The day that changed Coventry City and football's course of history

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The day that changed Coventry City and football's course of history

Postby dutchman » Thu Nov 29, 2018 1:50 pm

Jimmy Hill was appointed as Sky Blues manager on this day 57 years ago

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Just four days after suffering FA Cup humiliation at the hands of non-league Kings Lynn at Highfield Road, Coventry City chairman Derrick Robbins appointed Jimmy Hill as new manager, replacing Billy Frith.

Wednesday, November 29, 1961 was a day that changed the course of Sky Blue history and the game itself.

Hill left his job as chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association after four years and told the Daily Mirror how he would go about his new role, saying: "I'm going to be a hard man.

"My main aim is to make Coventry the highest paid Football League club in the country, but you must work for it."

Frith's backroom staff also departed in the cull and Hill sympathised, saying: "It is unhappy for me that they should get the sack but soccer is a hard world."

In appointing Hill as manager, Robins instigated an extraordinary legacy that is still talked about today.

The former Sky Blues boss and director, who also presented Match of the Day, was innovative, pioneering and one of the most recognisable faces of football.

After enjoying a career as a forward for Brentford and Fulham, Jimmy Hill moved from the pitch to the dugouts, becoming manager of Coventry City FC in 1961.

Upon arriving, Jimmy Hill would become the figurehead of the Sky Blue Revolution.

The club's colours were changed to all-Sky Blue, and his arrival saw the club's Highfield Road stadium undergo a series of changes with Jimmy Hill at the centre.

Hill is the most synonymous name with Coventry City FC, having overseen them achieve their top-flight ambitions within just six seasons.

The nickname Sky Blues endures to this day, and sure beats the previous moniker of the Bantams, which the club shared with Bradford City.

You can also thank Hill for the Sky Blue Song and Sky Blue radio - more on those later, though.

He event created a Sky Blue cocktail to celebrate promotion.

As well as changes to the kit, Highfield Road's hospitality and decor changed to fit the new club colours.

Not only that, but things you take for granted in modern day sport - like pre-match entertainment, and half-time events - were kick-started by Hill at Coventry City, who wanted families and the community to be at the centre of the match-day experience.

Children could get their hands on sweets and refreshments, while entertainment regularly included chart-toppers.

Highfield Road also saw the introduction of the first electronic scoreboard in 1964.

A year later, the stadium became the first to show a live match via CCTV on four giant screens.

As if that wasn't enough, but Hill also created a Sky Blue radio station.

You've heard it a thousand times - but did you know the Sky Blue Song was written by Jimmy Hill?

Written alongside former Coventry City FC director John Camkin to the tune of the Eton Boating Song, the song typifies the club more than any other.

The original lyrics were as follows: "Let's all sing together, Play up Sky Blues, While we sing together, We will never lose. Proud Posh or Cobblers, Oysters or anyone, They can't defeat us, We'll fight till the game is won."

In latter years, due to the club's rise through the Football League, the latter three clubs were replaced by Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Coventry City also introduced the first colour match-day programme under Jimmy Hill's guidance, and beat its rivals to a prestigious award every year from 1967 to 1970.

Ever a man of the people, Hill's revolutionary touch spread to away games too.

Commissioning transport especially for travelling Sky Blues fans, the 'Sky Blue Special' train service allowed fans to get to far-flung destinations easily in a bid to cheer on their beloved football club.

Jimmy Hill returned to the club as Managing Director in 1974 - and his work wasn't done.

Seven years later, he transformed Highfield Road into the country's first all-seater stadium before the Taylor Report of 1990 saw changes further afield.

Why? "You can't be a hooligan sitting down," said Jimmy.

Upon his arrival for his first stint at Coventry City, footballers were banned from giving media interviews.

Jimmy Hill - quite rightly - saw this as nonsense, and abolished the rule before inviting TV cameras behind-the-scenes.

Jimmy Hill was responsible for the introduction of panels and pundits during his BBC coverage of the 1970 World Cup.

He would, of course, also go onto present Match of the Day and Sunday Supplement on Sky Sports, two of the most-watched shows in the sport.

As Chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association - or PFA, to you and me - Jimmy Hill led calls for scrapping the maximum fees for professional footballers.

At the time, footballers’ salaries were capped at £20 a week.

Perhaps his greatest feat was introducing the three points for a win system.

Jimmy Hill did it to try and encourage attacking football, and it is a system nowadays implemented in the majority of football leagues across the globe.

The end-to-end, attacking nature of modern football can surely in some way be attributed to the late, great Jimmy Hill.

*Coventry City: On This Day by Steve Phelps is published by Pitch

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