Alan Ball (1962–1983, Blackpool, Everton, Arsenal, Southampton and England)
Born in Farnworth in 1945, Alan Ball began his professional career at Blackpool in 1962 at the age of 17. A combative, tireless midfielder known for his red hair and relentless energy, he quickly became the club’s standout player and won his first England cap shortly before his twentieth birthday.
In 1966 Ball was the youngest member of the England side that won the World Cup on home soil, and he played every minute of the final. At 21 he had reached the summit of the game, and the performance confirmed him as one of the outstanding young footballers in Europe.
Soon afterwards he joined Everton for a British record fee, and it was there that he produced the best club football of his career, winning the First Division title in 1970 and the Charity Shield the same year. In December 1971 he moved to Arsenal for £220,000, a national record at the time, and later spent several seasons with Southampton either side of a spell in North American football, before winding down his playing days in the early 1980s.
For England, Ball won 72 caps and scored eight goals between 1965 and 1975, briefly captaining the side in his final international year. He moved into management during the closing years of his playing career and subsequently managed several clubs over almost two decades. He was appointed MBE in 2000 and died in 2007 at the age of 61.
Career Honours
- World Cup winner, 1966
- First Division champion, 1970
- FA Charity Shield, 1970
- 72 England caps, 8 goals
- MBE, 2000
- English Football Hall of Fame, 2003
1966
APR Campeonato Mundial De Futebol
1966-67
A&BC Footballer
1966
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Epoca Coppa Del Mondo
Alan Ball – Rookie Cards and Significant Others
Ball’s earliest catalogued card is the 1965–66 Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers A13 #18, issued during his Blackpool years before the World Cup. It is the first widely catalogued issue to picture him and the natural starting point for a career run.
Winning the World Cup in 1966 put him into a large number of sets that year, in England and across Europe and South America. The overseas issues are the harder side of his collection to complete and, for a player from the winning team, are tied directly to his defining moment.
Key cards across his career:
- 1965–66 Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers A13 #18 — earliest catalogued issue, Blackpool
- 1966 Tempo Campionato del Mondo di Calcio, unnumbered — Italian World Cup issue
- 1966 Crack Campeones #444 — Argentine World Cup-era issue
- 1966–67 A&BC World Cup Football Stamps, unnumbered — British World Cup issue
- 1966–67 A&BC Footballers #77 — early standard A&BC card
The 1966 World Cup produced numerous Alan Ball issues outside Britain, particularly in continental Europe and South America, making that year one of the deepest and most challenging parts of his collection.
See the 2003 Hall of Fame Inductees or browse the full list.