A renowned North East footballer will be remembered at an evening which will also highlight the dangers of repeatedly heading a ball.
Middlesbrough footballer Bill Gates will feature at an evening event in the town’s Dorman Museum, where an exhibition of Boro shirts through the ages is also taking place.
The evening, on Saturday (October 26) will also offer the opportunity to talk with Bill’s widow, Dr Judith Gates, and their son Nick about their high profile campaign to raise awareness of the neurological dangers of repetitively heading a football.
A miner’s son from Ferryhill, Bill became Britain’s first £50-a-week footballer after joining Middlesbrough from Spennymoor United in 1960. He had also captained the England youth side.
His playing career embraced 333 first-team appearances before repeated migraines compelled early retirement. Soon afterwards he opened a sports shop in the town’s Dundas Arcade, the Monument Sports chain quickly extending across the north.
After selling up, he and Judith lived for many years in the Cayman Islands, devoting many years to using football as a means of improving the quality of life of children in Third World countries. As his neurodegenerative illness progressed, they returned to County Durham.
After Bill’s death last year, a post-mortem examination confirmed chronic traumatic encephalitis (CTE), a neurodegenerative illness caused by repeated head impacts.
An inquest in Crook in December will be asked to declare that his was an industrial disease.
Recommended reading:
- Tributes to Bill Gates - Boro football legend, entrepreneur and philanthropist
- Book about Ferryhill's Bill Gates and the campaign for safer football
- Getting a heads up on making football as safe as it can be
One of his shirts will be among those spanning almost 150 years of Boro history, a story told through match-worn shirts down the ages.
Running from 6pm to 8pm, the evening will be one of the last chances to view the exhibition, which closes on November 3.
The Dorman Museum is in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough TS5 6LA. Admission is £6.
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