Bill Bell obituary by Phil Shaw
Bill Bell obituary: Port Vale supporter and journalist Phil Shaw has written an obituary to former Vale chairman Bill Bell who passed away earlier this year.
The former Port Vale FC owner died on the 12th February 2013 aged 81. He was in charge of the football club from 1987 until 2002 and during his time many of the stands at the Vale Park stadium were redeveloped while Vale enjoyed success on the pitch under the managership of the legendary John Rudge. He left the club when it entered administration in 2002.
The article in the Independent newspaper, titled “Car dealer who brought glory to Port Vale” begins as follows:
With the wheeler-dealing manner of the used-car salesman he was in his ‘day job’, and a habit of blowing clouds of cigar smoke, Bill Bell resembled an old-school football chairman from central casting.
Behind the stereotype lay a pragmatic, aspirational character, who, despite a tempestuous relationship with manager John Rudge, brought Port Vale the greatest decade in their 137-year history…
You can read the full article here:
Car dealer who brought glory to Port Vale
Note: Phil Shaw has contacted OVF to apologise for getting Vale’s score against Everton wrong in the article – it should be 2-1 of course!