Willie Bell Obituary

Willie Bell was a Scottish football player and manager. Willie Bell died at home surrounded by his family, after a brief illness in March 2023, aged 85.

Willie Bell was born in the Renfrewshire town of Johnstone. After beginning his career at Queen’s Park, he went on to play over 200 league games for Leeds United in the 1960s.

Leeds had a lot of tough guys, but Bell was only cautioned once with a booking in over 200 games. Bell represented Leeds in the 1965 FA Cup final as well as numerous European club competitions.

Willie Bell represented Scotland at various levels at the international level, including being called up twice for full-international duty.

His international career included a 1-1 tie with Brazil at Hampden Park in 1966. Bell had one of the better performances that day, effectively shutting out Jairzinho.

After retiring from playing, he went on to manage Birmingham City and Lincoln City. In 1979, Bell moved to the United States and started coaching at Liberty University until he retired.