Keith John Reames (19 February 1942 – 6 May 2008) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and administrator who was chairman of Lincoln City from 1985 to 2000. He remains, to date, their longest-serving chairman; he also managed the club from 1998 to 2000. Reames also held high positions within

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

(FA) and

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

during the 1990s (chairman of the FA Referees Committee and director of the Football League).

Lincoln City

As chairman

Reames was chairman of Lincoln City for 15 years, from 1985 to 2000, and remains to date their longest-serving chairman. After Lincoln City had sold their ground to the local council in 1982 for £225,000, Reames bought it back from the council in 2000, ensuring the existence and continuity of Lincoln City as a viable professional football club and business. Reames also oversaw the complete rebuilding of

Sincil Bank Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since th ...

, and guided Lincoln back to

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in 1988. He was also responsible for appointing the first full-time black professional manager in the Football League in Keith Alexander (1993). Upon resigning as chairman of Lincoln City in November 2000, Reames left £400,000 in trust for the club's future.

As manager

Reames also managed Lincoln from November 1998 to March 2000, winning 25 out of 75 Football League games. Reames' managerial achievements include winning the October 1999 Manager of the Month Award.

Later career

After leaving Lincoln, Reames was also chairman of

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

, and managing director of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

Death

Reames died on 6 May 2008 from cancer. He left behind a wife Beth, sons Paul and Thomas, and daughters Kate, Sarah and Clare.

References

1942 births 2008 deaths English football managers English football chairmen and investors Lincoln City F.C. managers Deaths from cancer in England 20th-century English businesspeople {{England-footy-manager-stub