William Anderson (12 January 1913 – 19 February 1986) was the manager of Lincoln City from 1946 to 1965. He led the club to the Third Division North title in 1947–48 and 1951–52, as well as twelve

Lincolnshire Senior Cup The Lincolnshire Senior County Cup is a football (soccer) competition for senior football clubs in Lincolnshire organised by the Lincolnshire FA. The competition can be traced back to the formation of the Lincolnshire FA at a meeting held at th ...

finals. As a player he appeared for Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United and Barnsley before an injury at Oakwell forced him to retire in November 1935. He came out of retirement to join

Bradford (Park Avenue) Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

in March 1938, but in two months at Park Avenue failed to break into the senior side and was released.

Management career

Anderson led the "Imps" to the Third Division North title in 1947–48 after spending just £2,000 building his team. His cause was greatly helped by the division's top scorer

Jimmy Hutchinson James Arthur Hutchinson (28 December 1915 – 1997) was an English footballer who spent the 1940s with Sheffield United, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, Lincoln City and Oldham Athletic. He was the father of Barry Hutchinson, who was a foo ...

, who hit 32 of Lincoln's 81 goals. Promotion was secured on the final day at Sincil Bank with a victory over

Hartlepools United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Har ...

. However they were immediately relegated in 1948–49 after finishing bottom of the Second Division, some seven points behind second-from-bottom Nottingham Forest. They were four points short of promotion in 1949–50, before a fifth-place finish in 1950–51. Promotion was secured in 1951–52 though, as Lincoln finished three points ahead of Grimsby Town, scoring 121 goals in the process, 39 of which came from £5,000

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

signing Andy Graver. The "Imps" remained in the second tier for the next nine seasons, with Graver (club record goalscorer) and Tony Emery (club record league appearance holder) being key players. The 1957–58 campaign would be a particularly memorable one, as Lincoln won their last six games of the season to go from 19 points to 31 points, just one ahead of relegated Notts County. The club's unlikely success in maintaining second tier status came to a close in 1960–61, despite the best efforts of top scorer Roy Chapman, as Lincoln finished in last place, some nine points behind Portsmouth. A second successive relegation came in 1961–62, as Lincoln dropped from the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

into the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

. The fall was completed in 1962–63, as Lincoln finished third-from-bottom in the Football League. Anderson departed in 1965, after 855 games in charge.

Honours

;with Lincoln City * Football League Third Division North championship: 1947–48 & 1951–52 *

winners: 1948, 1949, 1951, 1956 (shared), 1962 & 1964 (shared) *

runner-up: 1947, 1950, 1952, 1955, 1959 & 1960

Career statistics

Playing career

Managerial statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Bill 1913 births 1986 deaths English men's footballers Barnsley F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players English Football League players English football managers English Football League managers Lincoln City F.C. managers Hartlepool United F.C. players Footballers from County Durham Men's association football fullbacks