Ramsey, Alf(red) Ernest (1920–1999)

English football player and manager. England's most successful manager ever, he won the 1966 World Cup. Of the 113 matches in which he was in charge of the national side between 1963 and 1974, England had 69 victories, 27 draws, and only 17 defeats. Shrewd, pragmatic, and single-minded, he was not afraid to go against traditional football wisdom, most notably in 1966 when he decided to play without wingers; a step which was greeted with widespread scepticism, but subsequently was hailed as a masterstroke when England won the World Cup. He led England to the quarter-finals of the 1970 World Cup, but was sacked four years later after the team failed to qualify for the 1974 finals.