Billy Frith

9th July 1947 – 10th November 1948 and 25th September 1957 – 29th November 1961

Billy Frith managed Coventry City for two spells as well as being a distinguished player during the 1930s. The Sheffield-born Frith, whose father had played for Rotherham, was signed by City manager Harry Storer as a twenty year old in 1932 after spells as a part-timer with Mansfield and Chesterfield. He quickly established himself as an attacking wing half and was a regular for the Bantams up to the outbreak of war in 1939, winning a Third Division championship medal in 1936 and playing 170 games. During the war he played for City and was also a guest for Leicester City and an ankle injury unluckily cost him an unofficial England cap.

In 1945 he took the player-manager’s job at Port Vale but the experience left him shattered and he returned to Highfield Road in 1946 playing seven games before becoming manager Dick Bayliss’ assistant. When Bayliss died suddenly in 1947 Frith was the obvious choice as his successor.

In his first full season he astutely signed Norman Lockhart and Noel Simpson and the team finished in 10th place in Division Two. The 1948-49 season however started badly. Without ace goalscorer George Lowrie, sold to Newcastle at the end of the previous season, City struggled for goals. In November 1948, with the team in 19th place with only four wins in 19 games he was sacked, to be replaced by his old mentor Harry Storer, who had managed City from 1931-1945.

A sad and bitter Frith left Highfield Road to become a full-time teacher in Coventry as well as the part-time manager of Stafford Rangers and later Rugby Town. The lure of Coventry City however was too great and in 1955 he was back at the club coaching the juniors. In September 1957 after a disastrous start to the season manager Harry Warren was sacked and Billy was asked to take charge once again. Money was in short supply and there was a large playing staff and he was unable to avoid the club finishing below half way and thus becoming original members of the new Fourth Division.

With a few shrewd signings, including Ray Straw, Paddy Ryan and Arthur Lightening and some home-grown youngsters George Curtis and Mick Kearns, Frith’s team climbed out of Division Four at the first attempt. A year later they almost went straight through to the Second Division until they ran out of steam in the final run-in. The fans felt that money should have been made available to strengthen the team and clinch promotion but the truth was the club was almost bankrupt.

The 1960-61 season was an anti-climax with Billy’s bargain basement buys not delivering the goods and 15th position was not good enough for the demanding fans. The start of the 1961-62 season was no better and gates fell to 7,000 as Frith’s ageing team struggled to score goals. The crunch came after an embarrassing home defeat to non-league Kings Lynn in the FA Cup. Chairman Derrick Robins had already earmarked Jimmy Hill as the man to change City’s fortunes and the humiliating Cup result saw Frith and his entire management team ousted.

Frith left his beloved club with dignity and returned to teaching. The lure of football management was strong however and in the summer of 1963 he was appointed as manager of Chelmsford City, a role he retained for two seasons, bringing in former Coventry players Stewart Imlach, Frank Austin and Colin Holder. He remained in teaching until his retirement in 1977 but kept in touch with the game with regular scouting missions – in 1980 he was still scouting for Chesterfield, from his home in Kenilworth. Billy died in the summer of 1996 after a pleasant retirement.

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First spell:

From: 9th July 1947
First game: 23rd August 1947 v Luton Town, home, Division Two, won 4-1

Until: 10th November 1948
Last game: 6th November 1948 v Fulham, away, Division Two, lost 0-1

60 games

	Lge	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Win %	Pos
1947-48	Div 2	42	14	13	15	59	52	41	33.3	10th
1948-49	Div 2	16	4	2	10	22	33	10	25.0	21st
Totals		58	18	15	25	81	85	51	31.0

FA Cup: 2 games (1 win, 1 loss)

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Second spell:

From: 25th Sepember 1957
First game: 28th September 1957 v Brentford, away, Third Division South, won 3-1

Until: 29th November 1961
Last game: 25th November 1961 v King’s Lynn, home, FA Cup 2nd Round, lost 1-2

216 games

	Lge	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Win %	Pos
1957-58	Div 3 S	37	11	10	16	53	65	32	29.7	19th
1958-59	Div 4	46	24	12	10	84	47	60	52.1	2nd
1959-60	Div 3	46	21	13	15	73	54	49	45.6	5th
1960-61	Div 3	46	16	12	18	80	83	44	34.7	15th
1961-62	Div 2	20	6	7	7	28	32	19	30.0	14th
Totals		195	78	54	66	318	281	204	40.0

FA Cup: 11 games (5 wins, 1 draw, 5 losses)

Southern Floodlit Cup: 7 games (4 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss)

League Cup: 3 games (1 win, 2 losses)

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Overall:

276 games

	Lge	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Win %	Pos
1947-48	Div 2	42	14	13	15	59	52	41	33.3	10th
1948-49	Div 2	16	4	2	10	22	33	10	25.0	21st
1957-58	Div 3 S	37	11	10	16	53	65	32	29.7	19th
1958-59	Div 4	46	24	12	10	84	47	60	52.1	2nd
1959-60	Div 3	46	21	13	15	73	54	49	45.6	5th
1960-61	Div 3	46	16	12	18	80	83	44	34.7	15th
1961-62	Div 2	20	6	7	7	28	32	19	30.0	14th
Totals		253	96	69	91	399	366	255	37.9

FA Cup: 13 games (6 wins, 1 draw, 6 losses)

Southern Floodlit Cup: 7 games (4 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss)

League Cup: 3 games (1 win, 2 losses)

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