Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920- 28 April 1999)) was a former Tottenham player and England manager who guided the national team to success in the 1966 World Cup Final.  Ramsey came to the attention of Southampton when playing for the battalion football team during the Second World War. He signed as a professional for Southampton in August 1944 and was retained by the club after demobilization in June 1946. He played his first league game in the second division against Plymouth Argyle in October 1946, a few months short of his twenty-seventh birthday.   Ramsey became a stylish full-back and won his first cap for England against Switzerland in 1948. He signed for Tottenham in 1949 where his intelligent passing, and his willingness to begin attacks from deep in his own half, earned him the nickname ‘The General’ among the other players. Tottenham won the second division title in 1949–50, and the first division the following season.Ramsey  became Tottenham team captain before injury led to his retirement in 1955.  The move to Tottenham also revived Ramsey's England career and he made twenty-nine consecutive appearances for his country between November 1949 and October 1953. After his retirement in 1955, he made his name as a manager of the Third Division south club Ipswich Town. He guideding Ipswich to the divisional championship two years later  and four seasons later the Second Division title followed. Then in 1960–61 Ipswich emulated the Tottenham team of ten years earlier by winning the championship.   Ramsay was offered the England job in October 1962 butonly accepted on the condition that he was responsible for team selection and tactics.  He guided England to World Cup victory in 1966 defeating West Germany 4–2 in the final at Wembley and then third place in the European championships of 1968. The  was seen as an under achievement and the 3–2 defeat by West Germany in the quarter-final of the 1970 world cup in Mexico, was followed by failure to  qualify for the 1974 World Cup Final. Ramsey was sacked in May of that year.  After eighteen months out of football Ramsey joined the board of Birmingham City, and did well as caretaker manager between September 1977 and March 1978. Poor health precipitated early retirement.