William Alexander Baxter (23 April 1939 – 25 May 2009) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. A native of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Baxter was signed by Alf Ramsey and joined

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

from Scottish amateur side Broxburn Athletic in 1960. When he signed for the club he was stationed at Aldershot during his national service with the Royal Engineers. He made his debut in 1960, in a Christmas fixture against Ipswich's local rivals Norwich City. He was a regular in the Ipswich team than won the old Division 2 Championship in 1960–61 and Division 1 Championship in 1961–62. He later captained the team to the old Division 2 Championship in 1967–68. In total, Baxter played 459 games for Ipswich during an 11-year stay at Portman Road. However, after a falling-out with manager

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

, he was sold to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

in March 1971. This was an unfortunate end to a fine career with Ipswich as Baxter, who had played initially as a wing-half and later as a centre back was a consistent and loyal member of the squad for many years. After two largely unsuccessful seasons at Hull, Baxter became player-manager of

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

in 1972, lasting one year in the job. He subsequently joined non-league

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

. Baxter quit football returning to Scotland where he worked as an engineer for British Telecom. In his later years, Baxter had cancer. He had a leg amputated some time before his death, and succumbed to the disease at a Dunfermline hospital on 25 May 2009, aged 70.

Honours

* Football League First Division: 1961–62 *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1960–61, 1967–68 Individual * Ipswich Town Hall of Fame: Inducted 2009

References

External links

* 1939 births 2009 deaths Deaths from cancer in Scotland Footballers from Dunfermline Footballers from Edinburgh Scottish men's footballers Scottish football managers Ipswich Town F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Watford F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. managers Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Broxburn Athletic F.C. players Men's association football defenders Association football players with limb difference Scottish disabled sportspeople Scottish amputees {{Scotland-footy-defender-1930s-stub