Shankly signed for Preston North End in the summer of 1933. The previous
season, his first as a pro, he had broken into the Carlisle United side
mid-season and impressed with his enthusiastic play. Preston, who had
tried already to sign Shankly before he joined Carlisle, where not to be
outdone a second time. The fee agreed between the two clubs was £ 500 and
Bill received £ 10 as a signing on fee.
As had happened at Carlisle, he started the season in the reserves, for this
was now a higher standard of football, Preston being in Division 2. He
eventually made his full debut for them on December 9th against Hull City and
quickly established himself as a regular and a crowd favourite owing to
his whole hearted attitude and commitment to the side. At the end of the
season Preston had gained promotion to the first division and Shankly had
become a cornerstone of the side.
An artist's impression of the new Kop stand at Deepdale.
In an otherwise disappointing season, in 1936-37, Preston had the satisfaction
of reaching the F.A. Cup Final. At Wembley they came up against a strong
Sunderland team that boasted Patsy Gallacher and Raich Carter. Sunderland
ran out 3:1 winners and Preston never did themselves justice. The following
year, Shankly scored his first league goal for Preston in a match against, of all teams,
Liverpool at Anfield. North End were again to reach the Cup Final that
season and this time they ran out 1:0 winners against an inferior Hudersfield
team. They were now one of the strongest teams in the country.
Bill Shankly lost 7 years of his career to the war. When war broke out
in 1939, he was 26 years old, and the time lost until 1945 spanned his
peak years as a player. When full league football resumed for the 1946-47
season, he was already being considered ( wrongly ) as too old and part
of a previous, pre-war generation. Preston still held his registration,
and despite playing for a number of clubs between 1939 and 1946, it was
Deepdale where he resumed his full professional career after hostilities
had ceased.
Shankly was now viewed as being part of an earlier generation. Many clubs
were throwing in youngsters in an attempt to make a fresh post-war start.
Shankly, still a hugely accomplished player, soon found himself on the
fringe of things and would often find himself helping to bring on the kids
in the reserves.
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