Don Howe, English footballer, Died at 80

  Sports

Donald “Don” Howe was born on October 12, 1935, and died on December 23, 2015.

He was an English football player, coach, manager and pundit.

Donald was born in the Springfield area of Wolverhampton in 1935 and spent his secondary education at St. Peter’s Collegiate School.

He spent most of his playing career at West Bromwich Albion.

Donald joined the West Bromwich Albion ground staff after leaving school, joining the club as a youth player in December 1950.

He turned professional in November 1952, but did not make his debut until 1955, against Everton.

A full back, Donald played nearly 350 games for the Baggies in twelve years, as well as becoming a regular in the England team; he played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, and won 23 caps in total.

Donald was signed by Billy Wright’s Arsenal in 1964, and was made club captain.

However, in March 1966, Donald broke his leg playing against Blackpool and never recovered well enough to play in the first team again.

In 2004, Donald was named as one of West Bromwich Albion’s 16 greatest players, in a poll organized as part of the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations.

Donald retired from coaching in the summer of 2003 after more than 30 years.

He occasionally wrote as a pundit for the BBC Sport website.

Donald also had a regular column in the official Arsenal magazine.

Right up until his death, he ran youth coaching schemes across the United Kingdom.

Towards the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, Donald worked with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) as part of a three-man panel to appoint Giovanni Trapattoni as the new national team manager.

Donald Howe passed away at age 80 in December 2015.