17 March 1961

The 17th March 1961saw a certain Don Revie appointed as player-manager of Leeds United. He had joined Leicester City in 1943, missed the 1949 Cup Final through injury and moved to Hull City in 1950 for £20,000. Manchester City paid £25,000 for him in 1951 and his name became synonymous with the deep-lying centre-forward system they employed. Was centre-forward for their two successive Cup Finals in 1955 and 1956 gaining a winners medal in the second against Birmingham City. After five years at Maine Road he was transferred to Sunderland. When he retired as a player in 1964 he had scored exactly 100 League goals in 474 matches as well as winning six caps for England. As Leeds manager he took the club to new heights transforming them from a struggling Second Division side into one of the most powerful and successful sides in Europe although they did have an unfortunate habit of faltering at the last hurdle. They were Second Division Champions in 1964 and runners-up in the First Division in both 1965 and 1966 as well as beaten Cup finalists in 1965. Leeds won the League Championship in 1969 and 1974, the League Cup in 1968 and the F.A. Cup in 1972. They lost two further finals in 1970 and 1973. In addition they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1968 and 1971 (runners-up 1967) and were also runners-up in the European Cup Winners Cup in 1973. Revie was appointed England manager in July 1974 but controversially quit the post in July 1977 to coach the United Arab Emirates. In the late eighties he was struck down with motor neurone disease and spent his last years confined to a wheelchair. Died in Edinburgh on 26th May 1989. Was awarded the O.B.E. in 1970.