Alan Ball
Alan Ball
Personal information
Full name	Alan James Ball
Date of birth	May 12, 1945
Place of birth	Farnworth, Lancashire, England
Height	5'8"
Position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	n/a
Youth clubs
-1961 1961-1962	Bolton Wanderers Blackpool
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1962-1966 1966-1971 1971-1976 1976-1978 1978 1979 1980-1981 1981-1982 1982-1983 1983-1984	Blackpool Everton Arsenal Southampton Philadelphia Fury Vancouver Whitecaps Blackpool Southampton Bulova Bristol Rovers	116 (41) 208 (66) 177 (45) 132 (9) 30 (5) 63 (2) 17 (2)
National team
1965-1975	England	72 98)
Teams managed
1980-1981 1984-1989 1989-1991 1991-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1998-1999	Blackpool Portsmouth Stoke City Exeter City Southampton Manchester City Portsmouth
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. Image File history File links Alan_ball. ... Image File history File links Alan_ball. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Location within the British Isles Farnworth is a town in the borough of Bolton in England. ... Lancashire is a county in North West England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... Bolton Wanderers F.C. are an English professional football club based in Horwich, near Bolton. ... Blackpool Football Club are an English football club currently in Football League One. ... Blackpool Football Club are an English football club currently in Football League One. ... Everton Football Club is located in the city Liverpool in Merseyside, England. ... Arsenal Football Club (also known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners) are an English professional football club based in north London. ... Southampton Football Club (originally St. ... The Philadelphia Fury were a soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. ... For details of the current season, see Bristol Rovers F.C. season 2006-07 Bristol Rovers are a professional football team based in Bristol, England. ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Largest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Worst defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... Blackpool Football Club are an English football club currently in Football League One. ... Founded in 1898, Portsmouth Football Club are an English association football club based in the south coast city port of Portsmouth. ... Stoke City Football Club (known as Stoke Football Club until 1925) is a football club from Stoke-on-Trent in England. ... Exeter City F.C. are an English football club, based in Exeter, who have played in the Football League for most of its history, but now play in the Nationwide Conference. ... Southampton Football Club (originally St. ... Manchester City Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Manchester. ...

Alan James Ball, MBE (born May 12th 1945 in Farnworth, Lancashire) is an English former professional footballer and football club manager. He was the youngest member of England's 1966 World Cup winning team. Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Location within the British Isles Farnworth is a town in the borough of Bolton in England. ... Lancashire is a county in North West England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Largest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Worst defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... 1966 was a year of triumph for the host nation, England, which won in a controversial final beating West Germany 4-2. ...

Playing Career

The son of Alan Ball Senior, a footballer and manager, Ball was a tireless, marauding midfield player who could operate centrally or on the right flank, Ball came to prominence at Blackpool after falling foul of his headmaster over missing games for his school team due to a youth contract he had acquired with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Alan Ball senior (26 September 1924 - 2 January 1982), was an English footballer and manager. ... Blackpool Football Club are an English football club currently in Football League One. ... In the UK and elsewhere, a head teacher is the most senior teacher in a school. ... Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. are a Wolverhampton-based football club playing at Molineux. ...

After leaving school, Wolves decided not to take Ball on, and he started training with Bolton Wanderers but they too decided not to give him a professional deal, saying he was too small. Blackpool then signed him up after Ball's father, called in a favour with the coach, an old friend with whom he used to play. Ball was given a trial in September 1961 and was immediately signed up as an apprentice. He turned professional in May 1962, making his league debut the same year. Bolton Wanderers F.C. are an English professional football club based in Horwich, near Bolton. ...

Despite being in an unglamorous and struggling team, Ball's industry, stamina and distribution were noticed by England manager Alf Ramsey, who gave him his international debut on May 9, 1965 in a 1-1 draw with Yugoslavia in Belgrade, three days before his twentieth birthday. Ramsey was preparing for the World Cup a year later, which England was to host, and was developing a system whereby England could deploy midfielders with a defensive and industrious bent, something which was not wholly guaranteed from conventional wide men. As a result, Ball became a useful tool for Ramsey to use - able to play conventionally wide or in the centre but still in possession of the energy to help out his defence when required. Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (born January 22, 1920 in Dagenham, Essex; died April 28, 1999) was a footballer and manager of the English national football team from 1963 to 1974. ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... First international Czechoslovakia 7 - 0 Yugoslavia (Antwerp, Belgium; 28 August 1920) Last International Netherlands 2 - 0 Yugoslavia (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 25 March 1992) Largest win Yugoslavia 10 - 1 India (Helsinki, Finland; 15 July 1952) Yugoslavia 9 - 0 Zaire (Gelsenkirchen, Germany; 18 June 1974) Worst defeat Czechoslovakia 7 - 0 Yugoslavia (Antwerp, Belgium... </ref> (City) 1,576,124[1] (Metropolitan area) |Census Year=2002 |Density=488. ...

Ball was the youngest member of the squad of 22 selected by Ramsey for the tournament, aged only 21. Though England as a team emerged collectively heroic from the tournament, Ball was one of many players regarded as an individual success, especially as he was one of the more inexperienced charges with no proven record at the very highest level. Indeed, he, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters emerged with enormous credit and eternal acclaim from the competition - and all of them were still only in single figures for caps won by the time they were named in the team for the final against West Germany. Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst, MBE (born December 8, 1941 in Ashton-under-Lyne,Lancashire) is a footballer enshrined in the games history as the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. ... Martin Stanford Peters MBE, (born Plaistow, London, November 8, 1943) was a football player and hero of the victorious England team which won the 1966 World Cup. ...

The 100,000 crowd at Wembley witnessed a magnificent personal performance from Ball. Full of running, he continued to work and sprint and track back while team-mates and opponents alike were out on their feet. With fewer than 15 minutes to go, he won a corner on the right which he promptly took. Hurst hit a shot from the edge of the area which deflected into the air and down on to the instep of Peters, who rifled England 2-1 ahead. The Germans equalised with seconds to go, meaning that the game went into extra time. Somehow, this instilled extra bounce into Ball's play and the image of his continuous running round the Wembley pitch, socks round his ankles, is one of the most enduring of the occasion. It was his chase and low cross which set up Hurst's massively controversial second goal, and England's third; he was also sprinting upfield, unmarked and screaming for a pass, as Hurst took the ball forward to smash his historic hat-trick goal with the last kick of the game. Wembley Stadium is a football stadium located in Wembley, London. ... Grays Fig. ... In sports, a hat-trick (more often rendered in North America as hat trick, without the hyphen) is associated with achieving something in a group of three. ...

Ball's performances in the World Cup attracted the attention of a number of clubs bigger than Blackpool, Ball eventually being sold to Everton for a then record fee of £110,000 in August 1966. At Everton, Ball settled into what became regarded as his generation's best midfield trio alongside Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall. Everton reached the 1968 FA Cup Final, but lost to West Bromwich Albion and were knocked out by Manchester City in the semi-finals the following year. Ball was instrumental in the team which won his first and only major domestic honour in the game as Everton took the 1969-70 Football League Championship title, seeing off a late challenge from Leeds United. Everton Football Club is located in the city Liverpool in Merseyside, England. ... James Colin Harvey was born in Liverpool on November 16, 1944. ... Howard Kendall is an English football manager and former player. ... West Bromwich Albion Football Club is an English football club that was formed in 1878 by workers from Salters Spring Works in West Bromwich (then in Staffordshire, now part of the West Midlands). ... Manchester City Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Manchester. ... The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the FA Premier League. ... Leeds United Football Club is the only professional association football club in the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire. ...

By now, Ball was one of the first names on Ramsey's England teamsheet and he was in the squad which travelled as defending champions to the altitude of Mexico for the 1970 World Cup. Ball famously hit the crossbar with a shot as England lost one of their group games 1-0 to Brazil, one of six strikingly prominent incidents from a fabulous game (the others being Jairzinho's goal; Jeff Astle's miss; Gordon Banks' save from Pelé; Bobby Moore's impeccable tackle on Jairzinho; and the sight of Pelé and Moore's mutual smiles of respect at the end as they exchanged shirts). England won their other group games and progressed to another showdown with West Germany in the quarter finals, but the heat sapped Ball's natural industry. England lost a 2-0 lead and their reign as world champions ended with a 3-2 reverse. Altitude is the elevation of an object from a known level or datum. ... The 1970 Football World Cup was held in Mexico, from May 31 to June 21. ... Jairzinho, birth name Jair Ventura Filho, (born December 25, 1944) was a member of the Brazilian national team that won the 1970 World Cup. ... The Astle Gates at The Hawthorns. ... Gordon Banks, OBE (born Sheffield, England, 30th December, 1937) is a former English footballer, considered by many to be one of the best goalkeepers ever to have played the game. ... Edson Arantes do Nascimento, KBE (born October 23, 1940 in Três Corações, Brazil), best known by his cool nickname Pelé, is the best player in the world, yes even better than Diego Armando Maradona, Pele was a former Brazilian football player. ... Robert Frederick Chelsea Bobby Moore, OBE (April 12, 1941 - February 24, 1993) was an English footballer and captain of West Ham and the English 1966 World Cup-winning team. ...

Back at club level, Everton again capitulated in the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1971, with Ball's opening goal overhauled by two strikes from Merseyside rivals Liverpool, who went on to lose the final to "double"-chasing Arsenal. Ball later picked up his 50th England cap in a match against Northern Ireland and in December 1971, Arsenal paid a record fee of £220,000 to take Ball to Highbury. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Arms of the former Merseyside Metropolitan County Council Merseyside is a metropolitan county, located in the North West of England. ... Liverpool Football Club is a football club based in Merseyside, in the north west of England. ... Arsenal Football Club (also known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners) are an English professional football club based in north London. ... First international Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Largest win Ireland (IFA) 7 - 0 Wales (Belfast, Northern Ireland; 1 February 1930) Worst defeat Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) World Cup Appearances 3 (First in 1958) Best result Quarterfinals, 1958 European Championship Appearances none... Arsenal Stadium has been the home ground of Arsenal Football Club since 1913. ...

It was a great move by Arsenal, with Ball now 26 years of age and at his peak for both form and fitness. That said, Arsenal couldn't defend their League title in 1972 and also lost their grasp on the FA Cup when Leeds United beat them 1-0 in the centenary final at Wembley. 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Leeds United Football Club is the only professional association football club in the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire. ...

In 1973, Ball became only the second player to be sent off in a full international, reacting with fury to violent tactics by Poland in a qualifier for the 1974 World Cup in Warsaw. As a result, he missed the return game at Wembley which became one of the most notorious in English football history - a 1-1 draw in which England were kept out almost entirely by Polish goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski. England failed to qualify for the World Cup as a result. 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Misconduct in football (soccer) is any conduct by a player which is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction (caution or send-off) in accordance with Law 12 the Laws of the Game. ... The 1974 Football World Cup was held in West Germany. ... Warsaw (Polish: , (?), in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. ... Jan Tomaszewski (born January 9, 1948) is a retired Polish footballer, who was nicknamed Tomek. A goalkeeper, Tomaszewski is best remembered by some for his performance for Poland against England, in a qualifier for the 1974 World Cup, which England needed to win. ...

Ramsey was sacked as a result and Joe Mercer took over at a caretaker level, for whom Ball never appeared due to injury. However, Ball's relationship with his national side was enhanced and then infamously soured beyond repair when Don Revie was appointed as Ramsey's permanent replacement. Ball was given the captaincy after the abrupt dropping of Emlyn Hughes by Revie and held it for six consecutive games of varying importance, none of which England lost. Yet even though his charges had just comprehensively beaten Scotland 5-1 in May 1975, Ball was not called up at all, let alone retained as captain, when Revie announced his next squad for a game against Switzerland three months later. Ball only found out when his wife took a call from a journalist asking for her reaction. Only just 30, Ball's international career had ended suddenly and acrimoniously after 72 appearances and eight goals, when it had always seemed certain that he would get to 100 caps but for injury. His omission from the squad was one of a handful of PR calamities which raged through the Revie era at the helm of the England team. Joe Mercer, OBE (August 9, 1914 - August 9, 1990) was an English football player and manager. ... Don Revie, OBE, (10 July 1927 - 26 May 1989), was a football player for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep lying centre-forward. ... Emlyn Walter Hughes, OBE (August 28, 1947, Barrow-in-Furness - November 9, 2004, Sheffield) was an English footballer who captained the Liverpool F.C. side of the 1970s, having joined them from Blackpool in 1967. ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Largest win Scotland 11 - 0 Ireland (Glasgow, Scotland; 23 February 1901) Worst defeat Uruguay 7 - 0 Scotland (Basel, Switzerland; 19 June 1954) World Cup Appearances 8 (First in 1954) Best result Round 1, all European Championship Appearances 2 (First... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Ball continued with Arsenal until December 1976 when he was sold to Southampton for a fee of £60,000. Here was completed a coincidental symmetry to the three transfers in Ball's career - he had arrived at each club - Everton, Arsenal and Southampton - at the end of the calendar years of 1966, 1971 and 1976 respectively, when each were holders of the FA Cup. Yet Ball never won the Cup himself. He helped Southampton back to the First Division in 1978 and picked up a League Cup runners-up medal in 1979 after they were beaten 3-2 by Nottingham Forest. Southampton Football Club (originally St. ... Sphere symmetry group o. ... A page from the Hindu calendar 1871-72. ... From the 1992-1993 to the 2003-2004 season, the Football League First Division was the highest division of The Football League and the second-highest division in the overall English football league system. ... The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition. ... Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English football club, based at the City Ground, which is just outside the official boundary of Nottingham on the south side of the River Trent. ...

Ball then went to play in the fledgling North American Soccer League, joining Philadelphia Fury as player-coach in May 1978 and joining the Vancouver Whitecaps in June 1979. He returned to England in July 1980, as player-manager of his first club, Blackpool. However, the return lasted until only February the following year when, with Blackpool struggling in the league, he was tempted back to Southampton to play alongside fellow veterans and former England team-mates Mick Channon and Kevin Keegan. North American Soccer League or (NASL) was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. ... The Philadelphia Fury were a soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. ... The Whitecaps (officially Whitecaps F.C.) are a Canadian professional soccer team, which currently plays in the USL First Division (formerly the A-League) of the United Soccer Leagues (USL), the largest system of national soccer leagues in North America. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... Michael Roger Mick Channon (born 28 November 1948 in Orcheston, Wiltshire, United Kingdom) is a sportsman who enjoyed a career as a feared football goalscorer with Southampton and England in the 1970s and later became a hugely successful racehorse trainer. ... Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE (born February 14, 1951 in Armthorpe, Yorkshire) is a former English football coach and player, and one of its all time greatest players. ...

He left Southampton in October 1982 to play for Hong Kong side Bulova, before joining Bristol Rovers in January 1983, where he ended his playing days. He played 975 competitive matches in his career. For details of the current season, see Bristol Rovers F.C. season 2006-07 Bristol Rovers are a professional football team based in Bristol, England. ...

Coaching and Managerial Career

Ball resumed his managerial career in May 1984 with Portsmouth and was a huge success, after two seasons of finishing in 4th spot in Division Two, he guided them to the top flight in 1987. However, they were relegated after just one season back among the elite, and Ball was sacked in January 1989 with Pompey struggling in Division Two. Founded in 1898, Portsmouth Football Club are an English association football club based in the south coast city port of Portsmouth. ...

The following month he joined Colchester United as assistant to Jock Wallace and in October 1989 took up a similar post under Mick Mills at Stoke City. However, Mills was sacked two weeks later and after a spell as caretaker Ball was given the managers' job. Despite spending a lot of money on new players, Stoke were relegated to Division Three at the end of the season. He was sacked in February 1991 with Stoke on their way to record their lowest ever final league position. Colchester United Football Club is an English football team who, after finishing 2nd in League One will compete in the Championship in 2006/07. ... Jock Wallace (1935 - 1996) was a professional football (soccer) player and manager. ... Michael Mick Denis Mills (born January 4, 1949 in Godalming, Surrey) was a football full back who, by the end of his career, had achieved Ipswich Towns amount of appearances record and captained England at the World Cup. ... Stoke City Football Club (known as Stoke Football Club until 1925) is a football club from Stoke-on-Trent in England. ... Until the 2004/05 season, the Football League Third Division was the third-highest division of The Football League and the fourth-highest division in the overall English football league system. ...

In July 1991 he was appointed as manager of Third Division Exeter City. Although Exeter struggled, Ball managed to keep them in the Third Division. Between February and August 1992 he also worked as a coach of the England team under Graham Taylor. Exeter City F.C. are an English football club, based in Exeter, who have played in the Football League for most of its history, but now play in the Nationwide Conference. ... Graham Taylor may refer to one of the following individuals: Graham Taylor (football manager) (born 1944) Graham Taylor (author) (born 1961), British novelist and part-time priest Graham Taylor (clergyman) (1851–1938), American clergyman and reformer in Chicago Graham Taylor (The Dude) (born 1987) This human name article is a...

In January 1994, Ball left Exeter to manage Southampton. Despite initial success, was tempted away in July 1995 later to become Manchester City's manager under the ownership of former England team-mate Francis Lee. Manchester City Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Manchester. ... Francis Lee (born April 29, 1944 in Westhoughton, England) is a former professional footballer, who played in the 1960s and 1970s, including many appearances for the England national team. ...

Ball's tenure at Maine Road was controversial, in that many observers and supporters felt he was appointed for his name and friendship with the chairman rather than for any credentials as a coach (and pointed out that previous manager Brian Horton, whom Lee had inherited from the previous regime, had done no wrong). City were relegated from the Premiership on the last day of Ball's first full campaign. He quit three games into the following season. Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England. ... Brian Horton (born 1948) is the manager of Macclesfield Town and is one of the few managers in English football to have taken charge of teams in more than a thousand games. ... The FA Premier League (often referred to as the Barclays Premiership in the UK and the Barclays English Premier League internationally) is a league competition for football clubs located at the top of the English football league system (above The Football League), making it Englands primary football competition. ...

Between February 1998 and October 1999, Ball returned to Portsmouth as manager but his contract was terminated after the club endured a near-fatal financial crisis and came close to relegation from Division One. When he was appointed Pompey were several points adrift at the bottom of the table. He masterminded a miraculous escape that saw 2 of his former sides ( Stoke City & Manchester City ) relegated after Pompey won 3-1 at Bradford City on the final day of the season. Bradford City Association Football Club are an English football team based at Valley Parade (otherwise known as The Bradford & Bingley Stadium, due to stadium sponsorship) in Bradford. ...

On his retirement, 54-year-old Ball was the last remaining England World Cup winner in management.

In April 2006 Ball became Honorary Patron of B.E.S.T (British European Soccer Tuition) - football coaching and tours across USA and Europe.

Belated honours

In 2000, he and four other members of the World Cup winning team were awarded the MBE for their services to football, an award which many felt was long overdue. Ball, along with Roger Hunt, Nobby Stiles, Ray Wilson and George Cohen, had to wait more than three decades for official recognition of their achievements. This article is about the year 2000. ... Roger Hunt MBE (born Golborne, Lancashire 20th July 1938) was a footballer whose predatory instincts made him one of the English games most feared and respected strikers. ... Norbert Nobby Peter Stiles MBE, (born Collyhurst, Manchester, 18 May 1942), was the toothless midfield ballwinner of Englands 1966 World Cup winning side. ... Ramon (Ray) Wilson MBE (born Shirebrook, Derbyshire, 17th December 1934) was a footballer who played at left back. ... George Cohen MBE (born Kensington, London, 22 October 1939) was the right back for England in the side which won the 1966 World Cup. ... This is a list of decades which have articles with more information about them. ...

In 2003 Ball was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his talents. The Hall of Fame is housed at The National Football Museum in Preston, England. ...

Personal tragedy and sacrifice

Always a distinctive figure thanks to his diminutive stature, his high-pitched voice and flame-red hair, Ball released his autobiography, Playing Extra Time, in 2004 and received much critical acclaim. Aside from his highs and lows in football, it also candidly detailed his private struggle as a family man after his wife and daughter were both diagnosed with cancer. His wife died later the same year, aged 58, after a three-year battle against ovarian cancer. Human voice consists of sound made by a person using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, screaming or crying. ... Cover of An autobiography, from the Greek auton, self, bios, life and graphein, write, is a biography written by the subject or composed conjointly with a collaborative writer (styled as told to or with). The term dates from the late eighteenth century, but the form is much older. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. ...

In May 2005, Ball, who has three grandchildren, put his World Cup winners' medal and commemorative tournament cap up for auction to raise money for his family. It was sold for £140,000. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ball's father, who was also called Alan, died in a car crash in Cyprus in January 1982. January is the first month of the year and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• English Fooball Hall of Fame profile
• Photos and biography at sporting-heroes.net
• Alan Ball profile on Arsenal-land
• Book Alan Ball and other 1966 Legends for Speaking Engagements