand in twelve weeks, but behind the scenes a major story was
brewing. Jimmy resigned on the eve of the club's debut in the First
Division, to become Head of Sport for London Weekend Television. The
news was a bombshell to both the supporters and players alike but his
mind was made up. He later revealed that if Derrick Robins had met
his request for a ten-year contract he would have stayed. After the
impact he had on the club, many feel that it was a tragedy that Jimmy
never took the opportunity to test his abilities at the highest
level. Whether he would have been a success or not will never be
known.
Jimmy was a natural on
television and virtually invented the TV pundit role working
alongside Brian Moore on 'The Big Match'. In 1973 he switched
channels and joined the BBC and became the presenter of 'Match of the
Day. His authoritative voice, insightful comments and sometimes
controversial views not to mention his football knowledge made him a
national treasure although 'the chin', as he was known, was often
caricatured.
In 1975 he returned to
Coventry City as their first paid managing director but times had
changed and the club had serious financial difficulties. Although he
turned things around not all of his ideas went down well with the
supporters. In 1981 in an effort to combat hooliganism he spearheaded
the club's move to make Highfield Road all-seated and then watched as
crowds plummeted with fans put off by the sterile feel of the
stadium, higher prices and inconvenient ticket arrangements.
An investment in North
American football was unsuccessful and the club's and his personal
investment was lost. In 1983 he stepped down as chairman of the club
but stayed involved in football with stints as chairman of Charlton
Athletic and Fulham, helping both clubs through difficult times. In
2011, in what would be his last public appearance, he unveiled his
own statue at the Ricoh Arena. Sadly Alzheimer's Disease had taken
hold and Jimmy spent his last days in a care home.
Throughout his whole
multi-faceted career Jimmy Hill was always committed to innovation in
every aspect of the game, and at all times believed supporters came
first. His influence lives on at Coventry City and throughout the
wider football world. He was a true legend.
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