Ray Wilson

[Huddersfield]

Although maybe not the best forum to refer to England & 1966, I thought I'd share this. Ray Wilson was England's left back in the 66 final (and even more importantly is a Huddersfield Town season ticket holder of many years), but through advanced Alzheimers now cannot remember the game or indeed anything about his football career.

http://www.examiner.co.uk/incoming/world-cup-winner-ray-wilsons-11155152

He worked around here as an undertaker for years after retiring from football & only very rarely gave interviews or made public appearances. The article also writes about him starting to do odd drawings. I've  not come across that with Alzheimers before, I guess it shows how strange the human brain is.

[Boynze]

If he can't remember the game then may be he can be convinced that the third England goal crossed the goal line.

[Stu101]

Thanks. Will have a read later on.

Alzheimers is a horrible disease

[stitch]

Don't want to knock people with Alzheimers but i wish the ones who were not there or born after would forget about 66.

sick of hearing about it and I am sure it will be all over the TV in a few months 50years blah blah fecking blah..

Its a stupid cup and means nothing just like this silly thing that takes place in june/july

[ErsatzThistle]

7 hours ago, stitch said:

Don't want to knock people with Alzheimers but i wish the ones who were not there or born after would forget about 66.

sick of hearing about it and I am sure it will be all over the TV in a few months 50years blah blah fecking blah..

Its a stupid cup and means nothing just like this silly thing that takes place in june/july

Christ almighty was that garbage really necessary ? 

Take this daft "ah hate Inglund" nonsense elsewhere. Don't poison this thread with it. 

9 hours ago, Huddersfield said:

Although maybe not the best forum to refer to England & 1966, I thought I'd share this. Ray Wilson was England's left back in the 66 final (and even more importantly is a Huddersfield Town season ticket holder of many years), but through advanced Alzheimers now cannot remember the game or indeed anything about his football career.

http://www.examiner.co.uk/incoming/world-cup-winner-ray-wilsons-11155152

He worked around here as an undertaker for years after retiring from football & only very rarely gave interviews or made public appearances. The article also writes about him starting to do odd drawings. I've  not come across that with Alzheimers before, I guess it shows how strange the human brain is.

A very sad story Huddersfield.

One wonders if those leather cannonballs they played the game with back then had anything to do with it ?

Billy McPhail, who died in 2003, played with Queen's Park, Clyde and Celtic in the forties and fifties. He developed Alzheimers in the 1990s. In 1999, he and his wife launched an unsuccessful legal case for disability payment. Their argument was that the hard leather balls caused damage to the left side of his brain. The tribunal ruled that whilst the heading of the ball probably was a major cause, it was a necessary part of a footballers occupation and refused to award payment.

John Cairney in his biography of Britain's all time top goalscorer, Celtic's Jimmy McGrory, makes a case that McGrory's death in 1982 aged 78 -was dementia/alzheimers related owing to his frequent heading of the ball. I was struck by the mention of how studies showed heading those old leather balls once they had soaked up water had almost the same force as that of banging one's head off a brick wall !

I imagine your dad, granddad, uncles etc all saw Ray Wilson playing for the Terriers back in the day ?

[jock strap]

Shame.

Puts modern football into perspective with the finances now in comparison to the years gone by.

Couldnt imagine the likes of the modern 'superstars' who have won the WC, or not won it working in a local undertakers after they retire(d).

I wish him all the best in his battle against this terrible disease.

[one t in scotland]

10 hours ago, stitch said:

Don't want to knock people with Alzheimers but i wish the ones who were not there or born after would forget about 66.

sick of hearing about it and I am sure it will be all over the TV in a few months 50years blah blah fecking blah..

Its a stupid cup and means nothing just like this silly thing that takes place in june/july

Another fully signed up member of the forever expanding Village Idiot TA. 

[Fairbairn]

On 9 April 2016 at 10:28 AM, stitch said:

Don't want to knock people with Alzheimers but i wish the ones who were not there or born after would forget about 66.

sick of hearing about it and I am sure it will be all over the TV in a few months 50years blah blah fecking blah..

Its a stupid cup and means nothing just like this silly thing that takes place in june/july

Pathetic. If it bothers you that much switch your telly off. 

[Huddersfield]

13 hours ago, ErsatzThistle said:

Christ almighty was that garbage really necessary ? 

Take this daft "ah hate Inglund" nonsense elsewhere. Don't poison this thread with it. 

A very sad story Huddersfield.

One wonders if those leather cannonballs they played the game with back then had anything to do with it ?

Billy McPhail, who died in 2003, played with Queen's Park, Clyde and Celtic in the forties and fifties. He developed Alzheimers in the 1990s. In 1999, he and his wife launched an unsuccessful legal case for disability payment. Their argument was that the hard leather balls caused damage to the left side of his brain. The tribunal ruled that whilst the heading of the ball probably was a major cause, it was a necessary part of a footballers occupation and refused to award payment.

John Cairney in his biography of Britain's all time top goalscorer, Celtic's Jimmy McGrory, makes a case that McGrory's death in 1982 aged 78 -was dementia/alzheimers related owing to his frequent heading of the ball. I was struck by the mention of how studies showed heading those old leather balls once they had soaked up water had almost the same force as that of banging one's head off a brick wall !

I imagine your dad, granddad, uncles etc all saw Ray Wilson playing for the Terriers back in the day ?

I think you're probably right about the heavy balls. I think I remember reading about that legal case. There was a guy lived up the road from my mum & dad who was a big name for Town back in the 50s (Jimmy Glazzard). His trademark was headed goals & he died at a relatively young age from Alzheimers as well. I think most people that knew him well were fairly convinced that it was all the persistent bangs to the head that triggered it.

Ironically, of all the dads, uncles, etc., it would have been my mum that probably saw him play more than anyone; I think she went regularly for a couple of years in the early 60s. My dad & his brothers were too busy playing snooker.

[stitch]

On 09/04/2016 at 6:22 PM, ErsatzThistle said:

Christ almighty was that garbage really necessary ? 

Take this daft "ah hate Inglund" nonsense elsewhere. Don't poison this thread with it. 

it was meant as a joke get a grip and lighten up abit...

On 09/04/2016 at 8:26 PM, one t in scotland said:

Another fully signed up member of the forever expanding Village Idiot TA. 

another i'm better then you how dare you say something I don't like.

On 10/04/2016 at 10:41 AM, Fairbairn said:

Pathetic. If it bothers you that much switch your telly off. 

if it bothers you dont read or comment on my posts....

 

[EddardStark]

Martin Peters is currently struggling with a similar condition and not doing so well. Apologies is already posted.

Edited April 11, 2016 by EddardStark

[Huddersfield]

I was reading that heading a fairly routine goal kick back towards the keeper creates an impact on the brain that is not far short of the impact from a boxing punch. However at elite level it increases dramatically, even nowadays because even a goal kick sees the ball travel higher &/or faster. But taking a hit from a shot from the likes of Pele or Rivellino with the type of ball used then must have created a massive impact.

[Toepoke]

7 hours ago, EddardStark said:

Martin Peters is currently struggling with a similar condition and not doing so well. Apologies is already posted.

Jeff Astle, Ally McLeod, Jimmy Hill, Frank Kopel... it seems to be an ever more rapidly increasing list.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Toepoke

[glasgow jock]

Horrible ilness. . . . my Mum has it & really sad to see a woman that you adore become a shell of her former self 

[tartandon]

12 hours ago, Toepoke said:

Jeff Astle, Ally McLeod, Jimmy Hill, Frank Kopel... it seems to be an ever more rapidly increasing list.

A lot of the Alzheimers diagnoses could actually be CTE rather than Alzheimers. Jeff Astel was diagnosed with CTE when they idssected his brain after death.

While CTE is more closely linked to sports such as boxing, American football and rugby, the repeated heading of footballs, especially back in the days when they were a lot heavier, can actually cause CTE. CTE actually gets misdiagnosed as Alzheimers in many cases and unfortunately it can only be diagnosed after death when the brain is examined.

If you've suffered multiple concussions, you're more likely to get it. I'm at risk due to the number of concussions I suffered playing rugby, and my years of playing american football after rugby won't have helped. I suffer from memory loss now and get some mental headaches

Edited April 12, 2016 by tartandon

[COLT NY]

It has to be a bit better with the lighter balls they play with nowadays, but there's an absolute shedload of money to be made by the first person that comes up with a patent for an effective piece of headgear for football players.

Here in the USA they've just banned heading from all u12 games... Last weekend was the first time free kicks were being awarded for the "offence".

[Kirk]

3 hours ago, COLT NY said:

It has to be a bit better with the lighter balls they play with nowadays, but there's an absolute shedload of money to be made by the first person that comes up with a patent for an effective piece of headgear for football players.

Here in the USA they've just banned heading from all u12 games... Last weekend was the first time free kicks were being awarded for the "offence".

Sorry but thats stupid, its part of the game to header a ball and your ability to do so is going to be lower if you arent allowed until an older age.

[Parklife]

27 minutes ago, Kirk said:

Sorry but thats stupid, its part of the game to header a ball and your ability to do so is going to be lower if you arent allowed until an older age.

Yeah, being proficient at heading a football is more important than reducing the risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.  

[Kirk]

35 minutes ago, Parklife said:

Yeah, being proficient at heading a football is more important than reducing the risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.  

Exactly, glad you understand

[COLT NY]

14 hours ago, Kirk said:

Sorry but thats stupid, its part of the game to header a ball and your ability to do so is going to be lower if you arent allowed until an older age.

Completely agree... Just stating that it's just been instituted as a new law in all U12 games in the USA. I polled 5 other coaches on it one day and the 2 other non Americans agreed with me that it was ridiculous. The 3 Americans thought it was a "no brainer" (sic) and couldn't understand why it hadn't been put in place sooner. Expect the USA to keep in on the deck in fifteen years time (and also to be shiite at football)....Anyway, advanced headgear would alleviate the debate. While I don't expect this ruling to spread globally I wouldn't be surprised if all football players wore some form of head protection in 20 years time. 

My son told me yesterday that 3 of the England World Cup winners have been diagnosed with alzheimers. Horrible as that is, I imagine none of the families would trade today's reality with them not ever having picked up a ball. In the end of the day, there's dangers in any sport just like in all aspects of life, and the positives outweigh the risks.

 

[Orraloon]

On 11/04/2016 at 0:31 AM, Toepoke said:

Jeff Astle, Ally McLeod, Jimmy Hill, Frank Kopel... it seems to be an ever more rapidly increasing list.

Maybe we should be a wee bit less harsh on Alan Shearer?

[Kirk]

5 hours ago, COLT NY said:

Completely agree... Just stating that it's just been instituted as a new law in all U12 games in the USA. I polled 5 other coaches on it one day and the 2 other non Americans agreed with me that it was ridiculous. The 3 Americans thought it was a "no brainer" (sic) and couldn't understand why it hadn't been put in place sooner. Expect the USA to keep in on the deck in fifteen years time (and also to be shiite at football)....Anyway, advanced headgear would alleviate the debate. While I don't expect this ruling to spread globally I wouldn't be surprised if all football players wore some form of head protection in 20 years time. 

My son told me yesterday that 3 of the England World Cup winners have been diagnosed with alzheimers. Horrible as that is, I imagine none of the families would trade today's reality with them not ever having picked up a ball. In the end of the day, there's dangers in any sport just like in all aspects of life, and the positives outweigh the risks.

 

Good post, although i fear USA and Canada both have potential to be veru good at soccer ball in the future, much more interest in it over there now.