The football family either side of the Irish Sea mourns the passing in Scotland of former Linfield Manager and Northern Ireland international winger Billy Campbell. Billy died recently, aged 81, after a prolonged illness.
From the Shankill Road, Billy cut his teeth as a footballer with Distillery at Grosvenor Park, making 70 appearances for The Whites, scoring 25 goals. He was an influential member of a very good Distillery team, managed by George Eastham, that won the League title in 1963, scoring twice in a 4-2 victory over Linfield in the final league game of the season. However, Billy was later left out of the Irish Cup final squad when Linfield gained a measure of revenge by winning 2-1.
A raft of stellar performances earned him a move to Sunderland, and he was quickly on the move again, this time to Dundee. It was during his time at Dens Park that he made 6 appearances for Northern Ireland, scoring once against Turkey.
Another move saw him go to Motherwell where he enjoyed another rewarding chapter in his football career (110 appearances, 13 goals), and he also later acted as Assistant Manager to Willie McLean.
In 1973 Billy came home to Belfast to take up the post of Manager of his beloved Linfield, becoming the club’s 8th manager in 10 years. With The Blues in transition, Billy led the club to Gibson Cup success in the 1974-75 season.
Billy Kennedy, a former Linfield Board member and current Honorary Vice-President, remembers Billy Campbell’s career at Windsor Park.
“Billy was a very likeable man who got on well with supporters and the Board. I was elected to the Management Committee in 1973, just as he arrived at Windsor. Coming from the Shankill, Billy had strong Linfield feelings.
As he neared the end of his own playing career, Billy could pick from players like Peter Rafferty, Eric Magee, the Malone brothers, Ken Barclay, Jackie Patterson, Phil Scott, Tom McVeigh and Alan Fraser, before leaving the club to return to Scotland in September 1975.
One thing I well remember about Billy was that he had a very deep Christian faith and I am personally very sorry to learn of his passing. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife and family circle”.
