William McGregor (football) - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

Although McGregor envisaged the League as a friendly union, within which clubs would share ticket revenues and work together in their mutual best interests, the immediate effect of its creation was that football came to be treated as a business for the first time, as opposed to something that players and officials simply regarded as a pastime. All the clubs involved experienced significant increases in their turnover, which at Aston Villa, McGregor's own club, increased more than sixfold between 1889 and 1899. The wages paid to players, however, remained low due to restrictions imposed by the FA, so clubs were able to use their increased profitability to build larger stadiums and accommodate ever larger crowds of spectators. Although the League initially contained a small number of clubs, all of which were based in the northern half of the country, by the early years of the twentieth century it included clubs from all parts of England. At its peak nearly 100 clubs played in the Football League, and it remained the pre-eminent competition in English football until the 1990s, when the top clubs broke away to form the Premier League. In keeping with McGregor's views on mutual support and co-operation, gate receipts were shared amongst the clubs until the 1980s, which helped to ensure that a select few wealthy clubs were not able to dominate the competition. McGregor himself had little interest in the business aspect of football, and was adamant that the Football League should not challenge the longstanding authority of the FA. The success of the Football League directly inspired the creation of similar competitions in other countries, beginning with Scotland, where the Scottish Football League was formed in 1890.

In May 1910, McGregor was taken ill and later confined to a nursing home. His condition worsened towards the end of 1911. His last public appearance was a committee meeting on 4 December, and he underwent an operation on 19 December. However, after a brief improvement in his condition he relapsed and died the following day. Although a devout Congregationalist, he is buried in the grounds of a Church of England church, St. Mary's, in the Handsworth district of Birmingham, alongside his wife, who died in 1908. McGregor is remembered as the "father of The Football League", an Aston Villa legend, and a legend of football in general.

Shortly before his death, the FA presented McGregor, who was at that time a vice-president of the association, with a long service medal. After his death, Aston Villa dedicated a bed in the children's ward of one of Birmingham's hospitals in his honour, and the Birmingham County Football Association unveiled a commemorative drinking fountain, which is now preserved at Villa Park, current home of his former club. In the modern era, Aston Villa selected him as one of the twelve inaugural members of its Hall of Fame, and named a hospitality suite at Villa Park after him. In 2008, the Aston Villa Supporters' Trust announced plans to further honour him with a bronze statue outside the stadium. The statue, by sculptor Sam Holland, is displayed outside the Directors' Entrance of the Trinity Road Stand, and was unveiled on 28 November 2009. The Trust also raised £1,000 to restore and rededicate McGregor's grave in 2011.