Ted Bates was appointed manager following the resignation of George Roughton who stepped down because the club’s position was “extremely worrying to his home life”. After a distinguished playing career with the club, Bates seemed the natural choice to step up to the reserves – but no-one could have envisaged that he would guide the homely club from the Third Division to the top flight, becoming the league’s longest-serving manager in the process as part of a remarkable unbroken 66 year stay at Southampton.
Credit: Graham Hiley – ‘The Saints On This Day: History, Trivia, Facts and Stats from Every Day of the Year’ (Amazon Prime)
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